The Three Necessities to Success

by Randy McLaughlin
(AZ)

In life, no matter what you intend to do; no matter what dream you want to pursue, it's necessary to have three important values. These values are faith, dedication, and will. With these three values, no matter what obstacle you encounter, no matter how narrow the metaphorical bridge is to cross, you will still be able to keep going and accomplish anything you want. But, these three values in themselves are hard to hold on to. It's best to apply each of them to your life one at a time and approach them as optimistically as possible. To better explain each value, I will separate and explain each of them in depth.

On the concept of faith, I don't necessarily mean faith in a higher power. I'm referring to faith in ones self and faith towards others. There are hundreds of opportunities presented to us each day that we may or may not be able to take part in because of our level of faith in that opportunity and the level of faith we have towards ourselves on that particular day.

Faith boils down to how confident we are in ourselves. It's been said that a person unknowingly shows how confident they are by the way they look, act, speak, and move. Say you're looking for a job. Good interviewers are trained to spot quirks that a person exhibits when they're in a bad mood or when they don't trust themselves. Sure, it's possible to learn how to hide these quirks but, it's a lot easier and much more healthy to find faith in yourself.

There are many ways to find personal faith. For some, it's as easy as watching a few inspirational videos, getting an inspirational pep talk, or reading a motivational article. For others it takes more than that. Some can find faith through feeling important in others lives. Try helping a friend solve a problem, or talk someone through a tough time. You could also try keeping a checklist of easy goals such as: run a mile, cut back on fatty foods, put more time into a relationship, etc. Easy goals like that will build up self confidence as you cross them off your list and before you know it you'll feel like you can take on anything because of everything you've already accomplished. Of course there are many more things you can try. Just keep experimenting until you find what works for you.

After finding faith in yourself, you need to find faith in your goals. By that I mean you need to be positive and actually believe that you can accomplish what you set your mind to. If you don't believe in the dreams you have, you can never dedicate yourself to them. Always remember that anything you have faith in is possible and even the most successful icons of past and present generations started off with a simple dream.

After you find faith in both yourself and your dream, you must then dedicate yourself to that dream. Dedication works on three principles: time, money, and adapting. Dedicating the time and effort to make progress towards goals, dedicating yourself to saving money and spending money on things necessary to move forward, and finally dedicating yourself to adapting your lifestyle and making certain changes needed to avoid obstacles and help move toward success at a faster rate.

Dedication can be a demanding principle. Putting time, money, and effort into anything can lead to worry, doubt, and thoughts of compromise. It's important to keep your eyes on the big picture while dedicating anything to any goal. Say you have a goal to lose thirty pounds in three months. You must dedicate yourself to exercising at least a half hour daily, purchase healthier foods (which are generally more expensive compared to junk food), and find a way to integrate an exercise plan into your everyday life. You may also need to change where you spend your free time and find a way to keep your
cravings suppressed while you work. Assuming you’re willing to make these changes to lose weight, you need to begin dedicating yourself to your new lifestyle.

Dedication seems easy enough. However, there is a very fine line between true dedication and false dedication. False dedication wears off around the fifth day of your movement towards your goals. Take weight loss as the example again. False dedication will collapse as soon as you pass a doughnut shop, while true dedication will keep you on track towards your goals despite your cravings.

Finding true dedication inside of you is no easy task. But, an easy way to inspire dedication is to think about achieving your goals and the happiness it will bring. Another easy trick is to compare your goal to a similar goal that was accomplished on a much larger scale. Take Walt Disney's dedication as a cartoonist, Thomas Edison's dedication as an inventor, or any other highly successful figure and compare them to what you want to accomplish. Remember, even Edison had the ability to compare his legacy to Leonardo da Vinci while he was making his mark in history.

After dedication comes will. Will is essentially the support behind faith and dedication. Dreams are usually tremendous goals that take months (if not years) to accomplish. A strong belief in yourself and your dream is the first step on the metaphorical road to success. Dedication to your dream is the map and compass on this road. By dedicating your time, money, and effort you continue to take the right steps toward your dream. Will comes into play when you begin to feel tired. When you begin to doubt yourself or your actions, or when you begin to wonder if every effort you've made will pay off. Will is your driving force that rejuvenates dedication and faith. It is the backbone of every decision and every step you take. While all three values hold tremendous weight; will is possibly the most important of all of them. Thankfully, when you possess a strong self faith and a strong dedication towards your goal, you will naturally possess a strong will.

With these three values, a person can achieve anything they set out to accomplish. Though, there's no easy way to become successful, these values will keep you determined and strong throughout the grueling road ahead. Learning to harness these values will not only bring you closer to your goals and dreams; but, they will also bring you closer to understanding yourself.