The Success-Driven Life

The
Success-Driven
Life
Guides to Achieving a Life of Significance
Eugene C. Onyibo
Pathway to Success: Roadmap to Unlimited Sustainable Success
The
Success-Driven
Life
Guides to Achieving
a Life of Significance
© Eugene C. Onyibo (2010)

ISBN: 978-978-911-170-1
Reprint 2012, 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,

stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any
means - mechanical, electronic, photocopy, recording, scanning or
otherwise, without the express written consent of the publisher.
To send your comments, contact the author, make

Inquiry about other products, or request our
services, contact the publisher:
Skyheight Success Consult

P. O. Box 104 Oshodi Post Office, Oshodi, Lagos, Nigeria
www.skyheight.com.ng, www.facebook.com/eugene.onyibo
+2348037471052, +2348097999455 [email protected]
http://www.skyheightsuccess.com.ng Page 2
Dedication
To my beloved wife, Ijeoma, for innumerable reasons.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Author‟s Note
Introduction
Part One: Understanding Success
Chapter One
Success Talk
Things to know about Success
The Starting Point of Success
The Motivations of Success
The Challenge of Success
Chapter Two
The Meaning of Success
Common Notions of Success
The Definition of Success
Success in Motivational Teachings
Success and Happiness
Chapter Three
Success is Rule-Governed
Success is Predictable
There is Orderliness in Nature
The Natural Law Doctrine
Features of the Natural Law
Chapter Four
The Dynamics of the Laws of Success
The Natural Law and the Laws of success
Success and Ignorance

Success and Attitude
The Laws of Success
Part Two: Key Success Tools
Chapter Five
Goal Setting
The Benefits of Goal Setting
Qualities of a Goal
Why People do not Set Goals
How to Set a Goal
Chapter Six
Planning
Planning and Success
Planning and Faith
Planning and Action
Guides to Planning
Chapter Seven
Prioritising
Why you should Prioritise
The Pareto Principle of Optimality
Prioritising as a Key to Effectiveness and Efficiency
The D D S C Method
Chapter Eight
Self-Discipline
What is Self-Discipline?
Self-Discipline and Success
Some Truths about Self-Discipline
Why you should have Self-Discipline
Part Three: The Perspectives of Success

Chapter Nine
Personal Perspective
Self-Identity
Success and Potentiality
Grow above Conventional Thinking
The Differences between Successful People and Failures
Chapter Ten
Time Perspective
The Dimensions of Time
Have Value for Time
Your Destiny is in the Future
Critical Truths about Time
Chapter Eleven
Financial Perspective
The Ultimate Goal of Financial Planning
Education and Financial Success
Where can Financial Success be Achieved?
Guides to Financial Success
Chapter Twelve
Knowledge Perspective
Apply your Knowledge Rightly
Ideas Rule the World
Get a Mentor
Improve your Capacity to acquire Qualitative Knowledge
Conclusion
End Notes
Acknowledgements
I am thankful to the almighty God for making this publication a

success. May his name be praised. I am very grateful to everyone
who contributed in various ways and in various capacities towards
the success of this book. May God reward them very generously.
My sincere gratitude goes to my wife, Ijeoma, for innumerable
reasons. Indeed, she is a great blessing to my life from heaven.
This book is dedicated to her in appreciation of what she was to
me, what she has been to me, what she is to me, and what she will
be to me. I thank her for being a friend, mother, spouse and sister
to me. I am also grateful to her for tolerating the inevitable
neglects she suffered from me while I was writing this book. I also
thank my little angels – Chimamaka and Chioma for being great
blessings to my life. God has afforded me the opportunity of
having a firsthand experience of the joys and challenges of
fatherhood through the blessings of their births. May they grow up
in the fear of God and always be a source of joy, blessings and
delight to their parents, relatives, friends and humanity at large.
I owe a debt of lifetime gratitude to the members of my natal

family. I thank my beloved father of blessed memory (Late Chief
Eugene N. Onyibo) and my precious mother (Mrs. Patricia O.
Onyibo) for prioritising the education and moral formation of their
children, and also for always building a home in the house. I am
grateful to them for the numerous sacrifices they jointly made in
order to give bright futures to their children. I thank my esteemed
sisters, Augustina Ekwuazi, for always being a mother to all her
siblings; Georgina Ifechukwu, for her prayerful supports; and
Carol Anyagwa, for carefully reading the manuscript of this book
and making helpful remarks. I thank my brother, Valentine
Onyibo, for being a close friend and confidant; my sister-in-law,

Lovet Onyibo, and my brothers-in-law – Chris Ekwuazi, Joseph
Ifechukwu and Emmanuel Anyagwa.
I express an unalloyed gratitude to Olumide Emmanuel. I was

motivated to write this book after listening to his teaching at a
seminar at Success Attitudes Development Centre (SADC), Lagos,
Nigeria. I also thank Dr. Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase, the Director of
SADC for organising the seminar. I appreciate Sam Adeyemi and
Mathew Ashimolowo for being great mentors from afar. My life
has been highly enriched by their teachings. I thank Paul Elumah
for his contributions to this publication. I also thank Efeoghene
Okposio, the Publisher of Winning Attitudes Magazine, for being
the first person to encourage me to build a career in motivational
speaking and writing. I am very grateful to him for discovering my
latent potential in the career when it was at the embryonic level. I
thank Prof. H.O. Ekwuazi for going through the manuscript of this
publication and making very helpful remarks. My gratitude also
goes to the Nigerian Delegation of the Congregation of Oblates of
Saint Joseph.
I thank Rev. Fr. Ethelbert Arua OSJ for his prayerful support. I
thank Chief Frank Odita in a very special way. Indeed, he is a
father and mentor to me. May the almighty God continue to bless
him, his spouse and his descendants for his paternal love to me. I
owe a debt of lifetime gratitude to Prof. Michael. O. Ogunjimi for
the opportunity of learning, earning and personal development he
afforded me in his business empire. I also thank Engr. Humphrey
Mgbemena for his paternal love, care and support. I am also
indebted to Hon. Justice (Sir) J. G. O. Aneke (Rtd.) for his paternal
love, care and support. I say a big thank you to Engr. Martin
Onovo MNSE, SPE, Paul Ibeh and Hon. Francis Ibirinde for being
friends indeed. I also extend my gratitude to my childhood friends
- Felix Obiekwe, Humphrey Mmuoneke and Nelson Chiezie - in
whose friendships I still find true love. I extend my sincere thanks
to my fans always believing in me.
Author’s Note
It is fun being a coach. Assisting people to achieve happy lives by
setting and accomplishing the right goals is something I love
doing. For me, being a life coach is not just a job. Rather, it is
more of a hobby. It is what I can do in the absence of any financial
reward. I am happy that I love what I do because I do what I love.
Empowering people is a task life coaches/trainers perform as a
professional obligation. Their success in their profession is largely
determined by the impacts they make on people‟s lives. Anyone
who calls himself a coach but is not positively impacting lives
should have a rethink because he is only bearing a title.
Prior to my debut in public speaking, life coaching, training and

mentoring; my interest was limited to being a speaker. I had no
desire or passion of becoming an author. That was why I started a
career in public speaking without any publication. Worse still, I
also started the career without plan of writing any book. During
those days, towards the end of each seminar, the audience would
request that I recommend some publications that explain the
subjects I taught them in detail. I would always do that, even with
joy and gladness. Sometimes, I referred my audience to some
bookshops. I also referred them to some online resources.
Some attendees of my seminars suggested that I should articulate

