Let's imagine for a moment. You were sitting at home quietly, a warm drink in your hand. Today the sky is bright, but a cool breeze is blowing through the house through the open front door. Our eyes are focused on business financial reports for the last few months. Revenue was far above expectations, even experiencing a steady, albeit small, increase. A sigh of relief filled my chest, especially with the current conditions, I was finally able to settle all the remaining installments and bills. Closing the report page, the laughter of children running into the house breaks the loneliness. A smile appeared on his face. Everyone is happy, everything is fine.

Whatever business and work we undertake, you could say this is the simplest picture of success. How about you, BossQ? What does success mean to you?

In the journey of life, everyone certainly has personal goals that they want to achieve. Various personal ambitions become the fire that burns the spirit within me to continue fighting. There are those who want to have a peaceful life without having to worry about finances, or maybe there are those who dream of having a profitable business that will last for generations in the family. There are those who feel successful when they do work they like, there are also those who try their best to give their best effort to what they do. When various personal dreams are able to be realized, we declare ourselves successful and successful.

It turns out that Indonesian people are relatively simple in their definition of success. Quoting LinkedIn research reviewed in the article Marketeers, more than 74% of Indonesians define success in general as "being happy", followed by "being healthy" (64%) and "maintaining a balance between career and personal life" (62%). Indonesian residents also expressed great optimism about being able to achieve success within one year, higher than neighboring countries such as India, Singapore and Australia. From the same research, the majority of Indonesians are of the opinion that there is no definite definition of success, and success is not only characterized by large long-term achievements, but also a number of small achievements that make oneself feel happy.

Everyone certainly wants to reach a point of success in their life. We ourselves are able to assess how far we are on our journey to success. With high optimism, we are one step ahead on that journey, but to be able to truly achieve the success we dream of, we need a more specific mindset to guide us in taking more appropriate and productive steps.

The Surefire Way to Be More Successful in Your Business

Now, try to name three successful people you know. Already? Now, try to think about what these three have in common?

Of course there are many, but to mark them one by one would take a long time. Well, don't worry. Qasir has now summarized it for you, young entrepreneurs with a virtuous spirit. Come on, let's look together at ten key things held by all successful people from Gary Vaynerchuck, both those who are still working among us today, or the legends who have left a legacy of their work in history.

Key to Success #1: Know Yourself

Yes, this is very basic stuff. Self-awareness is the biggest key to every success. There are so many people out there working jobs they hate because they haven't discovered their passion or skill set. So, how can we find the answer? One easy way to get to know yourself is to ask the five people who know you best. Ask for their opinion about your skills, abilities, and even weaknesses according to their observations. This can be material for your personal evaluation to understand the right path for you to follow, especially as an entrepreneur.

Key to Success #2: Do What You Love

This is the next step in getting to know yourself. Try standing in front of a mirror and look at the face in front of you. Ask him, "What do you want to do every day for the rest of your life?" If you already know the answer, do it. Quoting the Indian writer, Amit Kalantri, simple jobs become difficult when you do them half-heartedly. Being an entrepreneur has its own challenges, but when you find something you like and do it wholeheartedly, you will always put in optimal effort to produce successful work.

Key to Success #3: Do Everything Totally

You know Michael Jordan? This professional basketball athlete is known for his extraordinary work ethic and commitment to winning matches, for example by increasing his practice hours until he is rated at the maximum and meets expectations. This effort also bore sweet fruit and produced good results and reputation for himself and his team. When working, doing business, making friends, having a family, being in a community, helping others, or even listening, use all your abilities to the maximum. Live every aspect of this life with totality. There is never a word of success for people who work half-heartedly.

Key to Success #4: Leave Past Mistakes Behind

Regrets are useless. No matter how much you want to turn back time and correct the mistakes of the past. Humans make mistakes over and over again in life, but do you realize that every mistake we make shapes who we are today? The steps we need to take are to realize the mistake, accept it, then correct it. Every time we open our eyes in the morning, we also open a new, pure white page in the book of life. Make sure what you do on the new day is better than before, so that the opportunities we receive are no longer in vain.

Key to Success #5: Be 100% Responsible

When we blame others, we admit that we have no control, are helpless, and have no quality. In the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey, humans are said to have a circle of concern, which consists of all the things we care about. Within that circle, there is a smaller circle, namely the circle of influence containing things that we can control the results of. A simple example is that the things other people do are within our circle of concern, but our personal choices and behavior are within our circle of influence. Life is filled with challenges, be it with other people or the circumstances we face. However, what makes the difference is our response to the situation. We need to learn to admit more to the mistakes we make. Only failed people always point out other people's mistakes. Successful people are willing to admit it, evaluate it, and improve it.

Key to Success #6: Be grateful for life from now on

We live in an era full of opportunities and convenience compared to our parents or grandparents. This means that our chances of success are greater. However, the choice to realize this is in our hands. The Greek philosopher, Epicurus, said that we don't need to destroy what we have by wanting what we don't have. Remember that what we have now was only a hope in the past. From now on, choose to focus on what we have got without complaining. Other people may not have the same fate and have their own struggles. Start every day with gratitude, because life is too amazing to complain about.

Key to Success #7: Become a “Practitioner”

What is meant by “practitioner”? Rather than just being observers or commentators, we make a real effort. You don't need to wait until you become an expert to work, but instead learn from real actions, both successful and wrong. Our abilities are born from the various trials and failures we experience. The more flying hours and falling hours increase, the more lessons we can learn to become better entrepreneurs. There will never be a perfect time, but there is only now.

Key to Success #8: Understand the Essence of Efficiency

Efficiency can be defined as maximum productivity with the smallest possible effort or cost. In everyday life applications, it is better to be fast than perfect. That is the essence of efficiency that we need to agree on. Everyone has the same time every day. From the 24 hours available, we also determine the things we need to do. To achieve maximum efficiency, try to train each of us to do something useful out of habit every day. When this habit has been formed, we will eventually find that we can do a lot with an unchanging amount of time.

Key to Success #9: Focus on Yourself

When they imagine success, many people want to be the next Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, or Elon Musk. However, these people are known for being the best version of themselves, not trying to be someone else. Each person is born unique, with their own skills and a different way of life. As the American writer, John C. Maxwell, the only comparison you can make is with yourself. Our mission is to be better than we were yesterday, namely through focusing on what we can do today to grow and develop. Try not to care about your friends' luxurious possessions or the expensive trips they often show off on social media. That's their business. Your business is to become the best version of yourself.

Key to Success #10: Think Legacy, Not Just Honor

Really successful people want to have a big impact, not just big prestige. Humans certainly like honor, but when you bring benefits through the work you do, that's what makes you different from those around you. Nothing is eternal in this life. Even so, the impact we inherit during our existence can bring significant changes to the surrounding environment, even after we are gone. By bringing meaning rather than just caring about personal interests, our efforts will not only be successful and honorable, but also leave a mark on this world.

It turns out there are a number of things that guide us on our journey to becoming successful entrepreneurs. Even though it looks difficult to do, these steps are actually simple and can be done now. This means that we can all be successful. The deciding thing is whether you want to do it or not. As the saying goes, "Playing in wet water, playing with scorching fire." Every job and business will have its difficulties, but the impact and benefits we bring through our success will certainly be sweeter.

Happy work, and enjoy the journey!