MALT

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do - Epictetus

Success can never happen as a result of an accident because there is nothing like a successful accident and it takes a conscious effort and consistency on the part of the successful person, event, or phenomenon to actually be a success. When you consider the number of people that have made significant impacts in their life and generation, you will observe that they have some characteristics in common. There is always a price to be paid for greatness and promotion in life and it takes consistent application of these attributes of highly successful people to be in the circle of successful people. I will be writing on the 12-Ds to be considered in order to achieve success in every area of life. They are outlined below:

1- Determination

In the school of success, determination cannot be overlooked in the pursuit of life goals. The art of being resolute and firm in our decision to attain a particular goal, task, objective or aim is what qualifies this attribute called determination. There is nobody on planet earth today that has achieved something worthwhile without exhibiting and practicing the art of determination. When venturing into a project, business, or assignment - our determination defines the end from the beginning because it expresses our attitude and disposition to the task or goal at hand.

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing” - Abraham Lincoln

2 - Dedication

The act of consciously binding yourself intellectually and emotionally to a course of action(s) as a result of your conviction and wholehearted resolve is defined as dedication (Wordnet 3.0). There is nobody that becomes successful by been complacent to a course - it takes a great level of commitment and dedication to a course before success can be achieved.

The relationship between commitment and doubt is by no means an antagonistic one. Commitment is healthiest when it is not without doubt but in spite of doubt - Rollo May

3 - Devotion

“If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can’t, you are right” - Henry Ford

Let the truth be said about this attribute of success - there is no success without a marked devotion to the cause that produced the success. When we are able to bring our psychological make up to be earnestly committed or attached to a cause such that we are profoundly consecrated to it, then is devotion assured. The men and women that have made a success of their craft today each exhibit this rare attribute… it is your turn to be celebrated as being successful - learn to be devoted to your passion.

4 - Desire:

Whenever you are impelled to get or do something as a result of your own personal conviction, your ability to desire, thirst or crave for something is at work. You need to have that strong thirst or craving to achieve success in any area of human endeavour - you must be personally driven to succeed. It does not come as a result of being compelled to do so but by an impelling force that comes from within. The Holy Writ describes the fulfillment of a desire as being comparable to having a tree of life because when hope of achieving a desire is dashed, heart break is inevitable (Proverbs 13:12) - so work at it.

5 - Dream Big

“Nobody go anywhere in this world by simply being content” - Louis L’amour

There is a popular phrase which states that; Ideas rule the world! If you heart can conceive it you can surely achieve it and have you seen any innovation in the world today that didn’t start on the platform of dreaming big - the idea realm. You are reading this post today because of the fact that someone (or a group of people) had a big dream of having a network of computers at different universities around a country to communicate using a common language and a common protocol. Today, a lot has evolved from this innovation, we have e-commerce, e-learning, e-governance, chat forums and strategic networking through the Internet. Dream Big, dare to turn that concept of yours to reality and you will definitely be inscribing your name in the annals of successful people. Dear friend, you must remember that today’s dreams are a conceptual representation of tomorrow’s realities, so DREAM BIG.

6 - Diligence

One of the very important attributes of highly successful people is diligence. Success and diligence cannot be separated - It comes with constant, earnest and persistent effort to accomplish what you have desired in your heart to achieve or proposed in his heart to accomplish. One of the prices to be paid for success is diligence because it comes with persistent exertion of the body and mind to birth that idea, goal or dream you desire to achieve.

7 - Drive

In his assertion Michael Hanson affirms that;

To will is to select a goal, determine a course of action that will bring one to that goal, and then hold to that action till the goal is reached - The key is action.

Success is a result of consistent application of a sequence of actions that has been discovered or confirmed as been the best viable option to achieve a defined goal. In order to maintain this flow of consistently applying these sequence of actions - a personal drive is essential as the critical catalyst to facilitate the process of success.

8 - Decisive

The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Indecision is one of the banes of getting things done - when you know what to do, you have to be very decisive in ensuring that you even get it done. The art of being decisive is required as an attribute to guarantee success in any venture. The road to success is plagued with many obstacles and setbacks that can sway you from the main goal or focus, but when you are decisive - your success is assured.

9 - Distinct

It has been said that jack of all trades is master of none - How true is this statement? I have learned that the beginning of being an expert or success in anything (vocation, trade, business or profession) in life is to master the rudiments of its craft. When we commit ourselves to knowing and practicing the skills and necessary training required to succeed, we can then standout from the crowd. Success has many fathers and is always celebrated because of this fact. Dare to be different as you walk through the path of life and you be celebrated by many - kings and princes will seek to dine with you because you have paid a price - to become a distinguished fellow in your area of practice.

10 - Discipline

I remember when I was in the secondary school and summoned the courage to sit for the Senior Secondary School examination in the penultimate class, a lot of my friends told me that wait until you are ready - be prepared first! I dared to be different!!! I checked the syllabus of this examination and the first discovery I made was that my normal school curriculum had covered just about 25% of the syllabus. One important attribute that helped me through that time was the resolve to be disciplined in the management of my time. I had a goal - to succeed well in the exams and had few months to prepare for this. I committed so much time to extra study, sleeping late studying combining this with normal school work. The result (a certificate which I have never used for a day) inspired me for more in my final year. The moral here is that, there is no task or mountain you cannot surmount in your pursuit of success. A bit of discipline may just be the tonic you need to get there.

11 - Diplomatic

Sometimes, the full intent of the heart especially when it has to do with a laudable initiative, concept, idea or goal are not revealed to all until you actually come to shore. The empty barrel makes the loudest noise while the loaded one rarely creates a sound - When you are on the road to success or you are actually successful, one ability you can’t afford to do without is being Diplomatic. It is a skill that gives you the ability to avoid offending others or hurting their feelings - it gives you a great leverage over others in your pursuit of excellence in such a way that you are able to attain you goal and yet avoid any unpleasant opposition. A diplomatic man/woman knows that treating people of different types and on different occasions with some level of shrewdness and dexterity is key to his/her success.

12 - Dependable

One advantage every successful person has is that they are trustworthy, reliable, steadfast, responsible and highly dependable. They don’t joke with their time, work, business, calling or assignment. This is a unique characteristic that distinguishes your art from the rest.

Your ability to learn faster than your competition is your only sustainable competitive advantage - Arie De Gues

When you very dependable and have been able to carve out a niche for your expertise, men (human beings) will come to seek for you and this is what makes the difference. You gradually grow to become celebrated and success is certain.

Written by Olanrewaju Lewis - Visit Website

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