my ideas in publications, as it is practically impossible to exhaust
the content of a subject in a seminar. I was also advised to do so to
make my teachings available to a wider audience, especially
people who may never be able to attend my programmes. What
was unknown to me then was that the suggestions of my students
were invitations to another successful career. The suggestions
made sense to me when I reflected on them. I became convinced
that becoming an author would be of significant benefits to my

career in public speaking, coaching and mentoring.
Becoming an author is one of the best things that happened to my

life. It has also been of tremendous benefits to my career in public
speaking. Writing and speaking are complementary and mutually
beneficial careers because; while an author‟s programmes are the
best platforms for promoting his publications, his publications are
the best products for promoting him and his programmes. Hence,
there is a symbiotic relationship between writing and speaking. I
will say authoritatively that each of the professions is incomplete
without the other. Perhaps, this is why it is difficult, if not
impossible, to see a successful author who is also not a successful
public speaker, coach or trainer; or a successful public speaker,
coach or trainer who is also not a successful author.
This observation and my experiences in both careers compel me to

encourage public speakers or coaches who are not authors to
consider building a parallel career in writing, because the merits of
the career combination are innumerable. For instance, I have
secured speech engagements effortlessly through my books. In
addition, having publications is also a source of income to a
speaker during every programme he speaks. The larger the
audience is, the higher the probability of making more sales. The
best buyers of an author‟s books are usually his audience, and the
best selling opportunities are usually his programmes.
These were among the factors that motivated me to pursue a career

in writing, in addition to my career in public speaking. This book,
Pathway to Success: Roadmap to Unlimited Sustainable Success,
is the first in my series. It was written and published in obedience
to the advice of the attendees of my earliest seminars. The first
edition of the book was published and released in 2010. I am very

delighted with its reception in the market since its release. Between
then and now, I have also written and published nine motivational
books, which are also very accepted in the market. The fact that the
book is the first in a successful series is one of the reasons I hold it
in high esteem. Its release marked the beginning of a fruitful and
profitable career in writing.
This is why I remain grateful to the attendees of my earliest
seminars who spotted the gap and advised me to fill it. I am happy
that I positively impact more lives through my books than through
my speeches. Though many people who (have) attend(ed) my
trainings have read my books; there are more people who have
read my books without having any physical contact with me. Many
of them get back to me through emails and telephone calls.
Another reason I hold this book in high esteem is that it is the most
general interest book in all my publications. It is a book for
everyone irrespective of sex, age, complexion, profession height,
religion, nationality, race, etc . While the contents of all the other
books I wrote are relevant to specific categories of people (as they
address unique problems and challenges), the content of this book
is relevant to everyone, since its focus is personal development.
This is why I describe it as the foundational knowledge for success.
It is the essential knowledge without which success cannot be
achieved, no matter how it is pursued. One of the most significant
observations I made from this book and my trainings is that though
personal development is very vital to the success of any individual;
it is one of the aspects of knowledge that is often most disregarded
by most people, though to their peril. Indeed, this is most
unfortunate. It is a pity that most people are hardly interested (or
rather, uninterested) in this aspect of knowledge, despite their
passion for success. It is very worrisome that everyone is interested

in achieving success, but most people are not interested in
qualifying themselves to achieve success through adequate
preparation. This is one of the reasons most people will never
succeed in life, no matter how hard they try.
Anyone who makes his personal development impossible makes
failure inevitable in his life. By this token, anyone who prioritises
his personal development makes his success in life inevitable.
Anyone who makes personal development possible makes failure
impossible in life. These are fundamental truisms about life. They
are also obvious truths of life, though many people are ignorant of
them. Indeed, personal development is vital and very essential for a
successful life. It is a precondition for achieving a happy life. These
are some lessons of life I learnt from experiences, observations and
personal reflections. I also learnt that what people achieve in life is
determine more by who they are, than what they want, and what
they are is determined by what they know, while what they know
is determined by their experiences, trainings and observations. This
is why what you know and what you do with it, to a very great
extent, determine how far you will go in life, and also how
successful you will be.
This edition of this publication has been upgraded and repackaged.
Some ideas in the past edition have been reviewed in order to
accommodate, or reflect, the remarks of some readers of the past
editions. In addition, the deeper insights I got on my ideas in the
first edition of this book while speaking to numerous audience
have also been integrated in this edition. Besides, the ideas in this
book have been reviewed to meet the developments in the ever
increasing world of knowledge. As earlier remarked, this book is
for everyone. As a matter of fact, it is the book for you! It contains
the foundational truths for achieving a happy and successful life.

Indeed, this book offers you the blueprint for the journey to
success. Consequently, digesting the content and applying it to
your life will unarguably be a success catalyst dosage. It is a book
for everyone who is sincerely, honestly, earnestly and
conscientiously passionate about achieving a happy and successful
life.
Introduction
Though every success starts with desire, desire alone is insufficient
to occasion success. Desire is a necessary, though insufficient,
precondition for achieving success. If wishes were sufficient to
translate desires into realities, everyone would have been
successful. If wishes and desires were enough to make every
human aspiration and ambition a reality, everyone would also have
been successful. Every human being naturally desires, values,
loves, appreciates and yearns for success.
Unfortunately, success is, and will remain, beyond the reach of

most people. This is why successful people are exceptional and
few. There would be nothing special about being a success if
successful people were common. Though everyone wants to be
successful, people‟s attitudes towards the pursuit of success vary.
This is one of the reasons the results people get in the pursuit of
success also vary. No one wants to be identified with (a) failure.
Failure is an orphan, while success is a child of many parents.
But why do some people succeed while others fail? Why do some
people succeed with very little effort while others work very hard
but have nothing (meaningful) to show for their efforts, even year
after year? Why do some people accomplish (almost) every goal
they set while others cannot accomplish most (if not the least) of
their set goals? Why are some people very successful while others
are failures? What are the secrets of success? How can a person
become a success? How can failure be avoided?
I am often confronted with the above questions by the attendees of

some seminars when I speak. Very often, I have no difficulty
realising that the questions are usually asked by people who are
(consistently) unable to achieve success, despite all the efforts they
channel towards its pursuit. It is natural to be confused when you
put in the best of your efforts in the pursuit of a goal; yet, the goal
consistently and continuously proves unrealisable. Such experience
can easily lead to frustration and depression in life.
One of the most difficult pains to bear is working hard but

achieving little. Such experience is unarguably a source of sadness,
depression and discomfort. However, it is not a surprise that this is
the experience of most people. This is why poor hardworking
people abound everywhere. Worse still, there are some people who
work very hard but achieve nothing. For such people, their efforts
towards achieving success is continuously unable to attract any
meaningful value to their lives.
Though the above questions can be, has been, and is being,
answered in different ways, as there is no single route to success or
failure; one of the answers I usually give to the questions is that
people should identify where they belong in life. In the journey to
success, there are basically twelve categories of people. The
people in each of the categories desire success, but differ in their
attitudes towards its pursuit. The category you belong, which is
determined by your attitudes, determines the results you get.
Perhaps, this is why it is usually said that what you get in life is not
determined by what you want, but by who you are. Who you are
determines what you do, and what you do determines what you
get. Hence, who you are determines what you get. When you
understand these categorisations of people, you may decide to
change your present condition by migrating to a better group. This
involves a total change of attitude towards life. It is a fundamental

