In the movie, "A League of Their Own," the baseball coach talked to his dispirited team, saying, "Of course it's hard. If it wasn't hard, everybody would do it!"

That’s the way it is with success. It can be hard. But there are four sure-fire ways to achieve success at almost anything every time without failure.

4 Ways to Achieve Your Goals & Succeed Every Time Without Failure

1. Work hard.

There's no substitute for hard work. Simply put, there "ain't no free lunch."

When I look at highly successful people, I think, “It's no wonder they’re doing so well. Look at everything they’re doing."

Could the same thing be said about you? If someone were to follow you around for a week and painstakingly record everything you did to advance your career, would that person walk away with a long list of all the things you’re doing to get ahead? Or would that person have a long list of the excuses you gave and the time you wasted?

Sometimes people fool themselves into thinking they’re putting out a 100% effort … when in reality, they’re not. For example, many people are out of work these days, and I've often heard them say, "I sent out 100 resumes, and I didn't get any response. I did everything I could."

One hundred percent effort means that you've exhausted every possible opportunity for reaching your goal. If you're looking for a job, 100 percent effort would include researching individual companies you want to work for, sending these companies personalized letters, calling to follow up, calling other people in the industry, and networking.

One hundred percent effort means telling a potential boss, "I'm sure you've got a lot of applicants here. But I believe so strongly in my ability to meet your needs, I'll work for you for 30 days with no pay. Let me prove to you my ability. In 30 days, evaluate my performance. If it's not up to par, let me go. But when I prove myself to you, I expect to be given the job and paid for the 30 days of work."

Now that's putting in 100% effort! And that's what you need to do to succeed in any area of life … because success is more often the result of hard work than the result of talent.

2. Practice endurance.

To many people, “endurance” is a nasty word. They would like to come by success the "easy" way. They want it to fall into their laps.

But that's an extremely rare occurrence. 99.99% of the time, success comes AFTER you "endure" awhile. And all the greats in every field of endeavor have learned how to "endure."

As professional tennis player Bjorn Borg noted, "My greatest point is my persistence. I never give up in a match. However down I am, I fight until the last ball. My list of matches shows that I have turned a great many so-called irretrievable defeats into victories."

Could the same be said of you?

Or do people ... secretly behind your back ... say you bail out when things get a little tough? Do they say you give up way too easily or throw in the towel too quickly? Do they point out the fact that you seldom finish what you start?

If you answer "yes" to any of these latter questions, remember the words of John Quincy Adams. He noted, "Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish." In other words, there's power in perseverance.

3. Keep on believing.

Believe in yourself. Believe in a power bigger than yourself. Believe in success. And believe you can be successful.

That’s what Lee Iacocca, the former chairman of the Chrysler Corporation did. When the world told him to let his debt-ridden company die, Iacocca refused. He didn't wait for the economy to change or for a government bailout to rescue him.

Iacocca kept believing in himself, in his company, in his products, and in his workers. He pronounced, "So what do we do? Anything -- something. So long as we don't just sit there. If we screw it up, start over. Try something else. If we wait until we've satisfied all the uncertainties, it may be too late."

4. Stay committed.

Everything else being equal, commitment wins every time. So fight back any feelings of discouragement that might get in your way. Don’t allow yourself to hang it up when things get rough.

If you're going to be successful, you've got to remember the letters M.I.H. It stands for…Make It Happen.

As you pursue your goals, as you strive towards excellence and success, follow these four points and you’re sure to win. After all, most people don’t fail. They just give up.

About the Author:

Dr. Alan Zimmerman has taught the 12 keys to peak performance and incredible success to more than one million people. Now you can get a FREE guided tour of the 12 keys in his life-changing “JOURNEY TO THE EXTRAORDINARY” program simply by visiting: http://www.journey-to-the-extraordinary.com

• 0 Comments

  

Comments

 Add your own comments

Name:

Email Address:

URL:
Remember Me? YesNo

Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)

What next?

 Digg it

 Save This Page

 Subscribe to GetEntrepreneurial.com

 Leave a comment

Next Article: The Other Side Of Marketing »

Previous Article: Pros and Cons of Franchising »

Steven Teo is a GE Network Expert. View Steven Teo's profile or read more articles from Steven Teo. Learn more about the GE Experts Network.

Have an expert opinion on issues entrepreneurs and small business owners face everyday? Join the GetEntrepreneurial.com Experts Network and share your expertise with the community!

The new GE Experts Network is inviting seasoned entrepreneurs and small business owners to come on board and contribute small business advice to our community of aspiring entrepreneurs. If you have an effective way of generating sales or you know how to use social networking to connect with your customers, join us in providing wider entrepreneurial content that would benefit small business owners worldwide.

Click Here to Learn More >>

Related Articles

 Ooh Local Activities » If you can find and do great, local stuff at home, why not do great local stuff that’s run by local people...

 Necktie Reuse » New Startups: Narwhal Company is the inspirational idea of an everyday person that was looking to move away from the 9-5 lifestyle...

 Dog’s Collar Comes with Tweets » "Puppy Tweets" dog’s collar allows dog owners to follow their dog on twitter. This plastic tag (introduced by Mattel), comes equipped with...

 Friend of Trends » Trend Friend is an online (and smartphone accessible) gift idea database that allows users to quickly find the trendiest gifts based on...

Need more brand new promising business ideas and innovations around the world you wish you'd thought of? Visit CoolBusinessIdeas.com now!

Ever wanted to be the CEO of your very own Starbucks or Amazon.com? Fire your boss and be your own boss? Now you can, with BIZNESS! - the free biweekly business newsletter about new business ideas, opportunities and innovations from around the world. More than just new business trends, BIZNESS! helps the aspiring entrepreneur (you!) with small business advice, business tips, and entrepreneur resources and opportunities.

   Subscribe for free now!    

---