The Keys to Success (in anything)

I hesitated to write a post on this subject because I feel I’m not an authority. I haven’t achieved the kind of success I want … yet. But that doesn’t stop me having views on the subject. I’ve studied it, on and off, for years. I went on a very comprehensive course spread over two intense weekends a long time ago, and it cost me a lot of money, specially considering I was out of work at the time. I had to think long and hard before committing to the course, purely on financial grounds, and if I had followed the dictates of that course I would have met with unusual success by now, I don’t doubt. But I didn’t. I’m not sure why that was, but I suspect there’s an underlying reason that caused it, and it’s probably something in my mentality that has been working against me for decades and successfully thwarting my attempts to be successful. Maybe I’m subconsciously afraid of success. I don’t know why that would be, but maybe, deep down, I’m as scared of success as most people are scared of failure. I’m still trying to work that one out! Anyway, back to the matter in question: how to be successful. I could write pages on this and only manage to muddy the waters. Rather than go down that pointless route I’m going to keep this short (or as short as I can and still have it make sense). And the keys to success, in anything, boil down to three things.

The Three Keys to Success

1 – Know what you want

2 – See it clearly in your mind

3 – Believe you already have it

That’s it! If you do this, I believe you can have what you want, and I believe you can apply this simple formula to whatever is the subject of your desire. Simple! But please note, I said simple, not easy. Let’s take a look at the three steps in a bit more detail.

Step 1 – Know what you want

Firstly, it’s necessary to know what you want. This is obvious, of course; if you don’t even know what you want you’re hardly likely to get it, right? So the first thing to do is to stop and think. I know, it might be plain and simple and very obvious, it might be that you just want a really flashy car, for example. That’s easy enough, right? Well, even with something as ‘simple’ as that, it’s necessary to be more specific. You need to know why you want it. This is important. Do you need it purely as a means of transport? Do you want it to make you feel worthy, or important, or to raise your status, or what exactly? I’m not saying any one of these is more worthy than the others, only that it helps tremendously if you can be specific about your motivation. Then get more specific. You want a ‘flashy’ car, but what does that equate to exactly? What car do you really want? It helps a lot if you can be quite specific. Your subconscious mind will do all it can to bring about your desires, but it really needs your help. It wants to know exactly what it is you want in order to help you get it. Think of it like this – imagine being enormously wealthy and having hired flunkeys to take care of all your needs, and imagine telling one of them that you want a really nice car and leaving it to him to deal with that request.

Now, I think it’s a safe bet that your employee, no matter how much you’re paying him, would come right back at you with “Sure, I can arrange that for you, sir, but help me out here … what kind of car do you want? I mean, I don’t want to fetch a Rolls Royce and then have you tell me that’s not the kind of car you want, it’s too formal and too expensive, almost a waste of money. I could get you a Porsche or a Maserati, only for you to fly off the handle because you think cars like that are too ostentatious. I could do some research and find the safest and most reliable of cars and then you might tell me I’ve got it wrong yet again, for any number of reasons. Let’s just cut to the chase, sir, okay … tell me exactly what car you want and I’ll go get it for you, no problem.”

He might be risking his job talking to the boss like that, but he’d do it anyway. He’d be risking his job even more by just guessing what car you want. Get it wrong he’s out of a job! He’s got to know what you want, otherwise he can’t help you. Your subconscious mind is like that. It’s very literal. It needs to know your desires before it will expend its energy on supplying them. It’s a powerful beast, but if you’ve got it blindfolded it can’t be of much use to you. You have to do your part. And by ‘you’, I mean the conscious part of you.You need to sit and think what it is you want. What exactly do you want? Be specific, and define it as precisely as you can. Imagine you’re physically writing an order for the thing, or a blueprint for it, and it has to be precise.

Step 2 – See it clearly in your mind

Now, write it down. Just as you would with any physical order (and here we’re onto the second key point, ‘see it in your mind’). Write down what you want. In detail. If it’s that car, write down the make and the model. What colour will it be? How will it feel to drive it? How will it look sitting outside, parked up? Imagine it! Literally, create the images (which is what ‘imagine it’ means, of course). Create images in your mind of that particular car. See yourself in possession of it, enjoying it, using it, etc, etc.

