Critical Success Factors

What are the success factors behind imminent critical achievement or probable failure and how do we understand and manipulate the key factors in our favor?


Every achievement starts with a select grouping of actions that in turn create the the correct environment for either accomplishment or defeat, the real secret is to start with the right tools and avoid the pitfalls that those who fail - fail to do.


To excel there are things you must have or obtain and of course conversely there are things that your either avoid or rid yourself of. There are exceptions, but the majority of successes are achieved by adherence to very key critical success factors, either knowingly or otherwise.



Planning

There will always be people who by good fortune, inadvertently stumble upon success. Most people however, will not.


The core of most successful people's accomplishments revolve around a great plan, the type of plan that has all the details including the likely hood of succeeding.


They evaluate from the start the likely hood of success and they Are Not afraid to realize that something may be beyond their capabilities. Chasing a dream is ok, but chasing one blindly when good planning would have told you that even your best efforts would likely be in vain is not.


There is no doubt about it - Failure to plan is tantamount to failure itself.

You can can follow your dream and succeed if the odds are long, but knowing when it's just not viable is part art and part good sense.



Passion


Succeeding without passion is a rarity. If you want to win you must be more than just interested, you must be deeply passionate about accomplishing your ambitions.


Passion gives you drive and that gives you energy that makes the hard work and effort needed to win bearable. Successful people more often than not, are extremely involved in what they do, this results in a natural connection between their ambition and themselves.


This is why successful sports people excel, they have the passion to train through injury and adversity, as well as the intensity needed at the highest levels.


Attempting to succeed at something of which you have no passion is not the action of regularly successful people.




Time And Effort

High achievers are prepared to do what it takes to fulfill ambitions, whereas those who aren't prepared don't achieve.

Time and effort are almost certain requirements, so those who think success is obtainable without these key factors are the one's who chase get rich quick schemes and fail.

Achievement requires considerable time and effort, this automatically separates many from their goals. Your ability to put in the "hard yards" says as much about your personality as it does your likely hood of fruition.

Often time and effort will include an element of persistence and while that is almost a success factor in itself, persistence is also a reason for some people failures. Many people persist too long in the face of obvious defeat, increasing their losses and missing out on lost opportunities while they follow the wrong path.

Putting in time and effort are no guarantees of success but without there is a guarantee of failure.




Sacrifice


For everything you aim to achieve there is an inevitable price and that is what ever you are willing to sacrifice. A really interesting critical success factor as it relies heavily upon you giving something up in order to make a gain. It means your priorities will be tested.


Whether it be money, effort or family time, every single successful person has been willing to forgo some degree of this to mount their challenge towards victory.


Your own personal justification is required and if your can't reach it then your self doubts may very well hamper your best efforts.


You may never be entirely comfortable sacrificing family time or hard earned savings but if you find it entirely justifiable then it will be far easier to commit to.

Sacrifice is the price you must pay for reward, so you must be sure of your self.




Attitude


Wrong attitude = Failure.



I'm not talking about a "bad" attitude, that will also be a burden, but the wrong attitude for your personal project will be ultimately disastrous.

Not all successful people have golden personalities, in fact they are usually as flawed as ordinary folk, but the one thing they possess it the the right attitude specifically for their ambitions.

Different ambitions and differing levels of achievement require select mindsets. If you aim to be a international recording artist but you are shy and meek then automatically a problem exists. If on the other and you have great people skills and you want to become highly successful in sales then you have an automatic advantage.


Sometimes you may have to develop yourself beyond your comfort zone to obtain the right personality and attitude to tackle your goals. A critical success factor that makes you question your mindset and outlook on life.



The Solution


In the end there are certain Critical Success Factors that must be learned to maximize potential and turn ambition into achievement.


What have we learned so far?


Successful people have the following:

*Good, well thought out plans.

*The passion for their ambitions.

*Willingness to extend time and effort.

*A willingness to sacrifice in order to achieve.

*The right attitude or the willingness to get the right attitude.


These Critical Success Factors are the most important keys that help to make up the arsenal of your average (or less than average) high achiever.

Some people are lucky that they inherently possess these traits, but even if you don't you can obtain and possess them for yourself.



In Conclusion

The solution to succeeding lies in many variables, but there are some that are ever present that account for the majority of accomplishments. By seeking to develop your own key factors you can proceed to emulate the feats of the successful or better yet overtake them altogether.

These examples of critical success factors should highlight to you the very things that are needed to succeed and make valuable achievements, but they should also make you value the effort that must be exerted in order to accomplish your goals.

Critical Success Factors By Stephen G