The Five-step Formula to Lead a Successful Life

This post is also available in: Hindi Marathi

Today, youngsters today have access to high-tech communication systems and information technology through which they can quickly connect to any part of the world. In this highly competitive world, success is crucial for each of them. Some do strive hard and pave their path to success, while some fail, not because they can’t do so but their overconfidence, carelessness, or lack of focus and time management skills drifts them away from their goals.

The short story below will help us understand how overconfidence and a careless attitude can lead to failure despite having immense talent.

Ernest Hemingway was an American novelist and short-story writer. He was the most talented student during his time at school. Once, a story-writing competition was organized at his school. The students were given fifteen days to write a story. The student who wrote the best story was to be awarded. Everyone believed that Ernest would get this award because he was the most talented student and was well-versed in the art of story writing.

Ernest, too, was sure about winning the award. He considered fifteen days more than enough for writing a short story and believed that he could do it in one day. Ernest fell victim to overconfidence and did not write even a single word till the thirteenth day. When the last two days were remaining, he hurriedly wrote a story and submitted it. As he wrote the story in a hurry, the quality was not as good as people would have expected from him.

When the winner was announced, Ernest was shocked to hear that some other student bagged the award. Ernest was sad. He went home and wept all night. His elder sister softly told him: “I knew this is going to happen. You have the habit of doing everything at the last moment. If you’d planned and taken the effort of writing well in the available time, you would have surely won the award. Take a lesson from this incident and never repeat this mistake. Only then can you succeed in life.”

This advice from his sister was an eye-opener for him. He overcame his habit of doing things at the last moment and went on to become the famous novelist of America. He also received a Nobel prize in the short-novels section.

This story helps us understand that we need be sincere in our effort instead of being overconfident. There are five crucial steps in life. If every youngster understands and implements these five steps in life, they can successfully lead a complete life.

Let us understand these five steps.

First step: Trustworthiness

When you do what you say, think what you do, and speak what you think, then all the powers of nature rally in your favor because you become trustworthy.

When we give the excuse of time for not doing the job, we fail to understand that we’re losing our trustworthiness. Later this becomes a habit, and we get entangled in the vicious circle of excuses and mistrust.

Saint Dnyaneshwar wrote the famous sacred scripture called the Dnyaneshwari at a very young age. His life was filled with struggle, but he never gave excuses for not completing his work. Many scientists around the world have faced immense challanges and yet, they’ve succeeded in many ground-breaking inventions. Given such challenges, an ordinary person would lose confidence, but they never gave up. A huge contribution of dedicated and committed youngsters and teenagers has led to the development of the world. The majority of them demonstrated trustworthiness and effective time management.

Second Step: Time management

The bigger your goal, the more you need to focus on proper time management. It is the ability to make appropriate use of time, because one cannot bring back time that is lost.

Successful people understand the importance of time management and hence pen down every task they need to complete. With this habit, they ensure that they achieve even the most minor tasks within committed time. This helps in building trust with people around them.

Third Step: The art of making the right decisions

Every day, we get a many opportunities  to make small decisions. Before beginning any work, we should ask ourselves, “Am I making the right decision at this moment?” This question will bring awareness to your actions.

For example, you need to study for your exams, but spend your time gossiping with friends. This small decision of wasting time in gossip will affect your examination results.

People do not make decisions in awareness. Momentary pleasure drives them to make wrong decisions. Such choices lead to suffering in the long run. Under the influence of sensory pleasure, people make such decisions and waste a lot of time and energy. This is especially true with youngsters. To overcome this tendency, one needs to train their mind and intellect.

Raise your awareness while making choices. For example: Suppose you watch your favorite TV show by skipping your workout schedule. You then start giving excuses for not doing your workout regimen. You will escape the small hardship now but would end up with an undesirable outcome in the future. The result could be health issues, obesity, etc. On the other hand, a little awareness will help you choose to stick to your exercise regimen, which will reward you with good health in the future.

In this way, if you are aware while making even the most minor decisions, it will help you make the right decisions even in major or more adverse situations.

Today, the whole world adores Swami Vivekananda as he took the right decisions at the right time based on certain principles that he had decided for himself. Although he too experienced the ups and downs in his life, he never lost his patience and made the right decisions. He asked the right question to himself: “Do I want to attain God or dwell in the illusion of worldly comforts?” When he sought the answer, he reached the pinnacle of true success. He is considered the idol of the youth because of his decisions and perseverance.

Fourth step: Freedom from tendencies

Once, a disciple asked Ramkrishna Paramahansa, “Why do you clean the water container daily?”

Ramakrishna said: “This container becomes dirty even if I thoroughly clean it every day. This is also true with  our subconscious mind. Harmful tendencies influence the mind making it dirty like this container. Just as we clean this container, we also need to purify or cleanse our mind with noble propensities and right thoughts so that it never catches dirt and always remains pure.”

This example helps us understand that it is imperative to train our minds. We all have some bad tendencies. For example, indulging in vices, gratifying senses, wasting time on gadgets and the internet, lack of financial planning, sleeping late, skipping exercises, procrastination, holding others responsible for one’s failures, etc.

Even though one attains success in the material world, they will not be able to experience fulfillment until they free themselves from the mind’s vices. Any tendency is a weakness of the mind. Hence, it is essential that one becomes aware of one’s tendencies and liberates oneself from them.

Fifth step: Honesty

Sir C.V. Raman, the founder of Raman Research Institute, once interviewed few candidates for the post of a research assistant. When the interviews were over, one of the rejected candidates came to C.V. Raman and said, “Sir, your office staff has reimbursed the amount I spent traveling to attend this interview. But mistakenly, they have given me some extra amount which I need to return.” Sir C.V. Raman was delighted, “I am pleased with your honesty and have decided to hire you for the post of research assistant. It does not matter if you are weak in physics; I can teach you. What is important is that you have a strong character.”

Honesty is one of the important qualities to become successful. When one is honest, most of his problems are solved easily. When one practices honesty, even in minor incidents, it helps him to build his character.

Following these five steps will go a long way, not only in achieving success but also staying there!