You have probably heard the expression "Death is sure but life is uncertain." Whether you are a careful planner or an aimless wanderer, you are definitely going to end up somewhere. So why not ask yourself: "What am I doing now that will greatly impact my future?" Answering that question may take some time and requires careful consideration. But if you figured out the answer, you have just made a significant step in cultivating a success mindset.

Most of us are too preoccupied with mundane and trivial things of this life that we fail to focus our time and attention on what matters most. The great psychologist-philosopher William James stated: "The greatest discovery of my generation is that people can alter their lives by altering their attitudes towards life, greatly effecting what we get out of it". The choices we make today will determine our success or failure in the future.

A common misconception of success is that it belonged only to individuals who are members of an esoteric or elite organization. Success is not based on wealth, a good family background or graduating from a prestigious college or university. Success comes to the person who has what it takes to achieve it and better yet overcome the seemingly insurmountable challenges in life.

The purpose of this article is to get you acquainted with success – that you could reach your dreams and ambitions from where you stand regardless of whatever resources you have at hand. You might be saying to yourself, "I don’t know where to begin!" Usually, getting started is the hardest part because we have become accustomed to our old, ineffective ways of living. But once you break out of your comfort zone, it becomes much easier. For me, I learned success the hard way – from repeated failures in the past and the wrong perceptions people made me believed in.

In life, we are offered a lot of choices. Although we can make these choices, we can never control the consequences. We are fortunate if we made the right choices but if not, we will suffer the repercussions. The repeated failures we experienced in the past don’t brand us for life. Our past is not a predictor of our future. I believe that the trials and the adversities we face in life are the prices we pay to become successful. As Benjamin Franklin learned, "The things that hurt instruct." A lot of us have a hard time understanding this concept because we all want to take the easy route. We would rather sit back and be comfortable, avoiding other people. But we must realize that we learn from taking risks and exposing ourselves to the ridicule of others.

If you always try to maintain the status quo and mix with the crowd, you might get lost in it. But if you stick your head above the crowd, some people will find ways to say something against you. Either way you choose, you will never escape criticism. Until you wait for the time to just be right. That you believed that the world owes you something makes you commit a mistake! Having the right perspective and a good attitude towards success will help you stay on track. Unless you admit that you can’t make the journey by yourself and your resources are limited, you’re still bound to fail. But if you seek God’s help and ask for His guidance, you made the right decision because your dream is God’s gift to you and what you do with it is your gift back to God. (The author is a former staff writer of The Samar Collegian.)