4 Success Lessons on Positivity and Purpose

How do you maintain a positive outlook on life?

It’s all about perspective. It’s impossible to be frustrated when you’re grateful, and there is always something to be grateful for. Remind yourself that some people are praying for the things you take for granted.

Whatever you focus on multiplies. If you’re focused on your problems or frustrations, they get bigger. But if you focus on what you’re grateful for, gratitude takes over. Any time I’m in a bad mood or feeling negative, I shift to gratitude. I ask myself three questions before I start my day:

1. What am I excited about?
2. What am I grateful for?
3. What am I committed to make happen today, no matter what?

How do you find a sense of purpose in your life?

To me, it’s less about purpose and more about knowing yourself, knowing how to spark your own fire and knowing what’s most important to you. I believe the whole “find your purpose” thing is holding a lot of people back from taking action because they are waiting for the perfect time or perfect opportunity.

The time will never be just right and if you’re waiting for everything to align perfectly, you’re selling yourself short. Through trial and error, consistent action, finding your strengths, identifying your weaknesses and true self-awareness, you’ll figure out what you want to spend the rest of your life doing. I believe it’s more about fulfillment than just purpose.

How do you stay true to your vision despite roadblocks, setbacks or failures?

I personally handle failure a couple of different ways. First, I understand failure is a crucial part of real growth, and it can be a good thing if approached with the right perspective. Not only does failure give you a fresh perspective, but a different perspective than you had before. When you understand failure is a good thing, you take it on with courage and confidence. You become wiser, and when you have a higher sense of understanding about what you have failed in—whether it’s in life or business—you can make better decisions.

Once you shift your perspective and understand that failure is a necessary ingredient of the success formula, then you can start adapting. How you respond to failure determines your success.

A high tolerance for both stress and failure is a skill successful people are paid highly for. So the first step is understanding that failure isn’t just common, it’s crucial, and success won’t happen without it. When you learn to embrace uncertainty and failure, you’ll actually find it exciting and stimulating. I enjoy failing because I learn from it, and my battle scars are what have made me the person I am today.

How do you bring clarity to your life?

You won’t always have absolute clarity, but you want to be clear on why you’re doing what you’re doing and make sure there is intention behind your actions. Success is about adapting and adjusting consistently, and when you fully conceptualize that chaos is guaranteed, you’ll learn to accept it and maneuver through it correctly.

In order to thrive in entrepreneurship and business, you must learn to shift from complexity to simplicity. Clarity is a byproduct of simplicity and knowing your priorities. When you get rid of all of the noise in your head and focus on the few activities that matter most, you’ll gain a new sense of awareness and clarity.

Don’t try to be great at 50 things. Be obsessed about the few things that can really move your business forward.