How to Be Successful in Life

Regardless of how old you are, where you live, or what your career goals are, everybody's ultimate goal in life is to be happy and successful. Read this article to learn how to achieve success in both your external life (i.e. your circumstances) and internal life (i.e. emotional well being).

Method 1 of 2: Achieve External Success

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   Identify your passions. Before you can achieve success, you will have to define what success means to you. While it may take years to realize what you want to do with your life, identifying your passions, interests, and values will help you set goals and give your life a sense of meaning. Ask yourself the following questions:
   • What do you want your legacy to be?
   • How would you like to be remembered by others?
   • How do you want to make your community a better place?
   • What are your subjects of interest?
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   Make a list of your goals, and what you might do to achieve them. Be sure to address both short-term and long-term goals; try to think beyond financial/career goals.
   • Consider which subjects you enjoyed studying in school, and why. This can help give you an idea of what you may be best at or more interested in.
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   Live purposefully. In order to achieve your dreams and be the person you want to be. You will have to start paying attention to your actions. Ask yourself, is what I'm doing going to lead me to where I want to be in life?
   • If you find yourself constantly bored, daydreaming about the future or past or counting down the minutes until the day ends, it is probably because you feel disconnected from what you're doing. Consider changing careers or majors to a field that you care about but remember that it could mean changes you are not thinking of. Does that job pay enough to support yourself? Is it something you might get bored of eventually? Do I really want to commit to that job?
   • Cherish your time. Try to spend your free time doing things that you enjoy doing, rather than wasting time. For example, rather than spending your weekends watching television, spend them partaking in your hobbies or spending time with loved ones.
   • Remember that the concept of "wasted time" is relative. Not everything you do has to be productive in the conventional sense, but it should be engaging and enjoyable.
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   Be educated. Education gives you the knowledge, skills, and credibility to achieve your maximum potential. In terms of financial success, statistics have shown that the more education