Hello everyone! I am so happy to say that this is it. Today, I’m going to discuss the true “Secret to Success”. Soon, you will see why this also is my favorite definition of “success”. Before you get ready to print this out and post it everywhere, read what’s here and take in the true beauty and simplicity of “The Secret”. Are you ready? The secret is… that there is no “secret”. You see what I mean? I told you it was simple. OK, there’s a little more to it than that. Allow me to elaborate the simplicity. Have you ever seen “Kung-Fu Panda” ? If not, do so. Not only will your kids like it (if you have kids), you will enjoy it too.
It has a great “moral to the story” that resonates with what I am writing here. I don’t want to spoil the movie. However, the older you get, the more you realize that sometimes those big “secrets” are not secrets at all. You learn that if you believe enough in something – it’s practically true (Almost like that "self-fulfilling prophesy" stuff I mentioned in Part 1). That intense belief is much more special than any “secret”. That’s right. The secret to success is you – and believing in yourself.
Although I may seem to be over-simplifying it, I definitely do not want to mislead. There is a great deal of preparation involved before you can believe in yourself with the intensity you deserve. You cannot simply “psych yourself” up into believing in yourself for something you never dealt with at all. That is purely technique. Paint on the surface. People will sense the duality within you if you are not “ready on the inside”. It takes building from within – your core values that you believe in, plus all the hard work (Cornerstone in John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success - See previous entry).
Self-Confidence. Probably the closest “one word” definition of what it means to believe in yourself. Plus, having a positive outlook on things. If you do not believe things are going to work out, you already failed - so why even try? So what if you are not exuding confidence all the time… it’s only human nature to have some doubts. Anyone who’s seen or heard the “Sound of Music” is familiar with the song “I have Confidence”. Got to love her resolve! She’s going head-first into something she’s never done, but everything else about her had prepared her to be a Proactive, principle-centered person.
OK, I may not be the best example of being a self-confident person. However, after all the years of exposure to what is legitimate and authentic, I have confidence in my ability to stick with the truth. Who hasn’t heard of the quote: “The truth shall set you free”? I love that statement. It actually gives me a peace of mind similar to that in John Wooden’s quote on success. I don’t feel like I need to be remembering what I said to who… and what twist or spin I need to put on something, because the truth is the truth. No need to hide or exaggerate. If anyone “sees right through me” they will see that I have nothing to hide or any agendas to try to make myself look better or gain anyone’s favor. Besides, if I’ve already given my best – what more is there to give? Hence, there’s the peace of mind again. With your mind at ease, it should allow you to believe in yourself and have a genuine self-confidence that is not a “psych-up” or technique to either convince people you know what you’re doing or that you can do no wrong.
On a small tangent, I actually had the opportunity to ask a very successful individual in my network how he defined success. His answer drove deep into the importance of friendships. Despite the difficulties of finding and keeping meaningful friendships, the network of friends he had forged throughout his life was at the heart of his definition of success. Interestingly enough, John Wooden placed “friendship” at the base of the pyramid of success – right next to Industriousness (working hard). I will cover this in my next entry on success (Part 5).
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