SUCCESS IN 2017: STEP FIVE

We're now in the fifth and final week of what I hope has been a really helpful toolkit to enable you to see great success in 2017. We've looked at our thoughts and rituals, our roles and goals, and now we're landing on the ultimate challenge. Once you've done the other things, doing this final step will act like the final spinning cog of an elaborate mechanism, unlocking potential you perhaps didn't even know was there.

Get excited!

A lot's been said over the past couple of decades about the power of a positive mindset. It's easy to get cynical about that sort of thing, but looking back at what we've achieved over the past few weeks, surely we can know that success is possible.

And that should get us excited in the morning.

And if we're excited in the morning, we'll respond more positively to what life throws at us.

So...get excited every morning! Spend a couple of minutes every morning, thanking God for everything he's going to do for you and through you to others today.

Don't allow circumstances to define your positive outlook. Allow your positive outlook to influence your circumstances.

Get scared!

You might be afraid of spiders, you might be afraid of talking to someone really senior in your office, you might be afraid of what people will think if you bring in a packed lunch, or you might be afraid of how awkward the conversation would be if you invited a homeless person out for lunch.

It's easy to be afraid of things - life is full of unknowns, and negative results are a possibility...but let me tell you one thing for free:

Fear solves nothing.

Being afraid has a negative effect on you personally, and doesn't change the situation at all. So here's a good thing to do. Every day, do one thing that scares you. Once you've done it, no worries - no need to do anything scary until tomorrow. But don't let a day go by without scaring yourself on purpose.

Just see what happens!

Get focussed!

I don't know about you, but my life seems to get full to the brim of...stuff. Meetings, emails, tube delays, meals...and how much of it actually makes a difference in life?

You often hear of the 80/20 rule in business, where 80% of your effort leads to 20% of your results, and vice versa. What would happen if you worked out what your 20% was, and focussed as much attention as possible on that?

Go on, write a list. What are the top ten things that make a difference in your life? Now, prioritise those over everything else, no matter the sacrifice - it may annoy people at first, and you might experience some setbacks, but 80% beats 20% every day.

Thank you so much

I hope you've really enjoyed this little series with me, and I hope it's made a genuine difference to you.

I said in the opening post that I'm convinced that contentedness is a great state of mind to have. I truly believe that, and I believe you can be contented but still push for change, because my contentedness comes from a place outside of my life - and his name is Jesus.

MAKE THIS YOUR FIRST STEP TO SUCCESS IN 2017

London is a busy place.

I'm not the first person in 2017 to notice that people in London are impatient, walk fast, drive close, demand convenience...and are driven to succeed.

I don't think I've met anyone since moving to London who's said:

Do you know, my life's not perfect, but I'm fine with accepting that.

More often, I encounter:

Life is great...but I still want more!

I believe that there's a big challenge to Londoners to become content with what we have, because the chances are that the challenges you and I face are real first-world problems...but equally, there's nothing wrong with setting ambitious goals and achieving them.

The year is young, and who knows what you might turn it into?

Come with me on a journey of self-discovery and future building. I'm going to post a series of blog entries walking us through some exercises I hope you find helpful.

In this first entry, we're going to dig into the five life indicators:

1 Health

Did you know that often, the most successful people in the world are also really healthy? Getting a good amount of sleep, drinking lots of water and eating healthily will all contribute to your ability to making lasting change.

2 Relationships

Who are your key relationships with? Who would you like better relationships with? Who would you like relationships with that you currently don't have? It's funny that the people with the best friendships tend to just be the friendliest people - we can all learn a lesson and be friendly.

3 Vocation

What takes up the most of your time? Is it a job, or a role in the home, or a role in society? What could you do that would make you feel more fulfilled in that?

4 Emotions

What are the three emotions you feel most of the time? How positive are those words? What could you do that would create more positive emotions?

5 Lifestyle

Where does your time and money go? How satisfied does that answer make you? How could you improve that?

Next steps...

I'd really encourage you to write down your answers to the questions above - it should lead you to a nice to-do list.

But the work's not done yet! Keep your eye on the blog, because the next entry in this series will be appearing in a week.