How to Succeed in Life

How to succeed in life? A question that could be a simple query or one loaded with philosophy. It is probably something that has concerned most of us at sometime or the other, at some age or the other, for some motive or the other. I look at success in two ways - one, the worldly success in life - money, power, fame.

And two, the spiritual success in life - relations, values, upbringing, nature and the like. In the following article, I hope to give you a brief account of these two basic sides of the success theory and put forth my point of view in this matter. You may not agree with it, but I do hope that you'll read through the same before discarding it.

What does one need to succeed in life? As in, be a part of this world and be a 'success in life' in the eyes of the world? First we'll need to know what being successful in the worldly way means. Being successful - having accomplished something in life.

Something that can be counted as an entity - a good job, a high pay, a coveted degree, possessions like houses and cars and whatever other things you can think of. Most people want to be successful in terms of these things. I believe success becomes a relative quotient when it comes to counting it in the worldly way.

We can say he is more successful than the other in terms of money or possessions because we can count it. 'He has more land, more cars, the latest mobile, foreign trips every year...' and that's why he is successful.

Is that the right way to look at things? I can't say. For the simple reason that when you're living as an entity of society, you have to live according to the set rules. Those who do not follow them, are looked upon as misfits.

The society does not give them the same respect as it would to a successful man. And if one does not have that streak of rebellion to go against the set rules of society, then we'd simply just follow what has been fed to us since birth. Which is this:

A good education = A good job. 

A good job = Money and fame.

Money = Success.

What are the steps to succeed in life? With the hope of getting a good education and therefore money, that is. Here are a few pointers of how to become successful in life.

Nothing has ever replaced hard work and it never really will. No one is complaining either, because it is seen to work.

Being sincere in your efforts and in your desire to do something. Unless there is that drive from within, there can be no hope of putting in the required hard work which is a mandatory factor for success.

Being honest and truthful in all your endeavors and not resorting to cheating and wrong measures to get what you want. Truthfulness means that you will put in all the required measures to succeed.

Not just setting goals, but also taking the required steps to reach those goals is important as well. Qualities like self-esteem, organizing, and time management play an important role in achieving this step.

Spontaneity sounds very good and all but there is the need to plan (and meticulously, for some things) without which it is not possible to anticipate and be prepared for certain obstacles that could hamper your path to success. Have a fixed goal in mind, so you can etch out a path of what's to be done. Motivation to achieve that goal will drive you through.

There needs to be that spirit to be able to take risks in life. Many times, taking risks has seen to bring in more results than simply going by the book. Think back to all those great inventions in the world & the great personalities who built empires from scratch. Positive thinking is all you need and the confidence that the risk and hard work will pay off.

Good luck. Not something that is in our hands, while the rest of the entities and qualities that I mentioned above are very much so. Yet, it is an important part of success.

Try and inculcate all these qualities in your life and good luck will automatically follow, they say. Yet, getting an answer to how does one become lucky is not something that can be bound in thoughts, much like success.

What is the spiritual or philosophical way of succeeding in life? Is there even a spiritual way to success? I believe there is. In several cultures of the world where spirituality is given importance, success is calculated not merely in the materialistic way, but by giving it a deeper, more spiritual turn. Who is considered successful then?

A good human being is considered a success. A person who has a good soul. One who has good values in life, one who is sensitive to the needs and pain of others, one who has the maturity to deal with the complexities of others around him, one who does not hurt others with his/her words and actions on purpose.

One who realizes that he has to co-exist with others and who does not live for merely himself. A person who has riches, not only in terms of money, but in the number of people that respect and look up to him, in the way he/she treats others and a general respect that he/she showers upon others.

One who tries to get away from feelings of ego and pride and other vices of behavior. It is said that a person who is like so is peaceful at heart, is satisfied with life and has found happiness.

That is why this form of success is looked upon as a way of life rather than a goal to be achieved. Then how does one go about becoming a good human being? Although it's a wide topic and prone to a lot of debate, these are some pointers that can be looked into.

Why do people keep repeating the same mistakes that they make over and over again? Why does a jerk always remain a jerk? Why does a haughty insensitive girl from high school remain like that even after the passage of time?

It's because they do not reflect upon their behavior. They do not think back to what they do and how it affects others. Is their behavior causing grief and pain to others? And if it is, then how is one supposed to stop that?

Reflecting upon your own behavior will, over time, allow you to understand human nature better and go a long way in the course of self improvement. If you cannot understand it, then simply talking to the person concerned will solve half your problems and make you a success in life.

Talk to others about your problems and you'll not only feel lighter, but the act will also prevent a lot of problems and issues from creeping up.

Keeping things in your heart and allowing it to fester into something ugly only puts a void between people and sours relations. Why let that happen when it doesn't need to? Ask about problems and nip them in the bud when they are in their initial stages.

You might think it's a pansy way of dealing with things, but that's just your ego and pride speaking. And yes, all of us have it. The next time you're in a tense situation, simply try saying sorry and see the effect it has on the other person.

The harsh words will reduce, the temper will come down a notch (if not disappear entirely) and the person will become open to suggestions and to give you a genuine listening ear. Lesser fights and lesser bad vibes to deal with and a whole lot of respect from people.

Failure is not given the due respect it deserves. I haven't gone mad, no. It works on these lines - if you aren't deprived of something, how will you ever know the value of it when you achieve it? And I don't mean it in the philosophical way either.

Take even the most simplest of things - you fall sick and you can't eat for a day, you realize the importance of food. You fail at something, you realize what it means to have that. Not only that, but it also has the ability to teach you other important lessons like coping mechanisms and instilling in you the need and want to try harder.

It also makes you sensitive to failure and you learn to be sensitive to others failures in turn. There does not have to be that stereotypical attitude of looking at a successful person (in a spiritual way of things) as someone who sits chanting some godly things on some tiger skin with beads in his hand, or someone who goes to church.

Those are not the defining factors of success. A successful person in the spiritual sense of the term is someone who is a good human being. Period. How to succeed in life? I'd strive to be a combination of both the worldly and the spiritual.

To be looking at myself in the mirror and adoring an expensive suit is not as important as looking into the mirror and being able to meet my own eye. Of knowing that there is no malice there. The money will come and go. That, for me, is success.