How to Become Insanely Successful with 5 Simple Steps
We all have the right to shine bright
If you are human, I’m sure you have hoped, at least once in your life, to become an overnight success.
The truth is less glamorous that you would like to think, and yes, it is possible to become shockingly successful (minus the glitter and the popularity), in less than a week.
If you are really proactive, it can take less than a day.
Before we move on onto the hows, I would like you to pause for a second and consider the way you start your day: by being woken up in the pitch black, by a beeping noise. Did you know that we chose beeping for alarms because it sounds unnatural? That means that the brain fires up on red alert, and sends panic signals by releasing cortisol and adrenaline into your body.
Or maybe you are a parent, and you get woken up by your screaming child, while outside is still dark and you were sound asleep, still in your REM phase.
Then you rush to get ready, heart racing as you worry about what happens if you are late — and perhaps dread whatever stressful thing you need to handle that day in the office. Then you head off on your commute, people pushing past you and walking toward you. Horns blaring, smoke thick in the air, and bright billboards flashing in your eyes. All these things triggering more spikes in excitatory neurotransmitters.
At work, you no doubt need to deal with office politics, with deadlines, with people shouting at you down the phone… with the potential prospect of losing your job if you don’t do well, always looming over you. The unnatural light you’re bathed in meanwhile triggers even more arousal, with none of the nourishing effects of vitamin D and fresh air.
Or maybe you’re a stay at home parent? In which case your day will revolve around responding to the screams and cries of your child, struggling to keep the house tidy in the time in-between, making food in a hot kitchen, worrying about bills…
Meanwhile, most of the activities we engage in when we try to ‘relax’ involve looking at flashing lights and images of people fighting. When we flick through magazines, we find ourselves being constantly pressured to look better, perform better, and spend more money. Even Facebook is filled with people projecting a false image of success — one that we feel pressured to live up to.
Now you can pause and breathe.
Most of us live every day without purpose, feeling utterly stressed out, sometimes miserable, blaming our unhappiness on others. Yet, we keep procrastinating the hard work, and we mellow our pain by drinking way too much wine or eating way too much sugar.
And then we feel suffocated by our own sour air, thinking that everyone else is more successful than we are, and we tell ourselves lies such as “You are not worth it, you cannot do it because you are not good, clever, smart, skinny as you are meant to.”
Or maybe changing the way that you are living now is too exhausting for you, but maybe staying where you are is even more tiring?
Does it sound familiar? If so, it’s time to cut the BS and to take the first miniature step forward.
Define Success
First of all, you need to define what success means to you. Don’ t skip this step, as it is fundamental. How can you grow and become what you want to be if you don’t know where you are heading?
For some people, success is defined by Instagram followers, number of clients, money in the bank account, the number of rooms in the house, number of kids, how many holidays can be taken per year, number of friends, and so forth.
Some people tend to define success with numbers. It is important to understand if that’s what you want.
If so, totally cool, and you still have to define what it is.
If instead, success doesn’t mean numbers, but a state of being, that’s completely cool as well. Maybe you want to feel complete, you want to connect with like-minded people, you want to get in touch with your purpose on earth. Sounds great, but you still have to do the work and map it out.
If your marvellous idea doesn’t travel from your brain to a piece of paper, it won’t happen, and it will only be an idea for the longest time.
Some people manage to define success in a day; for others, it takes weeks. There is no curfew to improve your life for the better but avoid procrastination.
What’s your Whys
After you have defined what success means to you, ask yourself WHY.
Let’s say for example that you want to have 10k people following you on IG so you can promote your clothing line and be invited to parties. That sounds so much fun.
But what is your WHY?
What do 10k people following your account mean?
Do you need reassurance?
Do you want to be liked?
Do you really want to go to parties, or at the end of the day, you feel very awkward and stressed when you need to mingle with strangers?
There is no right or wrong here, but I would like you to distinguish what you want, from the deeply ingrained belief that was taught you by peers, family, and society.
Identify your whys so that you won’t spend an arm and a leg to study law, to end up hiding in Bali, and teaching yoga for the rest of your life.
Also, your whys may change with age and life; be open and flexible to how life experiences can shape you.
Build a Snail Trail
Allrighty! You have found out what success means to you, and you did define your whys. You are absolutely sure (or 98% certain) in which direction you want to move.
Maybe you have opted for that career in law, or perhaps you feel that a lifetime in Bali sounds ideal. Or maybe, just maybe, being able to live a quiet life made of meaningful friendships and where you can tuck your kids in bed every night sounds just amazing.
Can you see the power of defining what success means to you? It is your definition, your life, and it can totally change what you have believed until now.
Anyway! Whatever paths you have chosen, it is time to move and create your own snail trail.
What can you do today to move a little bit closer to success?
It could be enrolling at Uni, or buying a ticket to Bali, or accepting a part-time job that leaves you ample time to breathe and smell the roses.
Break it down in small, achievable steps. And once again, don’t procrastinate!
Celebrate the small wins
Have you bought that ticket yet? If so, go out and buy yourself a cake, or a bottle of wine, or a book, or whatever rock your boat and celebrate.
I’m part of the MOVE THE POLE bunch. What does it mean? That as soon as I reach the destination (that could mean launching a project, having a baby, finishing uni), I skip the celebration, and I move the pole. Until lately, I never paused and gave myself time to breathe and applaud my successes. This is why I’m telling you how important celebrating is!
And don’t shy away from sharing your successes with other people. The world needs to know what you are doing, so it can support you during the journey.
Stop looking at the neighbor’s grass
Great. You have your whys, and you are moving towards your destination, you have celebrated the first step, you are all pumped. And then you check Instagram, and you realise that your neighbor is doing so well, and she is not even putting any effort into achieving her goals.
Stop right there. You are on a mission, and you have no time to compare apples with pears unless you want to grow more, and you are curious about what other people are doing.
More on comparison here:
I hope this article resonated with you and that you will give yourself a chance to shine bright!