This is actually spilling over into the third key point (‘believe that you already have it’), but we can dip into it here and now. Create images of yourself with the car, opening the door and getting in, making yourself comfortable in the seat, looking at the dashboard, holding the steering wheel, starting the car, feeling the power in it, and on, and on, and on. Keep making those images. And keep feeling those positive feelings that come from actually being in possession of that car. This is what’s meant by ‘see it in your mind’. Not just a dull still photo of the item in question, but a movie, and one that involves you and excites you. Stir your emotions! Get excited! Feel passionate about it! Make those images come alive.

Step 3 – Believe you already have it in your possession

If this is working, step three is already in progress, you’re starting to act as though you already have the car. In your mind, you have it, you’re sitting in it, you’re driving it, you’re feeling how great it is to have such a car, and so on. If effect, you DO already have it. The only thing missing now is the actual physical car (yeah, I know, that’s quite an important little detail, but in the grand scheme of things it’s actually not that big of a deal). The important thing is that YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IT IS YOU WANT, and now YOU FEEL AS THOUGH YOU ALREADY HAVE IT.

This is a powerful method of placing your order with your subconscious mind. You are telling your subconscious “Here, THIS is what I want … and pay attention closely now, this is an important bit … I’M ACTING AS THOUGH I ALREADY HAVE IT … GET IT? … THERE’S A BIG CLUE, RIGHT THERE … NOW, GO FETCH!!“

Step 1, you know precisely what you want (which is handy, because now you can convey that to your subconscious mind), Step 2, see it clearly (which is necessary, because you want to help your subconscious mind as much as you can by showing it exactly what you desire), and Step 3, believe you already have it (this is necessary because it seals the deal, it says to the subconscious “This is MINE … and it’s your job to make sure the physical reality matches exactly to what I’m seeing right now”). If you follow this simple method, you can have anything you want. It’s not always easy, as I’ve indicated, but it’s simple (as in ‘uncomplicated’). So, what’s difficult about it then?

So … what’s the problem?

Believe it or not, it can be difficult to even know exactly what you want, and for what reason. It’s very easy to shift your desire from moment to moment as the mood changes. But that’s a huge mistake! It’s like ordering your car from a dealership and then ringing them every day and changing the order. They’ll be struggling to supply exactly what it is you want, even though you’re spending a lot of money with them. They’ll be having a very hard time trying to fill that order. They’ll probably have a waste bin by the desk filled to overflowing with order sheets, specifications, amendments, etc, all superceding one another. They’ll be finding it practically impossible to deliver what you want, and for the very good reason that you’re changing your mind every day, or every hour, or every time you think of the car (or whatever it is you have in mind).

So even Step 1 can be difficult. Onto Step 2. That can be difficult because it takes commitment. You have to actually set your mind to doing this visualisation, which can seem like hard work (which is crazy, but still …) Actually, it should be the easiest part. You’re losing yourself in a happy daydream. You’re literally having fun, mentally. How can this be hard work? You tell me! Sometimes I shy away from this part, and I don’t know why. Like I said ealier, maybe I’m afraid of success for some reason, I don’t know.

Step 3, believe you already have it. Again, this should be easy enough. Just mentally act as though you have the car, or the job, or the relationship, or the money, or whatever. Just play act. How hard can that be?

Keep it simple. And be specific!

We’re incredibly lucky. We’ve been blessed with the capacity to be immensely successful (and in any way you define that). We’re endowed with a very creative subconscious mind, and one of its jobs is to monitor what we’re showing it (via our imagination) and to supply the goods. If you doubt the power of the subconscious, consider this: when you imagine yourself ruining your chances at something through fear of failure, isn’t that, very often, exactly what comes about? Your own mind is merely obeying your visualised desires. You see yourself failing … so you fail! Believein the power of your subconscious mind. It is immensely powerful, make no mistake. Now, start to put that power to work for you. Harness that power and create exactly what it is you desire. Do not complicate this! It’s simple, I told you. As simple as 123. All you have to do is …

1 – Decide on what you want   2 – Visualise it clearly   3 – Believe it’s already yours!

Go fetch!