You want success and you want it quick. What do you do?

Here are nine secrets to help in your quest:

1. There are no secrets

Busted my own post straight away. But thats fine. Because there are no secrets. There are no quick fixes. There is no narrative. Stuff happens. As scary as that seems, it can be a whole bunch of fun too.

2. Numbers are great

I arrived at nine secrets because I quickly wrote down a list with nine points. It could have been eight or ten secrets. In fact, it could have been 100 secrets that I boiled down to nine. Whatever the case, numbers are sexy. Unless, of course, you disagree. Im willing to be wrong about it

3. Be Right & Be Wrong

Kathryn Shulz asks people how it feels to get something wrong. It sucks, doesnt it? Actually, what sucks is finding out that you were wrong. Getting something wrong feels just the same as getting something right. Its only when you find out that you feel a particular way. So theres no harm in being wrong. Be wrong, learn from it and move on. If youre never wrong, how can you learn anything?

4. Do Nothing & Do Everything

Comfort zones are misleading. Why does it feel so cosy when you fail to stretch yourself? How can plodding along the same old path feel nicer than a voyage of discovery? Sometimes its good to have fun with what we recognise. Thats where doing nothing new is necessary. Other times its good to go places weve never even imagined. Thats where everything else comes in to play. The old saying the world is your oyster doesnt mean you shouldnt do something more than once. It means you can make good use of everything available to you. So dont miss the opportunity!

5. Debate and engage, but dont accuse

We have different opinions on everything. Your closest friends and family may be soulmates, yet there will always be the odd occasion when you dont see eye to eye. It may be of no consequence, but a difference of opinion no matter how obvious it is to you doesnt mean one of you is right and the other is wrong. Debate and argument is fine, but the moment you accuse someone of personally being wrong, the moment you close doors on yourselfjust to be right. As soon as you start pointing out an individual or a group as wrong or stupid or anything negative, youve gone beyond a debate. Accusations are rarely helpful.

6. Move on

Once youve finished something, stop dwelling. You may still use it, refer to it, and have related dealings with it, but when its done, its done. Worrying about what has already been takes up valuable doing time.

7. Make up your own secrets to success

See Point 1. It took me a few moments to jot down these secrets. I hope they help. In many ways, they help me. Thats why I noted them down. Note down some of yours.

8. Know when to stop

This ties in with Point 6. Before you move on from something, you have to finish. It can be hard to find a natural point to finish. The desire to find that non-existent perfect is strong. As you obsess over the work, the more time you spend on less stuff. An hour spent trying to get a single sentence right is time you could be spending more productively. When it comes to worrying over minor issues, its probably time to stop.

9. See Point 8.

Now youve got the nine secrets. Thats everything you need. Or is it?

Of course not. Secrets to success are vague. They arent a step-by-step guide to guaranteed brilliance and perfection. They dont tell you what to do, but they start to outline a bigger picture. Think of it as a scaffold to greatness.

For example, Tweet Smarters is:

1. Care and listen
2. Engage and question
3. Respond and adapt

That advice leaves you pretty open to everything. Its up to you how to care, how to listen, how to engage, and so on. Realising the importance of these things is a good place to start though. The success will still be entirely yours, and youll have earned it.

Similarly, Mr.SelfDevelopment highlights 5 Keys to Success:

1. Preparation
2. Work
3. Remember the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
4. Confidence
5. Lead

Again, youve hardly been given a detailed plan to conquering the world, but those vague nuggets suggest you have to put in your own effort before success reaches your grasp.

Thats why there are no secrets (my Point 1), making it doubly important to create your own secrets (my Point 7).

What is important to you? What drives you? What spurs you on? What helps you help others? Take responsibility of what comes your way and the secrets of success wont seem quite as secret as they did before

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