Do you know what the secret to success is? It’s not dumb luck or privilege. It’s not who the hell you know or being in the right damn place at the right time. It’s hard fucking work. It’s unwavering persistence. It’s working on YOUR damn goals and not worrying about what others are doing. It’s forging YOUR own damn path based on all the knowledge and experience that you have at this time. It’s INCREASING your knowledge and experience base by learning from experts and mentors in your field. It’s following these steps:

Step 1: Set goals. Andrew Carnegie said: “If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.”


Step 2: Commit to your goals. “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” —Pablo Picasso


Step 3: Make self-development a priority. “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” ―Ernest Hemingway


Step 4: Adjust your goals. According to Les Brown, “Your goals are the road maps that guide you and show you what is possible for your life.”


Step 5: Be consistent. Louis C.K. once said: “I’ve learned from experience that if you work harder at it, and apply more energy and time to it, and more consistency, you get a better result. It comes from the work.”


Step 6: Expect success. “Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.” —Wilma Rudolph


Step 7: Take pride in your accomplishments and failures. “Be not afraid of greatness; some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.” —William Shakespeare

What steps are you skipping on the way to your goals that preventing you from reaching your highest potential?