Success starts with a vision or a dream.  The shaper the image in your mind of what success looks like the better you will recognize it when an opportunity shows up that will get you a step closer to what you want in your life.  Success may take many shapes and forms.  It does not necessarily need to have anything to do with money, power of fame.  Success can be a recovery from an ailment.  Success can be moving someplace else.  Success can be the job of your dreams.  Or a trip to a far away place.  It really does not matter how you define it, as long as you know in your heart what it looks and feels like.

Once you have a clear vision of success in your mind, you need to determine how to prepare in order to achieve success when the opportunity presents itself.  So, for example, if your dream is to live in a foreign country, a good way to prepare might be to learn the language spoken in that country.  If you speak the language of the country, your chances of running into the opportunity of visiting that country will naturally be much higher than the chances of someone who does not.

The same logic applies to other visions and dreams.  If you want to have a certain job, it would make a lot of sense to find out what skills and education are required to perform that job and seek the education and experience required.  This will not in and of itself guarantee success, but it will put you a lot closer to it.  Most importantly, the preparation you put into “getting ready” for the right opportunity will increase the likelihood of running into it. 

Think about it.  If you are studying to be a journalist, for example, you will spend more time with other people who also share the same interests and who may be influential in helping you get the journalist job that you seek.  Being surrounded by the types of information and tools journalists surround themselves with will get your “mental radar” more tuned in to opportunities in that area.

But the right opportunity may not appear immediately. In fact, it may take years for the right opportunity to come your way.  The key here is to be persistent and never give up.  You don’t want to be in a position where you have taken your eye of the ball and suddenly the opportunity shows up right at a time when you were completely unprepared.  Keeping up with the vision, the dream, and the preparation for meeting the right opportunity when it comes is what sets successful people apart from others.

Success is like an act of faith.  You have to believe it in order for it to happen.  In fact, people of faith know that the right doors will be open at the right time because there is a higher plan, and fulfilling that plan is part of your mission.

If you want to be truly successful, here is the best advice I can give you.  Get ready for it.  Invest in that success.  Do everything you possibly can to be prepared so that when the right opportunity presents itself, not only will you recognize it, but you will also be in a great position to take advantage of it.