The Main Factor In Determining Your Success

Someone once wrote that it is, “Choice, not circumstances that determines your success.”

I reminded a fellow of this recently and he didn’t want to hear it. He had provided me with a litany of all the reasons he could come up with for giving up, not trying anymore. He listed everything from greedy employers to corrupt politicians as being the cause of his situation. He went on and on about how unfair life was, illustrating his point by telling me about how he just couldn’t get a break. After listening to his rant for several minutes I interrupted him and said, “Choice, not circumstance determines your success.”

I then explained that while there are many things that we cannot control that can affect our situation, ultimately we choose how much we allow it to affect us. We all know of individuals whom it seems live almost charmed lives. It is almost as if everything they attempt turns out right. If they find themselves out of work, they are back on someone’s payroll quickly. If they suffer a setback, they bounce back quickly.

On the other hand, we all know people whom it seems the opposite is true. When adversity comes to them they struggle, become discouraged and just can’t seem to find the key to turning things around. What is the difference? Again, I say most of the success you and I will have is the result of choices, not circumstances.

It’s like the old Swedish proverb says, "God gives every bird a worm, but he does not throw it into the nest." Simply put, the Good Lord provides the raw materials we need to make the most of ourselves, but it is up to us to choose whether to use them and how we use them.

Of course, there are some who would disagree because they have convinced themselves that anything bad that happens is the result of some invisible force that has predestined them to misery or failure. To admit that an individual’s choices play any role in outcomes is to them almost heresy. They bear no responsibility for their predicament nor for what happens next in their lives.

Obviously, our choices are based on how we define success. And how we define success determines how we measure it. Someone like Mother Teresa defined success differently than say, Bill Gates and thus the choices she made were different than his. Perhaps that is one reason many people shrink away from this notion that choices not circumstances determine our success. They only have a fuzzy idea of what constitutes success, of what they want to do, of who they really are.

In 1856, after five years' apprenticeship in a general store Marshall Field moved to Chicago where he found employment as a clerk for a leading dry-goods house, of which he became a junior partner in 1862. In 1865 he became a partner in the firm of Field, Palmer, and Leiter, the company that became Marshall Field and Co. in 1881. He amassed one of the largest private fortunes in the United States and pioneered in establishing many modern retailing practices

Toward the end of his life, this very successful merchant penned what he called the Twelve Priceless Qualities of Success:
1. The value of time.
2. The success of perseverance.
3. The pleasure of working.4. The dignity of simplicity.
5. The worth of character
6. The power of kindness.
7. The influence of example.
8. The obligation of duty.
9. The wisdom of economy.
10. The virtue of patience.
11. The improvement of talent.
12. The joy of originating.
(So choose to) Have A Great and Profitable Week!
Robert Hidde
bob@confidentliving.com