Today marks a milestone of sorts in my personal writing challenge. I have reached the first 100 days of writing and I’m excited! I haven’t missed a day! Woo! Hoo! Seriously, this has proven to be an extremely satisfying experience! I have learned much about myself and those who venture into this bald headed brain. What have I learned? Well for one thing, you have to be just a little off center to follow my written meanderings through life. I can be a little strange from time to time, but that’s ok. Where would be the fun if I were always on this side of strange?
Since today marks the 100th day, I thought I would introduce something about which I will write over the next ten or eleven days. I will outline the system today and then over the next nine days, break it down into its individual parts. This is a system designed to help people live successfully in life. Successful living is an individual thing. People determine and define success in any way they choose. Success will always be different for everyone. Where for one, success might involve great monetary accumulation, service to the poor might define it for another. Regardless of one’s definition, there are steps that, if followed, can help create a sense of success for anyone who understands and employs them.
Today I will outline these Nine Keys to Success. They are divided into three broad categories. Here they are:
The Four Givens – The primary thing to remember about the Four Givens is that these are life experiences that are common to everyone. There is no escaping them. What we tend to do is spend inordinate amounts of time working to change those things over which we have little if any control. We must learn to spend appropriate time thinking about and dealing with each Given in order to step into one of the other five areas in which we have the ability to work more proactively. Here are the Four Givens:
- Life is a Struggle
- Lives Are Shattered
- Life Goes On
- Relationships Do Continue
The Two Can Do’s – This section focuses on what I call Possibility Living. Possibility living can open doors to creating a life of our choosing. It opens the door to more purposeful, proactive living. The Two Can Do’s are:
- Life Can Be Good
- People Do Create Good Lives
The Three Support Systems -This section focuses on the three filters through which all of our hopes, dreams and plans must flow in order find substance.
- Support from our Beliefs, Values or Faith
- Support from Resources (people, organizations, books, etc.)
- Support from Within (learning to tap personal resiliency)
There you have it! A brief introduction to a system that can help you think, plan and act in ways that can create success, regardless of your definition. I hope you’ll join me over the next nine days to discover more.
Peace!
Mark E. Hundley
