Success

Success - The 5 C's of Success

“We must become the epitome—the embodiment—of success. We must radiate success before it will come to us. We must first become mentally, from an attitude standpoint, the people we wish to become.”—Earl Nightingale

There are 5 things that, when present, lead to sustainable success no matter the goal. Great athletes apply them, great business leaders apply them, and great people apply them, whether they know it or not. What are the 5 things?

* Clarity
* Competence
* Confidence
* Capacity
* Consistency

CLARITY

The first order of business for achieving any measure of success is to get clear! You can only achieve what you can see. People often fear or resist clarity and focus. At work or in our personal lives, we try to be all things to all people. We fear that saying No to an opportunity or request will somehow limit us. But, successful people talk repeatedly about having a clear idea of where (and who) you want to be. The clearer you are on who you are, who you want to be, and what you want to be doing, the more you can see what is required to make it happen. That clarity allows you to make smart choices and take focused action toward the goal. Your challenge is to hold yourself accountable to being clear about who you are, who you are not, and what you are willing to do about it.

COMPETENCE

Yes, great results come from a high level of mastery. Once you see clearly who you want to be and what you want to accomplish, you must invest in continuing to develop high levels of competence. Competence is basically the right mix of knowledge, skills, experience, and abilities required to succeed. Do you know what it takes to be successful in the areas you are growing toward? Where are you strong? Where are there gaps? And most importantly, how will you continue to stay current and

competent as times change?

You may also want to determine how competent you are in the process of changing. You may have all the skills and knowledge required to do your dream job, but if you lack the competence to interview well and land that dream job, it won’t get you very far.

CONFIDENCE

Confidence matters. First, it can fuel you to keep you going. Often, you take action toward your goal, but the results don’t come right way. Without confidence, you would probably give up before you had gained enough momentum to get results. Confidence bridges the gap between the early actions you take and the results you get. Secondly, confidence is incredibly attractive (again, not the ego piece). People are drawn toward confidence and want to be a part of it. They want to work with you, associate with you, help you. When your clarity is backed by those around you, you are on the road to success.

When you have a big goal, are you confident that you are ready, willing, and able to achieve it? Are you confident in the skills you possess and do you willingly acknowledge your own strengths. Do you effectively balance being humble, with being confident?

CAPACITY

Capacity refers to the time, energy, resources and ‘space’ you need to achieve what you’ve set out to do. People who are really successful make sure they clear the decks of any competing priorities or projects that drain their capacity. They create the time needed to work on the goal. They maintain their energy by taking care of themselves and finding ways to keep their ‘gas tank’ full. They access and leverage all the available resources (people, money, tools, knowledge, etc..) in their life to help move them forward. Achieving success in career, life, or business requires a high level of focus and lining up the resources required to make it happen. What

amount of time, energy, money, and other resources are you putting into your success? In what ways could you direct more of your capacity into your primary goals and let go of the rest?

CONSISTENCY

Consistent effort is the final key to success. And consistency is two-fold. Top athletes know that they must continue to develop their game and they consistently work on their game. Success requires consistent daily action toward the goal. The other piece is making sure that the action you take is consistent with the goal itself.

Does the action you are taking make sense given your definition of success? Getting a new job takes 6 months, on average. Starting and growing a new business takes 3-5 years. And that’s with consistent and focused action. Working in fits and starts will create inconsistent results. It just makes sense. How consistent are you in directing your efforts toward success?

3-2-1 ACTION!

First, rate yourself on the 5 C’s of success. You could create a graph and rate each area on a scale from 1-5. Any area you rate lower than a 3 requires a plan.

Secondly, celebrate those areas where you are solid. If you don’t celebrate your successes, no one else will!

Finally, what one major change or shift will you make this month to get yourself on the path to success?

Shawn Driscoll, owner of Succeed Coaching & Development, partners with motivated professionals to dramatically improve the quality of their career and lives. She challenges clients to stop struggling and sacrificing in the name of making a living and inspires them to re-define success on their own terms. Pick up your free copy of her special success report “How to Chart Your Course for Success and Fulfillment” at http://www.succeedcoaching.com/report.html.

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