“Your level of success will rarely exceed your level of personal development, because success is something you attract by the person you become.” -Hal Elrod
If you’re as clever, wise, shrewd, smart, bold and courageous as you can be, you will attract success. You won’t be able to help it.
Sadly, most people don’t get this. Instead, most people try to chase success through selfishness and self-seeking motivation. They also have a very narrow definition of success: i.e. lots of money, fame, and power to rule.
But the world’s most successful, influential, and wealthy people don’t chase success. They upper-tier performers don’t focus on the outcome; they focus on the process. Tim Grover, Michael Jordan’s personal trainer, once described how Jordan trained: “I don’t compete with anyone,” Grover taught Jordan to think. “Everyone competes with me.”
Other individuals give up on the “competition” entirely, and achieve success in other ways. World-famous actor Bryan Cranston wrote in his autobiography that once he switched his focus from the outcome to the process, he felt more free and relaxed than ever before. That was the foundation for his major breakthrough to one of the most popular actors in the world today.
Amateurs chase success, but the truly successful attract it. How? By tapping into the undeniable, implacable principles of true success. As the great author and speaker Jim Rohn once said, “Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals.” If you follow these guidelines, you can’t help but attract success.
Most people don’t realize that there are basic, fundamental principles of success that always work. If you practice these principles in all your affairs, you won’t be able to stop attracting success. That’s just how it works.
Here are 5 ways you attract success, consistently and reliably.
1. The More Skills You Learn, the More Successful You’ll Become
“Every skill you acquire doubles your odds of success.” -Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert comics
The reason I failed as a writer was 4.5 years wasn’t because I wasn’t talented (although frankly, I wasn’t very talented).
No, the reason I failed as a writer was because I refused to learn the tools of my trade.
I thought my words were enough to get me a 6-figure book deal or something. I wanted overnight success, instant prestige as a young early-20’s amateur. But that’s not how it works. If you’re a writer and you don’t learn new skills, you’ll never be successful. The same for every other industry.
I thought blog posts were enough. I refused to learn landing pages, email providers, funnels, sales letters, online course creation, automated sequences, webinars, or SEO. I was prideful, and frankly, lazy. So for 4.5 years, I languished in mediocrity.
It wasn’t until I became consistent and actually invested in myself that I began to see results. Before, a $7 book on writing was too expensive for me. But then I began paying for better tools: a better email system, an online course platform, a designer to make PDF’s I didn’t know how to make.
That’s when I saw my numbers and influence explode almost overnight: I went from getting a few dozen views a day to over 300,000+ views in a single month. (That’s 10,000+ views/day). And I wasn’t even trying to get that! I was just trying to be a better writer. Success was a byproduct.
Along the way, I’ve learned a ton of new skills most writers refuse to learn. And I’ve learned that the more skills you know, the more success you’ll attract. The more you learn, the more self-confidence and self-assurance you’ll have. As prolific writer James Altucher once wrote in his book Choose Yourself:
“The greater your own internal fire is, the more people will want it. They will ignite their own fires. They will try to light up their own dark caves. The universe will bend to you.”
When’s the last time you felt the universe “bending” towards you, lining everything up perfectly?
Can’t remember? Then let me ask you another question:
When’s the last time you decided to learn — actually learn — a new skill?
The more you learn, the more success you’ll attract. Most of the world’s success actually doesn’t go to the people born into it; more often, success goes to the people who learned more than anyone around them and seized opportunities others weren’t qualified for.
“The rich are rich because they are more literate in different areas than others.” -Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Poor Dad
2. The More You Improve Yourself, the More Success You’ll Attract
“If you want enormous success, you must become more.” -Jim Rohn
The biggest limit to your success is you.
Right now, your mindset needs to be upgraded. The sooner you do it, the better; you’re losing money every second.
At this moment, you could’ve been making passive income, giving you the freedom to travel the world with your family, or just stay at home with your kids. If you’re not, it’s your fault.
I’m not saying this to discourage or accuse you. Doing those things is hard. I know. If you’re not there yet, it’s OK. We can only make progress; we’re not perfect. We all can’t wake up at 5:00AM every morning with an organic kale shake in one hand and an self-help article in the other as we watch the sunrise from a perfect Tadasana yoga position.
But the truth is clear: if you want to quit chasing success and actually attract it, you need to become more. The more you improve, the more success you’ll attract. You need to upgrade your mindset, your actions, your environment, and your choices.
Right now, you have a narrow view of success that needs to be widened. As Tony Robbins once said, “We all act consistent with who we think we are.” The response to this truth is simple: if you want more — success, money, better health, better relationships, better job, more time to do what you want to do — you need to see yourself as more than you are now. This is the essence of “self-improvement;” improving our view of ourselves as we take the actions to become better.
The more you improve yourself, the higher you’ll see yourself. Soon, you’ll start acting “as if:” acting “as if” you were a wealthy woman. Acting “as if” you were an incredible husband. Acting “as if” you were an elite writer.
The secret is, acting “as if” becomes your reality. You will act consistent with who you think you are; if you want more, upgrade how you see yourself, and the actions will follow. They always do.
