Campaigns are rarely won overnight. Buildings are rarely constructed in a day. It is only the best and finest structured architecture which rests upon strong and solid foundations. The basic principles always matter when building, whether it be  building yourself or any other structure.  Anything worth building takes time and persistent effort. Due diligence is one of the fundamental principles of building long-lasting success. Achievement is nothing more than the offspring  of due diligence and opportunity. When one has paid his or her dues through consistent, targeted efforts, and is given opportunity; success results. Many hard-fought battles must often be fought  with self and with the world to overcome. Dedicating oneself to overcoming those battles, whether looming or small, day after day is diligence defined. Such can only be birthed through continued focus on a goal and application of tasks related to that goal on a daily basis. Success is built one day, one task, and one thought, at a time. In such a space, age is inconsequential. Make the effort everyday to commit oneself to move towards a goal. Mabou is a shining example

Mabou is a remarkably intelligent girl  that can speak eight languages fluently, plays four instruments, sings, and swims. Not one of her achievements are accidental; they result from continued effort over time.

http://blog.smartcoos.com/raising-multilingual-interview-with-esther-loiseau-mother-of-8-year-old-mabou-who-speaks-9-languages-part-i/

How one defines the concepts, precepts, and principles that shape one’s understanding of the world and  human relationships, ultimately determines the ease or uneasiness one may experience  while navigating through the world.

As an individual progresses through life he or she extracts bits of meaning from every experience. Those myriad experiences shape how the individual defines concepts such as success, health, wealth, love, and failure.  As that individual journey’s along he or she may default to attempting to measure all other experiences against his or her current understanding. This is what makes success, love, wealth, health, and failure something different for each individual.

There is danger in measuring  every circumstance against pre-defined ideologies. Not every experience can be neatly or clearly defined in accordance to the understanding one has formulated.

Not every loss that one defines a failure, due to pre-defined ideologies, is a failure. Just because things don’t unfold in the manner which one deems successful is not indicative of a lack of achievement. Sometimes one has to alter how they define these important concepts to envision the level of success they have already achieved, in order to draw the much-needed motivation to power forward.

One important concept in achieving success is often restructuring the framework which governs how one sees the world, and move accordingly.

1.Write down the concepts  success, love, wealth, health, and failure and define what they mean to you.

2. Gain an understanding of how you define the world and important principles you live by.

3. Challenge your thinking . Ask yourself why you developed this perspective. Reflect on experiences that led you to define success, love, wealth, health, and failure as you do.

4.  Consider other variable definitions of success, wealth, love, and the like.

5. Use critical thinking to ascertain if  your outlook  is stagnating growth.

6.  Understand that redefining principles of success, wealth, love, and growth for you as an individual is often necessary for growth.

7. Make the changes necessary.

Focus is everything.

The world we inhabit is finite and we have to live within the parameters of certain constraints such as time. While there are limitless possibilities, and one may have illimitable potential there is not enough time allotted to do everything. Attempting to do too many things will render mediocrity. Channeling one’s focus in such ways may render an individual good at several things, however it will never make him or her “great” at anything. Those who are most successful are not merely good at what they do but great at what they do.

Life lesson can be found in everyday situations

While filling a water bottle at a water cooler I learned an important lesson regarding focus. When giving my full attention to the task at hand I was successful at filling the bottle without wasting even the tiniest droplets of water. When removing my focus away from the task I noticed that some of the water began to spill over onto the floor. I was still able to fill the bottle, but due to the spillage it took more time to accomplish my task. Redirecting my focus permitted me to regain momentum but I could never get back lost time or the precious water that ran in droplets on the floor.

Lesson: When focus is lost so is time. The one thing that cannot be regained is time. Time is everything, it is humankind’s most valuable resource. How one spends his or her time determines outcomes.

1. Choose an area of focus (choose wisely)
2. Spend time everyday building that skill, talent, hobby,or habit  even if it is a few minutes
3. Constantly evaluate where you are compared to where you want to be and adjust accordingly (daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly)
4. Don’t let setbacks disrupt you

Reaching for success in any endeavor requires energy. Failure often precedes success. One must often fail before he or she is to succeed. Without energy to climb out of the pitfalls success is seldom realized. Motivation is essential. In this world, while we travel alongside others, success is a personal journey and responsibility. It is beautiful to have people who will lift you, push you, permit you to stand on their shoulders; there is often a lack of such support. One must motivate self in order to elevate. Give yourself a reason everyday for moving one step further. Affirm your success daily. Surround yourself with inspiration and get rid of all those things which bring about degradation of the mind, spirit, and body.  This may mean isolating yourself from friends, family, media. Successfully being able to motivate yourself begins with a strong mind, clear of refuse; that which poisons one’s thinking.  Become an autodidact. Teach yourself to rise above. Educate yourself to propel beyond your current state of confinement. Success is the result of a commitment, a commitment one makes to self, that despite current constraints, situations, circumstances, and states of mind  he or she can rise above. Sometimes one needs an example, a model, proof that such is possible. Here is proof.

Autodidact scholar Catherine Elizabeth Hughes (1947-)
“A radio personality and executive, Hughes’ success in radio station management enabled her to become the first African-American woman to head a publicly traded stock on the stock exchange.”

If there are no real models of such motivation in your life or community build them. Immerse yourself in books and find five people who model your desired level of success. Learn their path’s and let them mentor you through their words. Build your success team. Construct a foundation for motivation.

” You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” –  Jim Rohn

http://www.africanamerica.org/topic/african-american-autodidactic-scholars

Education is a key element in the success equation. One can never ascend to the heights of a ladder without first scaling each individual rung. One must have a clear-cut path in which to follow in order to maximize potential. Determining resource availability is a vital component to education. Resources while plentiful may appear as rare and intangible as the rare black opal.

This is an illusion. While it may be difficult to mine for resources that will aid in your development and growth it is not illusory.  It is necessary to understand that sometimes the most valuable of resources as it relates to growth, development, and success are hidden in plain sight.

“The capital-T Truth is about life before death.  It is about simple awareness — awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, that we have to keep reminding ours selves, over and over: “This is water, this is water.” – David Foster Wallace

http://www.coursera.org

http://www.saylor.org

http://www.udemy.com

http://www.open2study.com

http://www.khanacademy.org

http://www.duolingo.com

Above are just a few gems found hiding in plain sight, These sites are resource platforms where one can continue on a path to self-education at no charge. No longer should one complain about the cost of being educated. A solid education always has been and always will be free. Discovery takes willingness and predetermination.This list does not exhaust the wealth of resources available. There is a treasure of information at your nearest public library. Every path that has been tread on the road to success has been mapped out in a book. One just has to take time to mine for it.

quote taken from (http://grahamteach.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/This-Is-Water.pdf)