Posted on: 17 November, 2002
Author: Gordon Bellows
In order to achieve any amount of success in your life, it ... that you ... four basic ... ... these four ... the four D's of success, and they arevital no mat In order to achieve any amount of success in your life, it isimportant that you understand four basic characteristics. Let'scall these four attributes the four D's of success, and they arevital no matter what level of success you want.Desire - Decision - Determination - DisciplineDesire is the most essential of the D's. Without desire, theother fundamental things just don't matter. There are many thingswe might like to have, and perhaps, we envy someone who alreadyhas something we like. However, we are not very likely to havethese things for ourselves without desire. Not just a feeling ofwanting something or thinking it would be nice, but a deep-downburning desire, a do-it-or-else attitude and a willingness tomake sacrifices to reach that goal. By sacrifices, I mean thingslike giving up the extra servings to lose weight, watching lessTV to have more time available for a special project, doingwithout a few things to be able to save money for a down paymenton a new house. Without a strong desire, the sacrifices maybecome more of a dreaded chore than a means to an end, in whichcase we are more likely to just give up and abandon the goal.Decisions need to be made once you have a clear-cut desire. Youwant to accomplish a specific goal and now you need to decide howto do it. Decide on a method to reach your goal and how long itmight take to get there. You can usually find valuableinformation that is related to your goal in a bookstore, thelibrary, or on the Internet. Other times, you might need to talkto someone who has accomplished a similar goal. Also, decide whatsacrifices, if any, may be necessary for you to make in order toreach your goal. Reaching a goal is often easier by breaking amajor goal into mini-goals, each one being a milestone in itself.Determination and willpower are the traits you need to reach yourgoal when you have a burning desire and you've made the decisionto take action and make something happen. There may be obstacleson the way to your goal, but strength of mind and fortitude canhelp keep you on track. It doesn't matter how fast you are movingtoward your goal as long as you keep moving in a positivedirection. You should be resolved to turn your desire into areality no matter what it takes.Discipline can sometimes be the hardest D to handle. We may havethe best of intentions, but a moment of weakness can throw us offtrack. It takes self-control and restraint to make sacrifices andstick to the plan we decided upon. Every so often, we have to bestrict with ourselves and remember that the goal we seek is worththe effort. If it becomes too hard to follow the plan, we mightneed to revise the plan or the time it takes to get there.Usually, what we desire most, is not the goal itself, but thebenefits that we experience when the goal is reached. Thefollowing is a list of some goals and possible benefits:Goal: lose weight Benefit: look/feel better, more energyGoal: plant a garden Benefit: fresh food, exercise, natureGoal: learn to play golf Benefit: exercise, recreationGoal: buy a motorhome Benefit: travel, family outingsGoal: work at home Benefit: freedom, more time with familyGoal: make more money Benefit: better lifestyle, prestigeTake a moment to think about your desires. Chances are good thatyou have desires that are strong enough for you to make thedecision to take action and make things happen! Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com