truism that nothing will change in your life until you change.
This requires a high level of self-discipline to achieve. Perhaps, it

is the most important war you will fight in life. The outcome of the
war will determine your destiny. Nothing will change around you
until something changes within you.1 If you remain in the category
you are, you will continue to do what you have always done and
also continue to get the results you have always got. According to
Albert Einstein, “Doing the same thing over and over but
expecting a different result is one of the definitions of insanity.”
The first category consists of people who have no focus, dream,

vision, direction, ambition, target, goal, etc in life. Such people
never get started in life because they have no (clear sense of)
direction. They live in the world of anything-life-offers-is-
acceptable. They are on a journey to no destination all through
their lives. They dream of success, but never go beyond wishful
thinking. Sometimes, they fantasise about an amazing future. They
live in a dream world. Though they have no focus, they desire
success, even more than focused and hard working people.
One attitude some people in this category have is that they are very
good at devaluing people‟s accomplishments. For instance, when
someone builds a house, they will say something like, “Why is that
man being celebrated for building only a house? When I am ready
to build, I will build an estate.” When they also hear that someone
has bought a car, they will say something like, “Buying a car is not
1
Eugene C. Onyibo and Ethelbert Arua OSJ, Rich God, Poor
Believers: The Secrets of Overcoming Poverty by God’s
Children, (Lagos: Skyheight Success Consult, 2013), p.108.
a sign of being rich.” This is why they have serious difficulty with
celebrating other people‟s achievements.
However, they often believe that success can be accidentally

achieved effortlessly. This is why they usually believe in miracle,
luck, chance, fate, providence, destiny and fortune. In their
opinions, successful people are so because of providence and luck,
not because of their efforts. Indeed, this is self-deceit and a self-
defeating philosophy. One of the reasons success remains beyond
the reach of this category of people, even for the rest of their lives,
is that reality starts and ends with dream in their world.
Though a dream may lead to reality, it is not, and will never be, the
same with reality. No matter how good and beautiful a dream may
be, it will remain a dream until it is acted on. Besides, you must
wake up and go to work before your dream will become a reality.
No wishful thinking, desire, wish, expectation, aspiration,
ambition, etc can translate any dream into reality without work.
Nothing will work in your life until you work. Their ugly
conditions of living will last for the rest of their lives, except they
change.
The second category consists of people who have no personal
focus, dream, vision, direction, ambition, target, goal, etc in life.
Consequently, they follow the wishes of others. The events of their
lives are dictated by people‟s opinions, wishes, expectations and
preferences. People in this category live as others wish, rather than
as they wish. This is a very dangerous category for any adult to
belong because such life is best for underage children. It is a
lifestyle that is most unworthy and most undesirable of any adult.
The difference between people in the first category and those in the
second category is that while those in the first category have no
focus, dream, vision, direction, ambition, target, goal, etc in life at
all; the focus, dream, vision, direction, ambition, target and goals
of those in the second category are not self-made. As an adult,
though you should allow people (though not anyone or everyone)
to advise you, you should not allow anyone to take decision on any
issue that (directly) concerns or affects your life. Life is best when
it is lived on personal convictions, resolutions and decisions.
Since you will be praised for your success, but blamed for your
failures; you should take 100% responsibility for your life.2 This
attitude should start from taking decisions on issues about your
life. As a rule of life, decision on an issue of life should always be
made by the person who will accept responsibility for it. It is
inappropriate to allow anyone to decide how your adult life will be
lived. No human being is more qualified than yourself to take that
decision. It is your responsibility to do so. So, accept it!
The third category consists of people who set goals, plan, but do
not act. The factor that differentiates them from those in the former
categories is planning, which is necessary but insufficient for
success. Sometimes, people in this category have so many goals
and plans that they are confused about the steps to take. They are
usually excited about their dreams, visions, hopes, desires,
expectations, goals and plans. This is why, sometimes, they even
celebrate their dreams, visions and desires as accomplishments.
2
Jack Canfield, How to Get from Where You Are to Where You
Want to Be: The 25 Principles of Success, (Great Britain: Clays
Ltd., 2007), p.1-4.
They are often delighted with sharing their dreams with people,
only to go back later to justify why they could not be executed.
They are very energetic when it comes to talking, but very weak
and incapacitated in taking actions. This is why they often waste a
great deal of time talking, rather than taking actions. This is also
why I describe people in this category as talking people. However,
like people in the first category, there is no provision for action in
their lives. People in this category are not candidates for success.
The fourth category consists of people who set unrealistic and
irrational goals. People in this category fail because they set
unreasonable goals. Some good features they have, unlike the
people in the first and third categories, are that they are not only
action-oriented, but also very hardworking. Unfortunately, their
efforts towards achieving success are usually wasteful and
unproductive because they always fail. This is why, like people in
the above categories, they are also not candidates for success.
But why does this category of people also fail in life, despite
having big visions, being very hardworking and action-oriented?
The reason is that they do not believe that life‟s journey is one step
at a time. They believe in starting from the top. This is why they
always bite more than they can chew. According to Martin Luther
King (Jnr.), “Nothing in this world is more dangerous than sincere
ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” People in this category will
never succeed, as success starts from setting the right goals.
The fifth category consists of people who act with neither goal-
setting nor planning. People in this group always do things at
random, though they may be working very hard. One of their
unique features is that they are the most confused about success.
The reason is that they often work very hard, even more than
necessary, but always achieve little, if any thing. They usually

have no meaningful results to show for their efforts. They are
usually disorganised, confused, uncoordinated and disordered.
They often waste their efforts by channeling them into the wrong
directions. This is why they are unproductive or failures, despite
working very hard. They have speed, passion, enthusiasm and
energy, but lack direction, strategy, tactics and focus. According to
Stephen Covey, “Where you are headed is more important than
how fast you are going.” Their experiences show that working
hard, the only skill most people know when it comes to the pursuit
of success and excellence, is insufficient for achieving success.
The sixth category consists of people who set goals and plan in
ignorance before taking actions. It is important to be mindful of
the fact that people in this category are not lazy because they take
actions on their set goals and plans. It is also important to note that
people in this category also do not take actions with neither goal-
setting nor planning. However, like people in the fourth and fifth
categories above, they are also very confused about the fact that
the efforts they channel towards the pursuit of success always fail.
However, it should not be difficult to understand the root cause of
the problems of people in this category. To understand this, you
should answer the question, “What is the difference between the
man who has no tool and the man who has the wrong tool?” What
is the difference between a man who wants to cut grasses but has
no cutlass and another man who also wants to cut grasses but has a
hammer or a ruler? Acting on goals that are set in ignorance could
be as good as acting with neither goal-setting nor planning.
This is why such people are not candidates for success, no matter
how hard they work. It is very disappointing, painful, irritating
and worrisome to remark that this is the category most people

