Actor Tobey Maguire of Spider-Man and The Great Gatsby fame grew up poor, sometimes sleeping in shelters. He says success for him was about “having the ability to imagine a different future for yourself.”
So, yeah, there’s something to believing you’ll make it, but then again, don’t most children have aspirations of being successful?
I’ve never heard a kid say he wants to grow up to be incarcerated, drug-addicted, homeless or unemployed.
Whether you believe it’s destiny, prayer from the ancestors, good old fashioned grit or all three, there is a formula for having goals, pushing through obstacles and not turning back no matter what.
An article called 7 Reasons Why People Succeed says they usually share the following traits:
1.They have desire
2. They have a plan
3. They have a winning attitude
4. They show enthusiasm
5. They are always learning
6. They are efficient
7. They give themselves time
As parents or anyone who influence young people’s lives, I think it’s important to begin helping them not only outline their goals and desires but encouraging the values that lead to success. Values like perseverance, doing their best, and allowing them to fail so that they will know how to bounce back when they have challenges help create a successful adult.
If you’ve been able to stay on track with achieving your accomplishments, what do you credit it to? And if you’ve had problems, what’s gotten you off track?
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How Did Oprah Know She Would Do Big Things? was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
