The 6 Areas to Consider for True Success

“Success is peace of mind that is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
-Jamison Wooden

Success means different things to different people but there are areas to consider in order to achieve true personal success. If one, of the following 6, areas is not part of the equation then it may be hindering your success potential.

• Financial: Obviously, there’s a financial part of true success. Anybody that wants to be successful has to master his finances. Being debt free is the first step.
• Health/Fitness: If you focus on all other areas but forget your health, you won't be able to enjoy the life that you've built. If you have health problems, it will be more difficult for you to focus on anything else.
• Relationship: Robert Putnam once said “Happiness is best predicted by the breadth and depth of one’s social connections.” If you gain all the success in the world but lost all of your relationship connections in the process then it will feel empty.
• Spiritual: I've touched this already here. Spirituality is finding your moral compass either by following a religion or by other means. It’s to have a general understanding of the universe and your place in it - to be at peace with it.
• Freedom: This is may be outside of your control. To be successful in anything, you must be in an environment that allows it. Success is easier achieved in a free Country than it would be in a Country that isn't free.
• Education: Success in life is a matter of education. It is easier to be successful in a Country that has a good education system than to be successful in one that doesn't allow it.

Do you have another area that you feel should be added here? Share in comments!

Revised on November 9, 2018.

Adaptability: Plan Vs Unplanned Changes

I’ve recently came across an article of a CEO looking for employees that were “adaptable.” I always worry when someone ask me the question “Are you adaptable” in an interview. To me, there are 2 ways of seeing this question. You either need to adapt because there are plans to expand/grow or you need to adapt because the company is a mess and doesn’t know where it’s going.

I’ve been in the consulting/service field for almost 10 years now. Adaptability is the name of the game. You never know what project you’ll be on, what type of people you’ll end up working with, what systems you’ll be using … for the most part, everything is changing. That unpredictability is expected for the type of field it is.

In the case of a product companies, however, unplanned changes doesn’t have its place. Of course employees will still adapt to whatever mess is thrown at them but in the end it is not for the greater good of either parties.
The company needs to know where it is at and where it plans to be in 1,2,3...years to allow the employees to provide adequate suggestions on how to get there based on their individual expertise.

If you’re a product company, a clear plan is what you need if you expect your employees to adapt to the changes. You have to share the big picture.

The Get "FIT" Quick Schemes

We’ve all heard of get rich quick schemes but did you know that we can also find get fit quick schemes as well? While they are not illegal, they are nonetheless scams for the sole purpose of a quick buck. The problem with those programs is that they sell the exercise first. They forget, or simply omit, to talk about the core issue; the diet.

This will come out as harsh. To me, every fitness plan that doesn’t discuss the importance of dieting is a scam. Being fit is 80% what you eat and 20% what you do as far as exercising goes. Of course you will see some result from doing P90x, Zumba, PiYo or whatever other fad routine because it burns calories on whatever diet you’re currently on.
If you don’t eat right, don’t expect to see much result anytime soon - at least not as fast as if you’re complimenting your exercise with a good diet.

By “a diet that complements your exercise” i mean to have food that support your weight goals. If you want to lose weight, then you want lower carbs. If you want to gain muscle mass, then you need protein. If you want to bulk, then you need your proteins as as well as the calories that supports it.

It’s not that difficult to understand once you spend a few hours doing some research on this. Just don’t be fooled by those that tells you you’ll be ripped in 3 months just from working out - it simply isn’t true IF you don’t have the diet to support it.

Financial Discipline Gives You Choices

“If you don’t learn to spend less than you earn, it won’t make any difference if you earn twenty thousand dollars, fifty thousand dollars, or one hundred thousand dollars per year. Your spending would simply rise as your income rose.” -Dwight Nichols

The “get now pay later mentality” gives you an illusion of choice. Sure, you get the item as advertised but you sacrificed future time for it and in the end it isn’t worth it. What if that future time is needed to combat an illness or help a friend in need? Time is limited - what will you do then?

I recently decided to change city. I woke up and felt like I was in a rut and I missed my family. On my way to work that day, I decided that I would quit my job and move to be closer to the family.
Now here’s the thing, because I was financially stable, I didn’t care whether or not I had a job at the new city. I didn’t think about it because I knew that even if I didn’t have anything I could still go on. It wasn’t the end of me and I would lose nothing from doing so.

People that are heavily in debt do not have that choice. If they decide to move to a new city, they have to think about what they will be doing once there. If they do not find work, they can’t go. One has to wonder - was that “get now pay later” couch worth it?

Learn to say no to yourself. If you have to finance it, you shouldn’t be having it. “I need a car though” - sure you do, but does it have to be the latest model? Live within your means.

An Eye for An Eye

“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” -Mahatma Gandhi

Pride oh good ol’ pride. I have pride, you have pride - everyone has pride hence why the first thing that comes to our mind, even for a fraction of a second, when we’re hurt, is revenge.
The good feeling we receive, from exercising our revenge, is usually short lived. We tell ourselves that we should of been the better person and let it go.

What is revenge but a futile pursuit to get even with someone? Why does revenge sounds like the proper course of action when it truly isn’t? What usually happens, when we get back at someone, is a feeling of emptiness. When will we learn that the strongest man isn’t the one that seeks revenge but the one that can forgive?