DEFINE YOUR PURPOSE

Who you surround yourself with, what you watch on tv, what you listen to on the radio, and what you read can either help or hinder you in achieving your goals.  For success to happen, one needs to build a strong foundation. Every choice you make can strengthen or weaken it.

Start by asking yourself what is your purpose?  Once you define it, commit yourself to achieving it.

Surround yourself with like minded individuals, organize your time where if you read or watch tv, it's with  books or programming that support what it is you want to achieve.

Keep in mind that to make a contribution to life, a clear purpose is an absolute necessity.  Picture your life as a rubber band. You can allow it to dangle in its natural state, or stretch it out just short of breaking. The outer limit of your achievement and contribution to living must be your PURPOSE.  You have amazing abilities awaiting release and exercise. Do not waste time in activities that undermine your journey.

Be prepared that along the way, even with what you think is a full commitment on your part, there will be times you lose your way.  This is normal.  This is life.  Two books come to mind that are examples of how your spirit can be uplifted: One Man's Leg by Paul Martin is the true story of a young man who tragically lost his leg and how this turned out to be his path to real success. The other book, Honeymoon with My Brother : A Memoir by Franz Wisner will help you to appreciate how it is possible to turn what appears to be a problem into the opportunity of a lifetime. Both of these men were able to create new identities from situations that could have destroyed them. You can do the same. History is full of people who worked at achieving a specific goal but were taken off their path, only to achieve amazing things by sheer will and persistence in redefining their purpose. If you think you cannot attain a goal you have set for yourself, try picking someone in history and look at how they fulfilled their dreams.  

The path is already there for us.  Look at how others before you got there. Model yourself after them.  If you've not read Benjamin Franklin's autobiography then I suggest doing so.  When we look at how someone else achieved success, you can see that there are 'habits' of highly effective people that you too can use to fulfill yours.