Seven C’s to Success©

I was recently nominated for an achievement award, and as part of the submission process I was asked to answer this question: What are my key traits that have created my success? Since “success” is a common topic of conversation, I want to share my response with you. I guess you can call these my secrets to success, but they’re not really secrets since they’re accessible to everyone. That’s the great thing about my list – they’re not gifts inside of me but choices I’ve made about how to live and lead, which means they’re available to all of you.

One of my core beliefs is that it’s important to question everything, so I question the concept of success and what it takes to achieve it. I could write an entire book on my own secrets to “success,” but the most important element of my success is that I got crystal clear on what success means to me (because it is, or should be, different for everyone). While I possess many of the traditional traits for achieving what I define as success, they may not universally apply to others since our definitions will vary. In that spirit and with that in mind, my core success traits (or ways of living) come down to these 7 words: clarity, choices, curiosity, core, commitment, calling & Christ. My Seven C’s to Success!

• Clarity – I got clear on what I wanted (and on how I define success), but most important I have gotten crystal clear on who I am and how I want to show up in the world. I am fully committed to continually pursuing clarity about myself, my path and my purpose.
• Choices – I live the belief that my choices define my life, and I take full personal responsibility and ownership of not only the choices I make, but also the power that choices hold for me and in my life. Choices are an inexhaustible gift I receive every day which allow me the freedom to create my life. I don’t control the outcomes, but I definitely control my choices about my thoughts, my beliefs, my words and my actions.
• Curiosity – I am curious about everyone and everything, I love questions and I question everything (every belief, story, thought or way things have been done in the past). Not everything is wrong, but everything needs to be questioned to ensure that it’s not only right (or still right), but that it’s right for me. I believe in and live out the power of questions through a curious mindset.
• Core – This relates to having clear core values which are unwavering and which guide my life and my daily decisions. Discovering and committing to my core values has had the most significant impact on my life path, business growth and success over the past five years. This set of core values is something that I return to almost every day and use to help guide my decisions and choices. If you say you have core values, but you can’t immediately name and define them then you might want to re-think or clarify them. Core values are not about generalities (e.g. being a good person), but clear and unwavering commitments. My core values are: Authenticity (being real) – Vulnerability (being open, unmasked and letting people know all of me) – Integrity (being honest and walking my talk) – Full Presence (being fully present in all communications and interactions) – Unconditional Love (accepting people as they are and where they are in every moment, without judgments).
• Commitment – By this I mean the simple matter of being committed to all of the foregoing and following concepts, walking my talk and being personally accountable for my choices. When I am committed, I achieve. It’s that simple.
• Calling – I want to go beyond goals and transcend even the ideas of passion and purpose to connect to my true calling. This involves asking and answering the critical question: Why I am here? Once I answered this question and got clear on why I am here in this world, then I was able to tap into my calling (far beyond my job, profession or goals). When I’m pursuing my calling, it allows me to keep going no matter what and to do whatever it takes (within my core values) to create the impact God intends for me to make.
• Christ – This is the simplest one and is new to me. I came to Christ a little over 2 years ago, and it has been a game changer. Knowing that I don’t have to do it all alone, that someone has my back and that I have so much more inside of me to give has allowed me to take more risks, trust myself more and live my life and grow my business from a place of transformation, not just execution.

If you’re wondering why these seven, it’s simple – they work for me. They may be different for you, but I invite you to consider what your life, business and success look like without any one of them. Remember, these 7 C’s to Success are available to each of you and they are ways that you choose, not traits you might have. That’s what makes them some impactful.

It’s been famously said that “success is not a destination, but a journey,” but maybe the deeper truth is that success is a choice about who you are. Perhaps that is the greatest secret of all.