belong. This is why many people work very hard but have nothing
meaningful to show for their efforts. Since success is not a product
of accident, it is irrational to expect a decision that was made in
ignorance to produce a reliable guide to success. You must act on
informed decisions before you can succeed in any endeavour.
The seventh category consists of people who set goals, plan, but
never complete what they ought to do in order to accomplish their
set goals. People in this category are better than those in the first
category because they have focus and direction. They are also
better than those in the third category because they act on their set
goals. However, like those in the categories above, they are also
not candidates for success because they always abandon their goals
after acting on them for a while. They do not complete what they
ought to do in order to accomplish their set goals.
When they abandon a goal at the middle of the road, even the new
goals that fascinate their attentions are also not completed before
they are also abandoned for other goals. They have a reputation for
attempting many things, but never completing anything. They are
very excellent at trying many things, but failing in all of them.
They just cannot get anything done. People in this category
continuously remain unable to achieve success because it is
difficult to succeed in something that is not completed. Success
necessarily implies accomplishment or completion.
The eighth category consists of people who set more goals than
they can accomplish at a time, but strive to actualise all of them at
the same time. The attitudes of people in this category are very
closely related to those in the fourth category above. The people in
both categories cannot get anything done simply because they
always bite more than they can chew. However, the difference
between them is that while those in the fourth category set
irrational and unreasonable goals, those in the eighth category set
multiple reasonable goals they cannot accomplish.
People in this category always strive to achieve beyond their
natural and human capacities because they cannot prioritise.3 They
are usually perfectionists. They love doing things perfectly. They
are hardly satisfied with other people‟s performance. This is why
they believe that no one can perform any task better than
themselves. This is also why they cannot delegate the least of their
tasks, even when they have competent subordinates who are
available to assist them. People in this group are not candidates for
success because they waste a lot of time on simple tasks.
The ninth category consists of people who set goals, plan but act
without their plans. Can you imagine going to an examination hall,
but refusing to write with your pen? Can you also imagine going to
a farm with a hoe and a cutlass, but refusing to work with neither
of them when you get to the farm? These examples best describe
what people in this category do. They waste time setting goals and
planning because they always do nothing with their plans and set
goals. People in this category, like those in the former categories,
are also not candidates for success.
In the tenth category, there are people who set goals, plan, act, fail
but give up. They are convinced that the fact that they failed
implies that they will never succeed. They have difficulty doing
away with the past. As a result, they often live with the past in the
present. This is why they are perpetually haunted by their pasts.
3
See Chapter Seven for a detailed discussion of Prioritising as a Key
Success Tool.
They are yet to understand that winners never quit, and quitters
never win. In addition, they often fail to realise that success is
usually preceded by failures, and also that failure could be the
„gateway to‟, „foundation of‟ and „stepping stone to‟ success.
The eleventh category consists of those who are not willing to
accept responsibilities for their lives. Rather, they want others to
take responsibilities for their lives, even as adults. They like to
spend their entire lives as dependents. There are two features that
are common to people in this category. The first is that they are
usually sycophants, flatterers and praise singers. The second
feature is that they usually want to get things of value from people
in exchange of nothing. They always prefer to receive fish from
people rather than being taught how to fish.
The last category consists of people who make informed decisions,
set goals, prioritise, plan, act and persist with their dreams, even
in the face of difficulties, challenges, obstacles, setbacks, mistakes
and failures. It is imperative to take note of the fact that people in
this category, like those in the tenth category above, also
experience failures and setbacks. However, unlike them, they do
not give up after failure. This category is the group of successful
people. There are very few people in this category. The people in
this category are uncommon. They are rare.
When you make informed decisions, set goals, prioritise, plan and
act, but unable to achieve success; it could be because you act
wrongly. Acting wrongly is doing the wrong thing or doing the right
thing in the wrong way. It could also be doing the right thing at the
wrong time. It is easy to identify and correct your mistakes and
failures if you review and evaluate your activities periodically, no
matter the results you get. Otherwise, you will continue to repeat
your mistakes because you are ignorant of them.
People in this category do not believe in working hard alone

because they know that it is a necessary but insufficient condition
for success. They believe in applying good strategies in working
very hard on good ideas. They believe that it is never over until
victory becomes a reality. This is why they do not give up after
failure, no matter how bad or hopeless the situation may (appear
to) be. They are strongly convinced that winners never quit and
quitters never win. They believe that success gives up on anyone
who, for any reason, gives up trying.
Everyone belongs to one of these categories. It is your duty to
identify the category you belong in order to understand why you
are where you are, and why you get the results that are obvious in
your life. This will also help you to know the future that awaits
you. Examining your life in order to identify the category you
belong is an obligation you owe yourself. As a matter of fact, no
one should do it for you because no one can do it for you. Besides,
it is a fundamental truth that you are the best person to do it. It
could be demanding and challenging, but the end is worth the task.
Perhaps, you have been trying very hard to achieve success, but to
no avail. You may have done everything within your strength to
accomplish your set goals, but to no avail. Obviously, self-
examination, in relation to the above categorisations of people, will
unarguably unveil one of the secrets of your present condition.
Failure, most times, does not result from lack of dream, goal-
setting, prioritising, planning, self-discipline or action. Though
they are necessary for success, as evident in the analysis above,
their presence does not guarantee success.
Many people are still unable to achieve success despite setting
goals, prioritising, planning and acting on the set goals because
they lack consistence, persistence, perseverance and endurance.

They do not stay long enough in a field in order to learn the details.
They do not stay long enough in a field in order to „learn from‟ and
„correct‟ their mistakes. They are nomads in their quest for success
because they always believe that the best is where they are not. As
a result, they remain wanderers in life because they keep
attempting everything but cannot excel in anything.
This book, Pathway to Success: Roadmap to Unlimited
Sustainable Success, is designed to assist you achieve a successful
life. It is designed to offer you a reliable guide and blueprint in
your journey to achieving a happy and successful life. The fact that
you are reading it suggests that you are passionate about success. It
also shows that you are committed to achieving it, but have
insufficient knowledge of how to make your dream a reality. If you
digest the content of this book and rightly apply it to your life, you
will find yourself on the pathway to success.
Eugene C. Onyibo
Lagos, Nigeria
February, 2017.
Part One
Understanding
Success
Chapter One
Success Talk
Every intentional human act is meaningful but only in relation to
its ability to contribute to the attainment of a specified goal (either
directly or indirectly). Any deliberate human act that does not
satisfy this condition is unnecessary, if not irrational. Any
calculated human action that does not lead to the accomplishment
of a set goal is uncalled for. Man‟s conscious acts ought to be
rational because man is a conscious and rational being by nature.
Besides, there is a purpose for human existence. Consequently, the
meaning of life is in relation to the purpose of life.
The meaningfulness of any premeditated action of man is validated

by its ability to foster the realisation of the purpose of man‟s
existence, at least indirectly. This is the single feature that validates
the rationality of human actions. This is why every reasonable
conscious human action should be linked to the pursuit of the
accomplishment of a set goal, at least, indirectly. Success is the
word that summarises the intended goal of every deliberate action
of man. It is the crown of man‟s efforts. It is the end product of
calculated and intentional human actions.
Every human being desires to be a success, wishes to be a success,

hopes to be a success, dreams of being a success, speaks of success
and loves being a success. Desire, ambition, aspiration, dream,
hope, expectation, optimism, etc are words that describe
anticipated success. But failure is the most unwanted enemy of
everyone, perhaps, because it is often considered as the opposite of
success. No one (even those who have indirectly chosen to fail

through their actions) ever wants to be identified with failure.
Every day is a record of series of successes. Every day, people set

goals and accomplish them. That is success. For instance, before
going to bed, people plan to wake up at a certain time of the next
day. They also have plans of what to do on every new day. It may
be going to work, school, church, picnic, etc. Many people start a
new day with prayer, after which they brush their teeth, have their
bath before doing any other thing. All these are goals, and as long
as they are accomplished, there is a record of success.
Hence, everyday is a record of many successes because success is

achieved anytime a set goal is translated into reality. But is this
what success is all about? Could this be what is meant when
someone is said to have achieved success? Does one achieve
success by merely translating a set goal into reality, irrespective of
what the goal is? Does a person achieve success by praying in the
morning, brushing the teeth or bathing simply because they are
accomplished set goals? If this is only what success consists of,
then it is obvious that there is nothing special about it.
There is more to success than merely accomplishing a set goal.

