Find Success on The Principle of the Path

Commitment to your success is one of the keys to career and life success that I discuss in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success, Your Success GPS, and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success.  If you want to succeed, you must commit to three things.  First, you must take personal responsibility for your success.  Only you can make you a success.  You need to be willing to do the things necessary to succeed.  Second, you must set high goals — and then do whatever it takes to achieve them.   Third, stuff happens; as you go through life you will encounter many problems and setbacks.  You need to react positively to the negative stuff and move forward toward your goals.

I picked up an interesting book by Andy Stanley the other day, The Principle of the Path.  I love what he has to say – especially the common sense simplicity of the principle of the path…

Direction – not intention – determines our destination.

Andy says…

“The direction you are currently traveling – relationally, financially, spiritually, and the list goes on and on – (I would add your career.  BB) will determine where you end up in each of those respective arenas.  This is true regardless of your goals, your dreams your wishes or your wants.  The principle of the path trumps all those things.  Your current direction will determine your destination.  And, like every principle, you can leverage this one to your advantage or ignore it to your disadvantage.  Just as there are paths that have led us to place we never intended to be, there are paths that lead us away from those places as well…Direction – not intentions, hopes, dreams, prayers, beliefs, intellect, or education – determine destination…But at the end of the day, the principle of the path determines the outcome.  Simply put, you and I will win or lose in life by the paths we choose.”

Way to go, Andy.  I agree 100%.  That’s why the second point of my Common Sense Success System is “Commit to taking personal responsibility for your success.”

When you commit to taking personal responsibility for your own success, you are putting the principle of the path into action.  You are choosing the direction in which you want to go.  When you choose to do the work necessary, and to respond to the stuff that happens to you in a positive manner, you are choosing a positive direction that, if you remain true to it, will lead you to your destination of career and life success.

I really like The Principle of the Path, and the principle of the path.  The book is easy to read and very understandable.  The study guide at the end gives great implementation ideas.  On the other hand the principle, like all good common sense, is simple but very powerful. 

Think about it, we choose our direction every day.  I wanted to sleep in today, but I got up and went to work, because I choose the success direction.  My legs were heavy when I started my bike ride yesterday, but I chose to push myself and do the ride I had planned, because I choose the health and fitness direction.  I taught a course at Colorado Free University the other evening, when I would have preferred to hang at home, because I choose the give back to others direction.

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their own success.  What you do or don’t do every day, every hour says a lot about your commitment to your success and the direction you choose.  And remember, you get to choose your direction.  You can choose the success direction, or you can choose a direction that will take you away from, rather than toward your goal.  It’s up to you.  I choose the success direction.  Read Andy Stanley’s book, The Principle of the Path.  It will help you commit to taking personal responsibility for your success.  The few hours you’ll spend reading it will move you in the direction of personal and professional success.

That’s my take on commitment to taking personal responsibility for your success, and choosing the positive direction.  What’s yours?  Please take a few minutes to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

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