Have you ever wondered what the secret to success is?
If so, you would have discovered that there are many qualities like hard work, determination, skill and a good measure of being at the right place at the right time, that will all play a role in how successful people are. However, regardless of the area someone may have achieved success in, there is one thing that all successful people seem to know and do, and that is to regularly review their lives and their situation.
Just consider the difference between cutting-edge companies that progress with the times and companies that has a director who likes to take the same actions in the same way as they have always done. Who do you think will be most successful?
The companies who constantly review their market and their strategy are the ones who will improve and most probably expand, while those who do not review regularly will probably not be so successful. The difference is in the reviewing process. Only when you review your situation will you be able to tell what has been working and what hasn’t. Everything that works, should be done more of and the actions that do not work should be adjusted until it works or is stopped.
The same is true of sport stars. They constantly analyse their actions and the results they have obtained and make small adjustments until they find the winning formula.
This is also true of parents who are taking a real interest in their children or someone who is trying to improve their relationship with a partner. They will regularly review how they have handled certain situations and learn from it, so that they could improve their relations with these important people in their lives.
In any area of life where people have achieved a high level of success, you will find that review is an integral part of their success. Usually review follows a simple four-step process:
Step 1: Awareness
People become aware of exactly what is going on. They get this information through reading a report or reflecting on their situation or watching a video of their game. They know they must first get accurate information, before they can come to a decision. That is why successful companies spend thousands of pounds on collecting information and compiling accurate reports.
Step 2: Ownership
People who are successful are people who take responsibility for their actions. They will take ownership by owning their behaviour as well as the results. This means that they will not look to see who they can blame for the specific results, but they would ask themselves what they could do to improve the situation. Sometimes this involves delegating it to others, but they will take responsibility for that as well.
Step 3: Adjustment
Once you know what is going on in your life, and realise that it is your responsibility to do something about it, you cannot just go back to your old ways…
Well, you can, and many do, because it is not always easy to make the necessary adjustments. If it was easy, you would have done it a long time ago. To make the necessary adjustments will inevitably take you out of your comfort zone.
Step 4: Taking action
When you have planned meticulously and know exactly what to do, it is time to take action and do what you need to do.
This is a very straightforward process, and successful people repeat this process frequently to create an upward spiral of constantly improving.
Therefore, the more you make time to review your life and your current situation, the clearer you will be on the steps you need to take to improve – and if you consistently improve in area of life, you will eventually succeed.
Thus, whatever else you do, make sure that you make time for regular review, because that is something all successful people know and do.