“One will never get any more than he thinks he can get.” -Bruce Lee
3. The More You Give to Others, the More Success You’ll Attract
“Giving money is the secret to most wealthy families.” -Robert Kiyosaki
Frankly, most people aren’t very generous. Most people have a poverty mentality — this idea that there’s never enough, that financial disaster is alway imminent — even if they have plenty of money. They may give some of their time/money/energy, but only up to a point. They rarely give money without expecting something in return.
What they don’t realize is that this is exactly why they’re stuck in mediocrity.
Look — the world is full of takers. Everyone wants something for nothing. If you’re selfish, you’re not special; you’re among the heavy majority.
The rare individual who is actually generous with their time, money, and resources is often the one who gets ahead: they get the job, the contract, the client, the goodwill of their fellow men and women. Because generosity is rare, and people always recognize a generous person.
Wrote best-selling author Adam Grant:
“The world gives to the givers and takes from the takers.”
Of course, many successful people aren’t generous. Many rich, wealthy, and influential people don’t give to those in need.
But many do. And those individuals are always recognized.
Generosity has an effect on your soul, an effect that can’t be produced any other way. When you give, you open your mind and heart to the needs of others. You become more attuned with what people need, and build empathy for them. Your mind rolls with this, and subconsciously begins working on more solutions for them. You will develop a “texture,” traits of a generous person.
And everyone likes a generous person.
When I was a kid, my mom once taught me a lesson about money I’d never forget. She handed me a $5 bill.
“Anthony, what will happen if you close your fist around that money?” I said I didn’t know.
“If you close your fist around that money, you won’t lose it,” she explained. But then she looked me straight in the eyes. “But you also can’t get any more money with that closed fist, either.”
Successful people attract huge success by being generous with their money, time, and energy.
4. The More Thankful You Are, the More Success You’ll Attract
“When a difficulty comes your way, you should feel proud and excited, like ‘a wrestler whom God, like a trainer, has paired with some tough young buck.” -Elif Bautman
There’s an old Haitian proverb that goes:
“Behind mountains are more mountains.”
I used to be pretty ungrateful. I hated owing anyone anything. I’d never borrow money, food, or even a stamp. I always hated how it felt to owe anyone anything. (No emotional issues there, right?)
This attitude was toxic, unhealthy, and frankly, it prevented me from attracting success. When you’re thankful, and actually allow yourself to be in someone’s debt, you open yourself up to renewed energy, creativity, and efficiency.
The more you can be thankful for difficult obstacles (and the less you complain about them), the more success you’ll attract.
Being thankful and having an “attitude of gratitude” has countless proven benefits:
Makes you feel happier and more positive
Makes you more thoughtful and open to new experiences
Makes you feel lighter and more at-ease
Better sleep
Better relationships
Better focus
Better self-control
More creativity
More discipline
External success stems from what you think/how you feel inside. If you feel positive, thankful, and humble, you will begin to attract success.
In the words of podcaster and best-selling author James Altucher:
“External changes flow from the inside.”
5. The More Prepared You Are, the More Success You’ll Attract
“Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared.” -George S. Clason, The Richest Man in Babylon
Most people mistakenly think life-changing, enormously-lucrative opportunities never come to them.
In fact, these opportunities happen quite often. The problem is, most people are unprepared for them. They haven’t learned enough, worked hard enough, or put in enough time working on being prepared.
Darren Hardy, author of The Compound Effect, once told a story about how he ended up with his wife.
When he was in his 20’s, he began compiling an enormous list of every attribute he wanted his future wife to have. He eventually filled a whopping 40 pages detailing the most exquisite and perfect match he could think of.
At the end of his writing, he realized something very important:
Any woman like that wouldn’t want to have anything to do with someone like him!
Hardy realized he needed to become a far better version of himself to attract a woman like that.
If you want to attract success — more money, an incredible partner, lucrative opportunities — you need to work on yourself. Because the truth is, you’re probably not ready yet right now. If you haven’t achieved the success you want yet, odds are you probably haven’t invested enough time in yourself to prepare for the responsibility for such a level of success.
You must become a far better version of yourself to achieve the enormous success you want.
You see what you look for. If you believe monumental growth and never-before-seen success aren’t possible, you’ll become right. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. The great performers, leaders, and influencers in the world have always believed their great victories were bound to happen.
In Conclusion
Ordinary people focus on “chasing” success, without ever really working on themselves.
Most of these people have no idea how success really works: success is a natural byproduct of following the basic fundamentals. You don’t “chase” success; you attract it.
When I was in college, I was completely obsessed with chasing cute girls. I had this desperate need to be admired and liked.
But it never led to anything. I’d try to “chase” the feelings, but all the romance I had was with emotionally unhealthy girls who weren’t good for me.
Finally, I stopped chasing girls entirely. I decided to work on myself, and ignore the endless pursuit. Ironically (isn’t this always what happens?), when I just started working on me, a lot of girls started liking me. I got asked out several times by cute girls. Where were these girls all those years before!
I began to attract success by following the basic fundamentals: learn more skills, be more thankful, be more generous, work on myself, and prepare myself for the goal I want.
That’s how you attract success.