The problem that many people have is that their motivation to succeed rests on weak foundation: they may see someone inspiring give a talk or they may be trying to get a date. Building your motivation upon such weak foundations as these is setting yourself up for failure. How many times have you woke up in the morning and said “I am going to get in shape?” Probably a lot of times. Many people set themselves goals like this on a whim and they therefore never achieve them.

A lot of people only start working when they feel like they are about to fail, that is the worst time to ever start trying to succeed. If you only ever work hard to avoid failure then you will never be successful, you will be mediocre at best. That is why you need solid foundations, you will never be a failure as you are stable without effort. When you are stable without effort you will never regress and you can always be superior.

The only way you can continuously grow as a person is if you are standing on a solid foundation for success.

How To Build Your Foundations For Success

1. Develop a habitual routine. Forming a routine for yourself is one of the best ways to become successful, it reduces the extent to which your environment dictates your emotions and increases productivity. Try and do the same thing every moaning that brings calmness and order to your life, if you can start each day well then you will be able to continue it in a good manner. Build exercise into your routine to decrease stress and extend your life. Begin learning something new every day to make sure you are progressing.

Related post: How to form good habits and get rid of bad ones

2. Read for at least one hour every day. The only thing that separates you from the richest people in the world is knowledge, they know what to do to become rich. Before you start trying to become successful learn how to, if you learn from others mistakes then you won’t have to make them yourself. Knowledge will give you direction, it will show you the path that will take you to success. There is no point working hard to try to become successful without first learning what to do and what not to do. As Henry David Thoreau says, “It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?” Check out my list of recommended books to get you one the path to success HERE.

3. Place yourself in positive environments. This means surround yourself with like-minded people, go to seminars find mentors. You will never achieve your potential if you continue to battle against bad influences, get rid off them. In fact you would be better off on your own than around negative people who are hindering you.

Related post: Who to surround yourself with

4. Find yourself a goal. Find your passion in life, find what you really want. Hunt for the thing that is going to give you a feeling of fulfilment. It is not who you are now that counts it is who you strive to be. Read my other post on how finding your life purpose is easier than you thought.

5. Become intrinsically motivated. Don’t try to become successful so your mum will be proud of you, don’t try to get in shape so you can get a date and don’t try to do a good job at work so that your boss praises you. This is not a strong foundation for growth, this is a desperate attempt of approval which will ultimately end in you failing to succeed and having your motivation sucked away. What you do in life fist and foremost has to be done for you, your motivation to grow as a person should come from your own desire to be better.

Forget what others want you to be; discover the life that you want to live.

Image credit: edited from grinapples photo on flickr