Success is unique, distinctive and exceptional. It is uncommon. As
a result, it should not be reduced to merely accomplishing any set
goal, though it entails it in a sense. Such amounts to devaluing and
undermining success, an enviable and admirable achievement. No
one is celebrated or regarded as a success by any reasonable person
just because he accomplished such common goals. However, this
is the simple sense of the word - success.
There is, however, a more significant sense of success. This is the

deeper sense of success. Success is not simple in this sense. It is in
this sense that success is most desirable. It is also in this sense that
success is a treasure that is achievable (or can be achieved) only by
a few people. Success, in this sense, is unique, inimitable,
exceptional, rare and distinctive. It is this sense that is meant when
one talks about success, being a success, achieving success or
being successful.4 This sense is the popular meaning of success. It
is also the common sense of success.
People who are celebrated as success are not those who accomplish
any set goal, but people who distinguish themselves from others.
The two basic ways people distinguish themselves from others is
either by doing extraordinary things, or by doing ordinary things
in extraordinary ways. There are few people who achieve this.
This is why successful people are exceptional. This is also why
successful people naturally endear themselves to people with ease,
even unintentionally. Everyone loves being like them, talking
about them and relating with them.
People naturally love being identified with successful people. As a

matter of fact, being able to identify with such people is often
considered as a rare privilege. This is also why people like taking
photographs with them whenever they have the opportunity of
meeting them. This is also why the pictures of (exceptionally)
successful people are usually displayed in open places, even in the
places of abode of people who have never seen them physically.
Exceptionally successful people are loved by more people than
they can ever see, meet or physically interact with.
4
Except otherwise instructed, success should be understood in this
sense in this book.
Since information about them easily captivates peoples‟ attention,

journalists, very often, feature news on them in the media. Some
radio and television programmes, as well as some columns in
newspapers and magazines, are exclusively devoted to them,
especially those of them who are celebrities. Besides, business
organisations also delight in taking advantage of their fame, and
the respect and attention they command in the society in marketing
their products and/or services by hiring them for advertisements
and sales promotion programmes.
Successful people are easily taken as models and mentors by their

admirers who, eventually, strive to pattern their lifestyles after
theirs. Since they have accomplished what others desire to achieve,
people easily look up to them (as models and mentors). People also
seek the counsel of successful people to assist them in achieving
specific goals in life, especially in the aspects of life the successful
people excelled in. This is why they are easily adopted as life
coaches. Indeed, Success is a crown everyone desires to wear,
though only few people succeed in doing so.
If an individual is fortunate to be related to an exceptionally

successful person; it is almost impossible for the person to
introduce himself to anyone (or to any people) without making his
relationship to the successful person known. If the person is
humble enough to omit the relationship in the introduction, if he
shares a surname with the successful person, he is often asked the
question, “Are you related to ...?” In some instances, such a
relationship can easily „open doors‟ where it exists, just as a bad
name can „close doors‟.
Everyone desires success but only few people achieve it. There are
numerous reasons success remains, and will continue to remain,
beyond the reach of many people. One of such reasons is that most
peoples‟ desire for success does not reflect in their daily activities.
The passion for success in the lives of most people is evident in
their words alone. But neither desire nor words, without the right
action, is strong enough to make an individual a success. Your
success is not determined by only your desire or wish, but by what
you are, what you do, and how you do it.
Things to Know about Success

There are some things you should know about success. They are as
follows:
Success is Progressive
Many people are in haste about success. They want to achieve
success overnight. They burden themselves with thoughts about
achieving success. They make themselves restless by their
inordinate ambitions to become successful. They have sleepless
and restless nights because of their immoderate and inordinate
ambitions for success. If they would understand the laws of
success, they would know that their problem (or worry) is
unwarranted. This is one of the reasons success remains beyond
their reach, despite their worries about achieving it.
According to Henry David Thoreau, “Success usually comes to

those who are too busy to be looking for it.” The most important
thing in the pursuit of success is not thinking about success,
dreaming about success, or talking about success, but doing what
you ought to do to achieve success, when you ought to do it, and
how you ought to do it. According to Arnold H. Glasow, “Success
is simple. Do what is right, the right way, at the right time.” You
waste time thinking about success and dreaming of being a success
if you are not working towards achieving it.
Being inordinately ambitious for success could be a gateway to

self-destruction. As a matter of fact, it is inimical to success for
several reasons. Success is not a product of accident, fate, luck or
chance. It is the product of conscious, intentional, deliberate and
strategic actions and efforts. Jim Rohn remarks that success is
nothing more than a few simple disciplines practiced every day.
Hence, success is the result of the cumulative events and activities
of life. This implies that what you do all (or most of) the time, and
how you do it, determines what you get in life.
Being inordinately ambitious about success impoverishes you of

the patience that is necessary for enduring, persevering,
overcoming and learning from failures. This is why impatient
people are not candidates for success. Not being patient enough to
allow things to work according to the dictates of time and law of
natural order accounts for why many people go astray in the
pursuit of success. When you are too fast, you may be running
backwards. In addition, when you are too fast, you may also be
heading towards doom and destruction.
Do not bother about success because it comes at the appointed

time, as long as you do the right things at the right time, and in the
right way. This is a fundamental truism. If you take care of the
right things, the right results will take care of themselves. If you
take care of the goals, success will take care of itself. If you take
care of the seconds, the hours will take care of themselves. Success
is progressive. If you focus your efforts on the right things, the
right results will focus on you. If you are in haste about success,
you may be in haste to nowhere, if not to self-destruction.
Perhaps, this is why David Frost remarks that you should not aim
for success if you want it. Rather, you should just do what you love
and believe in, and success will come naturally. Success is
progressive. It is achieved gradually. The journey to success is also
progressive. It is one step at a time. The journey to success is very
much like a child‟s experience. He first learns how to crawl, learns
how to stand, and learns how to walk before he starts running.
Anyone who tries to run while he cannot walk ventures on an
impossible mission in life.
Success is a Process
Success has a starting point, but no end point. This is why every
individual, even the most successful person, can always become
more successful than he is. Simply put, success has no limit. Every
individual can always become „more‟ or „less‟ successful than he
is. This is because of the imperfect nature of the universe. The
word, „perfection‟, simply means tendency to become something
else (which may be better or worse). Hence, someone/something is
perfect when he/she/it cannot be better or worse, bigger or smaller,
etc than he/she/it is.
Hence, anything that is subject to change is imperfect while

anything that is not subject to change is perfect. Since everything
in the universe is subject to change, nothing in the universe is
perfect. God is the only (infinitely) perfect being that exists, as he
alone cannot change. Every other thing/being is imperfect because
they can, and actually do, change. Consequently, when the word
perfection is used to describe things in the finite world, it should be
understood in the analogical sense. In the strict sense, it is

