Everyone wants to succeed, but most people go about doing it wrong. Success doesn’t always work the way we expect it to, but that doesn’t mean it won’t work at all. We have to be patient and keep striving to keep getting better at what we do. Success isn’t a one step process, but it’s definitely hard work. Why do so many people go wrong if they claim they did work hard? They most likely skipped steps or gave into failure. How do you achieve success?

Step One: Set a goal

In order to be successful, you have to know what you’re aiming for. Some people do set goals, but they don’t realize that they didn’t set them right. Make sure your goal is S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, achievable, roadblocks, timely). Most people have goals such as, “I want to be rich." Well, how rich? When do you plan on being rich? How will you become rich? Do you want to be rich in heart? This is the problem. You can’t set a goal like that. Make sure you add specifics so you can take all the right steps, and accomplish your goals. Instead of saying, “I want to be rich," say, “I want to make $7,000 this month.” Now you have an idea of how to achieve your goal, and gave yourself something you can work with.

Step Two: Figure Out How to Achieve Your Goal (setting mini-goals).

Yes, you have to set a goal within a goal. Now you have to make mini-goals to achieve the overall big picture, and help yourself from becoming overwhelmed. If you want to be apart of the award-winning choir, you have to set goals to get there. First you would find out how and where to audition. Next, you would pick a song you are good at singing. Then, you rehearse many times to be sure you’re at your absolute best. Finally, you audition for a spot. Set more goals to give yourself a proper breakdown, and a better chance of getting where you want to be.

Step Three: Dealing with Failure

This is the step where people completely give up on themselves. Roadblocks are guaranteed to happen so you have to be prepared to deal with them no matter what. Maybe you’ve been working on your novel for three years, and you’re ready to publish it but the publisher told you it wouldn’t sell. Now you are heartbroken, and you don’t know what to do. Most people give up after feeling this way, and come to the conclusion that your goal is unrealistic and impossible. Instead of beating yourself up, you learn from your failure. Maybe the editor gave you some advice on how to make this a stronger piece. Now you have something to work with so make sure you take it into consideration. Even if you didn’t agree with the editor or publisher, you still got the experience and know exactly how to publish your book for future reference. If one publisher said no, you can just go to another one. They may or may not like your book, but they won’t stop you from getting it published one day.

Step Four: Persistence and Believing

Never give up. Yes, it sounds cliche, but all successful people believe in this. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will. You have to be your own cheerleader, and remember that you have the power to do it. When you have trouble with being persistent and believing in yourself, just remember why you started in the first place. This is the step that will either make or break you.

Step Five: Wash, Rinse, Repeat!

Keep repeating these steps over and over and over. Keep on messing up. Keep on learning from your failures. Keep on being persistent. Keep on believing in yourself. Keep on keepin on. Then you’ll notice how you keep on achieving.

Success isn’t for everyone. Most people will read this article and laugh. What I can guarantee is that all those people have settled in life. They settled for what they don’t really want, but it’s “safe." The people that believe in this article and follow these steps are adventurous and aren’t afraid of risks. There are two types of lifestyles: living on the safe side, or living on the wild side. Take your pick.