10 Ways to be Successful: Hacking It

I thought I would throw out some of my thoughts today about how you become good at something, and how you become successful with it, because I’m not sure everyone out there understands this. I often get a lot of email from people wanting to become good at magick, or writing, or some other skill, but they don’t know how to make that happen. So think of the following as a bit of a roadmap to success. It’s not the only map, certainly, but I think most successful people will agree with most of what’s here.

This advice applies to a lot of things. From career success, to subject or craft mastery, self- work, and even spiritual practices and goals.

1. You have to show up EVERY day and DO THE WORK no matter how shitty the weather is or how crappy you feel. Sometimes that SUCKS but if you want something bad enough, you show up. If you don’t,  it better be due to terminal illness or death. Otherwise, IMHO, maybe you don’t want it as bad as you think you do.
2. You can’t just flake out everytime life throws you a curveball and use that as an excuse to drop the ball or not show up.  Guess what, princess? Life isn’t fair and a lot of shit is going to drop in your lap. Straighten that damn crown, get your butt where you need to be,  get your shit together, and get it done.
3. If something is REALLY important to you – you will make time for it. I’m not saying you have to work every single day (well, you should but sometimes that’s not always possible), but you should be scheduling time for this thing (whatever it is) either daily, weekly, or monthly. If you are not willing to make time for it, maybe it’s not as important as you think it is.
4. Mind YOUR business. Minding everyone else’s business means you aren’t minding your own. This means that being obsessed with jealousy over someone else’s success is a really bad idea because your own insecurities will start sucking up all your time and you’ll spend more time hating than actually doing.
5. Repetition and consistency are how you get good at something. If you keep practicing, and you’re consistent in that practice, over time your skill will grow.
6. Persistence is important. You can’t give up after a handful of setbacks. You can’t give up after a hundred setbacks. You can’t give up.
7. Whatever this thing is – it should bring you GREAT JOY. If what you’re doing doesn’t bring you JOY — then it’s likely not the thing you should be doing. Oftentimes when people contact me about needing help finding the motivation to do a thing – it’s money driven. Newsflash folks — while having money might be great, very few people who truly love what they do for a living are motivated by money.
8. Try new techniques and keep learning. Every skill takes refinement and consistent updating. Don’t be afraid to admit that skills need brushing up, and there’s always something new to learn. The minute you stop learning and growing in your skills – the second you fall into a stalemate. Also, don’t think there’s nothing younger people can’t teach you. I have met a lot of innovative young people with fresh perspectives who have inspired me. Be a learner until the day you die.
9. Identify and face fears. Don’t just brush them under the rug. Analyze them and question them. Rip them apart and put them back together. Face them if you can. Fear is a dream killer. Sometimes you have to do the very thing you fear in order to move ahead.
10. Trust yourself and the universe to nurture your True Will. If you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust? If you have self-trust issues, it might be time to ask yourself why, and begin tackling those reasons one at a time.

Feel free to add your own tips and tricks for success to the comments below! Share what you know. 🙂