Jul 3

Jul 3 VIDEO: 7 Mantras for Success Every Ambitious Girl Should Live By

Your dreams for the future are epic. These genius mantras for success will keep that dream alive no matter what the world throws at you.

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Mantras for Success Every Ambitious Girl Should Live By

Words can be incredibly powerful. I remember years ago, I happened upon a quote that made me completely rethink where my goals for the future. It was a quote by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf that read, “If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.”

That really spoke to me because I’m a play it safe kind of girl. My goals were pretty simple. I just wanted to be a counselor at a great residential treatment center. Maybe someday become a supervisor. But did dream that scare me? Well… not really.

I don’t know when my dreams got downsized. When I was a kid, my dreams were crazy! I wanted to grow up to be an astronaut, or a talk show host, or the doctor who discovers the cure for cancer. So, that one quote had the power to make me dream a little bigger again. How cool is that?

If you’re a girl who dreams big, I don’t ever want you to lose that. So, here are 7 mantras for success that you need to hear.

1. Thankfully, persistence is a great substitute for talent. – Steve Martin

This quote is hilarious. And also surprising. Our culture is obsessed with talent. We believe that talent leads to success and that without talent, you are out of luck. Surprisingly, neither of these statements is actually true! Talent is great of course, but talent alone isn’t enough. There are so many other components to success that are more important than talent.

If you’ve been labeled gifted or talented, you might have grown up being told that you were pretty much destined for success. So I regret to say that’s not 100% accurate. But, this statement is actually really encouraging. It basically isays that you can get anything you want if you just keep at it. I mean, that’s pretty cool, right?

2. Failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success. – Arianna Huffington

Nobody likes failure! But I think the worst part of failure is the belief that failure is a dead end. Luckily, that is not the case! A failed attempt is just that. A failed attempt. You might have dozens of failed attempts before you get something right. And there’s nothing wrong with that! Thomas Edison had 1,000 failed attempts before he invented the light bulb. But all anyone remembers is that one success. Keep that in mind!

3. If you don’t sacrifice for what you want, what you want will be the sacrifice.

If you’re an overachiever, you’re probably no stranger to sacrifice. But I wanted to include this to remind you that all of those sacrifices will be rewarded in the future. If you ever get frustrated and feel like your effort is wasted, just remember that quitting means sacrificing your dream. Put your dream against a football game on a Friday night and I bet I know which one you’ll pick.

4. Disappointments are inevitable, discouragement is a choice – Charles Stanley

This is not something that you want to hear, but the higher your expectations are for yourself, the more likely it is that you will be disappointed. Does that mean you should lower your expectations? I don’t think so! I just think that you might need to see disappointment as part of the package of ambition. Don’t let disappointment kill your enthusiasm. And definitely don’t let it hurt your confidence.

5. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit. – Aristotle

It’s so tempting to look at amazingly successful people and think, “I wish I had her talent,” or “I wish I was a smart as her.” But excellence doesn’t come from a great performance or a prestigious award. Excellence comes from lots and lots and lots of practice.

That’s not the most exciting thing to hear. Maybe we’d rather believe successful people are just born with it. But that’s really not the case. The good news though, is that anyone can be incredibly successful. All you have to do is make working toward your dreams a daily habit.

6. The hard work puts you where the good luck can find you.

Nobody likes hard work. I wish really wish there was a shortcut for success, but there’s no way around it. However, hard work does two things for you. One, all of that practice makes you better. And two, working hard unlocks opportunities.

The more you do the things that lead to success, the more you’ll run into opportunities to advance yourself. This means that not only will you have more chances to get your big break, but when you get it, you’ll be ready.

7. You always have two choices, your commitment versus your fear. – Sammy Davis Jr

Fear is hands down the most destructive force when it comes to our goals. And it’s pretty ridiculous. The purpose of fear is to keep us safe from threats. This comes in handy when you accidentally start a stir-fry related fire in your kitchen (I did that!). But it’s not quite as helpful when the “threat” is something less dangerous, like rejection.

This is where dedication comes in. Dedication keeps you from quitting. Even when it’s hard, even when you fail, even when someone tells you it isn’t possible. Dedication combats all of those lies that fear tells us, like, “You’re not good enough,” or “It’ll never work.” Just focus on your goals and the fear will pass.

Are you feeling motivated? It’s so easy for doubts to get us off track. Having mantras like these keep you focused when things get hard.