Successful People

                Parents and mentors can strengthen future families, communities, and nations by teaching the rising generation how to become successful in life.  The first thing we need to teach our youth is that “success” is much more than having a huge bank account or being famous.  We can teach them that “success” means living a happy and fulfilling life.

                Amanda Green wrote an interesting article about the “5 Things Successful People Do Before Breakfast.” Her article of course was pointed towards careers, but I could not help thinking about how her ideas could help our rising generation to prepare now for successful lives in the future.  Her ideas are as follow.

                (1) Be a morning person.  Successful people start their days early about 5:00 or 6:00 a.m.  People who awake early have “time to start the day off right, taking time to get out of bed, shower, and embrace the day gradually, rather than rushing off to work at the last minute.  Waking early also suggests that you are happy with your life and dedicated to personal growth.”

                (2) Exercise every day.  Successful people understand how to avoid procrastination.  By setting a goal to exercise every day rather than several times a week, they avoid the entrapment of procrastination and embrace the relaxing and invigorating effects of exercise.

                (3) Make your roadmap.  “Successful people are great at making and keeping goals.  You should make an effort to read your list of long term and short term goals every day” because “reviewing your goals can help keep you on track.”

                (4) Prepare your mind for the day.  “Whether you choose to do so by listening to inspirational audio books or visualizing the day ahead, setting a mentality is an important part of a successful person’s day.  Visualizing the day ahead can prepare your mind for the tasks and challenges of the day.

                (5) “Read the news.  Successful people are people who have a good understanding of what’s happening in their community and the world around them.  Not only does this prepare you for the day ahead, but it keeps you up to date so you can carry on a conversation about current events as well.”

                We can all put Green’s counsel into effect in our lives.  By modeling the activities of successful people as well as teaching the purposes of these activities, we can strengthen our families, communities, and nations.