The 5Rs to Absolute Success

Too often, we flounder in our attempts to figure out why we succeed and why we are challenged. I believe that many people struggle because they don't have an effective lens through which to look at life. A lot of us fail to realize that a strong fence has separated us from the attainment of our goals. I believe that we must examine our triumphs and trials in a way that allows us to determine the presence or absence of respect, responsibility, recognition, renewal, or resilience. The pursuit of power, the urge to control, self-sabotage, recklessness, and a posture of wisdom can get in the way of logical and rational decisions and keep us from experiencing true, sustained success.

The 5Rs to Absolute Success—respect, responsibility, recognition, renewal, and resilience—are universal ingredients of success. Respect requires that we genuinely value equality and seek to honor the people, places, and things in our lives. Responsibility means taking an interest in understanding our roles and the roles of others by empowering all people to reach their full potential while holding them accountable for their actions and reactions. Recognition involves studying and understanding systems and how they operate and seeking to use this knowledge to inspire others to appreciate and recognize the importance of education and knowledge. Renewal charges us with the responsibility to seek awareness and understanding of ourselves and others by conducting a candid and courageous inventory to understand the who, what, where, when, how, and why of our successes and challenges. Resilience is a prerequisite for success. A resilient person recognizes that there will be challenges along the path to any goal but appreciates the importance of rising up after these setbacks with a commitment to proceeding differently with a better understanding of what is required to be truly successful.

A majority of our challenges arise from an interest in gaining power through attaining positions of control over other people, places, and things. We sabotage ourselves by engaging in actions and thoughts that negatively affect our stability and promote recklessness.

Success is based upon understanding the role of:

• Respect - valuing equality and honor
• Responsibility - pursuing empowerment and accountability
• Recognition - approaching systems with inspiration and appreciation
• Renewal - reviving onself through awareness and inventory
• Resilience - accepting life as a learning journey and starting again with a different approach

Challenges are based upon the desire to/for:

• Power - seeking positions over other people, places, and things
• Control - commanding others and circumstances
• Self-sabotage - engaging in actions and thoughts that affect stability negatively
• Recklessness - disregarding consequences
• Wisdom – presenting onself as being all-knowing