So You Want to Be Successful?!

I found this picture floating around my Facebook news feed the other day, and so I gave it a read and I was like "OMG. How bloody true is this! Why aren't more people sharing this? People need to know that success doesn't have to be hard or full of blood, sweat, and tears!" as you can gather, I totally agree with each of these points, and if you can't read them there, then I'll list them below. So this isn't specifically designed for writers, although I am going to relate each of the points to writing, and give you my pointers on being successful... take them if you like, every little helps, right?




1. They Create and Pursue S.M.A.R.T Goals!
What does S.M.A.R.T stand for? (S)specific, (M)measurable, (A)attainable, (R)realistic, and (T)timely. Each goal you set must be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. I'm actually familiar with these goals as I had to do them all of the time in sixth form, and I guess I set these for my writing all of the time. I'm specific with how MUCH I want to WRITE in a DAY. I can get all the points in their. 


2. They Take Decisive and Immediate Action!
This isn't me at all. I'm such an indecisive person, however for my writing, I am very decisive, I know what I want with my writing and I will take immediate action, although that could be something else to falter me on, sometimes I can take action but then realise down the line that I didn't want to go that route. Lesson: before taking action, think about it first.




3. They Focus on Productive, Not Being Busy!
I love this one, because I can be completely busy, but not productive in the slightest... I think this one goes out to all the hours that I've spent pointlessly wondering around the internet and doing nothing at all but "being busy", now, productivity is what you need to focus on (it's simple, it's there in the title) and I've wrote numerous blog posts on the topic of getting your butt off the internet and into some word document.



4. They Make Logical, Informed Decisions!
I guess this point ties in with the second point, especially were immediate action is needed. If you want to be successful you always have to think of the possible outcomes to doing something, and if they're negative, then I guess you should steer clear of them, because I'm sure you're not trying to brand yourself as that "bitchy" character, are you?


5. They Avoid the Trap of Trying to Make Things Perfect!
Well, I guess I'm going to have to start telling myself that everything I write doesn't need to be perfect, and I know that I try so hard with my writing. I also know that there isn't a writer in the world who is a perfect writer, so I should start being realistic and just get my shit together, basically.





6. They Work Outside of Their Comfort Zone!
I'm not sure what this means to a writer, does it mean writing in different genres? Writing in places that I've never written in before... maybe in the cold? Ha! Maybe it means sharing your writing and doing things that might make you feel anxious. So I guess I shall start sharing more work!




7. They Keep Things Simple!
This and number five go perfectly together, as when you're keeping things simple, you're not trying to overcomplicate it, and therefore not trying to make it super perfect... and more often than not, the things which are more simple and easier to read (not in like a "I'm stupid, I read pop up books" kind of way) are those that are better written. So keep your shit simple (and concise), or people will get bored!



8. They Focus on Making Small, Continuous Improvements!
This can definitely be applied to writers as we are constantly making improvements to ourselves and our writing, sometimes simultaneously. And we're always editing our writing, and they're often small and continuous improvements until we release the writing. So FOCUS on getting better at writing, it's the only way to succeed.



9. They Measure and Track Their Progress!
This and the first go hand in hand, because through making the S.M.A.R.T targets you are shown what progress you are making, maybe it's small, maybe it's huge, but you should always measure the progress that you are making. It could be for peace of mind, or for your editor etc. I'm always tracking my progress and if you've been following my blog for some time now then you'll know that I go through a round up at the end of every month.






10. They Maintain Positive Outlook as They Learn from Mistakes!
This is on my list, to be happy all of the time! I'm going to put this point in the same boat as constructive criticism because there are quite a few writers who aren't taking criticism on board, even though it might help... so they need to be happy, at least happy enough that they know someone is trying to help them become better writers. And what are mistakes there for? They're to learn from!


11. They Spend Time with The Right People!
I guess that's why I use Facebook for, to spend time with the right people... and by the right people, could this mean networking, because I do love networking, and to be successful you have to be able to network as well as being a nice person to speak to... nobody wants you if you have a horrible attitude!


12. They Maintain Balance in Their Life!
I'm not sure what balance they mean, but as a writer my balance is writing, social networking, food, water and shelter... all I need to maintain balance. And I think I'm succeeding at this one!


Are you going to try any of these?

Do you think that this is accurate?


Now, you might be thinking, there are people who are rubbish writers and they get publishing contracts etc. well, they're kind of 1 in 1,000,000 so don't get your hopes up, and you want to be successful right? Well I hope that these step thingies work for you!



-Joseph




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