I was talking to a friend yesterday who said the reason he hasn’t succeeded is because he doesn’t have the money to start his own business. He said, if only he had a good friend who could lend him the money he could succeed (he may have been referring to me as that “good friend,” I don’t know). But the reality is, you don’t need lots of money to achieve success.
There are 4 things that you need to succeed, and they don’t cost anything:
1. The first thing you need is “Time”
With time you can climb mountains, develop a six-pack, break world records, write a bestseller, become rich, or anything else.
Time is far more valuable than money. You can exchange your time to get money, but you can’t exchange your money to get more time. Time is the first thing you need to succeed, and it’s free.
2. The second thing you need are “Ideas”
I think about the articles that I write; everything I write is just an “idea.”
There’s no limit to the number of ideas we can have.
I am inspired to write maybe five or six times a day, I have more inspirational thoughts than I can possibly write about.
Why is this? Because there is no shortage in this world; shortage is only a figment of the imagination.
You know, it’s an amazing thing; ideas that are “free” can actually make you rich. Randy Gage said, “You don’t have a money shortage, you have an idea shortage.”
If you wanted to write a bestselling book, all you would need is an “idea.” An idea of what to write about, an idea as to how you could make it unique, an idea as to how you could get a publisher, an idea as to the best way to market it, an idea on a catchy title, an idea on how to get the right person to foreword it. It’s all ideas. Success comes from ideas, not from money.
You need to tap into your limitless river of ideas.
3. The third thing you need is “Consistent Action”
This is where most people have trouble. Our society has so programmed us with “get rich quick schemes,” and “instant gratification fixes” that we don’t understand that some things require consistent action for many years.
Instead of us patiently cultivating the talents that we have, we sell our birthright of success and prosperity for a false hope; we sell it for fool’s gold, the false thinking that we can somehow get something for nothing. Let’s be clear, becoming a success and fulfilling what’s on the inside of you is going to take work! It’s going to take patience, persistence, faithfulness, faith, dedication, consistency, and determination, when it seems like nothing is working. But if you’re consistent, you will succeed.
4. The fourth thing you need is “Passion”
It’s critical that you pursue your passion.
Firstly because you’ll be willing to put in the time and dedication to make it a success, and secondly because your passion sparks your creativity and the flow of ideas; it sparks ideas that are unique, ideas that people will gladly pay to see manifested.
Just like a seed, you have everything you need on the inside of you to succeed, you just need to be planted in the right soil and cultivated. The soil represents being involved in activities that you’re passionate about; the cultivation means doing the hard work which causes success to come.
In conclusion, there are no excuses, everyone has the ability to succeed, so get started today!
Photo by Darcy McCarty
I totally agree with your 4 points. I think consistent action is hard to maintain, especially if you are on the “start-up rollercoaster of emotions”. That’s where you are all excited because you are going to make billions one day, and then despondent the next because you haven’t made a cent.
You need to take your emotions out of it as much as possible and just concentrate on the next step.
Nice post!
@Kaizan, You are right about the emotions. If you are too excited at first, you will be disapoinnted after a week as you are not seeing the results yet..
I think that’s why passion is so important. If you are passionate about what you do, your feelings doesn’t depend on a specific outcome. You feel good just because of doing the things you are passionate about.
With passion comes time, ideas and consistent action.
Great post! I think #3 is the hardest one for me. I have passion, time, and ideas but I need to work on consistenting acting. You’ve given me a gentle but firm push in the direction of getting to work and taking action so thank you!
This makes perfect sense, is in the open for everyone to see, and yet, many people take the hard way out (fool’s gold).
Thanks and glad to be of assistance….Positively Present….
I think I would add belief in myself, discipline and commitment.
@Tess The Bold Life,
I agree…that’s why I wrote under #3 “It’s going to take patience, persistence, faithfulness, faith, dedication, consistency, and determination, when it seems like nothing is working. But if you’re consistent, you will succeed.”
Hey Mr. Self Development….you always write such great articles. Every point is so true. I agree with Postively Present…the 3rd point is the most difficult for me too. Everytime I’m in action, great things happen that I want to see happen but then when I get out of action, nothing happens the way I would like it to happen. I will stay focus on “Consistent Action” so that things will continue to happy the way I want them to happen. Great job on writing this. I know your writing is helping alot of people as well as myself. Thanks again!
