Shownotes
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 151 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.
7 Steps to Become a Success
Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 151 of our Trek, and yesterday we learned the 8 attributes of a healthy relationship. Today we will explore the 7 steps for a successful life. If you miss any days of our Wisdom-Trek, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.
We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. This episode is scheduled to air on Thursday when we will be spending a day on site with a client before heading back to Charlotte in the evening. Since Paula and I are heading out for our Podcasters cruise on Sunday, we will be dropping Mom Jarvis off at Paula’s sister Lois’s on our way south. As I am writing this journal as we are still traveling to Marietta on Friday, it is a bit of a challenge to work in the dark while traveling. However, the bright screen and lighted keyboard allows me to function fairly well.
Our daily trek of life also has its challenges, but we should always give thanks for the good points of each day. We are shifting from a focus on relationships from yesterday’s hike and heading up the 7 steps that lead to success. If we navigate these steps properly, we will come closer to success in all areas of our lives. This is crucial as we are daily creating our living legacy.
7 Steps To Become a Success
1. You attract success.
So few people realize this. Success is not something that you chase. It’s something that you turn into. Success comes from growth. It comes from growing bigger than the problems and obstacles that surround you. Don’t search for success. Commit to grow, commit to become, commit to do what you know to do, and you will attract success. Proverbs 21:5 puts it this way, “Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.”
2. You must change.
If you want change, you must change! You must work harder on yourself than you work on anything else. The greatest investment you will ever make is in yourself. Don’t invest in the stock market if you haven’t first invested in yourself. Labor to become a better person. Every day you want to be slightly better than you were the day before.
3. Never give up.
Never give up. If you just keep at it, eventually you will reach the top. It probably won’t happen in a year, but just imagine what could be achieved if you stayed focused for 20 or 30 years or longer. When I say never give up, I don’t mean to imply that you should wait around for something to happen. What I’m saying is that you should make something happen.
Success is not that complicated. I like what Jim Rohn said about success, “Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals.”
Paul taught in in Galatians 6:9, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”
4. Environment is critical.
You must constantly ask yourself these questions:
- Who do I spend time with?
- How are they influencing me?
- What do they have me reading?
- What do they have me saying?
- Where do they have me going?
- What do they have me thinking?
- And most important, what do they have me becoming?
Then ask yourself the big question, “Is that okay?” Your life does not get better by chance. It gets better by change. You may have to make some difficult choices on who you spend time with. To follow up with the previous questions, I would ask you:
- Who are you talking to?
- Who are you listening to?
- What seeds are being planted into your life?
Environment is critical! In order for your life to produce fruit, you must plant the correct seeds, and they must be planted in the right atmosphere. You wouldn’t try to plant tomato seeds in the dessert because it’s not the right atmosphere for a tomato seed to produce. Likewise, don’t try to become successful surrounded by negative people. Create an atmosphere where you can flourish. Learn to guard what you hear and what gets planted in your thoughts, so you can become all that you were destined to become.
Paul taught us in 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”
5. Maintain steady progress.
My dad continually reminded us boys as we worked around the farm to take tasks slow and be methodical. That’s exactly how your dreams come to pass when you commit to achieve them. Nothing happens overnight. Look at anyone who’s successful. It’s taken them years to get there, sometimes decades. Don’t think you are any different. If it took them years, don’t be surprised when it takes you years. In other words, manage your expectations, so you don’t get disappointed unnecessarily. Success is possible, but it won’t happen tomorrow if you just began today. Remember, success is not a single event. You don’t become a success in a moment. Success comes from moving in the right direction every day.
The author of Hebrews taught us in Chapter 12 verse 1, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”
6. Set your sail.
Set your sail or set your mind on what you want to accomplish. It’s not the circumstances of life that determine where you end up. It’s your commitment to arrive at your intended destination that determines your success.
7. Learn to see the value of time.
There is nothing more valuable than time. You can sow your time and get anything you want. You can sow your time and get more friends, more money, or better health. Nothing is more priceless than time, so never waste this precious gift. I’ve never met a rich man who didn’t value his time, and I’ve never met a poor man who did. Learn to see the value of time because with time, anything can be accomplished!
Ephesians 5:15-16, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.”
On our Trek today, we studied and learned the seven steps to become a success, and if we take those steps, we will advance in our progress of becoming successful. I would encourage you to invite others onto the trek with us each day. Come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy, and we will extend our trail from today and find 9 principles needed to leave a legacy.
That will finish our podcast for today. Remember to listen to your daily dose of wisdom on Wisdom-Trek.com, or subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Spreaker, or YouTube so the episodes will be downloaded to you automatically each day. Please share Wisdom-Trek with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.
The journal for today’s Trek can be found at Wisdom-Trek.com. Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.
As we take this Trek together, let us always:
- Live Abundantly (Fully)
- Love Unconditionally
- Listen Intentionally
- Learn Continuously
- Lend to others Generously
- Lead with Integrity
- Leave a Living Legacy Each Day
This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!