“Find a way or make a way.”

Elon Musk

🚀 Download your Success Plan Template (updated for 2023).

One of the most important actions you can ever take is creating your own definition of success. It is the foundation on which all great achievement is built and paves the way for everything else to flow in to your life at the right time.

To help you on your journey, I’m giving you free access to my Success Plan Template updated for 2023. There are two versions available — a Google Sheet (spreadsheet) and a Google Doc (document). Simply:

1. Select the version you're most comfortable with.
2. Save a copy of it on your device, which will unlock editing capabilities. Just click ‘File’ then ‘Make a copy’. Once you open the new file, you will be able to edit it however you wish.
3. Open the new file.
4. Complete your Success Plan. There are detailed instructions on the second tab to walk you through it one step at a time.

If you have any questions on how to complete it, let us know and we’ll respond as soon as possible.

Also, here are four tips inspired by my conversations with 500+ of the world’s leading entrepreneurs, changemakers, and athletes to help you turn dreams into actions and, most importantly, results.

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1. Identify what you want from all areas of your life.

Yes, that’s right – not money, but ALL areas of your life. Perhaps it’s to:

• Have a more harmonious relationship with your spouse
• Reach a healthier body weight
• Build an investment portfolio
• Improve your mental fortitude and resilience
• Be more ‘present’ when spending time with your family
• Create a progression plan for your career
• Enroll in a new educational program

There are infinite possibilities. While it can be very beneficial, even advisable, to sit down with the most important people in your personal and professional lives to ask for honest feedback on how you can improve, this ultimately needs to be your definition of success so it aligns with your ‘why.’

With a clear idea of what success looks like to you, turn your attention to goals.

2. Write your goals down.

Dr Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at the Dominican University in California, recently studied the power of goal setting. Matthews discovered that those who write down their goals on a regular basis are 42% more likely to achieve them. That’s a huge advantage! Remember to write them down as specifically as possible.

In Think and Grow Rich, the bestselling self-help book of all time, Napoleon Hill wrote about the relationship between goals and the subconscious mind: “The subconscious mind alone is the medium through which prayer may be transmitted to the source capable of answering prayer.”

By writing our goals down we’re putting a rocket under our subconscious, instructing it to take the necessary actions that will make those goals a reality.

🚀 Download your Success Plan Template (updated for 2023).

3. Take simple and consistent action.

Channel any inspiration and excitement to mapping out your goals, but when it comes to execution the surest path to victory is simple and consistent action. A lot of people aren’t sure what action they should be taking, but when you’ve got your ideal destination in mind, the first, second, and third steps are much more obvious.

Fill out the ‘Ideal Destination’ column on the Success Plan Template, then notice how much easier it is to complete the rest.

Also, remember to begin on step one. If your goal was to run a marathon, you wouldn’t start your first training session by actually doing a marathon. Play the long game and do the work that day one requires. Regardless of the goal, the key to victory is simple and consistent action.

4. Win the day.

It can be easy to feel impatient or frustrated at a perceived lack of progress. Instead of worrying about the harvest you reap (the results), focus on the seeds you sow (the daily actions). Each day, be grateful for the opportunity to take ownership of your life and stay committed to excitedly working to bring your goals to life.

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Remember, no one is born with a gold medal around their neck. Every great endeavor, innovation or achievement — whether you’re Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, or Oprah Winfrey — was once a simple thought impulse.

Create your own definition of success, share it with those closest to you, and start living with intent, passion, and purpose.

Get out there and make some magic!

Onward and upwards alway,
James Whittaker

PS – Subscribe to the Win the Day with James Whittaker podcast and get access to episodes (we've got some BIG ones coming up shortly!) as soon as they're released.