Dear reader: I want to hand you an explicit blueprint for success in this write-up. In the blueprint, you will find practically everything that you need to become super successful in whatever you do. It‘s a practical plan. Anyone who is really serious about achieving success will find it easy to do.

Before l hand over the blueprint to you, I’d like to share a little story about how I came about the master plan for success. It was in December 1983, and my wife and I were visiting my uncle, Arch-Bishop George Amu.

As we were about leaving the house, I saw a set of books on the floor, which included Napoleon Hill’s Think And Grow Rich and Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude, co-authored by Hill and W. Clement Stone.

I picked up the two books, and asked permission from my uncle to go and read them. He gave me the go ahead. And that was how, looking back to that fortuitous moment today, the books that would change my entire financial life and set me on a path to financial freedom – that I couldn’t even afford to dream about before then – were handed over to me.

As I documented in my first book, How To Make It in Nigeria Building Your Wealth From Ground Floor Up, I was totally hooked on everything I read in Think And Grow Rich, and did practically everything that the author recommended, to the best of my ability.

The result was the birth of our sports publishing business, Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports; and the floating of Success Attitude Development Centre, our life-changing NGO that publishes SuccessDigest.

Over the past several years, between December 1993 and now, I have worked with this system, expanded it, and even added my own insight to it. Today, what I have is even a surer blueprint for success that can take any serious person from ground zero to seven figures and above, within a calendar year.

The total essence of all that I acquired in those books, and the practical ways that I was able to translate what l read into action, which took me to where GOD has brought me today, is the foundation of the blueprint that l want to share with you.

If you are ready for the blueprint, then get a notepad and a biro to jot a few things down. But beyond taking notes, you need to prepare your mind to carefully evaluate the information I‘m passing across to you, and then purpose in your heart to apply the ones you agree with.

Unless you follow that step strictly, there is no way this blueprint for success can be of any use to you. Merely reading stuff and gaining knowledge, without applying the knowledge, will not increase your bank balances, or change your social status.

1. Principal Life Purpose

The most critical element in my blueprint for success is that you must have a Principal Life Purpose. When you choose a principal life purpose, you set into motion the elements that will inform whom you will become.

Your principal Life Purpose drives everything that you do, including your thinking and actions. The moment you settle for a principal purpose in life, no one can divorce you from it again, until you achieve it.

The advantage of having a principal life purpose is that it helps to prevent you from drifting. Drifting is one of the greatest diseases that have afflicted the majority of the human race. It prevents people from accomplishing much at the end of their journey on this planet.

In my book, Learn It! Do It! Sell It!: Three Incredibly Simple Ways For Creating Enduring Wealth, I describe in detail the practical ways that anyone can use to determine his life purpose.

2. Realistic Confidence Laced With Boldness

Choosing a Principal Life Purpose is, without any doubt, the first and most critical step in achieving success in life. But what happens after you decide that your principal life purpose, for instance, is to become the largest real estate developer in your country?

If you are where most people are at the time they are required to make this choice, they are most likely still struggling to make ends meet; probably still looking for a regular job. In a situation like that, getting yourself to think in terms of becoming the largest real estate developer is not easy.

This is why Developing Realistic Confidence, and lacing it with Boldness, will come in handy to you. What is realistic confidence? And how can you develop it?

Confidence is a product of assurance that something is so; that it will turn out as you expected; that you can put your mind at rest, because it will be done. To have this type of confidence, it must come from strong evidence – provided by someone that you trust, or it must arise from an experience you had before.

Without this self-confidence, without having the right self-image about your ability to achieve your Principal Life Purpose, it will never be possible for you to attain the heights in life. So, Realistic Confidence that is laced with Boldness is the second key element that you must have, if you want to achieve a lasting success.

3. Taking Action [Creative Initiative]

You know what you want to become, and you have developed realistic confidence that you can make it. Now, it’s time for you to take action. To act purposefully, you must apply your creative initiative.

Your goal is to become the best in your field. To arrive there, you must constantly be rendering your best service at all times, and leading by example; always seizing the initiative, and excelling in the process.

These are the qualities that will help to establish you firmly as a leader in your field.  They are indispensable to anyone who wants to achieve success.

4. Savings Habit

As many aspiring empire builders have discovered, lack of starting capital is a big barrier to their dream. Many people have abandoned their dreams, because they couldn’t raise the money to get started.

In order to prevent lack of capital from scuttling your dream, form the habit of saving. Never spend all the money that you earn. The little amount that you’re setting aside will serve as good evidence to a lender, that you know how to handle money.

Also, if you have money in your savings, it will be easy for you to take advantage of opportunities when they come.

5. Imagination

Even though most people know how to imagine things, the type of imagination we engage in is not creative. If you have ever stopped to think about it, you will find that you are, most of the time, picturing negative things in your mind.

The equipment we use for imagining things operates on autopilot. When we are not directing it to picture what we want, it goes to work by itself, and what it gives you are fearful and dreadful images.

Now, with this same equipment, you can formulate plans and create ideas about how to approach a task, or get something done. When you master the ability to use this equipment efficiently, you will be in a position to achieve your goals easily.

6. Enthusiasm

There is nothing like operating as a lone ranger, for anyone who desires to be truly successful in life. You need the co-operation of so many other people. Therefore, you must have a pleasing personality; you must be easy to get along with.

This attribute is only possible if you cultivate the attitude of enthusiasm. You must show genuine interest in all the people you come into contact with, and you must desire to influence them positively, so that you will get their cooperation.

7. Self-Control

Self-control is a critical success factor. A lack of it will destroy a potentially colourful destiny. Let me give you one example. If you formed the habit of saving your money, and you exhibit enthusiasm, and use your creative imagination and initiative, these qualities will make people attracted to you.

Let’s assume that you belong to a co-operative society, and because of your pleasing personality and trust-worthiness, other members unanimously voted that you become the treasurer of the co-operative.

To succeed in this assignment, you need to exercise self-control over the money of the cooperative that will be passing through your hands. Otherwise, you will be tempted to dip your hands into the money.

Many people, who are in jail today, are there because they lacked self-control. They either couldn’t resist the urge to steal, or to harm their fellow human beings; thus ending up behind bars, instead of at the top of their careers.

8. Covering The Extra Mile

Average is an enemy of success. And what is average? It‘s what most people call “my best.” For anyone who wants to succeed, he must aim at going beyond where most people will stop. He must be prepared to cover an extra mile.

These are just eight of the roughly 20 key qualities you must have, in order to enjoy enduring success. As I said at the beginning of this article, it’s not enough to know these qualities. What is most important is that you must do them. You must make them a part of your life.

In my own personal experience, I discovered that putting these qualities to work in one‘s life does not come easy: You need to really work at it.

This is the work I intend to engage in with my mentees; to ensure that they build a strong character that will enable them to excel in their different fields.

 

First published in January, 2013.