Ten Critical Success Factors

By Wadzanai Nenzou

Success can be defined as many different things. To some success is having a lot of money and financial security. To others success is educating their children and making provision for their families, and yet to others success is simply the achievement of one’s dreams. Whatever the case, all human beings are always in pursuit of a measure of success. To achieve success in any way or form, there are some qualities that are critical and must be looked into.
One of the most important success factors is time management. Time is said to be the most expensive resource in the world since it is fixed and there is no way of going back in time. It is ever moving forward. Having a good time management technique will ensure that you are able to make effective use of your time and through this you will be able to achieve more with your life.

Another critical factor to success is self-discipline. This is often a great hindrance to the success of many people. This is especially the case for people in start-up businesses since so much is required of them at the onset. Self-discipline often involves doing required tasks even when you do not feel like it. Self-discipline will carry you through the rough patches in your life’s journey and will help you achieve your goals.

Being hardworking is another critical success factor. This involves going the extra mile to deliver on your targets. For hardworking individuals, success seems to follow them in all performance related issues in their lives, such as school, work, sports etc. Developing a hardworking mindset conditions you for success. Since you will have achieved different levels of success in the past, the future will become a much more familiar playground.

In order to achieve a measure of success in whatever undertaking, it is important to be goal oriented. It is important to set up goals or targets that you look to achieve within a given time frame. These goals have to be measurable, realistic, and attainable and be of a time sensitive nature. Setting of goals gives you something to work towards and often acts as a benchmark to measure how well or badly you are doing.

When it comes down to it, success is sometimes greatly influenced by one’s attitude. Your attitude greatly defines the kind of outlook you will have on a task or problem. People who have a great attitude, even in the midst of a difficult situation, always seem to rise above it. You attitude is your mindset
and if your mind can be committed to do something, it will deliver, despite the challenges encountered.


Another key critical success factor is that of perseverance. This might seem overrated, but most of the financially successful people in the world today all started with very small businesses. They had big ideas but were limited by their financial situations and sometimes the lack of market. The likes of Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi also persevered through a great deal of suffering in order to achieve their goals. Perseverance is therefore critical in carrying you through the rough times and ensures you are faithful enough to see the results.

People have often said the difference between winners and losers is desire. This desire is driven by passion. Having a passion for what you are doing is very important. Often people have started small businesses that did not even break even in the first 2 or 3 years. At this point, they become a labor of love. However, due to the passion associated with the work they do, they are willing to carry on with the business, hoping that things will get better in the mid-term to long-term; and they often do. Passion will help you find a way to do what you want to do and make the necessary sacrifices required to succeed.

Another very critical factor of success is networking. In business, this is widely considered one of the key pillars of success. Networking is about knowing people in every aspect of the society that you can get in touch with. It involves simply building contacts that you can call on at any time to refer or ask for business. Networking is the key in the growth of a company and can help you achieve your goals faster and with less effort.

Planning is one of the most essential factors for success. Planning involves laying down a work plan of the things you want to achieve and working through the strategies and modalities of its execution. It is said that failing to plan is planning to fail. This is very true and is likely the reason for the closure of 2/3 of all businesses in their first 5 years of operation. Planning eliminates surprises and allows you to forecast the direction that you want your life to take.

Finally, it is important to keep yourself in good health. This may involve going to the gym or getting into a dietary program. Keeping your body healthy and prioritizing your health is critical to your success. Remember, a healthy body, healthy mind.

I wish you all the success in the world.

Wadzanai Nenzou Is An Internet Marketer Who Has Worked In The Finance Industry For A Number Of Years. She Is Addicted To The Topic Of Inspiration And Personal Development. For More Inspiration Go To Her Inspirational Quotes Website
http://www.inspirational-quotes-change-lives.com

Don’t Believe Everything You Think – How To Change Misguided Thoughts

Right now, in this moment, you have everything you think you deserve. You are living the life you believe you are worthy of. Your life experience mirrors your internal self-esteem. If you have an unhealthy low self-esteem you will never enjoy the life you dream of. Even if you achieve success in the accomplishment of a desired goal you will self-sabotage until you are back at a level, a comfort zone, that reflects how you feel about yourself. If you have a healthy high self-esteem you will allow yourself to achieve and enjoy what you want and know you deserve. Even if you experience a dramatic financial loss or traumatic experience you will rebound. You will again create wealth and create newer and better experiences. It’s as simple as that.

