the key to success.

success. what is it? how do you describe it? what word would you use to talk about success? how does a person become successful? who is a successful person? what makes that person successful? i could go on and on about success and ways to describe success and possibly even talk about my philosophy on what makes a person successful and what doesnt. but i wont bore you with that- what i want to hit on is something thats been on my mind for the last week or so. and thats the fact that there is a process a person must go through to have success. and whatever is at the end of a process, its different from person to person, is what you can consider a success.
that process also what i consider the key to success is preparation. sounds easy huh? but how often do we try to skip this step in our world where its always the thought of "i want more, more, more, more and i want it now". seriously. how often have you been victim to that? how often do want something without actually working for it? and if youre lucky, you might achieve "success" but where in the world does the satisfaction come from for actually working for it. actually going through of process. going through the bumps in the road and jumping over obstacles. actually dedicated yourself to something to make sure you sure it all the way through. thats where we fall short. many times. we forget about the process of preparing for something. during that time you can learn so much about yourself, grow so much stronger as an individual and even enjoy steps you have to take.
a quick example.

1) Lin-sanity. how many people know exactly what im talking about when you read that. if you dont, google it for a more in depth explanation. but ill do my best couple sentence approach. jeremy lin--he is an nba player for the new york knicks. a couple of weeks ago he was never heard of, never spoke about, etc. no one even cared about this guy that sat on the end of the bench. he was on the verge of being cut...aka losing his job. then all of the sudden he got this chance- he got an opportunity of a life time and bam---SUCCESS. but if you know anything about it, if you have watched espn, been on any websites out there, would you even think that he would of been successful? how did he get there? do you think he seriously just sat around... no he was prepared. he worked his butt off. he went through the steps that people do not always see. we get to watch the process at the end. we get to see him score 38 points against the lakers on espn. we get to see him put up incredible numbers people havent seen in years. but my point is this: jeremy lin was prepared. the because of his preparation, when the opportunity came knocking-- the dude stepped in and took care of business because he was ready! thats the point... preparation is what makes you ready. its key to success. if he wasnt prepared we would not even be thinking twice about him or have the cool nicknames like "super LIN tendo" or "all he does is LIN". prepare the right way and success will come. (if you dont believe me that jeremy lin was preparing the right way, take a look at the video)

as i was reading my book this week i read a quote that i wrote down for my "quote of the week" and has had a pretty cool impact on myself. heres what it said.
"success is a function of persistence and doggedness and a willingness to work hard."
how sweet of a quote is that? i love the word doggedness. which means a showing tenacity. when i read that word i just get pumped up. it has that type of effect on myself. if i was to ask you how would you describe your preparation for success how would you describe it? would you use the word doggedness? i doubt anyone would. but how awesome would it be if we could. thats the attitude we need to take. success wont come easy. its going to take persistence, its going to take willingness to work hard, and you can bet its going to take a doggedness approach.
if you have never thought about preparing or never thought about how to describe your steps to success-- change it. change how you approach your daily activities. if its your job and you want to be more successful. its going to take persistence, its going to take willingness. if its your fitness and you want to see bigger and better results-- change your approach- attack your next workout with a doggedness attitude. this is the way to get work done. this is the way to see results. you have to be work hard. you have to be persistence.
you have to be prepared.

breakthrough.
gabe.

ps. how is your 30 day challenge going? have you even started? if not why not? i know a few people that have caught on and started up their own and i love it! that gets me jacked up! i love seeing others stepping up and challenging themselves-- making steps toward achieving something. even if its the smallest change or challenge- its still something. continue to pursue it. continue taking the steps to achieving what you have set out to achieve. no sugar, no pop, exercise, whatever it is-- stick with it. if you havent got a 30 day challenge going, check out my previous post and join in. its fun. its challenging. its a way to see yourself make some changes that you want. and most of all its rewarding.
i already have a plan for my next 30 day challenge. i seriously cant wait for it to start. until then. prepare.