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How to Succeed in Life: All You Ever Need to Know!

If you’re still wondering how to succeed in life, don’t worry. It does take a lot of elbow grease, but maybe you’re making it harder than you need to.

how to succeed in life

Let’s be honest, no one really wants to sweat and work their ass off for something that may not work out. I totally get it. It’s hard when you hear these stories of people who literally walk into success. You think, why can’t that be me? But of course, life isn’t like that for everyone. I wish it was, though.

19 tips on how to succeed in life

So, if success didn’t land on your doorstep, you’re going to need to work hard for it. Not sure where to start? Here are some extremely helpful tips on how to succeed in life.

#1 It’s all in your head. Success will happen when you want it to happen. It really all starts in your head. If you think you can do it, you will. If you think you won’t be able to, well, even if you start your project, you won’t complete it. It’s all in your head. Once you overcome that, then you’ll be able to work on succeeding.

#2 Define your success. What does success mean to you? Sure, of course, you want money. But that’s really the last thing you should be thinking about because, realistically, you won’t be rolling in money right away.

So, is your goal to become the manager of the bank you work at? To open a cafe? If you reach that goal, will you have succeeded in making your dream come true? You need to define what success means to you so that you’ll be able to work towards that. [Read: How to take the next steps to success]

#3 Push through the hard times. Listen, it’s not easy. Haven’t you seen all those Rocky movies? The guy sweats his ass off and messes up a couple times. But Rocky, my man, he pushes his way through. It’s so easy to just bail when the going gets rough, and trust me, I’ve done it tons of times.

However, you’ll end up back at where you were in the beginning. You don’t want that. So, you’ll have to muscle through the hard times. You can cry, you can scream – that’s all okay. But the point is to make it out on the other side.

#4 Don’t feel entitled to success. In order to know how to succeed in life, you need to know that hard work doesn’t mean you’ll become successful. There’s this huge assumption that if you work hard, you’ll make it.

Now, don’t get me wrong, if you work hard, it will open some doors for you. However, it’s whether or not you take those opportunities that will define your success. So, don’t think because you spent a couple nights staying up late that you’re now the next Steve Jobs.

#5 Constantly work on you. Whatever your goal is, you need to keep in mind that you also need to continue working on yourself. No one said your goal is can’t be achieved.

However, if you want to reach it, you’ll need to grow as a person. So take some time in looking at yourself and areas that you need to work on and grow as a person. [Read: How to fall in love with yourself and be a better you]

#6 Set a goal for yourself every day. You can have a long-term goal, however, it’s much easier to achieve long term goals if you set small ones. And then it won’t look like such a big venture. Set daily goals for yourself that you want to complete, and that way you stay disciplined and do what’s important to you.

#7 Be positive. No Debbie Downer ever knows how to succeed in life, unless their goal was to ruin everybody else’s life. So, you have to keep a positive outlook on life.

Sure, life has its hard moments, however, there are many moments that are positive and filled with life and love. If you don’t keep a positive outlook on life, you become easily defeated by obstacles in your life. In fact, you’ll be able to surpass them with flying colors.

#8 Follow your passion. You need to find out what you love to do. Think about it. What is something that you love to do that you don’t get paid to do? If you find out what that is, then that’s most likely what you’re passionate about doing. [Read: Love or career? How to make the right choice]

I mean, you’re doing it for free. So, why not find a way to live off of that passion? You don’t need to become some crazy multimillionaire. If you do what you love, you’ll always have enough money.

#9 Find good mentors. You need to look up to someone who you want to be like. Someone whose successes match yours and whose lifestyle you admire. Follow their advice and listen to their criticisms. This will help you greatly in focusing your attention on what you want.

#10 Have a strong support group. If you don’t have a supportive group of friends, well, then it’s time to get new friends. You need a support team made of your family and friends who have your back no matter what. That’s a huge part of how to succeed in life.

There will be times where you’ll be off your high, and those are the times that you’ll need them to help you get back up on your feet. So, surround yourself with people who love you.

#11 Start right now. Don’t wait till Monday or when summer’s over. You’re not going to start it. Start now. Whatever your goal is, write it down and start planning it out.

Life is really too short, and procrastination can work for school papers, but not when it comes to planning your life. Then you’ll wake up, 80 years old and wonder where the time went. [Read: How to motivate yourself to do pretty much anything]

#12 Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Everyone will need help now and then. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help. In fact, you’ll save yourself a lot of wasted time and headaches trying to do it all by yourself. If you’re lost, ask for directions. It’s okay to be prideful, however, don’t let your pride bite you in the foot.

#13 Take criticism. This is one of the most difficult parts of how to succeed in life. You’re going to be criticized over and over again. Some of it will be stemmed from jealousy, while other criticism will stem from concern. Whatever it’s from, don’t simply dismiss it.

In fact, use it to your advantage in answering some of those important questions you may not have thought about. Use it to alter your ideas and figure out the best path for you. However, be careful that you don’t allow the criticism to deter you.

#14 Don’t be easy on yourself. So, the weather outside is crappy today and you think that maybe you should go to the gym tomorrow – NO! Get your butt up off the couch and put your sneakers on.

Listen, don’t be easy on yourself. Leave that to your grandma. You’re young, your mind is sharp, and it’s time to use it. Don’t baby yourself – because in reality, no one cares. [Read: Ways to get your “me time” in despite a hectic schedule]

#15 Remove distractions. You’ve been playing Command & Conquer for four days straight. Congratulations, I’m sure that has taken you far in life. These are all distractions from what you should really should be paying attention to.

For myself, I was always distracted by boys. Even if I didn’t really like them, I would spend my time talking to them or hanging out with them, rather than working on my writing. Not worth it. Really, not worth it.

#16 Use your imagination. Don’t think your goals are not realistic *unless they involve unicorns*. But you should use your imagination to influence your goals and also to help you visualize yourself completing your goals.

Think about yourself and what you want your life to look like. The imagination is a powerful thing, but is also a great tool in making your dreams come true. It’s one of the most important parts of figuring out how to succeed in life.

#17 Take care of yourself to avoid crashing. You need to take a timeout for at least 30 minutes a day to focus on yourself. You could read a book, go to yoga, go for a run – whatever activity helps you cool down.

If you’re working all day, you want to avoid crashing. So, eat healthy and keep yourself balanced. [Read: How to make the absolute most out of your alone time]

#18 Don’t rely on others. If you rely on someone else, well, you’ll be waiting all day for them to do something for you. If you need something done, do it yourself, or pay the extra money to get a professional to do it for you.
But never fully rely on someone’s word. Always, always, remember this and then you will know a lot better how to succeed in life.

#19 Welcome failure. You’re going to fail. Just accept it – at some point, you’ll fail. It’s normal. And up to this point, you’ve probably failed ten times. The most important thing about failure is to see your mistakes and to learn from them for the future.

So, welcome failure with a smile, because it’s going to come whether you like it or not. [Read: Fear of failure and why you shouldn’t be afraid to fail]

If you’re reading this, well, you’re already well on your way figuring out how to succeed in life. Focus on what you want, support yourself, and then all you’ll need is a little elbow grease to get the wheel rolling.

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Natasha_Ivanovic
Natasha Ivanovic
Natasha Ivanovic is an intimacy, dating, and relationship writer best known for her writings on Kiiroo, LovePanky, Post Pravda, and more. She's the creator and ...
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