I’ve wondered about success and why some people seem to be more successful than others and have come to one conclusion.

The secret is in being prepared to take advantage of opportunities that come your way.

I just finished reading a book called Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, every book I’ve read that was written by him is one of my favourites for his forward and out of the box thinking – I didn’t even realize that he was the author of them all until I read his book listing (Blink, The Tipping Point).

So basically his book ‘Outliers’ talks about successful people like Bill Gates and how they came to be that way.

Most of it is luck and circumstance. Really – he outlines for each case study the things that came into play and each time large pieces of the puzzle came down to being in the right place at the right time – even being born in the right year in some cases and also support – having someone in your court – sometimes just one person – to help put things into motion for you either by putting them in place for you to act on or by giving you the readiness and development that you need to be able to act.

I came away at the end waiting for the punchline – waiting for the shining words of wisdom that would promise us all the same opportunity.

The catch was that I had to think to get it although Malcolm does touch on it through out his book.

The secret to success really does depend partly on luck – on having the opportunities present themselves to you to act on.

But that’s the thing.

You need to act on them.

Every successful person in his book ACTED on their opportunities where others may not have.

That is the key.

In order to act  you need to be prepared, able – and you need to be willing to step up.

Being prepared and able helps a lot with willingness.

HOW ABOUT YOU AT HOME?

So you may be wondering what does that have to do with you and keeping the house clean?

It has a lot to do with it!

If you are feeling that you are not fulfilling your potential, it will help in more ways than you might think to declutter and organize your home – and keep it that way in the simplest and easiest way possible.

Your self esteem will get a huge boost, your energy will burst because you will not have all of the emotional baggage that comes with clutter and disorganization hanging on you and you will have the time to take advantage of opportunities that may come your way – you won’t be thinking ‘I’d like to but I really need to be here to clean up this mess!’.

If you are feeling down and like you are achieving below your potential, need some support, personal growth and would like to give getting your house in order to be prepared for the ‘luck’ that comes your way – I can help you in the No KAOS Zone.

Registration details are below.

HOW IT HAPPENED FOR ME

btw, the reason that I thought to write this post was that I got a call for a job interview this morning. It’s a job that I’ve been thinking about applying to in the back of my head ‘someday’ for almost 20 years! For most of that time I never felt prepared – number one reason was that I had to get my house in order first – otherwise it just didn’t feel right. When I finally did that and a few other circumstances fell into place – I was ready for it.

If I didnt’ have things in order here what do you think I would be doing right now?

Still waiting for some day instead of acting.

And as soon as I got the call, what is the first thing do you think I did?

I started cleaning and organizing in preparation for the days when I won’t be here to do it.

That made it very clear to me about being prepared.

The absolute best thing you can do is to be prepared before you have to be.

Don’t lose time – start today…

And if you see it, be sure to read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. It’s a quick read that will really will put luck, support and being prepared into perspective.