Define Success
If we want to succeed, we've got to begin by defining what it means. That's not always easy, especially when we're beginning in the fire of adversity. If we identify what it means to succeed, we simultaneously identify the values by which we're living. Those values assist us in building the compass we need to move in the right direction.
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overview
When we identify the values by which we're going to live, we set the foundation for our success. That exercise of identifying values and defining success helps us to build or restore confidence. Visualize what’s possible, the best outcomes. Then, use those values to ascertain the deliberate steps that will lead you to success.
Clear Visions
What does success look like for you today? What does it look like five years from now, or 10 years from now? If you want to climb out from the fire of adversity and into the base phase of your life, you've got to know what it looks like, and then make decisions that align with how you define success. A clear vision lights the path forward.
Success Evolves Over Time
The pathways we choose in our pursuit of success will evolve. Leaders taught me how to make the right decisions at the right time. While in solitary, limitations blocked me from some activities, but I could use that time to introspect and plan. The plans I made at ever stage put me on a path to accelerate growth and open new opportunities.
Take Methodical Steps
Pursuing big goals may feel intimidating or unreachable. If they align with the values we set, we can manage progress by breaking the steps down into action-oriented, steps. Those steps must align with the values we identified as being essential to our success. This process helps us to focus on results, and to own the results we get.
Define Success
Vision Inspires Action
Identify values that align with your vision of success, and they will inspire the action steps you take. Each step will motivate you because you will know how it leads to the next opportunity. In this way, your values will help you focus, keeping you from getting diverted by shiny objects or anything that would threaten your progress.
Adapt and Grow
Assess the values by which you live at different stages, and as you grow, adapt. The decisions I had to make at the earliest stages of my journey differed from the decisions I made in my 10th year of confinement, in my 20th year of confinement, and they changed again when I got out. But those decisions always aligned with values.
Opportunity Costs
Progress happens one step at a time. Each step should advance us to success as we define it. I wrote the Straight-A Guide during my 22nd year, when I had several more years to serve. Had I not defined success at the start of my journey, I would not have been in a position to write the guide, or seize the opportunities that opened later.
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