You wonder? "What's the fastest way to my success?"

Answer: History and research have revealed that, except for a choice few who were born into money, the fastest way to success is by using every ounce of our abilities, skills, and knowledge to the fullest. In other words, maximizing our potential, as I like to put it.

Just as we need and benefit immensely from a simple, yet ladies don't go anywhere without it, tool known as a mirror, we need reminders and reflectors to keep us on the straight and narrow, less we become distracted and derailed from our perceived success path.

There are countless books that describe success principles to keep us on our  success path. Here are a few principles that I have summarized for you:

• Believe in yourself, your abilities, and in your God-given yet unused talents.
• Have a dream. Write it down as a goal using specific guidelines and setting a realistic deadline by which you will accomplish it.
• Develop your action plan. Use it as a map to help you reach the destination of your dream.
• Use Affirmations. They will help to build your belief in yourself. If you have difficulty finding books with them, create your own.
• Take action NOW! Be persistent! Do something each day to move you closer to the realization of your dream and your goal.
• Associate with successful people. From this collection of experts, select a mentor to guide you along.
• Share yourself with others. Volunteer your time and your talents. Join civic and charitable organizations.
• Develop a sense of humor. Learn to laugh at life; don't take it too seriously. Begin by laughing at yourself and your mistakes.
• Exercise your creativity. Use your God-given imagination to see problems from a different point of view. They probably won't seem so big, after all.
• Exercise your body. Exercise keeps the body tone, healthy, and vitalized. Not only will you be keeping yourself healthy, but you will be shedding the extra pounds without realizing it.
• Balance your life. Take comparable amounts of time for fun and relaxation as you do for work and home.
• Change the things you cannot accept. Accept the things you cannot change. Be a doer, not a complainer.

Remember: When you maximize your potential, everyone wins. When you don't, we all lose.

Copyright © Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW, The Master Blog Builder