You have to take charge of your destiny.
Shaping-Destiny Lifestyle: The strategy that all successful people use.
For years now, I have been a keen student of truly successful people. I’ve been very interested in seeing how these people transformed their lives, turned their adversity around, and made something great of their lives. What I’ve seen over and over again (from research and experience) is that each of them has what I call a shaping destiny mindset. People with a shaping destiny mindset believe that they are in control of their destiny and that they can shape it with the choices they make. When they face challenges, they are convinced that they are enough. When they fail a problem, they don’t shrink and give up. Instead, they wonder, often in excitement, what mistakes they made and how they could correct them. If it’s something they haven’t encountered before, they see an opportunity to learn, grow, and return to tackle the problem and win. They have the kind of mindset that researchers like Dr. Carol Dweck call a growth mindset.
These people don’t necessarily believe that they are self-made or that their success depends on them alone. They are confident that with the resources and support God has provided for them such as his Spirit, the support of others, their determination/will, imagination, and so forth, they can tackle any problem that comes their way. If they need to get help from others, they’ll gladly do so.
Below, I share ten principles anyone can use to live a Shaping Destiny lifestyle. Why a lifestyle? Because the way to change your destiny is to change your lifestyle.
1. Choose to shape your destiny
It starts with a choice. You cannot go and get what you don’t want. Decide to take charge of your destiny today. Choose to take responsibility for your future and make things happen instead of having things happen to you. It’s a choice we must make.
2. Develop a Shaping Destiny mindset
It starts with mindset. How do you develop a shaping destiny mindset? By renewing your mind and heart. By changing the way you think and what you believe. You are what you are today because of what you believe and the way you think. Your actions naturally flow out of your thoughts and beliefs. You must change your mindset and your heart. You have to develop a shaping-destiny mindset.
3. Become a better person
Build your life on the firm foundation of character. At the heart of any good character is a deep unbridled love for people. Shaping your destiny starts from the inside out.
4. Be a growing person
Learn how to grow & rest. Prepare yourself from the inside out for success. Success comes to those who have prepared themselves for it. It doesn’t happen randomly.
5. Have a strategy that works
A strategy involves both envisioning and execution. A good strategy helps you to live a vision and mission-driven life. It also helps you prioritize.
6. Be mission-driven and vision-focused
A good way to develop a life mission and vision is to start with why (as Simon Sinek would say it) or begin with the end in mind (as Stephen Covey would say it). Mission and vision are the first steps of any successful strategy. As we know, strategy is all about choosing. A strong mission and vision help to keep us focused. And focus is key to success.
7. Prioritize! Prioritize! Prioritize!
Major on the majors & minor on the minors. Put first things first. A good strategy helps you prioritize. By majoring in the majors and minoring in the minor, we learn to manage our focused mission and vision to success.
8. Raise Partners
Learn to work with others as a team because nothing of importance can be achieved alone. Two of the best ways to work with others are win/win negotiation and empathic communication.
9. Seek to understand people before trying to help them
Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Diagnose before you prescribe. Speak the truth in love. Don’t be so eager to solve people’s problems without taking the time to know them deeply.
10. Practice Win/Win Negotiation
Care also for the interest of others and seek synergy. Serve others.
