For life long success, there are 5 steps you need to perform well.

Set goals that are outside your reach. Don’t settle for what you know you can accomplish. Push yourself to new heights.

Identify the problems you run into. Because the goal is outside your reach, you will inevitably run into problems. Don’t sweep them under the rug, but embrace them. They are the most valuable lessons you will learn.

Diagnose the root cause of your problems. Go deeper than the action you took. Determine the characteristic and innate behavior that caused the problem.

Design the solution you want to see. Think of the steps that need to happen in order to solve your problem. Plan as far as makes sense with the knowledge you have, but don’t spend too much time planning. A few hours is the maximum needed.

Finally execute on your plan. Make sure everything happens in the order it needs to and no step is missed. Then you will remove the biggest blocker from your current path and move on to the next problem or the next goal.

Every one of these steps is critical for effectively solving your problems. However, you can’t be good at all of them. You will need help to succeed.

Principles

Book: Principles