Hungry for Success

These days, I feel like I put myself on an intense supertrial. I went from being 131 lbs to around 122 lbs, waking up at 6:30AM on weekdays, reading a book every day, blogging 2 times daily, exercising 2-4 times a week, shaving almost daily, dressing up fashionably daily, cooking daily, and praying daily. Part of the reason for this is because I developed an A player mindset. I’ve set reasonable goals that are challenging, yet within my limits. I push myself a little farther, but without the rubber band effect. And part of it is that I also ensure getting adequate amounts of rest at night, totaling 9.5 hours of sleep per night. It’s more than the average person, and I’m slowly but surely trying to get back to 8 hours of sleep per night. But overall, I’ve been feeling productive most days, so I don’t mind the little extra sleep.

Success looks different depending on the person. We all have ideas of what success means. For one person, it could mean owning a single home. For another person, it could mean a 6-figure income. For me, it looks like the following:

1) $1000 or more in passive income monthly
2) A published book
3) A comfortable living space
4) High quality technology (smartphone and computer)

It’s a simple list, but that’s what success means to me right now. Nothing too fancy or crazy. Just enough to keep my life going, but a little extra for fun. To some people though, the $1000 or more in passive income goal might seem a little ambitious. For someone who has just dabbled here and there in passive income, it is an ambitious goal. But, I know that I will succeed in attaining that goal.

How to Set Goals

The best way to set goals is to start medium. If you set your standards too low, too small, you might sidetrack due to boredom. You want to challenge yourself without burning yourself out. You don’t want to start lifting 300 lbs if you never lifted before. But, you don’t want to settle for 1 lb dumbbells either. Go within your limits, but push yourself a little. That’s what smart ambitious people do.

Make sure that the goals are measurable. Give the goal a numeric value such as $100 in passive income per month, or losing 5 lbs of weight within 2 weeks. That way, you can say for sure whether or not you’ve succeeded in reaching your goal.

You can set short-term and long-term goals. I set daily and weekly goals. But, I also have yearly and even longer-term goals. Some daily goals include hitting the gym and showering. Some weekly goals are grocery shopping or going to a new place. And yearly goals including moving to a new location. A longer-term goal of mine is to become a millionaire. I don’t anticipate reaching that goal this year, but hey, who knows depending on how it goes with passive income.

Whatever you do though, make sure to practice enough self-care so that you don’t burn yourself out. Highly effective ambitious people succeed because they know their limits well, but learn how to work within those limits and expand those limits over time. You can do the same too through careful goal-setting and planning.