Let’s begin with an understanding of the definitions of these three terms.

Conceive — To form in the mind; form a notion or idea of: to express, as in words; to form, as a notion, opinion or purpose.

Believe — To be convinced of the truth, dependability or existence of something without demonstrable evidence; to have confidence in, trust, rely on through faith.

Achieve — To perform or execute; to accomplish; to finish or carry on to a final and successful close; to obtain or bring about, as by effort.

Who wants to be successful? Everyone!

What is success? Each person would define it differently. It may involve making money, promotion at work, becoming famous, receiving acclaim, monetary rewards, reaching our goal, becoming independent, etc. True success involves all areas of our lives  — career, family life, personal development

You, yourself, decide what success means to you. It amounts to attaining your goals in the various aspects of your life.

Conceive

Spending a lot of time looking back, resting on our laurels or bemoaning set-backs or failures is a fruitless exercise and creates a negative outlook. This is pointless and non-productive besides often being very painful. I believe dwelling on past accomplishments or failures is about as productive as worrying about the future.

Many people spend a lot of time on one or the other or both. To conceive is to have a dream, a vision. You must be able to envision what you want to do where you want to go. Set goals and have objectives. This is of utmost importance in leadership. Others will follow when you confidently know where you’re headed. This is a leadership trait that is of utmost importance. If you don’t have the courage to pursue your own goals, you leave yourself open to the many people who will be only too happy to recruit you to pursue theirs.

Use imaging, positive mind pictures. Excellent results have been documented with cancer patients and will work for you as you plan and strive to meet your goals. Much information is available on the internet and in books on the subject.

Believe

It is essential to believe in what you’re about, in every area of your life. Believing and having faith go hand in hand. Do you ever get discouraged? Everyone does at times, but you need to keep on keeping on. Develop a game plan and keep score. “Divide and conquer.” Experiencing more victories more often gives us the enthusiasm and encouragement to go on, keep trying. Immediate triumphs will keep your momentum high. Live life in bite-size pieces, one day at a time. Sometimes we learn through traumatic experiences to live a moment at a time. When you’re flat on your back, you look up. Keep your focus on what’s important. Don’t get bogged down in trivial stuff.

Some very famous people had to fight discouragement when things didn’t go exactly as planned, yet by persevering they became successful. Following are some examples of events that may have been looked upon as failures but were used as a springboard for future success. Perseverance is key.

• Abraham Lincoln entered the Black Hawk War as a captain and came out as a private.

• F. W. Woolworth got a job in a dry goods store when he was 21, but his employers would not let him wait on customers because he “didn’t have enough sense”.

• Walt Disney was fired by his newspaper editor because he had “no good ideas”.

• Louis Pasteur was rated “mediocre” in chemistry when he attended the Royal College.

• Thomas Edison’s teachers told him he was too stupid to learn anything.

• Beethoven’s music teacher once said of him: “As a composer he is hopeless.”

• Einstein was four years old before he could speak and seven before he could read.

• Winston Churchill failed the sixth grade in school.

Achieve

In order to achieve success we need to look at the way we run our businesses with a new vision. A different twist on the 80/20 rule: 80 percent of customers don’t care about our problems; 20 percent think we deserve them. Respond to customer needs and wants with innovation. Innovation is one of the main attributes of excellent companies. Be open to change. Differentiate your products and services. Stay in touch with the market, customers, prospects. Recognize that for clients, customers, students, patients, etc. time is a most valuable resource. Be aware that saving your clients time is saving them money. We are experiencing a poverty of time where people have busier schedules than ever before. Setting priorities is of utmost importance. Customers are more sophisticated and more demanding than ever. We operate in a fast changing environment Delivery systems are of utmost importance. A new type of employee is needed to respond to the challenges – better qualified staffs, more highly motivated employees, more technically proficient people, better salesmanship are all needed in order to compete in the new environment against ever increasing stiff competition. People buy an image, a perception. Perceptions are behind our actions and that is why perceptions are a viable part of the dynamics of the market place. Achieving your goals for you personally and for your company requires true commitment.

A sign I kept on my desk for many years said: “Hope is wishing for a thing to come true; faith is believing that it will come true. Believe that for every problem God will provide you with a solution”.

Becky Vaughn-Furlow is retired from Trustmark Bank and lives in Lincoln County.