Gaining and Sustaining Success Momentum
- Succeed through Making a Contribution
- How to Get Ahead in Life
- Find your Own Angle for Success
- Start Succeeding Early
- Do Not Re-Invent the Wheel
- Of Good and Bad Debt
- Duplicate Your Success
- Building a Strong Foundation for Success
- Gaining and Sustaining Success Momentum
- How and When to Buy Influence
- Succeed through Authenticity
- Set up Systems to Serve You
- Why set up your own Pipelines?
- Chasing the Wind of Success
- Is your Belief System screwing you up?
- What to do when you Lose it all?
The first million is the hardest to make. Once you make it, you will find a lot more doors opening up for you. World class actors such as Angelina Jolie or Keanu Reeves will not star alongside a nobody. Fellow actors have to first accumulate a few box office hits before they can even be considered. In one of my favorite movies staring Al Pacino, actor Simone suddenly got fellow actors wanting to star alongside her as soon as “she” made a hit.
It takes 10 years of focused effort, steady determination and hard work to achieve world class expert status. It takes at least a few years of running a business for it to pick up. The early years are full of sweat and tears but with time things get easier. Many people give up before they gain momentum. I hope to inspire you to get ahead in life, by gaining and sustaining the momentum for success.
Gaining Momentum
Momentum = Mass x Velocity.
As we have seen above, momentum is a product of mass and velocity. It therefore follows that gaining some mass can increase your momentum. It is easier to stop a cow than it is to stop an elephant if they are running at the same speed. Take your time before speeding. Take some time to gain some mass, otherwise you may be blown by the wind. Accumulate some assets, experiences and resources before you increase your velocity.
Ok Daniel, slow down, let us start at the beginning…
To gain the momentum for success, you have to get off your backside and take some action. Last year I was busy planning this blog, checking out the competition, carrying out endless research before I launched this blog. I contacted fellow Kenyan blogger, based in Melbourne, Australia. He was already running a successful blog called “the Displaced African”.
His blog is focused on providing new and prospective migrants with information about studying or settling in Australia. His name is Mwangi. I asked him for advice on how to launch and run a successful blog. He gave me lots of tips but the advice that has stuck with me and made a big impact on this blog is to take action. It is easy to get into “paralysis analysis”, if you do not have a bias for action.
This blog was bigger than it is but that was only in my mind. I had lofty dreams of the millions upon millions of people who would be coming here to listen to a young man who grew up in a small farm near the Kenyan Capital, Nairobi. I was busy fantasizing about the rave reviews the blog would be getting. All that and more before even having written a single blog post! Mwangi saved me from self delusion by triggering me into action and once again I say thank you Mwangi!
To gain the momentum for success requires one to do proper homework. You might not have liked the term “homework” in school but you have no choice when it comes to success. I advocate having a bias for action, but I am quick to note that it is better to “aim, fire, aim”, rather than “fire fire fire” or “aim aim aim”. You have to strike a balance between research and action.
You would not set out to sea without a compass. Likewise, do not set out to succeed without direction, without clarity and a plan. Take your time to determine where you want to be, do your homework on what is required of you, and then take action in the right direction.
Identify areas of our life that could do with some momentum. Gain some mass in the form of resources, experiences, facts and knowledge. Then take action in the correct direction.
Sustaining Momentum
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We are creatures of habit. Consciously set up the right habits in order to sustain your momentum. If you succeeded because of waking up early and putting in more time when your competition slept, do not slacken when things start moving along nicely. Think of all the habits that led to your initial success and keep doing what works.
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Find leverage. Find something that will push you ahead. There is a limit on how far you can grow your business if you work alone. Leverage the resources, money, time and ideas of others to create win-win situations.
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Automate and Delegate – The human body is faint. To be able to sustain your momentum for success may call upon you to automate or delegate responsibilities to ensure that things keep getting done even when you get big. Plan for automation and delegation when you start a new venture.
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Avoid distraction. Identify people or things that keep you from your chosen path and learn how to manage them. Do not let anyone or anything stand in the way of making progress, if you want to sustain your momentum.
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Put controls in place. You can sustain momentum by knowing when to turn, brake or accelerate. Success is a journey, momentum will keep you moving.
In Conclusion
Proper planning and taking action are the first steps of gaining the momentum for success. The first steps (or years) are the hardest but as you gain more experience and resources, the journey becomes easier. There are various ways that you can sustain the momentum of your success including leverage, delegation and avoiding distractions.
If you like this blog post, please share it with your friends, invite them to have a look. I would love to hear from you through your comments. Have a good day.
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Achieving something may not be the real thing but maintaining it is a virtue. I rem in primary sch our class teacher always made it clear to us that becoming number one was not the issue but remaining there was always the task. A great lesson Daniel thanks so much!
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i have a plan……tentative but i have a plan, its in motion now…..im glad yu write this blog…keep going,
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Daniel Ngari Reply:
August 24th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
@ m.mwangi – I will keep going. All the best in your plan, glad to hear that it is in motion.
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Thanks Dan you have hit many nails on the head with this one!
Am back to school so student-mwalimu but I must admitt the first steps back are the trickiest but I know where I want to go and am working towards that. I have a plan and the resources and advice from others who have walked this path am on!
Thanks and keep writing, even when we do not comment we are reading!!
Good work my brother good work!
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Daniel Ngari Reply:
August 24th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
@ Kami – Good to hear that you actually read this. Am honored. All the best in your venture. Thanks for the blog post topic ideas. Sent your a response on Facebook.
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Daniel,
I so feel you. Sometimes life is just too hard that u wonna give up. But that is the time your dawn is nearer.
There is something about 10yrs and plus. I have read quite a lot and for you to reach that point and say, Huh! What a relief, it will surely be sweat and tears.
Have a good one too
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Daniel Ngari Reply:
August 24th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
@ Phases – I really like your phrase “Sometimes life is just too hard that u wonna give up. But that is the time your dawn is nearer. ” You are so so right on that. Many times when I was about to give up, and dug deeper within myself, success has been just around the corner. I think many people give up to early. I was talking to a friend today and he said many people when they fail in something, they try something else, instead of going back to that which they failed, learning from their mistakes and doing it better. Dawn will only come through persistence. Thanks for your comment.
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The fact that when you are down nothing good seems to come your way and when they start getting better all the good things come is amazing paradox of life. It is the reason why the rich gets richer and somehow the poor gets poorer. The trick is to master how to get out of the hole. Nice article Daniel
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Daniel Ngari Reply:
August 24th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
@ Kachwanya – You are right, getting out of the hole is the trickiest bit. I love your blog too man.
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Dan the formula worked in math it will definately work in life!!! You are great in mixing life with the issues we may never think about!!!
Dan thanks!!
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Daniel Ngari Reply:
August 24th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
@ Paula – Thanks. Sometimes following natural laws is the way to go.
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