Know this: The mere fact that you are here on this Earth indicates that you are worthy whether you believe it or not. Each and every person is blessed with a unique talent, a passionate purpose, and the wisdom to express their full potential. This is your birthright. Wherever you are disconnected with who you are at your deepest core is where you will struggle. Wherever you are out of alignment with your truth and what your heart calls forth for you to become is where you will find dissatisfaction, frustration, and desperation.

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” – Henry David Thoreau


All you have to do is spend some time at the check-out lane in your local grocery story and read the headlines on the displayed tabloid magazines to see examples of celebrities who seemingly “have it all” throw it away in a self-destructive act. You shake your head in amused amazement and wonder “What was he thinking?!”

Chances are the inner thoughts of a person who crashes and burns irrationally are something like:

“I don’t deserve all the good stuff that I am experiencing.” “It’s only a matter of time before ‘they’ find out I’m not good/talented/smart enough to have what I have or do what I do.” “This (good stuff) won’t last.”

We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein

Self-destructive behavior doesn’t have to be done on a big scale to be damaging. You self-sabotage when you say NO to who you are, No to what you want to have and do. You toss your opportunities away when you resist what will bring you closer to your aspirations. You limit yourself when you find excuses and reasons (F.E.A.R.) why you ‘can’t’ what you ‘want’.

If you’re a person who realizes that you have had a roller-coaster pattern of self-sabotage you are being run by what I call your own internal Inner Critic who reminds you day in and day out of what you can and cannot do, do and do not deserve. Know, too, that this Inner Critic – the voice of your self-doubt and fear – means well but is woefully misguided. The job of the egoic Inner Critic is to keep you safe, and what will keep you safe is to stay right where you are. You may not like your current circumstance but if it’s what you know, it is safe – and comfortable.

If you’re a person who can’t seem to get out of your own way realize that you are holding yourself back, keeping yourself safe. You’ve bought into the fear and self-doubt served up by your Inner Critic and your unsupportive thoughts and actions are merely attempts to justify your purchase. You’ve invested heavily in time and effort in these erroneous thought patterns and you’re not willing to toss them out into the garbage bin where they belong. You’re not going to buy into a newer, better, belief system.

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford

The first step in getting and keeping more of the good experiences and less of the bad is to be willing to not believe everything you think. Stop the insanity by examining your experiences and questioning the thoughts behind the errant behavior pattern. If you fall on your butt take a look at how you slipped up. What were you thinking? If the thoughts behind the actions that ended up in a bad experience were based in self-doubt or fear shine some light upon those thoughts. Ask yourself the following questions about the thoughts you’ve let run you:

- Are they true, absolutely? – How do you know? – What evidence do you have to support this truth? – Can you find any evidence to the contrary? – What is holding onto this belief costing you? – What are you getting out of holding onto this belief? – Who would you be, what would you do, what would you have if you did not have this belief?

Instead of focusing upon that which you believe you are not, what you cannot be, do or have, turn your attention to who you are, what you have and what you have done that is positive. You’ll discover that what you have achieved far surpasses what you have not. You’ll realize all the good you have done for yourself and others. Create a new belief, a new perspective about who you are and what you deserve and can experience.

“Many people die with their music still in them.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

Boost your self-esteem by honoring yourself and your dream. You deserve your dream, that’s why you have it! Notice when your thoughts, comments and actions take you away from that dream. Mindfully think, speak and act in the direction of what makes your heart sing.

Copyright © 2009 Valery Satterwhite

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Valery is an Artist Mindset Mentor & Coach who helps creative people get out of their own way so that they can overcome the struggles in the life of an actor, artist and performer. Clients learn how to express their full potential to get out of their own way & stop self-sabotaging behavior. Empower the Wizard Within , inspire your Inner Muse. http://www.InnerWizard.com Get Free “Empower the Wizard Within tips”!


Don’t Let Your Past Dictate Your Future

1182945_leaf_texture1You cannot change things which are in the past but you can change the part they play in your future. In one way or another, past experiences have helped to shape the people we are today. Past events have influenced our current situations in all sorts of ways. The past has brought us to the area where we live, it has dictated the kind of work we are qualified to do and has been a factor in all aspects, big and small, of how we live our lives today.

To prevent your past from defining your future, you need to put it firmly where it belongs – behind you, in the past, a memory with no power to influence your future. Don’t make the mistake of using your past as the reason or excuse for your failure to achieve your goals. The past might have led you to where you are now, but it cannot reach out and hold you back unless you let it.

