Simon Paul Thurston

There is one thing that success and failure have in common – they both come from courage. Courage to take the first step; courage to take the path less traveled; courage to do things differently than other people do.

Theodore Roosevelt once said:

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure…than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

Those who succeed in everything – business, marriage, and life in general – are not invincible to failure. They are simply courageous enough to walk against the crowd. They are self-confident enough to choose not what others want them to do, but to choose what makes them feel passionate and motivated. And they simply do not fear failure.The silver bullet to fulfilling your potential is in first understanding what you want, what you are passionate about, and what the word “success” means to you.

What you want

For different people, this can be different things. It might be money, or it might be fame. It might simply be a cleaner environment or…while we’re reaching for the sky – even world peace. There are no limits when it comes to defining what it is we want for our lives. This is where dreaming comes in – and who ever said there should be limits on dreams?

“I have learned that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” – Henry David Thoreau

What you are Passionate About

The most important ingredient to success is passion. A love of what you do. If you don’t have an interest in technology, then opening a computer business is not really going to drive you. However, if you have had a life-long love of pets, or a passion for writing, or an affinity for food – then your passion should direct your efforts. Once you are working for those things that you feel strongly about – you will feel driven, every single morning, to get out of bed and start accomplishing things.Dreams are based on passion, passion creates drive – and drive leads to overwhelming success.

What Success means to you

These will be your specific goals. You should be asking yourself – when I am successful, what will I be, where will I be, and what will I have? For some people, success means living in a home without a mortgage, or living without debt, or having a few million dollars. For others, success is measured differently – it might be to be recognized as a leader in their field, or to publish a novel.

Dream, Organize, Execute

Once you know what you want and what makes you feel driven – the final steps are to put together a plan to get there. Outline the steps you will take, every year and even every month, to reach that ultimate goal. Be honest and realistic, but don’t limit your dreams. Aim high.And finally, once your goals are set, and you have determined what you need to do to reach your full potential – then comes the fun part.

Every day, you will wake up and feel driven by those dreams, and by the love you have for what you do. And you will feel motivated to do the work that it takes to reach each individual goal, because you know, at the end of the road, the success and fulfillment that awaits you.