The million-dollar question is: What does success mean to you? Now the two-million-dollar question is: How are you going to achieve it? This article is about how to be more successful by thinking more and working less than the average person in society. It does not advocate a do-nothing approach, however.
If you want to upgrade from the dump you're living in today to a more upscale living environment in the next few years, you will have to make some changes in your life. You will have to take a hard look at many things, such as the type of friends you have, how much TV you watch, your motivation level, how much of your creativity you use, your beliefs, your chosen career, your passions, and whether you suffer from the world-owes-me-a- living syndrome. To some degree, you will need to make some effort either to work more, change your line of work, or work smarter.
To make leisurely progress toward your dreams still takes courage and action. Even a fisherman in Costa Rica, who leads a full, relaxed, satisfying, and happy life, has to do something for it. He may work only a few hours a day, but he has to work enough to earn his keep. You must do the same if you want satisfaction and happiness to prevail in your life.
Some people prefer to get what they want without doing anything for it. Attaining success in this way is next to impossible, of course. Such a method for attaining success is infinitely difficult rather than easy. Doing nothing for what you want is thus more difficult than working hard for it. Perhaps, like a lot of us, you tend to fall into the trap of believing that someone else will handle the challenging areas of your life, including paying for your way in this world. You may even feel justified in expecting someone else to provide you with a comfortable living.
Being no opponent to your comfort and happiness, I will concede that, compared to me, you probably deserve it. Unfortunately, based on this measure, so do at least two billion others on this planet. No one is likely to provide you and two billion others with a comfortable living. Even if it were possible to attain some of the things we want without effort, this could not be considered success. To feel successful, we must experience a sense of achievement and feel that we deserve the things we have acquired. This is not complicated. The best way to get what you want is to do something for it. You can try working long and hard for it.
Alternatively, you can be more creative and work a lot less so that you have more time to appreciate what you have attained. Either way, you will experience satisfaction from having attained what you want out of life. The second way allows you to enjoy life more, however. In simple terms, the object is to get some of things you want in life without experiencing undue stress and anxiety.
