William James, one of the most notable philosophers and psychologists in our history, is the founder of a philosophy called pragmatism. To be pragmatic is to be practical… to test the validity of a concept by its practical results, to actually question something and rate its usefulness by what it can do for you, to think a method of doing something and figure out if it’s even worth your while.
One of the issues Mr. James dealt with in his lifetime was, “What does it mean to be a success, a significant person?” After years of pondering this question, he described success as a combination of two things. First, success is an inner ideal that is courageously and persistently followed. And second, success is outer achievement related to that ideal.
Let’s consider the first one: success is an inner ideal that is courageously and persistently followed. I (Jim Rohn) take that to mean defining a goal and having the resolve to complete it, no matter what.
William James’s second part to attaining success dealt with the outer achievement related to the inner ideal.
You need both aspects to really be a success, but what Dr. James realized about his philosophy of success was that the first part is, indeed, more important than the second. As long as you are working toward your inner goal, success is possible. Once you give up on your inner vision, you can never become successful.
Maybe the person who has been working on a project for ten years can be successful in his own right–if he is honestly working toward it, doing everything to make himself worthy of reaching the dream, and really happy with where he is. Then maybe he is a success. It’s a personal thing. What matters most is proceeding one step at a time for however long it takes.
What evidence of progress can be seen when you accomplish your goals one step at a time? You’ll start to see things change around you. They won’t be major things, just little, everyday things. These are things you may not even notice unless you are paying attention.
If you’re one of those who’d rather stay up late and get up late–and your workplace doesn’t fit this schedule–and you roll out of bed cursing the alarm clock every morning, maybe you could start with the little change of going to bed half an hour earlier than normal. You can’t train your body overnight, but it won’t be long before you find yourself jumping out of bed in a better mood. Your day will start better, you’ll get more done, and you’ll find out that the people around you who caused you problems aren’t so hard to work with after all. It all starts by making one little change, and adding to it every day.
You see, you can’t change what’s going on around you without first changing what’s going on within you. When you start changing how you think, how you act, how you treat others, how you treat yourself… when you start responding to life–instead of reacting to it–life will start responding to you. You’ll soon enjoy the first aspect of success, taking action on an inner ideal. And the second aspect, outward achievement, won’t be far behind.
* Source: Leading an Inspired Life by Jim Rohn