By Obi Okere

Does success depend on one big lucky break? Outside looking in, it may appear that way. Success is actually the result of the proper choices and actions repeated daily over time. It is the series of small successes that contribute to a larger one.
A lot of people don’t have the success that they want. One of the main reasons for this is that they practice simple errors in judgment daily.
Why would anyone want to do this? In isolation it seems harmless. One poor decision or wasted hour doesn’t seem to matter. The right thing is easy to do and also easy not to do. There is no immediate consequence to the action. This is how many fall into the trap of failure.
I was once told a story of a man who walked into a restaurant. He ate a cheeseburger, had a heart attack, and died. Many say that it was the cheeseburger that killed him. Many didn’t see that this man had actually been having that same cheeseburger every day for the past five years. It wasn’t the one cheeseburger that killed him but the compound effect of his daily error in judgment.
Those who smoke cigarettes or eat the wrong foods daily enlist themselves for bad health in the future. This only occurs because the short gratification outweighs the long-term consequences.
The real danger in these simple errors is that we think it doesn’t matter. The consequence is so subtle that we don’t even notice it until the day of reckoning.
The good news is that success and failure both have very simple formulas. Success is the result practicing simple success oriented disciplines daily. By changing our simple errors to simple disciplines, we can see an almost immediate difference. This all begins by thinking about the future. This allows people to amend their thinking and develop new habits that replace the old ones.
All people get 24 hours a day. The difference between a successful person and a failure is their daily habits each day. What small disciplines are you contributing to your success daily?

Obi Okere is a professional life coach. He works extensively with young professionals, teaching them the skills that contribute to professional and personal success. He can be reached at obi@obiokere.com.