How To Shift Your Success From Possible To Inevitable

Are you happy at work?

Or does your hard-earned career “success” feel more like a punishment than a reward? You’ve climbed the corporate ladder, achieved your goals, but now you’re left wondering—why does it feel like something’s missing?

You can’t help but wonder if there’s more out there for you, something more fulfilling and exciting. If this resonates with you, know that you’re not alone.

I’ve spoken with countless professionals who’ve reached a point in their careers where they feel unfulfilled, burned out, and even resentful of their work. But there’s a way to transform your relationship with your career, and it starts with a simple, yet extremely powerful formula:

Dreams + (Actions – Limiting Beliefs) x Iterations = Success!

This formula transforms success from a distant possibility to an inevitable reality. It is a guarantee if you’re willing to commit to fully applying the formula.

The Ingredients for Amazing Achievements

You can’t accomplish amazing things without having all the following ingredients:

Dreams. Without a dream of who you could be and what you might do, you won’t know what actions to take. Dreams are the vision, the guiding light that points you in the right direction. They provide a sense of purpose and direction, and without them, you’ll bumble around in the dark.
Actions. Dreams alone aren’t enough. You need to take actionable steps towards your goals. It’s all too easy to get trapped in the cycle of ‘someday.’ But success is built on today’s actions, not tomorrow’s intentions. You can’t simply dream your way to success. Dreams help you define where you want to be, and then actions bridge the gap between where you are and where you’re going.
Iterations: Success rarely comes on the first try. You need to iterate many times, learning and improving with each attempt. Failing is not only inevitable, but essential. Like learning to walk, you’ll need to fall over as part of the learning process. Each failure teaches you something valuable, something that brings you closer to your goal. Failure is on the road to success.

The Missing Element: Removing Limiting Beliefs

Even if you’ve got big dreams, you’re taking concrete steps towards them, and you keep iterating, you won’t attain your goals if you’re holding yourself back with limiting beliefs. These are the internal narratives that convince you that your goals are unattainable. Without removing these mental barriers, you’ll never fully commit to your actions, and you’ll constantly second-guess your dreams. These mental barriers are deeply ingrained, but recognizing and dismantling them is transformative. Once you break free, you unleash your full potential.

You must believe in your ability to realize your goal if you’re to have any shot at achieving it. As Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or you can’t, you’re right.”

Putting it together and applying the formula

If you’re looking to embark on major transformation in your life or career, apply the formula. Here’s how:

Dream. Sit in a quiet space where you won’t be bothered. Turn off your phone and all distractions. You might meditate for a bit, to really clear your mind. And then just allow yourself to imagine possibilities. What do you want? How do you want to spend your time? What would your ideal life look like if there were no barriers? Don’t worry about how, as that just shifts you into a mindset of lack and doubt.
Actions. Identify a few potential steps you might take to move this dream closer to your reality. Don’t try to figure everything out! If you’re dreaming big enough, it’s unlikely you can see a clear path all the way to your goal. You only need to see the next few steps and realize that the next steps will become more clear as you advance. Aim to make a bit of progress, just some small steps towards the goal. That will not only help illuminate the next steps, it will also provide you with useful feedback to help you adjust and fine-tune your goal. Then it’s on the most important part – do what you decided was the first small step. The hardest part is starting, but it is the most critical part of the process. Once you move towards your goal, you’ll likely feel inspired to keep advancing. Don’t start tomorrow; take action now.
Identify and eliminate limiting beliefs.Take some time to honestly reflect on what stories you tell yourself about what is stopping you from achieving your dream. Examine these stories closely, and see if you can reframe them. Maybe you don’t have the skill to do what you’re seeking to do, but can you reframe the story you tell yourself to be more like “I can’t yet do that, but I’ve learned many hard things before, and I’m sure I can learn how to do this too”? Or if your dream seems completely unrealistic, is there someone who’s accomplished something similar? If so, you’ve got proof that it is possible. It can really help to talk this through with someone; it is admittedly one of the harder parts of the process. Changing your internal narratives can be tough.
Iterate. Take action, learn from your experiences, and adjust your approach. The first few attempts may not be perfect, but each iteration brings you closer to your goal. Embrace the process of trial and error, and view each setback as a learning opportunity. I can predict that you’ll likely feel very uncomfortable. Rather than looking to avoid that feeling, understand that it means you’re moving closer to your goal. Fear and excitement feel the same in the body, so maybe that uncomfortable knot in your gut means that you’re highly excited by the situation. Which you should be when you’re advancing on your biggest dreams!

Conclusion

Success is inevitable when you apply this formula—so start today. Your dreams are waiting, and so is your best life.

Don’t kill your dreams by keeping them stuck in your head. There’s too much at stake. After all, it’s your life we’re talking about here.

Quotation that I’ve been pondering

I was taking part in some training on The Art of Storytelling, and came across this quote from literary agent and story consultant Lisa Cron.

“Stories, as it turns out, were crucial to our evolution – more so than opposable thumbs. Opposable thumbs let us hang on; stories told us what to hang on to.”

Loved this concept, and I am completely convinced it is true. What I find most fascinating is how this applies to the stories we tell ourselves about who we are and what we are capable of. It’s worth thinking about the role that stories play in your life, especially the ones you tell yourself.

Journal prompt

This is a journal prompt I came across the other day that I found to be a lot of fun to reflect on. As someone that has ‘continuous learning’ as one of my core values, I found it so challenging to pick one.

“If you could instantly master any skill, what would it be and why?”

I was surprised at what I ended up choosing…I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours! 😀

Just reply to this email and let me know what skill you chose.

Call to Adventure

One of the most challenging aspects of embarking on significant life or career changes is learning to let go of the limiting beliefs you have. It can be extremely difficult to identify these on your own, which is why I think everyone needs a coach at various points in life. Having someone experienced in identifying these harmful patterns is critical to giving yourself the best chance of eliminating them and enabling yourself to move forward.

I can help you with that. Don’t waste too much more of your precious life.

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