Creating a Foundation For Success in a Few Easy Steps

Reality TV has given us glimpses into worlds that were previously unavailable to us. One of the more fascinating worlds for me is the life of hoarders, people who can't get rid of anything.

So what, you may be wondering, has this got to do with becoming more successful? Well, like hoarders, many of us hang onto things that we don't actually need, that weigh us down and here's the important part, limit our success. Like hoarders, we create lives that are limited by the things that we can't let go of, whether it's people, thought patterns, activities or habits. And like hoarders, it's only after we've let go of the stuff we don't need that we see how much it's limited our success.

Many of us get rid of the physical things we don't need in an annual ritual we call spring cleaning. But I'm a big proponent of doing this more than once a year and not just because of the following story.

A couple of years ago in the fall, while I was waiting for the painters to finish my office and bedroom, I decided to go downstairs into my basement to see if I could work some magic down there. The Diabetes Association was coming the next day to pick up some household goods and so I went downstairs to see what I could and should part with.

As I went through one of my armoires, which held some of the extra linen and bedding I had inherited after my Mother died, I was shocked to find a jewelry box, with my Mom's favourite jeweler's name on it, wrapped inside a towel. To my utter surprise and glee, I found a lovely pair of diamond earrings when I opened the box, which I now wear every day.

My question for you is this: what riches and what successes are available to you if you put your life in order, by cleaning, sorting, trading, recycling or donating things that you no longer need? As previously mentioned, these things could be people, habits, activities or thought patterns.

What do you need to do to put your own house in order? The law of attraction, the ancient Chinese practice Feng Shui and basic common sense leads many of us to agree that until we get rid of what we no longer need, there is no room for the new that we may desperately want to let in. And yes, finding a pair of diamond earrings while doing your spring cleaning isn't going to happen to everyone. But the gifts we receive from doing so could be equally as valuable, depending on your perspective.

If you like the idea but the number of things you need to let go of seem overwhelming, then focus on one area of your life and start there. Maybe it's a cluttered room in your house, or maybe a toxic friend boss who is making your job unbearable. Look at your current situation, where you'd like to be and then map out the first few steps you could take to move you closer to your goal. Within the next 72 hours, optimally within 24, take the first step. Why? Behaviourists tell us that motivation wanes after 72 hours and that most successes happen when people act immediately.

There's a lot to be said for increased energy and an incredible lightness of being, which is what most people report after purging the old, while making room for the new. And a lot more energy to focus on becoming successful. So while there may not be gold or diamonds in "them there hills," you'll probably find something else of value from saying goodbye to things you don't need. Why not give it a try, because as I can attest, stranger things have happened.

About this Author

Kathy Santini, the CEO of Savvy About Success knows that success leaves clues, making it easy to model and replicate. She takes the mystery out of success by showing success-oriented individuals and business owners how to be more successful by teaching them what successful people know and do.

As a coach/educator, Kathy offers coaching, group coaching and mastermind programs, and hosts teleseminars and telesummits on the subject of success.

To learn more about her offerings, to subscribe to her weekly Ezine, full of success tips or to get your own copy of her FREE report, 101 Ways to Become More Successful - Learn What Successful People Know and Do visit http://SavvyAboutSuccess.com

Kathy's expertise has been profiled in Canada's national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, on Canada's national broadcaster, CBC Radio; in newspapers across North America and on radio stations across Canada. She is a former coaching columnist for The Business Examiner Newspaper and Exceptionalife Magazine, has written guest columns and articles for various publications and been a guest on numerous TV programs.

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