@Tammy,
Thanks Tammy!
Mr. Self Development. I really enjoyed this article but I disagree with this statement:
“You can exchange your time to get money, but you can’t exchange your money to get more time.”
Technically you are correct (everyone has the some number of seconds per day), but from a practical standpoint I have to disagree. I would have a lot more time to do what I wanted such as work on another income stream, if I had enough money to exchange to have people do things I don’t want to spend time doing. Money buys you “time” in that respect.
@Stephen – Rat Race Trap,
Stephen, thanks for commenting, I absolutely agree with you, that’s why I have maids and landscapers and car washers and handymen (for that very reason).
I was speaking from a literal standpoint, as to say, you literally cannot go to a store and buy more time. On your death bed you can’t write a check and live for 20 more years. The reason I used this literal interpretation is to prove my point that time is more valuable than money.
Tess,
I agree…that’s why I wrote under #3 “It’s going to take patience, persistence, faithfulness, faith, dedication, consistency, and determination, when it seems like nothing is working. But if you’re consistent, you will succeed.”
Thanks for this article…it was very inspiring….
Great post. One more thing I would add is connection with yourself throughout your day. We often will have time, passion, and ideas but when it comes time to take the consistent action something gets in the way. To connect with yourself in the moment, breathe, tune in and ask yourself “What can I do right now to get started on this project” then listen to the messages you receive. It may surprise you what you notice. It works like a charm for my clients. My blog today is about the process of tuning into the messages. Take care and thanks again for a great post.
@Gerrianne,
Thanks for your comment and the compliment….
When there number 4, passion or inspiration, the rest comes easily. How do we find passion? In my experience, if we are still and aware, it comes to us.
Hi Lauri … Mr Self Development .. so well set out, as are the others’ comments. Perhaps the one thing missing is the ‘string’ to tie them together .. ie we don’t need to go out on a limb and do other things, if we concentrate on those 4 and actually do them, even if imperfectly, it will happen: we can learn as we grow. The next mountain will be “easier” to climb .. we’ll have had that experience.
Don’t get distracted is perhaps a better word. The tie should be stronger .. never forget those 4 items.
As you rightly say you can’t replace time, you can leverage money and thus get a space to do other things with your time, while your money leverages others.
TICAP: Time, Ideas, Consistent Action, Passion … simple now I’m doing it – I’m glad I’ve concentrated on the one passion and developing that out, rather than do too many things and break the string.
Hope that makes sense!? All the best
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
@Hilary,
Great point…..
Great article!
With all 4 of these qualities together, almost nothing is impossible!
Great article. All 4 things made me think about myself, the way I spend my time, the passon that I put in doing things and the consistent act… Thank you for this article:)
Passion is what brought Steve job to the position he currenlty hold as well as Bill Gates. Too say passion is needed is an understatement. Passion should be a core motivational factor as to why your pursing a dream in the first place. If you ask Michael jordan what made him such a success he would say his passion for the games mixed with all his failures.
Understand that having passion allows one person to do all they can to complete their tasks. If your tired from a long day of work, your to obtain your goal will allow you to sum up energy to complete your goals ahead for the night.
So here is a tip.
Find a purpose to live… Seek happiness within your work place.
Do this task by asking yourself a few questions.
1.What gives me the greatest feeling of self esteem?
2.What am i good at?
3.How can i provide people with services that can change their lives in a positive way?
After this, start to make movements toward this direction…. ..
Peace , Love and Truth!
I completely agree with all 4 points! All the change comes from within, and recognizing and applying these points will absolutely yield to positive changes in one’s life. Thank you for sharing! Great post!
Thanks for an excellent post.
I would add…
a) BECOME FAILURE & REJECTION-PROOF
To learn to handle failure & rejection is incredibly valuable for achieving commercial success. The key here is to be able to use them both to your advantage by reframing their meaning. For example, to be able to embrace failure as the key to learning or to learn to not take rejection personally. Not easy lessons necessarily, but very useful…and FREE.
b) COMMERCIAL SMARTS
Over the past two decades, I’ve cleaned up the commercial mess made by people who were passionate, had plenty of ideas, took their time, and work consistently hard. Their failure to understand profit and cashflow cost them dearly – unnecessarily. I would urge anyone looking to start a business to spend the time to take advantage of all of the FREE resources available to help them build their commercial smarts.
