The Four Keys of Personal Success

Every human on earth lives to be successful in something. We all want "personal success." We desire to be meaningful in an area that we identify with. So, we seek opportunities to create that success.

Achieving personal success means living with the purposeful commitment to discover and engage in learning and activities that support one's purpose for living.

There are keys that are necessary for the achievement of personal success in adolescence and adulthood. I will compare the achievement of personal success to the growth of a seed. Here are the keys... Oh, you might want to take notes!

Key #1 - The Right Gift

Every person is born with innate gifts and talents that can be used to create success in one's life. Often times it is the narrowing down and choosing of the right gift that is difficult for us to do. Your gift is your seed! It holds the power that is in you create the personal success you want. When used (planted and cared for) properly, the power is released and growth begins to occur. The growth of the seed leads to a tree and hopefully perfect fruit.

Key #2 - The Right Environment

Remember I told you that the power is in the seed (your gift)? Well, the power of the seed can never be released if the seed is placed in the wrong environment. That's right! It's not enough to have power. You need the right environment to release the power. The same way seeds do not grow on concrete, one's gift does not grow without being being used properly in the right places. For instance, a skilled surgeon is useless on a soccer field. The gift is meaningless in an environment where it isn't useful. The fruit of your seed never materializes in the wrong environment because the conditions for success are not right.

Key #3 - The Right Process of Development

Any interruption in the process of development delays or cancels the power of the gift, even in the right environment. If the seed, full of potential to become fruit, is in the perfect environment but experiences an interruption in the growth process, then the result is immaturity. In other words, when we take time to develop our gifts and continue that process, we put water and sun on the roots and watch it grow constantly.

Key #4 - The Right Person

If the wrong person receives the gift, while the value of the gift is still high, the gift is worthless. The only way for the success of the seed to be possible is if it develops fruit and that fruit gets into the hands of the person who truly needs it. Another way of putting it is simply this: The purpose of your life is to cultivate the gift that was given to you and the best way for it to be given is in its stage of refinement. People need the gifts we carry and without people who need our gifts, well, we are simply here to take up space and oxygen.

Personal success is achieved when the right gifts are realized and used continuously in the right environment, benefitting the right people.