There are people who have experienced traumatic events in the past. These events have directly influenced their present circumstances but the extent of the effect the past will have on the future is within each person’s control. A traumatic, tragic or even just mildly unfortunate beginning in life does not automatically mean that is how the rest of your life must be lived.


For example, a person’s history might reveal that he was brought up by alcoholic parents who neglected his education. He will tell you this is the reason he obtained no academic qualifications and currently has a job doing low paid manual work. This is factual information but, if this person goes on to tell you that the events of his past are the reason he will never achieve much in life, he is using the past as an excuse. He is depriving himself of the future he could have if he would let go of the past. From the position of blaming your past for your present condition, it is easy to slip into laziness or even an attitude of cringing self-pity. You will often hear people blaming childhood deprivations for the fact that they have no hope of achieving anything noteworthy in life. These people live in an attitude of helplessness and hopelessness when, in fact, they have as much chance as anybody else of achieving success if they would stop thinking about the past and allowing it to fill them with negativity.

Evidence of the fact that the past need not dictate the future can be found in the life stories of many great achievers. Think of the wealthy businessmen, leading sportsmen, great scientists, movie icons, super models and entrepreneurs in all walks of life. Did they all achieve success, fame and wealth because they came from a privileged background? Did they all have caring parents, a superior education and limitless financial backing? If you study their life stories you will find the answer is no. Many of these successful people started life in an ordinary or even underprivileged style but they were able to achieve success because they freed themselves from the constraints imposed by the past.

It is easy to blame your origins for your failures but it is just as easy to turn your back on your past and create a successful future. You don’t have to change anything apart from your own outlook. By thinking differently, you can steer your future in the direction you want to go. By refusing to think negatively and filling yourself with a positive attitude, you can achieve any goal you set for yourself.


Working at home requires a great deal of self-motivation. You can pick up some motivational tips at Elaine Currie’s free Work At Home Directory at http://www.huntingvenus.com


Niche Born from Your Interest and Passion

1160216_leafSelecting the right niche either in online or offline business is very important and it should be done at the first stage of your business. The best way to select the right niche is to select the product or service or industry that you are interested in and passionate about.

Taking into consideration these two criteria gives a higher possibility for you to achieve success in your business.

When you choose a niche that you are truly interested in and passionate about, you will know about the niche inside-out, find all the necessary information, always have good things to say and will always be interested in the niche under whatever circumstances.

The niche that you choose can be anything from your hobby, experience, expertise or even someone else’s experience. Whatever the niche you choose the important part is that you are interested in and passionate about it.

Remember what happened when you got interested in a person? Did you do everything possible to get to know the person i.e. their favourite colour, favourite food, the places they like to go and the things that they like? The same goes with your niche.

When you are interested in and passionate about your niche, you will do everything you can to get to know your niche by doing research, asking the experts and even doing the experiments yourself.

Knowing the niche and finding all the necessary information are important as you can use these in writing your sales page, product review, market your product in blogs or forums and even helping your customer solve their problems.

People will see you as an expert in your niche and this will help to eliminate any doubt about your product.


You also will always have something good to say about your niche and able to market your niche with passion and enthusiasm. By having passion and enthusiasm, you do not have to criticise other people’s products as a marketing strategy.

Truthfully criticising other people’s products will only damage your own image and product. What would happen if people find that your product is the same as or worse than the product that you criticised? No a good scenario isn’t it?

The best way to sell is to tell people about your product with passion and enthusiasm and people will be able to see how you feel about your product even if they could not hear you talking.

Passion and enthusiasm are contagious even through your writing i.e. your sales page. Even if you will never meet your customer, they will know you from your passion and enthusiasm that are shown in your website, sales letter, blogs etc and they will grow to trust you. When they trust you, they will want to purchase whatever you are offering.

The most important thing to remember about being interested in and passionate about your niche is you will be able to stand by your niche when things get tough. You will not easily drop everything when encountered with obstacles and roadblock. You will be determined to find a way to overcome any obstacles and roadblocks you encounter in whatever situation.

This character is important, as the path to success will not always be a smooth ride. There will always be bumps here and there. You see, the truth is obstacles and roadblocks are the ones that make you a better person and success will taste even much sweeter.


Copyright © 2009 Khadijah Ibrahim Khadijah is a certified handwriting analyst, internet marketer, author, trainer and NLP practitioner. Listen to her talks about building online business and positive personality in her blog and see her website that shows you how your handwriting could reveal a lot about your personality

Photo: Slawek Ujma