Best, Robin Dickinson
@Robin Dickinson,
Thanks for the comment Robin…I often say that the path to success is paved with bricks of failure and the mortar of rejection…
Great post. I agree with all of your points. The one point I would add that goes along with your last point of passion is service. Most people do want a get rich quick scheme and will sell their soul to make a buck. They never really think of the thought of providing service to humanity in some way. When you provide service, the abundance comes back to you a million fold. When you care about providing something of value to your fellow man, you can make a difference.
Again, great article.
@Elliot,
Great comment! Part of what I teach is that “success takes time.”
You’re right, many folks want an overnight fix, but that’s just not the way it works. If you put in the time, and serve humanity, you will be rewarded….thanks for commenting….
Bruce, Claudiu, Leyla, Lauri, Kaizan, Ramesh, Tiffany and Jonathan….I didn’t respond to your comments directly…but thanks for commenting…
Thanks for this post. Consistency is what I am working on at the moment, thanks for the inspiration, also great reminder…ideas are limitless!
Jen
Thanks for the comment Jen….
Among the four, consistency of action is the hardest. We’re all faced with different situations and you just can’t manipulate your actions. You have a lot of time to waste, ideas to make and a passion to fulfill but if you don’t do a thing you’ll never get there.
Good concise post :) I would just add that the most important thing one can do is to have the discipline of daily meditation. Through meditation you will discover your true nature, you will get a better understanding of your internal decision making process. You will come to learn about your ego and than how to drop it. You will find your true calling and develop a actively calm mind. From the calm state of being their is nothing you cant do. Thanks again, keep up the great work.
Sid and Ivan, thanks for commenting….
Great points…and I would even add that time bends to our vision when we hold the focus well enough. According to the hours in a day, I “should not” be able to pull off what i am pulling off with my work while having two little ones (and no child care) but the passion, ideas, and consistent action are strong enough that time has to comply!
While passion is a motivating feeling, I find that it doesn’t move mountains. To gain real success you need passion and work ethic. Passion will keep you motivated, and work ethic will help you put in the long hours when the motivation may or may not be there.
time, ideas, consistent action, passion.. great ingredients. I want to add the most important thing: God’s provision. Thanks for posting, i learned a lot from you. You should teach some self development courses because of your bright principles.
@chibi,
Thanks….I will certainly consider that….
You say some valuable things here. I must add, however, that the first thing one needs in order to succeed is to have a definition of success.
“It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision. ” ~ Helen Keller
“Man acts as though he were the shaper and master of language, while in fact language remains the master of man.” ~ Martin Heidegger
@Kent @ The Financial Philosopher,
I love that quote: It’s a terrible thing to see and have no vision. Thanks for that…..
good post, i also like the picture you added, thanks :)
Thanks for the comment Farouk…
Seems so often that people get trapped on #1 because they think of it in terms of needing many hours to start something. Instead you could just find 5 minutes a day or so to start writing your ideas.
hello. you got an amazing blog with you with this tips so that everyone will succeed in their life. bet you have some things happened in your life that really changed your view with the image of it. your tips– time, consistent action, passion, and ideas, are definitely a great ingredient for a successful life. you really got great thoughts with you. great to be included in some of those self-development courses.
Sat Nam, Reverent Greetings
Thank-you for this post !
Consistent Action is key – also called Commitment.
It is key to discern the difference between the ego’s desire for the goal ( usually involves recognition or praise from others ) and the Soul’s Destiny.
Ask yourself the question, “How does my goal serve the whole of Humanity”? Sometimes our goals don’t manifest because they are not aligned with our Soul’s Journey.
When you are consistently committed to the purpose of why you are on planet earth at this time – all resources will come to you. You will automatically be filled with passion, creativity (ideas) and time will expand.
Time to trust your Soul as we enter into the great Aquarian Age (2012 and beyond)
peace to light to all,
Catalyst Yogi
http://twitter.com/catalyst_yogi
I think this is great advice, however, you forgot one thing that is very important and that is the belief in yourself enough to do it, and what does that take if you have low self-esteem which sounds to me your friend has some or he would not have said the “money” thing? A support team. Someone who believes in you enough to support you in your mission to become successful and sometimes that means a little “cash”. Sorry, noone wants to hear that but it is true….:)
i too agreed your 4 opts,
thanks for the tips,