Success Formula

by Diane Linsley

The secret of success is to focus on what you want and get your mind off what you don't want. You get what you focus on - not because of magic or law of attraction - but because focusing on your goals creates the motivation to do something.

When you are stuck, take action. Does that sound backwards? Most people believe that being stuck means you are on the wrong track, and you need to stop and wait for inspiration to strike. New Agers say you need to "raise your vibration" and "get into a good-feeling place" before you can act.

Unfortunately, you can stay stuck like that forever. Feeling good is nice, but it's not a substitute for action. John Assaraf says, "Feel the fear, and do it anyway."

How do you take action when you don't know what to do? Just do something - anything. Successful people don't sit around all day raising their vibration. They get out and work. Every time you take action, you get feedback (positive or negative - it doesn't matter which) that helps you to self-correct and move closer to success.

Faith and Experimentation

Faith is the willingness to experiment. It's like doing a science project: You start with a hypothesis (a belief), then you create a theory, which you attempt to prove with an experiment. After collecting data from the experiment, you know whether or not your theory actually works. Then you can tweak your theory (or create a new theory) and do another experiment.

When I decided to become a life coach, I had no proof yet that I could do it. It was just a hypothesis. I decided to make the hypothesis into a theory and act with faith by doing an experiment. I joined a coaching academy, and I got to work.

Frankly, I was terrified. I was going through a very difficult time in my life with an upcoming divorce, and I was not in a good place emotionally. But in spite of the fear, I acted with faith by pushing forward every day, doing my homework, and practicing coaching.

I had to repeatedly pick myself up after falling. I continued to move forward, changing course when necessary, while keeping the end goal in mind.

When you act, you get feedback. Often, the feedback is negative, and it hurts. But that's not failure! You cannot fail unless you stop trying. Feedback shows you where you need to improve.

I learned this lesson long ago in the early days of my seed business. The suggestions I got from customers were not always complimentary, and I sometimes cried after being criticized. But once I got over the emotional shock, I considered the suggestions. Some of the worst criticisms led to the biggest improvements in my business. This taught me humility, which is the willingness to learn and change.

A Formula for Success

A college student once interviewed me for an assignment in her class on entrepreneurship. I told her the secrets of success, which she had surprisingly never learned at school. At one point, she asked me a question that stumped me: "How did you deal with setbacks?"

Honestly, I'd never thought of anything that happened in my business as a setback. I viewed everything as a learning experience. I told her, "There's no such thing as failure. Whenever you act, you either succeed or you have a learning experience. Then you take the next step. The next step appears as you move forward. Sometimes you can only see one foot in front of you, but you take that step."

Take action, and learn as you go. Nobody knows exactly what to do and how to do it when they are starting out. Inspiration comes as you move forward.

I wake up each morning with the inspiration I need just for that day. On rare occasions, I get big inspirations for projects that will take years to complete. This happened recently. I don't know how I will accomplish these big goals, but I do know the basic formula for success:

Create a theory. Do an experiment. Observe the results. Make adjustments to your plan based on the feedback you get. Then do another experiment.

Whether you are trying to improve a relationship, maximize your health, or succeed in a career, you can use this method to achieve results. It also works for spiritual goals. We often fall short, but we keep on doing the experiment with faith.

Finally, for every challenge, there is most likely someone in the world who has done it before you. Seek out people with experience, and learn from them.