Sometimes you can decode if someone is successful by simply observing them. You know, these people who look like they’ve accomplished everything they set to do when they were 15, people who look like absolute success in all areas and, they also look amazing, well-rested and happy.

How do they do it?

Here is your first test whether you have a successful mindset or not – what is the first thought that you get when you see these people? Is it “I hate this woman – she just got her promotion but also lost weight and just got engaged – so unfair”? or is it “this is amazing, I can’t wait to ask her how she does it. I wonder what books she is reading?”?

While these two thoughts sound very similar, they are dramatically different and indicate your approach to success. In first case, your reaction is a mixture of jealousy and hatred and I have bad news for you – you will not become successful unless you change your attitude.  Successful people rely on others while they are becoming successful as well as to maintain it – and there is nothing less motivating than people working on things to prove something instead of doing it for their own development, to help others and/or society.

So how do you turn your mind into a success machine? It is all about the questions you ask, the attitude you have and how you react to change. This post will focus on key questions to ask and it is the first in the series of 3 posts and each will focus on setting you up for success by providing guidelines.

Key questions to ask:

1. How can I turn any challenge in an opportunity?
2. What are the barriers and how can I overcome them and prevent future ones from occurring?
3. If I fail or make a mistake – what lessons can I learn from this experience and how can I change the way I do things to improve?
4. What do I want, and what can I do today to get closer to my goal? What is my plan for getting there?
5. What tools, skills or knowledge do I need to have to get closer to the goal? For example, if you want to become a writer you may want to take a writing class or a workshop and use some of the writing tools that get you to start writing (e.g. a list of potential situations that can be used for a short story).
6. How can I help others achieve their dreams?
7. If someone has what you want – how did they achieve it? What it takes to get there? How can apply their methods to improve?
8. What is my vision? How do I define success? What do I want to improve/transform to make society better/help others?
9. What can I create? What are my strengths? What is my value-add?
10. What interests me/fascinates me and what can I do to follow my passion and continue building my knowledge?
11. Who are the key influencers in my field and what can I learn from them?
12. What would my mentor say? – This one is interesting because you don’t need to have an actual mentor to do it. This tip is something I picked up from the book called “How to be Brilliant”. It goes as follows: you think about someone who inspires you or someone whose work/achievements you admire, and you imagine this person as your mentor (and you can have as many as you want). So let’s say you admire Oprah. Now imagine that you are in a challenging situation. Now imagine Oprah. What would she tell you? Believe it or not, she once was told that she is “unfit for television”. That didn’t stop her from achieving her dreams – perhaps she would tell you to keep pushing forward.
13. What gives me energy and strength and what can I do to support myself – both mentally and physically?