PART I - "Pre-Flight Check"

What does "taking charge of your life" look like for you? Each of us has different ideas about what that is for us individually. One of the pictures (or visions) we may have when we’ve taken the reigns of our life is success in our relationships, family, business, career, finances, and so on.

People have always modeled others who have taken charge and achieved greatness despite seemingly insurmountable odds, including a number of C.E.O.s of very successful companies such as Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, Oprah Winfrey and Donald Trump – just to name a few.

Attaining success by taking charge of your life is a process. There really is no secret to it, and it not reserved for only a few chosen people. Anyone can achieve success because it doesn’t happen by fate, luck or even coincidence. Success happens by understanding the steps involved in the process, and then putting those steps into practice.

Just as pilots do a systems check before taking off, let’s do the same before we start our journey towards success! Here are the first four steps in our eight step, two-part series:

Step 1: A Strong Belief in Yourself and Your Abilities

Lack of self-belief is one of the biggest hurdles you need to overcome in order to be successful and ultimately take charge of your life. I’ve seen a lot of individuals with self-limiting beliefs (caused by "baggage" from their upbringing or fear of the unknown) stay stuck in their circumstances year after year, unable to find the success they desperately want. Don’t become bogged down with notions like you are not good enough, or not smart enough, and even not worthy enough. Ultimately, having control of your own life to attain success can only be achieved by shedding these self-limiting beliefs and replacing them with positive self-beliefs. It is an established fact that if you think you can do something, you will…and the opposite holds true as well – if you think that it cannot be done, failure shows up as expected.

Step 2: A Firm Commitment

Do you have the belief of steadfastness and certainty of purpose? Most times this involves being willing to pay the price that comes with success. This is important due to the fact that no one wants to put all their effort into doing something only to discover later that the price they paid was too great. The price may not be in financial terms; it could be time, sacrifice, effort, and also money, or even something else. The point is that in order to become successful by taking control of your life, you must be fully aware of the price involved (and be ready to pay it).

Step 3: Clarity of Vision and Purpose

Clarity of vision and purpose is likely one of the most important factors of achieving success. Without having a clear picture of precisely what you want to achieve, and how you are going to go about doing it, your goals will lack connection. According to the Law of Attraction, we attract only those things we focus on. So if there is no clarity, the only thing we will attract is confusion.

The fact is most people simply have no idea about what they really want. So how do you acquire clarity? A good starting point is introspection. Ask yourself questions like: What is it that I really want? What does success mean to me? How will my life change when I’m finally taking control and fully responsibility for my life? How will this accomplishment make a difference in my life? In other words, clarity means understanding exactly what you want, why it is that you want it, and how it will positively affect your life.

Step 4: Making a Plan and Staying Focused

Life is full of distractions and interruptions – advertising, business meetings, family, managers, clients, TV, email and telephones – all of which can be completely overwhelming. So, how do you stay focused in spite of all life’s distractions? Willpower is one of the factors; although willpower alone will not be enough to stay focused.

One of the best ways is to develop your plan and stick to that plan. Begin the plan with the goals you have in mind and then work backwards, noting each step required to achieve those goals. The plan should be made as detailed and specific as possible. Make an effort to visualize every possible setback and plan for it. Be sure to write your plan out, either on your computer or on paper, and review it on a regular basis, ensuring that each step takes you closer to your goals.

I hope these first 4 Steps prove to be a valuable resource in allowing you to become a thriving C.E.O. by finally taking control (or regaining control) of your life. Success is truly yours for the taking, and I encourage you to get the assistance you need to make that happen for you!