7 Myths of Success

We all want to be successful in one way or another. We all have our beliefs in what it takes to become successful. The following are 7 myths of success. If any of your beliefs of what it takes to be successful fall within these 7 myths, you may want to reconsider. Holding onto these beliefs will greatly reduce your chances of ever becoming successful.

1. Working longer hours is the cornerstone of success.

It isn't hard to figure out why so many people believe this myth. We were all taught that if you want something, you have to work hard to get it. The longer you work, the more responsibilities you have and therefore, the more you must be getting paid. If you look at the opposite end, you will further see why this myth is ingrained in so many people's minds. Those who don't work long hours are lazy and will never amount to anything.

Although working longer hours will result in better pay if you get paid overtime, it is not something that is required to be successful. There are countless of successful people out there who work less than 40 hours a week. It's not about how long you work. It's about how you leverage your work. You can free up a lot of your time simply by hiring others to do certain tasks that need to be done but aren't crucial to your success. That way, you can have more time to do things like work on your business instead of in your business.
The ideal thing to do is to get into a business or career that you absolutely love. That way, work won't really feel like work so even if you put in a lot of hours, it will be by choice and not because you need the money.

2. You must have a degree.
Although there is correlation between a person's income and whether or not they finished college, when it comes down to being successful, a degree will help, but it's not required. The majority of people holding a degree will end up doing work that has nothing to do with their major anyway.
Don't get me wrong, if you can, finish college. Just realize that if you never went to college, you can still become successful. There are plenty of people who became extremely successful with just a high school education. A piece of paper won't determine your success. Your decisions and actions will.


3. True successful people do it alone.
If you feel like you have to do everything yourself and if you asked for help, that would somehow take away your success, you are wrong. Realize that no one becomes highly successful without other people's help. Reading a book on achieving goals and using what you learned is still getting help. Get all the help you can get. If you aim is to be a success, you might as well aim to be a great success and to be able to achieve a high level of success, you will need help from other people.


4. To be seen as successful, you must become a millionaire.
It's not too hard to figure out where this myth came from. We are constantly bombarded with images of huge homes, sports cars, and shiny accessories and are led to believe that if you don't have those things, you can never be considered successful. Being successful is different for everyone. If your definition of success means to be able to spend time with your family whenever you want, and you achieve that without becoming a millionaire, does that make you successful? Absolutely! Money doesn't define success. You define success. Don't get trapped into adopting the definition of success that the media has brainwashed us into believing in order to make us buy more and more things that we don't really want.


5. Successful people are born.
People choose to believe this myth as a mere excuse for not trying. If you think this is true, then you haven't researched into the lives of the people who became successful. It's too easy to look at someone and think they are talented and lucky. What most people never see is the years of work and sweat they had to put into developing the skills they are now displaying to the world. Successful people aren't born, they're made.
One of the reasons why highly successful people become that way is because they found something that they loved to do and spent countless hours becoming the best at it. Talent does play a part but there are plenty of talented people who aren't going anywhere in life.

6. Successful people don't fail.
The fact is that the most successful people are the ones who failed the most. The reason for this is because they take greater risks and go for their dreams even if it may seem impossible. They get up every time they fall, and when they finally hit their goal, outsiders look at them and think they did it in one shot. In his day, Babe Ruth was the homerun king, but he also struck out more than anyone else. Failure is a part of success. You only really fail when you decide to stop trying.

7. You have to fit a certain profile.

Many people believe that in order to become successful, you must look a certain way, know certain people, have this, have that, etc. The fact is, successful people come in all shapes and sizes. If you think, because the way you are, you will never become successful, I guarantee you that there are people out there just like you who can prove you wrong.

If you have ever used any of these myths to prevent you from going for your goals, realize that all you're doing is coming up with excuses. Eliminate these self-imposing limiting beliefs and open up your mind to possibilities and you'll be one step closer to becoming successful, whatever that may mean to you.