Success Leaves Clues

Success Leaves Clues

by Iruka A. Ndubuizu

I am a world class dreamer! If dreaming is an athletic event in the Olympics, the gold medal in that category will be mine. I dream of doing things people may consider unattainable. I dream of owning things and visiting places I cannot afford today. I dream of being extremely successful in every area of my life. I set lofty goals for myself. Over the years, I haven’t always lived my dream or achieved all the goals I set, but I cannot imagine a life without dreams. I paint a beautiful picture in my head of the best possible outcome for whatever project I wish to embark on. I have since learned that mere visualization is not enough. A course of action is essential. Nothing good comes easy, so I’m ready to work hard to make my dreams a reality. The challenge is determining the specific steps I need to take towards achieving my goals and where to concentrate the most effort.

As a big proponent of not reinventing the wheel, I’m drawn to the Tony Robbins’ much quoted phrase “success leaves clues”. The idea is to find people who have done what you are trying to do, learn what they did differently and how they did it, and model their methods or behavior. We tend to apply this principle when we are taking exams, but rarely to anything else. Students seek out past examination questions to practice on before sitting for a major exam. The testing industry is big business with programs and exercises based on marketing past exam questions for every test imaginable – SAT, MCAT, PCAT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, professional licensing exams, board exams, etc. Research shows that those who take exam preparation classes or practice tests tend to do a lot better in the exam than those who do not.

Essentially, if you want to be successful (however you define success), look around you and take stock of the people you are spending your time with, what you are spending your time on and who you are taking advice from. Surround yourself with and learn from successful people. Make a conscious decision to seek them out and take active steps towards this. This is critical to achieving your dreams. Below are practical steps you can take to accelerate your journey to success.

Identify. Once you have determined what you want to achieve (be specific), then identify those who have already accomplished what you want to do. They can be described as your mentors. It does not matter who they are – old, young, dead, alive, famous, unknown, colleagues or people in your neighborhood. Look at what they have done and how they got there. You do not have to know them personally to be influenced by their lives, action or body of work. What matters is that they have done what you are trying to do, successfully. Make a list and narrow it down to five people to make it easier for you to manage. Your mentors are your shortcut to success.

Study. With your list in hand, you can now focus on doing research. If they have books or blogs, read them. Learn about their lives and methods through their websites, biographies, autobiographies, interviews, etc. Listen to what they say and how they say it. Get on their listserv, sign up for emails, newsletters and other publications. Watch their videos. Follow them on social media. The clues to enhance your ideas and speed up your success journey are out there. You will also learn what pitfalls to expect and how to navigate them successfully. Consider this your homework. If you bypass this step, you will waste a lot of time on trial and error.

Apply. Now that you have sought, found and studied your mentors, you have to implement the ideas and strategies you learned. It’s time to take action. Confucius reminds us that, “knowledge without practice, is useless”. Start applying the knowledge you have acquired to your situation immediately. Do not wait until you know everything about the subject or your mentor. This is just procrastination. Take conscious steps to practice what you have learned. You may stumble, but do not give up. You may struggle, but look at the clues. There are always lessons on perseverance and staying on course. Study some more if you need to, but keep moving.

Build Relationships. It is not enough to have and act on all these information. In addition to modeling the behavior of those who are successful, we need to network with people of like minds. This is critical because it gives you the opportunity to share what you have learned and to learn from others. Quoting Deuteronomy Rabbah, “In vain have you acquired knowledge if you have not imparted it to others.” Adding value is the quickest way to broaden your network. Develop relationships with other professionals. Share what you know, what has worked for you and what hasn’t. Support people who are on the same journey with you.

Your path to success always starts with a dream. Specify what you will like to achieve, position yourself for success by finding those who have already done what you want to do and follow their footsteps. Have a game plan but do not waste time reinventing the wheel. Seek out people who have the same or similar ideas and support each other. Achieving success is one of the most important exams you will ever take, so do not go in unprepared. Study for it. Ace the exam. Leave clues for the next dreamer.

Iruka A. Ndubuizu is a “contract guru”, attorney, entrepreneur, consultant, trainer and lover of life. She is an Assistant Director for Contracts Administration at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia and the Founder of Eureka Consulting, LLC (www.eurekaconsultingllc.com). You can reach her at info@eurekaconsultingllc.com; 678.244.1960.