applicable to God alone.
Imperfection in the physical world means that things are not stable
in value. This simply means that they change. They have the
potential to become better or worse than they are. The closer they
are to what/how they ought to be, the better they are, but the
farther they are from what/how they ought to be, the worse they
are. Nothing is perfect in the physical world. Consequently, every
human being, as well as his condition of living, is imperfect. This
is why everyone can always become good or bad, better or worse,
richer or poorer, more successful or less successful, etc.
The reality of imperfection in life makes room for improvement

and depreciation, and everyone, as an imperfect being, has the
natural tendency for both of them. There is no stability of value in
human nature. At every point in time, you are improving or
depreciating, succeeding or failing, etc. Stagnation is the
beginning of retrogression, but contentment is often the beginning
of stagnation. To remain good (without getting better) is to start
getting bad. This is why it is said that to stop being better is to stop
being good. To stop improving is to start depreciating.
When you are static, you are actually moving backwards because
the world and the things in it move ahead of you. To stop being
more successful is to start becoming less successful (or
unsuccessful). You should strive for perfection in life, not because
you can attain it, but because the closer you get to it, the better
your life becomes. According to Vince Lombardi, “Perfection is
not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”
Success is a process, not a destination. It has a starting point, but it

has no limit. It is continuous by its nature.
You should continually „aspire to‟ and „strive for‟ (greater)

success. If you are not getting better, you are getting worse. The
world gets more advanced always. Consequently, if you remain
where you are, no matter how good the place is, you will soon be
left behind. The only way to avoid being outdated is updating
yourself continually. When your personal value appreciates, your
condition of living also appreciates. Many people want to violate
this law by expecting an improvement in their conditions of living
while their personal values are not improved on.
This is why different people get different results from the same
endeavour, even at the same time and place. For instance, this is
why different people get absorbed by an organisation at the same
time, but after sometime, some will be at the top, some at the
middle, and the remaining at the bottom of the organisational
hierarchy. This is also why different people go into business at the
same time, but after a while, some people‟s companies will be
expanding, the businesses of others will be surviving, while the
businesses of the remaining people will be out of existence.
Success is a process. It is a progression. It also has a procedure.

The journey to success starts with a step, and continues with other
steps. As earlier remarked, success has a starting point, but no end
point. In other words, it has a beginning but no end. In the success
process, the raw materials for the procession are picked from the
past and present. Hence, your past and present achievements are
raw materials for processing your future achievements. Your past
and present successes are the foundations of your future success.
There is a very important feature of a process that is worth

mentioning at this point. Every process has a beginning and an
end. However, the end of every process marks the beginning of
another process. While the beginning of the new process also leads
to another end. The point being argued is that the accomplishment
of every set goal marks the beginning of the pursuit of a new goal.
This is why success is continuous.
Your level of success influences your relationship with others

One of the most significant things about success is that it affects
every aspect of your life. Your level of success determines the way
you speak, the house you live in, the places you go, the way you
dress, the food you eat, the car you drive, etc. Your relationship
with others is also affected, or determined and influenced, by your
level of success. Birds of a feather flock together. People are
naturally expected to identify with those at the same level of
success with them in friendly relationships. This is why friendship
is always best among people at the same level.
There can neither be strong nor cordial friendship among unequals,

no matter the standard with which the inequality is judged. Even
interactions among blood relations are adversely affected by
differences in their levels of achievements. Besides, among young
people, one‟s level of success usually determines his/her choice of
a life partner. A successful person, all things being equal, naturally
desires a fellow successful (or at least a potentially successful)
person as a spouse. This is why educated people usually marry
fellow educated people.
The claim that there can neither be strong nor cordial friendship
among unequals has been challenged by some attendees of my
seminars. It has also been challenged by some people during
informal discussions. However, I still hold on to this view because
of some observations and practical experiences. For instance, no
matter the level of relationship between a multimillionaire and a
poor person, the former cannot reveal the amount of money he
makes in business to the latter for several reasons, as he may risk
the relationship.
It is very likely that doing so will provoke jealousy from the poor
person. Besides, such information may induce the poor person to
make irrational financial demands from his wealthy friend or
relation. The relationship may eventually break down if the request
is not granted for any reason. This is one of the reasons rich people
keep information about their financial success away from poor
people, irrespective of how close they are to them. I sincerely
believe that this observation validates the truth that there cannot be
intimacy among unequals.
Besides, communication is usually more effective among people at

the same level of life and success, as their experiences are (very
likely to be) similar. For instance, discussion on marital life
between a married man and a bachelor, a married woman and a
spinster, or a married person and a divorcee will likely be from
different perspectives. This also applies to discussion between the
rich and the poor, a landlord and a tenant, a male and a female, an
adult and a child, an employer and an employee, a worker and a
retiree, a worker and a job seeker, a student and a teacher, etc.
The place of success in human relationship should not be difficult

to understand because peoples‟ lives are under the irresistible
influence of their relationships; hence, the popular expression,
“Tell me your friend and I will tell you the type of person you are”.
Relating with people above you has the tendency of assisting you
grow higher in life, if you are willing to do so. In a similar vein,
relating with people below you has the tendency of dragging you
down, if you are not careful. This is why you should be mindful of
your relationships. They affect your life in different ways.
Your life is influenced by the relationships you keep. Your

relationships are among the factors that will determine whether
you will succeed or fail. This is why there is usually a correlation
between people‟s level of success and their relationships with
people. As a matter of fact, your companions determine what you
are, what you will be, and what accompanies you. You should not
expect to have focus in life if your closest friends are people who
have no focus. Your choice of friendship also influences, affects
and determines, your destiny in life.
There is Fulfillment in being a Success

There is joy that naturally flows from being numbered among
successful people. Success naturally breeds happiness, bliss,
fulfillment, satisfaction, self-confidence and self-esteem. Success
is a source of great delight, joy and gladness. This is why
successful people are happy people. Indeed, success is the means
to happiness. To be where others desire to be is to be ahead of
them. It also, very easily, qualifies you to be a model/mentor.
However, it must be remarked that the pleasure of being a success
is neither pride nor arrogance, but a reward for excellence.
Though there is fulfillment in being a success, success can easily

evoke jealousy and envy. Good and/or wise people admire
successful people, while bad and/foolish people envy them. There
are some reasons people jealous successful people. The first reason
is when they feel that they are better qualified for success than the
successful. Another reason is when they are unable to achieve what
a successful person achieves. The last is when they have
acquaintance with a successful person. These conditions are
usually necessary before there can be jealousy or envy.
However, jealousy should not militate against the happiness of

being successful, though it has the tendency to do so, especially
when it leads to physical attacks. Some people have difficulty
rejoicing with others. They are happy when others are failing, but
unhappy when they are succeeding. You will always get what you
wish others. If you cannot rejoice with others for their success, you
should not expect anyone to ever rejoice with you because you
alienate yourself from success. You should not expect to enjoy
what you do not wish others.
An enemy of success is not fit to be a success because he should

not expect to have what he does not wish others. Even if success
comes the person‟s way, people will likely not be willing to rejoice
with him because life is a mirror; how people relate with you is
always determined by how you relate with them. If you want
people to celebrate your success with you, always celebrate other
people‟s success with them. If you want to have good friends, be a
good friend to others. Human relationship is governed by the
principle of reciprocity.
Success is as important as how it is achieved

