There are many people out there that will tell you all sorts of things on this topic of the keys to success. Some would even claim that you may not have everything you need right there with you before you begin. That you needed to have their amazing product that will put a squillion dollars in your pocket overnight simply because they have the Midas touch and that because you are affiliated with them you are going to have instant success.

To a lot of people I am an enigma, I am almost unexplainable. I have certainly had my share of success and also of ‘failures’ if you want to call it that, I prefer to call them valuable lessons. Yet I keep getting up and going back for more, not because I am a glutton for punishment, because I wish to be at cause for the things that happen in my life.

It is very easy to sit aside and put things outside your control and blame someone else for the pitiful existence you are living (when of course you are living one). You see that is easy, what’s not so easy for most people is to sit there and take the criticism and constant taunts from people who are, frankly, to damn scared to BE anything. I get this a lot. I get taunts from people, I get the constant, 'you’ll never be anything', 'you have no morals, no ethics', I say let my actions speak for themselves. The truth is I have ALWAYS tried to the right thing by people.  People have not always done the right thing by me. I am a pretty trusting sort of person, and I take people at their word. Sometimes people exploit that. Now is this my responsibility? You can bet your a$$ it is my responsibility. Therefore I have the power to do something about it.

So here I am, I want to share with you some of the things that I have learned, and I am not going to ask for any money for the information, I am not going to ask you to opt-in to any news letters or sell you the next big thing. I am just going to share with you some fundamental keys to success that work, and also the ones to avoid!

1. Research Your Company; (your own research, not hearsay)

That sounds simple right? Well most people research the wrong thing. You see it doesn’t matter who is involved in an opportunity, it doesn’t matter what Joe Bloggs has written about it on the Internet (the Internet is the world’s largest unregulated forum, people can say anything with total anonymity). What is important is, does the company in question adhere to and abide by all regulatory authorities? Does the company have longevity? Meaning, are they positioned to take advantage of market trends. Does the Company have a strong vision and a focused leadership team that will enable them to carry on into the future?

2. Do it for the Right Reasons;

Again this may sound simple.......... right now if you are saying to yourself, of course the right reason, well if your reason is simply money....... It’s the WRONG Reason. WHAT does the money do for you, why are you looking for the money, this is your reason. To clarify, unless you know exactly what the money is for, then sure you may earn it, and lots of it, however trust me, it WILL leave you if it is not for the right reasons. So it helps if you love the opportunity you are involved with. I love helping people, so here I am.

3. Have a Laser Focus;

So here we go again, heard it all before. I can’t stress this enough, be focused, know what your outcome is for any given opportunity. Be single mindedness of purpose. Write out what you are going to accomplish for the week, if this seems daunting, GOOD you are already making progress. You should continually stretch your boundaries (as Einstein said, we are limited by the boundary conditions of our thinking)

4. Formulate Action Steps;

An idea or opportunity without action is like fly without wings......... it just isn’t going to fly. Once you have your week mapped out, figure out how you can achieve it, that doesn’t include sitting on Facebook or other social media sites (I have been guilty of this... It happens). With your actions steps, reward yourself when you complete them, this will keep you interested in doing what you are doing.

5. Have Fun;

This is THE most important one, if you are not having fun in your opportunity then get the heck out of it, now I don’t mean if you are having a bad day and cannot for the life of you figure something out, no I mean if week after week, month after month, you feel like you are banging your head against the wall. LEAVE, do something else.

Ok so there are five keys to lasting success, there are more, however this article would end up a novel, and not useful, which is its intent.

So now, here is something NOT to do, don’t EVER take someone’s word for the figures or projections for a Company or Business, always do your own homework, no matter how trust worthy you think the person in question is. That was one of my failures.

Let me wrap this up by saying this, recently I was on Facebook and I read a status update that said something along the lines of this... “it’s not your fault that 97% of people fail in MLM or homebased business’s, I have the secret that will help you succeed”, sure I am paraphrasing a little.

Here is the truth, if some system or business opportunity (that seems to be working for everyone else) is not working for you... I am sorry it IS your fault, you are the only variable. People preaching this other crap are just trying to take your money. If something is not working, try it a different way. If it is still not working... Try it a different way. You are only kidding yourself jumping from Opportunity to opportunity hoping for something better. Most opportunities out there have merit and people are making money with, if you are not... the opportunity is NOT the issue.

Stop placing the responsibility outside yourself and take control, you really are that powerful, ‘Step into Your Power’

About the Author

Andrew Hawkes is an Entrepreneur that has had good times and bad, he draws on all the experiences that he has had, military and in business, to provide solid information that anyone can use and understand to improve the results in thier own life and therefore show others to imrpove thiers. He believes that anyone can make a difference in the world and that ultimately anything is possible.