"Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that's where you will find success." - Thomas J. Watson In our daily schedule and busy lives, there are some lonely moments wherein we tend to think about where are we heading in life! Is this the life we always wanted to live? Can we say that we are living a successful life, or even heading towards one? Or as a matter of fact, do we even know what is success in life?! Is it getting a high paying job, or having a successful life partner, or both? Really? Do you define success as 'a good job with good money and a good marriage'? Well, this statement may seem to be true initially, but think about it, a high paying job is most of the time, associated with a lot of stress and responsibilities, working till late hours, having no time to spend with family, or even with yourself... can this then be called true success? Think about marrying your true sweetheart, but then there comes a turbulent time in each and every married life wherein you need to meet the demands of marriage, work, and your own. At that point of time, would you call your life to be a true success? What are the Keys to Success in Life? How to achieve success in life actually depends on what success means to you! If you ask me, then having a high paying job or marrying your sweetheart is not enough to define success. I would call my life to be a true success if I am content with how my life is, and if I am living my life with a peaceful mind. My life would be a true success if I have some time to laugh with my family, to explore new places with them, and to listen to their views about life. Are you able to do that? The reason why most of the people are never able to be content and happy with their lives is because they are not contented with their life. At first we struggle to get through a good university, then struggle to get a good job, then struggle to match up to the job expectations, then struggle with our own life to maintain a balance between our personal and professional life, and then keep on struggling with our thoughts whether or not this is a successful life! We look for motivational answers for our questions, read great success quotes and write ups to help us get a clue as to where are we heading... and so on. Although these things help, I have summarized the essential keys that can actually help you become more happy and contended with life. Earn to Live, Don't Live to Earn You would be surprised to know that most of the people define success as getting a good and high paying job. But what the people today are forgetting is that job is just a means to make your life easier and not to forget how to live your life easily! What is the point of earning a lot of money if you don't get the time for people who are most important to you in life. After all, you are earning for them and yourself only, right? Value What is More Important, Learn to Prioritize It is very important to prioritize things that are the most important in your life. Is family more important, or do you give more importance to your work or career? I remember having a discussion on this topic with my aunt wherein she told me that keep your priorities in a jar. Say family is the topmost priority, then symbolize it as pebbles and keep it in the jar. Next is money, then symbolize it as sand and put a layer of sand on top of the pebbles and so on. Once you have prioritized, give your time and symbolize it with water so that the moment you pour it in the jar, it gets soaked in all your priorities. Keep a Balance with Your Personal and Professional Life Continued from the aforementioned point, the next step is to be able to achieve a balance in each and every aspect of life, which by far, is the most important and the most difficult thing to do. A balance can be set only if you follow some rules in life. If you are living a life which has no rules, no dos and don'ts, then it becomes very difficult to actually know what to do. Be Proud of Yourself, but Respect Others Too! It is very difficult to keep a balance for those people who are always looking for more and are never happy with themselves currently. It therefore, becomes necessary to be thankful for all that you have achieved in life and be proud of yourself as a person. Another key to success and balance in life is to be confident about yourself, but also respect what others say. A person who respects his elders and values their advice always becomes more successful in life as compared to those who are overshadowed with overconfidence and superiority. Peace of Mind and Contentment Another important aspect which can actually make you realize how successful you are in life is how much contented do you feel with your life. At times when you are alone and confused, you should always look at your near and dear ones. Because they are the only ones that remind you how beautiful love is, how beautiful life is! Therefore it is also very important to choose a life partner who would always be there to remind you and help you count your blessings. Trust me, even if you don't have the highest paying job in the world, but you are blessed with a highly supportive set of friends and family, you will find yourself to be the luckiest person on earth. Be Happy for What you Have, Don't Mourn for What you Don't It is sad to say so, but most of us always tend to focus on things that we don't have, rather than on things that we already have. For example, you might be sad that you aren't the manager of your firm and someone else was chosen instead of you. However, you don't understand the fact that there may be thousands of candidates who may be dying to be in the place you are right now. Therefore, whenever you feel unhappy or sad, count your blessings and thank God for what he has given you. At times counting the coins in your hand is better than mourning that you didn't get a gold mine. Live harmoniously, respect others, count your blessings, and be young at heart. All these qualities are of those who are optimistic in life and understand the fact that to live life successfully is to enjoy each and every moment, not to wait for moments wherein you can actually enjoy your life. Obviously, life is to move forward and not to stand still. But then in the end, it is the experience that you get from the journey of life, more than the destination you are headed towards. Success in life may be different for different people, but living it happily each and every moment is the main key of becoming successful in life! So what are you doing NOW to live a successful life?