People generally want instant results with as little work as possible. They buy diet pills hoping to reach their ideal weight within days. They buy exercise gadgets from infomercials hoping to get that washboard stomach in 10 days with just minutes a day. They buy audio programs on success hoping to have what it takes to be successful after a few hours of listening. Things just do not work this way.

Health, fitness, education, and success are admired by so many because of the dedication and commitment they take to achieve. Success is not found in a bottle, pill, gadget, book or audio program. Success is created inside your mind using the information you get from education, experiences, and wisdom. There is not one secret to success, nor just a few “magic” principles. There are thousands of ideas, beliefs, concepts, and skills which when put into action, result in success.

Too many people get discouraged from reaching their goals and are turned off by motivational or educational material because they read one book and claim, “it didn’t work.” There are many rungs on the ladder of success. Sticking with this analogy, visualize a very tall ladder that takes you to the top of a very tall building where you will find ultimate success. If one action takes you one rung higher on the ladder of success, then perhaps 1000 actions of same importance will bring you all the way to the top. Your definition of success determines how high your ladder is.

All actions are not equal. For example, I believe that mastering perseverance is far more valuable to success than say, remembering numbers. However, every single idea, belief, concept, and skill you possess and convert into action will take you closer to success. It is these small, gradual changes that stick and become part of your lifestyle. There is even more good news: the law of increasing returns is in effect here as well. This is also referred to as, 1+1=3, momentum, snowball effect, good things happen to good people, the rich get richer, etc. As you condition yourself for success, you will find success becomes easier to achieve.

One of the biggest mistakes people make in the pursuit of success is giving up on single ideas, beliefs, skills, and concepts because they see little or no change from them. They change to a successful behavior, notice no change, and revert to the old behavior. This is like taking a step up your ladder, not being able to see the top any better, then stepping back down. With this pattern, you can easily see why so many never reach success.

Some people achieve success early in the process and either just stop progressing or worse, revert to old unsuccessful behaviors. Success must be maintained just like taking care of your body. This is why success is a lifestyle. You can diet and reach your ideal weight but unless you eat right from that point on you will put the weight back on. If you work out and build a buff hard body, then stop exercising, the flabbiness will very quickly return. Success is no different. You never know it all, and when you think you do, life can kick you in the butt and send you back to where you started.

Success is a lifestyle. Live every day of your life with success in mind and allow your success skills to build up each and every day by replacing your old negative, limiting beliefs and behaviors. Don’t get discouraged and don’t give up on your dreams. Very soon, your success will be inevitable.