Success - When We Gonna Make It Work?

By Mark McClure

Success to some people may indeed be as simple as this paraphrase of Bob Dylan's words on the subject: "Success is getting up in the morning and going to bed at night, and in between doing what you want to do".

Now since you are reading this article it's possible that you have some interest in being more successful in areas of your own life. Me too! That's one of the reasons I write because it forces me to think about the words I would use to define or describe success.

So let's take a closer look what Bob Dylan said. I guess most of the readers of this article are in the fortunate position of being successful at two of the three criteria he has laid out. It's just the big bit in the middle that gets everyone's attention!

What does he mean by "doing what you want to do?" Even a musical star like Mr. Dylan must encounter some things he doesn't particularly care to do each day. But I suspect he does some of them anyway perhaps because of contractual obligations in his music business. Or because he knows, like the rest of us, that life choices usually come attached with a certain degree of responsibility and obligation. (Just ask any parent or pet owner!)

My coaching experience has given me some insight into why people like Bob Dylan are viewed as successes. When I ask clients who have come to me for goal setting advice or mentoring, what is it that they would really want to be doing most days, the majority of them haven't got much of an opinion.

I am amazed but no longer surprised. Many people appear to be resigned to selling themselves short in life, as Abraham Maslow once commented. Trouble is, life has a way of throwing curveballs when we least expect it. For example, global economic changes are turning an increasing number of once secure career paths in the Western world into dens of uncertainty.

Where I think Bob Dylan has got it right is in making use of his unique combination of talent, persistence, choices and a dash of that old magic dust known as luck! The thing is, you and I also each have our unique combination of abilities, character and imagination. And luck!

Think on this for a minute."Advice for the young at heart. Soon we will be older. When we gonna make it work?"

These are magical lyrics from the UK band, Tears For Fears, and capture the essence of the message in this article. Go check out their beautiful video on YouTube.com - just search for the song title "Advice For The Young At Heart". That song was released in 1989, I was still in my 20s, and now their message has finally got to me!

I hope that you get something out of it too. And if you do, then I would kindly ask you to also let a few of your close friends benefit too. You can do that by forwarding this article to them by email. There is a small red button at the top right of the article screen. It's labeled "Send to friends". Just click that.

So, when are we gonna make it work?

For help with making it work in your life, I invite you to discover how to create incredible yet reachable goals - in my FREE 14-page report: Successful Goal Setting

Mark McClure is a Japan-based e-coach and now always listens to advice from the young at heart. http://www.goalcreationmaps.com/art