Defining Success - What Does That Mean To YOU
What success habit transformed your life or business? How do you define “sustainable success”? What’s one mindset shift that made you more effective?
Defining success looks different for everyone, but the one common denominator is that we all want to win at the game of LIFE. It is about approach and how you perceive your goals. When you think about your game plan, what does that entail. Are you just sitting there on the side lines, or are you actively seeking your “field of dreams”.
Mindset is crucial. Mindset matters in all aspects of our lives, and can be a valuable tool to help bring success not only in business but in our personal lives.
The mindset shift is a practiced skill that someone needs to commit to daily. It is all about taking those negative thoughts and transforming them into positive ones. If practiced daily, it becomes a natural skill.
Psychology teaches that mindset, shapes our beliefs about ability (fixed vs. growth), profoundly affecting motivation, resilience and achievement by influencing how we view challenges, effort, setbacks and criticism as either threats or opportunities for learning and development.
A growth mindset embraces learning from failure, leading to greater persistence and success. This mindset fuels that spark from within to continue pushing forward until we achieve success.
A fixed mindset sees traits as innate, causing avoidance of challenges and sensitivity to criticism, hindering growth. The key word here is “avoidance”. When someone is uncomfortable with embracing new adventures, it stops personal growth and creative thinking.
When I was seeking success to become a first-time published author, mindset played a huge part in my journey. As I wrote my story penning my life experiences of an abused child, I not only focused on those past pains, but I visualized myself already there. I reflected on, what is the purpose of writing my story and how will it IMPACT others.
I deeply thought about my mission. Once my book was published, how would I use it as a tool for public speaking, and advocating for child safety and mental health.
I thought about what the cover of my book would look like and how I wanted to be represented. Seeing myself holding my book in hand, the finished product of all my hard work. Those visualizations fueled my passion to continue forward to make my dreams a reality. The concept of using visuals when working towards life goals, is something I firmly believe in.
I saw myself standing at the finish line, book in hand waving the victory flag. It is through thought provoking visualization that made it all happen, and of course digging in deep.
Once you have those images in your mind, the next step is to do the work. You cannot go from A to Z without filling in the blanks. A strong game plan is very important in all that you do. There are no short cuts or skipping steps. Staying driven and committed to your plan is key to success.
A positive mindset and determination will bring you to all the places that you dream of going. Sitting there visualizing the end results will spark that fire from within, which is exactly what you need to get there.
Hard work and determination open doors, but true passion opens the mind. This is a phrase that I hold onto deeply, because it makes sense. Show up every day, do the work, keep your mind open to creativity and most importantly never stop learning. Be willing to take off the blinders, and allow yourself to see your full potential beyond your scope of thought.
In life we must be our own cheerleaders, fueling our minds with positivity and encouragement. Self-talk will also help someone achieve their goals, wishes and dreams.
It all starts out with a gameplan.
Embrace the Journey,
Lisa Zarcone
Author – Public Speaker – Child & Mental Health Advocate
2025 Influential Woman
2023 Women of Impact
"Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts." – Winston S. Churchill