According to Niccolo Machiavelli, “The end justifies the means.”
Though this expression has become a maxim to many, especially
political scientists; it does not excel the test of a critical ethical
examination. A positive end does not justify an evil means; neither
does a negative end invalidate a positive means. Success is as
important as the means through which it is achieved. People are
successful in different fields and in different ways. In the life of
every successful person, responsible people are interested in his
success and the means through which the success is achieved.
No one is celebrated as a success by a responsible person (or a

responsible society) if the means through which his
accomplishments are made are unknown or morally and socially
unacceptable. The reason is that the moral value of an end is as
significant as the moral value of the means through which it is
accomplished. An achievement qualifies as success if the means
through which it is attained is morally and socially acceptable.
Any achievement that does not excel the test of moral and social
examinations does not qualify to be considered as success.
Every success is an achievement but every achievement is not

success. All achievements are not success because success
necessarily has moral and social credentials. Consequently, it is not
just the end (success) that is important, but also the means through
which it is achieved. No end can be justified by a wrong means, no
matter how good the end may (appear to) be. This is why the
Machiavellian Principle - the end justifies the means - is an
unacceptable ethical theory. The end is, and will always be, as
significant as the means through which it is accomplished.
For instance, being wealthy (an end) is good, but stealing in order
to become wealthy (the means) is bad. To say that the end justifies
the means is to admit that it is good to steal if it can assist someone
to become rich. Indeed, this is unethical. Even committing such
wealth at the service of humanity (by assisting those in need) does
not justify the means through which the wealth was acquired,
though it is a positive end. This is why there are some people who
are wealthy but are not numbered among successful people (by an
objective standard) in the society.
Though they have everything money can buy, the society does not
want to associate with them. Such people are not, and should not
be classified among successful people. As a matter of fact, they are
failures. To fail in your moral life is to be a failure in life indeed.
Little wonder the cash cows who amassed stupendous wealth by
looting their country‟s treasury are not numbered among the
richest people in world records. Only those whose sources of
income are morally and socially acceptable and justifiable are
recognised and honoured as rich people.
Your success does not depend on your background

The belief that an individual‟s success depends on his background
is not only wrong, but also deceptive. There are numerous people
who have the best of family backgrounds; yet, they make nothing
meaningful out of life. But there are also some people whose
backgrounds are nothing to write about; yet, they make the best out
of life. As a matter of fact, most exceptionally successful people
are from nameless families. This observation is valid across the
globe. How many people who enjoy exceptional success were born
of wealthy or famous parents?
There are more successful people from poor family backgrounds

than those from wealthy family backgrounds. Though this claim
can neither be conclusively verified nor falsified scientifically,
daily observations lend credence to its truthfulness. In addition,
daily experiences further validate the truthfulness of this claim.
Perhaps, the fact that there are many successful people from poor
backgrounds accounts for why a writer remarks that you should not
allow your background to keep your back on the ground.
One of the factors that accounts for why there are more successful
people from poor backgrounds is that poverty is usually an
incentive for greater commitment in the pursuit of success and
excellence. Children from poor families are usually convinced that
the quality of life that awaits them in the future will be determined
by what they are able to achieve with their personal efforts, since
they have no back to fall on if they fail in life. Consequently, they
are usually challenged to channel the best of their efforts into the
struggle for achieving success.
On the other hand, children from rich families, despite having all
the advantages life can offer, usually have the tendency to pursue
matters of success with less commitment, as they usually believe
that such will not make any difference in their lives. They usually
do not bother about their futures because they believe that their
parents have secured them. This is why they usually waste time
bragging over their parents‟ achievements, rather than striving for
their own achievements. They forget that they should strive for
their own success because their parents‟ success is not theirs.
People should be praised because of their achievements and those

of their children, but not because of the achievements of their
parents. A child‟s success is part of his parents‟ success, but a

man‟s success is not part of his child‟s success. While children
should ensure that their parents‟ success does not constitute a
threat (or obstacle) to their future; parents should also ensure that
their success does not constitute a threat to the future of their
children. Children should be encouraged to pursue their own
success, rather than celebrating their parents‟ success.
Success is a Personal Property

Success is a personal property that can neither be transferred to
another person5 nor borrowed by another person. You may enjoy
from another person‟s success, but you cannot borrow (from) it.
Besides, success is not transferable. Any person who desires the
joy and glory of success should be willing to pay the price in order
to achieve it. No one can achieve success for another person. No
one becomes a success by/through another person‟s success,
though you may achieve your own success through the help of a
successful person. Success is a personal property.
It is imperative to remark that there are numerous successful

people whose fans know nothing about their family backgrounds,
parents, spouses, siblings, relatives, friends, etc. It is also worthy of
note that most times, the world does not care about the people who
played very significant roles in the lives of successful people. How
many successful people does the world celebrate their parents,
guardians, spouses or siblings? Is the celebration of the
accomplishments of any individual considered incomplete in the
absence of any individual?
5
An exception to this is Inheritance. However, inherited success of
any type is usually difficult to sustain because it has no solid
foundation.
You have your own success to build. You have an obligation to

strive towards accomplishing your own success. Otherwise, there
will be nothing to be celebrated about you by others. The
(auto)biography of a successful person is not considered
incomplete because the names of the parents, guardian, spouse,
coach, benefactors or relations were omitted. This shows very
strongly that success is a personal property. Everyone should be
relentlessly committed to the pursuit of his success more than (or
rather than) celebrating the success of another person.
You should pursue your own success

Everyone has unlimited potentials. One of the potentials every
human being has is the tendency to become successful. Most
unfortunately, most people fail in life. They are failures because
they do not optimise their potentials. Your success does not depend
on your potentials alone, but on the results you produce with them.
You cannot build a reputation on your potential that has not
produced any result. Your achievement is your potential made
visible. It is your duty to pursue your own success.
People who aspire for success should solicit the assistance and
mentorship of successful people rather than trying to enjoy from
their success. In a culture like mine, anyone‟s success is
everyone‟s success. In a similar vein, anyone‟s challenge is also
everyone‟s challenge. The culture obliges people to be one
another‟s keeper. Consequently, people often request numerous
things from their successful relations. Observations show that most
times, most of such requests are unnecessary, as most people
always ask for the wrong things.
Such culture should not be encouraged in contemporary times for

several reasons. People need different types of help from different
people at different times, and in different conditions. In some
countries the government has no welfare programme for the less
privileged citizens, especially the aged, the handicapped and the
sick; such people can look up to some people around them to, at
least, grant their basic needs. But this should be unacceptable for
healthy and able-bodied people, especially youths.
You waste your creative potential and impoverish yourself of the

capacity for success when you decide to become a liability to
others. There is dignity in financial independence and financial
autonomy, especially as an adult. Adults devalue themselves when
they decide to depend on other people for the provision of their
daily needs. It is folly to decide to be a beggar whereas you have
the strength and capacity to earn your daily bread through labour.
No one gets satisfied with whatever thing that is acquired through
begging, as there is no way for replacing it.
Rather than asking for bread, it is better to ask for an opportunity

to earn bread with your labour. In God‟s relationship with man,
when man asks for bread, God provides a job. In other words,
when man asks God for bread, God provides a means for him to
earn a living with his labour. One of the greatest blessings you will
enjoy is good health. A healthy person should be productive, not
dependent. One of the problems in some societies today is that they
have more able-bodied beggars than sick beggars.
Successful people should strive to teach others to fish rather than

