Every person can be successful by finding their secret recipe for success. You’re the master key to success. Your not successful because you generalize thoughts and blame yourself. You lie to yourself everyday. You are afraid to take necessary steps and make excuses. You think success equals wealth or living at 740 Park Avenue. You don’t need experience either. You can build your own success just like many other people before you, Teddy Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, and Henry Ford. Your saying to yourself all those men lived during the industrial period and times are different today. The recipe that made them successful is no different today. The secret recipe hasn’t changed, even today. Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder, 1979 family income was $31,238. Howard Schultz, Starbucks founder, 1969 family income was 27,881. Lets not measure success with net worth, lets measure success by how rich you live your life. Are you living the life you’ve been handed or the life that you built?

It wasn’t until I began running after my spinal cord injury what the secret recipe for success was. Doctors informed me I should never run. I was a good runner and it came naturally. My injury turned on my desire to do the things that I wanted to do but never did because of my own excuses. I was going do die broken, miserable and regretful. So I ran my first competitive race despite the doctors recommendations. The goal was to finish. I finished 8th overall. The success from that race got me curious and I imagined what I could do if I worked hard. Over the next year I ran and joined a running circuit. At the end I finished 1st in my age group. From there I decided to trail run. Trail running lead to ultra-marathons. I found another gear in life. I found a community of support. People who were willing to work with me and shared the same goals. We shared information and pushed each other. During those two years I began to see clearly and all areas of my life was coming together, my success rubbed off on those around me. I eventually ran a 50 mile race. My goal wasn’t time or placement it was finishing and succeeding. I had to grind out those last 10 miles. I was cold, blistered, aching and exhausted but grit and my community got me there. I measured success with small wins getting from aide station to aide station, my rewards was food, drink and warmth in the tents. I broke down the race in milestones. Each milestone was a success. Sure I had a few failures along the route, I had many failures in the previous races that lead up to this one. I learned from all those failures and what not to do. In a year after I began trail running, I went from running 3k’s to 50 miler’s.

"If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it." - William Arthur Ward

The secret recipe to success is you. Each one of us defines success differently. Stephen Covey said begin with the end in mind. Who do you want to be. How do you want to be remembered when you’re gone. You are the author of your life. The pen is your thoughts and the blank pages are waiting to be written. To have vision you need to have an imagination. The next step take action. Believe in yourself and have faith. Be proactive, focus on what you can influence.

"Take the first step on faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step." - Martin Luther King

Take the first step by investing in yourself. Do the things that are important to you, not what someone else thinks is best. Investment over time keeps the tools sharp. Don’t be the person who’s shackled to the same cubicle since you got there. If that’s you, your investment starts today! Get healthy and exercise. Exercise reduces stress and makes you feel great. When you feel great and look great, you develop confidence and that draws other healthy people in your life. Be positive even if you fail. Failure gets you one step closer to success. It’s not a permanent condition. Thomas Edison failed thousands of times before he achieved desired results. He had grit and that equals perseverance, passion and desire. When your at the point of resistance a break through may occur soon. Tell yourself you will be successful and you are going to win, sell yourself to yourself. Get plenty of sleep, rest is required to recharge the body. People who sleep more than the average person, who doesn’t get enough, is healthier and happier. Surround yourself with people who share goals. Develop synergy and leverage these relationships. Build momentum by setting small benchmarks that are easy wins. Those small wins will build confidence. Treat life as a marathon and not a sprint.

"If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place." - Lao Tzu

Become the person you imagine yourself to be. Dreams can be real if we take the first step. Invest in yourself physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Success has many ingredients. Surround yourself with pure relationships. Hustle, sweat, and build on momentum one mile at a time. Know yourself, be that person and start living the life you desire. Measure success by how rich and full you live. What’s holding you back? Fear, doubt, indecision or something else? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Here’s my recipe:

MAIN DISH:

3/4 cup imagination

2 cups vision

6 oz. desire

3 spoonfuls exercise

1 lb Grit

3 fl. oz. self-investment

2 dashes faith or belief

1 pinch knowing self

variety of positive affirmation

can of sleep

TO GARNISH:

positive relationships

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine all ingredients. Do not add fear, indecision or doubt.Serve with a dram of benchmarks for momentum.