By Jaxson Miller

Legendary basketball coach John Wooden once said, “Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.”

Success is a word or concept that can be different for every person. Everyone wants to be successful, but it is a long road to get there. So what does it take?

Success can be defined in many ways according to a person’s hobbies, interests, or goals. It is not necessarily about being super rich or being MVP all the time. Although there is nothing wrong with wanting to make a lot of money and win awards, success should be about personal fulfillment.

Most people feel the need to be successful because they want to feel like they had a significant impact on the world. One of the biggest fears a lot of people have is looking back on a life that lacked impact or was unfulfilling. This is where hard work and being driven comes into play because there is only so much time a person gets on Earth.

The knowledge that your time on Earth will be up one day should create the focus and the need for accomplishing goals. Time is one of the most valuable things.

It takes a lot of dedication to achieve success and many people fail to work for what they want and expect everything to be given to them. That is not how it works.

Tiger Woods, arguably the greatest golfer of all time, said this in his acceptance speech when he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, “Nothing is ever going to be given to you. Everything is going to be earned. If you don’t go out and put in the work, you don’t go out and put in the effort, one you’re not going to get the results. But two, more importantly, you don’t deserve it, you didn’t earn it.”

Fortunately, it has never been easier to learn how to be successful than it is today. Perhaps this explains why there is more millionaires in the world today than there has ever been.

The first step is to stop looking for the silver bullet. That means to stop looking for the easy way out. Work and be creative! Success does not happen overnight.

Next of all, goals should be specific, attainable, have a date, and a purpose. There is nothing wrong with reaching out to people for help. Want to be successful? Learn from other people that are successful. However, do not look for validation.

Nothing kills happiness more than when a person decides to not follow their dreams. Do not be afraid to dream big: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars.”

Ownership and belief in oneself leads to results. If it is a person’s goal to start their own business, they need to take ownership in themselves.

One of the best things about entrepreneurship is having the freedom to create a business from personal vision. Plus, taking self-ownership leads to enjoying the wins and learning from the losses. Most importantly, belief leads to achievement. It is all up to the individual to become successful.

There are many ways to achieve success in life. Becoming successful requires someone to stop looking for someone else to do it for them, create goals, to be dedicated, work hard, not look for validation, live their dreams, take ownership, build experience, to have self-discipline, and believe in themselves.

There are two options everyone can do. They can either sit back and not work for it or they can start creating, take some risks, discipline themselves, and work hard so they can earn it. Ultimately, make everyday count.

Remember: Work hard. Stay humble. Be kind.