In today’s lesson you will learn what I believe to be the foundation to all personal and professional achievement.  One of my favorite books is Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.  In this book he said, “Desire is the starting point of all achievement.”  For many years I believed that to be true. But over the last couple years, I have begun to question whether desire really is the starting point.  Yes, it is absolutely essential, but is there something that precedes it—something that actually is the foundation to achieving success?

Is Desire Enough?

Throughout my career I have personally coached hundreds of hopeful entrepreneurs. One of the first things I would do is help them define their goals and desires. This seemed like a logical starting point.
What I found most intriguing was when it was time for these people to employ the discipline required to do what they knew they should do to achieve those goals, most of them wouldn’t do it.

One study I read years ago indicated that out of 100 people who get a real estate license only one renewed it the following year.  The other 99 quit.  These experiences have caused me to question why people who have a desire for something, do not follow through.

Thinking versus Knowing

While I have many theories, I believe the root cause is this: what they desired was not important enough to them to do the necessary things required to be successful.  Think about it!

So, why I am spending your valuable time teaching this lesson?  Because I firmly believe if you are going to achieve greater personal and professional success, you must stop wasting your time pursuing things you THINK are important and start focusing your efforts on the things you KNOW are important.  It’s a small but critical distinction.

Let me offer this challenge to you. Take a few minutes right now and make a list of the things that are truly important to you. This won’t be difficult because those things will immediately come to mind.
To give you an example, here are the categories on my list: wife, children, parents, siblings, grandson, friends, health, financial security, fulfillment, spiritual life, and fun.  Your list might include such categories as job, church, community service, travel, education, or hobby.

Identify and Prioritize

After completing your list go back over it and prioritize it by identifying the most important item, followed by the second most important, and so on until your list is prioritized.  When you are done, you will have a prioritized list of the things most important to you—a good thing to know.

As you go through this process, be honest with yourself.  Don’t put something at the top of your list that really isn’t the most important.  No one has to see this list.  If you are going to move your life forward, you can’t play games with yourself and pretend things are different than they really are.

If you sincerely want to enjoy a more successful and fulfilling life, take five minutes right now to do this short exercise. From my years of experience, I now believe identifying what’s most important to you is the starting point of all achievement. What do you think?  I’d enjoy reading your comments in the section below.

Live by design, not by default. Start by determining the things important to you.

About the Author: Todd Smith is a successful entrepreneur of 30 years and founder of Little Things Matter. To receive Todd’s daily lessons, subscribe here. All Todd’s lessons are also available on iTunes as downloadable podcasts. (Todd’s podcasts are ranked #27 in America’s top 100 podcasts and #1 in the personal and development field.)

Related Posts:

Are You an Optimist or a Pessimist?

Being Honest With Ourselves

Maximizing Your Value

How to Get Any Job You Want

11 Ways to Increase Your Discipline

Accelerating Your Success

How to Kick Butt in this Economy

Your Greatest Obstacle