A Model for Successful Living

Having taken the time to study what successful living is all about I have tried to come up with a very simple model for how the process works.

How one lives successfully is very subjective, but I believe this model is flexible enough to incorporate anyone's opinion of success and the path one must take to achieve it.

The model

1. Assume responsibility for your life

You are the only person responsible for your life in the long-run. It is ultimately how you act and are as a person that causes everything in your life to be how it is. Understanding this concept means you acknowledge that no one else but you has the full potential to take control of your life.

2. Recognize unlimited choice in possibilities and potential

As you accept that you are responsible for everything in your life, e.g. your health, finances, relationships, etc. you realize that you have created all the results you have up until now. This also means that you can create any result you want in the future. When you understand this you understand that you have complete choice over what any area of your life will be like in the future.

3. Decide - what you want/your goals/your future, etc

After realizing that you can choose exactly how to live your life and choose all the results you experience in life then you have to decide exactly what results and experiences you want.

4. Act

You must take action in order to produce the results you want.

5. Measure your results

After producing results from taking action you can now see whether or not you produced the results that you wanted. If you did then you can celebrate and set new goals to challenge yourself. If you did not produce the results you wanted then you need to take action again but in a different way. This process is cyclical until you finally produce the results you want.

The simplicity of this model leaves it open to much interpretation. I therefore believe it is a useful guide, but not a comprehensive answer to successful living. I do, however, believe that the answer to a question like "how do I live successfully?" is easier to figure out when you have some idea of what the answer looks like.