Everyone wants to know the Secret Formula to success. Frankly, I have been trying to figure out what it is myself.
Then I had an “aha” moment and realized exactly what is the Secret Formula for success, and I want to share it with you.
The Secret Formula to success…success in business (or any other endeavor) is:
Burning Desire + Belief + Consistency = Success
There are many meanings of success, so let’s define success for this discussion as attaining a pre-determined goal. The formula is rather simple, but not necessarily easy to execute.
First you must have a burning desire for success in your endeavor. It can’t be approached casually with a “wouldn’t it be nice if..” attitude. You need a desire that hits at the very core of who you are.
Success doesn’t come easily. It requires work and overcoming obstacles and solving problems and when you want to quit, it is your burning desire that pushes you beyond your self imposed limitations.
For my martial arts black belt I had to fight multiple opponents until I was exhausted. Every muscle in my body hurt. Every fiber of my being told me to just fall down and let it be over.
As I dropped to my knees and ready to fall back into the comfort of unconsciousness I heard my Sensei (teacher) yell out: “How bad do you want this black belt?” And that’s when I dug deep and found a little more energy to go back and finish fighting.
Find your burning desire. For me it wasn’t the “black belt”. Heck, I can buy one for $7.99. It was what the black belt symbolized…years of practice, dedication, and endurance. I had a burning desire to prove to myself that I could do it even in my 40’s.
Stoke your fire and build your burning desire for success.
All the desire is lost, however, if you don’t have belief. Belief that the success you desire is attainable; that you deserve it; and that can do it. Doubt only serves to undermine your efforts.
For example, imagine a goal to be able to fly like a bird. You don’t believe you can so it extinguishes and desire. Except the Wright brothers believed they could figure out a way, and today we can all fly higher, further, and faster than a bird.
Although the evidence available to them at the time suggested that their goal was impossible; they believed it was possible and that they could figure a method to fly. And they did.
Consistency should be obvious given all of the stories we all know already: Edison’s 10,000 attempts to invent the light bulb; Colonel Sanders visited over 1,000 restaurants attempting to sell his chicken recipe; Margaret Mitchell was turned down by 25 publishers before Gone With The Wind was accepted.
Unfortunately, the gut reaction to failed attempts is to quit. Sometimes the gut reaction to success is also to stop.
You must be consistent in order to achieve success. Consistent in your actions; consistent in your marketing; consistent in your training; consistent in your follow-up.
If you limit your success only to those things that occur as desired on the first attempt you will be condemned to a life of mediocrity. Imagine if you had given up the first time you stood and tried to take a step but fell.
Where would you be today?
It was the consistency…the repetition that brought success…and the same is true today for whatever you define as success.
It is a simple formula with deep implications. Give it some thought. Compare it other successes you have already had and see if it holds true. Then apply it to your goals.
Expect abundance,
Lou Castillo
