What one person deems successful, another may perceive as a total failure.  But ask nearly anyone, and they will likely tell you that they want success, or to be more successful.

I’d like to share with you the best and most accurate definition of success ever discussed.

It’s unlikely that you’d find the following definition in any reference material.  The creator of this definition is the late Earl Nightingale.

Success is, “The progressive realization of a worthy ideal.”

Now, I want you to stop and re-read the last sentence slowly.  Let it’s impact sink in for a moment.

Notice how it does not say “The INSTANT realization of a worthy ideal”.

It’s about continuous action in the direction of your goals.

If you break down this perfect definition, you’ll discover something truly amazing.  You will find that you can literally guarantee success for yourself, if you dare to follow its instruction.

“Worthy ideal” means your goals, purpose, or vision.

“Progressive realization” means making plans and taking inspired actions that will move you closer to your goals.

In our society, it’s common for us to equate money or fame with success.  Most people think that if they make a lot of money, they’ll be successful.  But the truth is, you must first be successful, and then money will follow.

You see, by progressively realizing a worthy ideal, you are by definition, a success.

When you are deliberately pursuing a goal that you determined to be important to you, you are a success.

The majority of people fail to set goals for themselves, and then wonder why things aren’t working out for them.  They often opt for the path of conformity, versus setting their sights on what they want and taking the necessary actions toward obtaining what they desire.

In Earl Nightingale’s classic lesson “The Strangest Secret”, he tells a story that describes the importance of goals…

“Now think of a ship, leaving a harbor, and think of it with the complete voyage mapped out and planned.  The captain and its crew know exactly where its going, and how long it will take…it has a definite goal.  Nine-thousand-nine-hundred-ninety-nine times out of ten thousand it will get to where it started out to get.

Now, let’s take another ship, just like the first, only let’s not put a crew on it, or a captain at the helm.  Let’s give it no aiming point, no goal, no destination.  We just start the engines and let it go… I think you’ll agree with me, that if it gets out of the harbor at all, it will either sink, or wind up on some deserted beach, a derelict.  It can’t go anyplace, because it has no destination and no guidance.  It’s the same with a human being…”

If you desire to be more successful, decide for yourself what you truly want, commit your goal to paper, and then begin working on a plan for it’s attainment.

For more information on achieving your goals, please check out the Resource page.

Yet for some strange reason, I’ve gotten off track.  (Hey…now and then it happens to all of us, right?)

But how could this be?  I mean, c’mon!  I STUDY, WRITE, and TEACH about the power of visualization!  Heck, I’ve even developed my own proprietary technique (called Imaginative Strategic Visualization).

So what happened?

Well, friends, LIFE happened.  It’s a funny thing [life]… Just when you think you’ve got a handle on it, the handle breaks!

Somehow over the course of the past couple of years, I’ve gotten sidetracked by others’ reality.  And the sad part is, I’ve let it affect my own.

I’ve maybe spent a bit too much time teaching, and not quite enough time practicing.

And recently I was reminded of a line from a very special book written by Genevieve Behrend, entitled “Your Invisible Power”.

It said “When your understanding grasps the power to visualize your heart’s desire, and hold it with your will, it attracts to you all things requisite to the fulfillment of that picture by the harmonious vibrations of the Law of Attraction”.

You see…just like you, I’ve created the goals, and I’ve visualized the outcomes. 

But recently, I’ve been neglecting the most important ingredient…holding that vision with my will.

And when I’m talking about “will”, I’m referring to the ability to focus on one thing (the goal) and one thing only, to the exclusion of all other thought.

In the world we live in today, it’s so easy to get distracted and lose that focus.  Yet in order for you and I to realize our dreams, we must carve out time to focus on and visualize the results we desire.

The more energy, emotion, and belief that we can put into our visualization, the more “real” the picture will become in our physical world.

I’d like to encourage you today to develop the habit of exercising your will, and you will certainly attract “all things requisite to the fulfillment of that picture”.

Or was it?

“They” said it couldn’t be done.  Why not?

Because it had never been done before.

Or had it?

The next day, on May 6th, 1954, at the Iffley Road track at Oxford University, an amatuer athlete and young medical student, Roger Bannister, was the first person to run a mile in under 4 minutes.  His official time was 3:59:4.  The previous record, set nine long years earlier, was 4:01.3.

So what was the difference that made the difference?

The difference was that Roger Bannister decided that he was going to break the 4 minute barrier.   He was not going to allow others limitations become his own.

He believed it was possible, and he put a plan of action into place to make that possibility a reality.  Through dedication, hard-work, and training, his body became capable of producing what his mind had already conceived.  He visualized himself crossing the finish line in under four minutes.

“They” said it could not be done, but he knew in his heart that it was possible.

And the race was already won in his mind, in advance of his actual performance.

During the race, he knew exactly where he had to be in relation to his time on the track.  After the first lap, at 58 seconds…at the half-mile, 2 minutes.  He was overtaken on the 3rd lap, right on schedule at 3 minutes.  But he sensed that the field was slowing down, and in the final bend, moved into the lead and ran with all he had to the finish…and a new world record!

But here is the strange part…

Not long after his accomplishment, his new record was broken.  And then something even more interesting began to happen… A few more runners began to run sub-four-minute miles!  And not just occasionally, but frequently.

How could something, so seemingly impossible to accomplish just DAYS before… considered at the time to be an “insurmountable human limitation”, had now become commonplace?

Quite simply, it is because prior to May 6th, 1954, the conscious mind of man had accepted conventional wisdom as fact.

And sadly, over 50 years later, we are still doing the same thing. 

Too often, we settle for limitations that we have put upon ourselves, or accept the limitations discussed or placed upon us by others.  We rarely reach the levels of achievement that are truly possible for us, because we fail to challenge ourselves to be our best.

Regardless of your current level of success, each of us is capable of far more than our present experience.

So what is your “4 minute mile”?

What is that seemingly insurmountable obstacle or goal that is currently beyond your reach?  What is holding you back from living your dreams and accomplishing your ultimate desires?

Success is your birthright, and you are not only capable, but you are DESERVING of the best that this world has to offer.  You hold within you, pure potential.  Yet until you accept that truth, until you believe in the possibility, your dreams may seem elusive, just as they did for every other runner on Earth in May of 1954.

From this day forward, choose a new belief.  Choose to believe in possibility.  Choose to believe that you are destined to live an abundant, successful, fulfilling life.  Use your amazing imagination to see your dreams as already being fulfilled.

Get clear on your goals, make plans to accomplish them, and get started!  Taking inspired actions toward the attainment of your desires is the critical key.

Believe in yourself… and remember, I believe in you!