Success Starts with a Step

Posted on February 09, 2019 by Mike Acker, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.

In the year 2000 I was asked to speak to a group on the topic of success. I hesitated as to where to begin. Where do you begin when you think about success? It is a slippery concept. It is vague. Yet, it is real. We KNOW it when we see it.

What is success? Achievement. Finishing a goal. A large increase in finances. Promotions. Longevity in marriage. Spiritual transcendence. Numerical growth for your organization. Weight loss. Relational enjoyment.

The word success is hard to define. Look to any self-help, business, or leadership book and the definitions will vary. So here is my definition and how I grasp this slippery concept:

“Success is doing what needs to be done to get to the destination of YOUR dream.”
- Michael Acker

Success is different for each person. We have different destinies.
Success is also the exact same for every person. We all have to do what needs to be done to get there.

Business Entrepreneur, Estee Lauder remarked, “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.”

This is a genius statement mixed with a literary lie. Of course she dreamed about it! She had some idea of a destination. She kept that picture fixed in her mind and she worked TOWARDS it. She didn’t just work. She didn’t just labor. She exerted energy with an end in mind.

Don’t just work. Work FOR something.
Don’t just run around. Take focused steps TOWARDS somewhere.
Don’t just learn. Study TO get the understanding for what you are destined to do.

“Almost every successful person begins with two beliefs: the future can be better than the present, and I have the power to make it so.” – David Brooks

Believe big. Dream a dream. Focus on how YOU can fix the future. Hold that mental picture firmly in your mind and then methodically DO the WORK that it takes to get there. Do it one step at a time. After all, success starts with a step. You have the power to progress forward. You can make the future a better place.

What are you going to do to become the successful person you imagine in your mind?

Leadership guru, John Maxwell, wrote: “You will never change your life until you change something you DO daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” (Emphasis added).

I stood in front of the group that day in the year 2000. We talked. We laughed. We discussed. We learned. At the end of the day, I was successful. I had worked hard to do what I envisioned doing. At the end of the day, some students became successful. Some students used the talk to fuel the vehicles of their life down the action-oriented road towards their dream destination.

Are you traveling down the road doing what needs to be done to become the person you dream of?

At the end of the day, let me ask YOU: Will you be successful? Success starts with a step. What step are you taking?

- Taking the next step with you,

Mike Acker