giving them fish. According to the old dictum, “When you give a
person a fish, you feed him for a day; but when you teach the
person how to fish, you feed him for life”. Anyone who gives a
fish to a healthy person, whereas he can teach the person how to
fish, does not really love the beneficiary of his generosity. As a
matter of fact, giving an adult a fish is an insult to him, if he
recognises that dignity and integrity are conferred on him by
nature, irrespective of his status. You are expected to live on the
fruits of your labour, not on the fruits of another person‟s labour.6
Successful people free themselves from unnecessary requests from

friends and relations if they assist them to become established. It is
better to assist people discover the success in themselves than to
share the fruits of your success with them. Besides, a successful
person is great, not by his personal abilities and achievements
alone, but more by his ability to help others become successful.
This is one of the most cherished characters of successful people.
“A man who lives for himself”, as Norman Vincent Peale remarks,
“is a failure”.
Some adults expect to depend on others for the provision of

everything in their lives, even the least of their financial needs.
Such people are yet to come to terms with the fact that the more
financial success one achieves through hard work, the more
difficult it is for the person to give out money to lazy people and
those without focus. Successful people are not easily generous with
the fruits of their labour because they were not received on a
platter of gold. They believe very strongly that people must work
hard for what they desire, as they do.
Successful people are convinced, from personal experiences, that

success and failure are self-made. They know that anyone can
6
Psalm 128:2.
become successful by doing the right thing. This is why it is

usually easier to get financial assistance, especially when it is
unnecessary, from poor people than from rich people, though the
assistance the poor offer will always be insignificant. Successful
people also know that nobody can succeed through another
person‟s effort. Hence, they want everyone to understand that their
destinies are in their hands.
No one can be assisted to succeed if he decides to fail. No one can

be aided to excel if he decides to fail. Your decisions determine the
results you get in life. This is why they (your decisions) are the
parents of your destiny. In the journey to success, nothing is more
important than your decisions, choices and resolutions. According
to Abraham Lincoln, “Always bear in mind that your own
resolution to succeed is more important than any other.” You can
take a horse to the river but you cannot force it to drink.
No one can also be made to fail if he decides to succeed. This is a

fundamental truth. Your decisions today are your realities
tomorrow. Nothing is impossible before a willing heart; though the
willingness must be obvious in the decisions and actions of the
person. The decision to succeed and the willingness to follow the
path that leads to success are personal responsibilities. Your ability
to accept these responsibilities determines your destiny. The most
important things that must be done before you will succeed are
things only you „can‟, „will‟ and „should‟ do.
Success is a Matter of Choice

Success is not by fortune, luck, chance or fate. It also does not
occur by accident or probability. Failures often blame fortune and
luck for their conditions. They describe failure as ill-destiny, ill-
luck, ill-fortune, etc. They believe that they are yet to succeed
because fortune is yet to smile on them. To consider success as a
matter of fortune or luck is to consider success as a matter of
chance. This implies considering oneself as not having any role in
shaping his destiny. To believe that success is a product of chance
implies a disbelief in oneself.
Everyone‟s destiny (to a very reasonable extent) is in his hands,

not in fate, fortune, chance or luck. Everyone is a product of the
ideas he lives with. You cannot change your life without changing
your thinking. You also cannot change your thinking without
changing your life. However, you must change your thinking
before you can change your life. The quality of your life will never
be better than the quality of your thinking. Every conscious action
is an idea made visible. Hence, positioning yourself for success
starts with changing your thinking.
Success is a matter of choice, a decision between alternatives. You

become a success by deciding to be so. People live as they choose.
The choice must be evident in your behaviour. If you take a closer
look at the lifestyles of successful people and failures, it will not be
difficult to observe the wide differences in their attitudes to life.
This is why there are also differences in their destinies. It is often
said that one‟s attitudes to life determines his altitude in life. A
change in attitudes to life will inevitably necessitate a change in
altitude in life.
Success is governed by the same principles all over the world at

every time. It (success) is an output. Since output is determined by
input; the acquisition, development and practise of success-
inducing attitudes are requisites and preconditions for achieving
success. Success is the product of strategic intelligible actions that

are consciously performed. A firm resolution to succeed, backed
with strategic actions, positions you on the pathway (if not fast
lane) to success. Your destiny is in your hand, as only you can
make the resolution and take actions.
Failure is a step to Success

Success is often achieved after series of trials, failures,
disappointments, mistakes, errors, etc. Many of the earliest efforts
that are geared towards achieving success often culminate in
failures. The failures, however, are often „preparations for‟ and
„stepping stones to‟ success, but only when the lessons they teach
are learnt, understood and applied in the subsequent efforts in the
pursuit of success. This is why failure is not final. According to
Winston Churchill, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is
the courage to continue that counts.”
Success has a price

There is a price for every prize. Success has a price, and anyone
who cannot pay the price of success is not worthy of the prize of
success. The road to crown is filled with thorns. Anyone who
cannot endure the pains of the thorns on the road to success will
not enjoy the pleasure of the crown of success. You must pay the
price of success before you will wear the crown of success.
The Starting Point of Success

What should I do if I want to be a success? Where do I start if I
want to succeed? When do I start if I want to be a success? How
should I start the journey to success? The best place to start your
journey to success is where you are, and the best time to start is
now, as tomorrow may be too late, if it will ever come. The best
time to have planted a tree was some years ago, but the second best
time is today. The more you delay the take off of your journey to
success, the more the likelihood that it will never take place. As
always said, the earlier you start, the better for you.
No one was born with the success he enjoys. Do you know that
some (exceptionally) successful people were considered failures at
some points in their lives? Do you know that Abraham Lincoln
failed many times in politics before becoming the president of the
United States of America? Do you know that Michael Jordan was
rejected by the basketball team of his school as a student? Do you
also know that Thomas Edison was rejected by his school as a
child because he was considered addled (mentally ill)? But that did
not stop him from becoming the genius of the century.
These world heros succeeded because they always believed in

themselves. They also succeeded because they never gave up. Do
you also know that there were times famous people were unknown
to the world? They became famous and successful because they
took the first step in the journey to success one day. Famous
people were not born so. Celebrities were not born so. Successful
people were also not born so. It is their achievements in life that
confer on them the success and fame they enjoy.
There are many people who are numbered among common people
today but who will have the best of success and fame in the future,
only if they will start doing the right things now. A truth that may
be unknown to you is that you could be one of such people. This
message may be your wakeup call to pursue your destiny in life.
Today is early enough to start searching for the purpose of your
existence, and start making conscious efforts to fulfill it, but
tomorrow may be too late. Besides, you may never have another
opportunity to start if you do not start today.
Procrastination and fear are twin enemies of success. They keep

you away from where you could succeed. They are among failure‟s
most successful strategies. Procrastination prevents you from
attempting what you could succeed at by making you postpone
your decisions, planning and action steps, while fear compels you
to accept defeat in the battle of life before the war begins. Do not
procrastinate what you can do today because tomorrow has its own
challenges. As a matter of fact, tomorrow has enough challenges
for itself. This is why it is irrational to add the burden of today‟s
challenges to tomorrow‟s challenges.
Today‟s challenges are good enough for today while tomorrow‟s

challenges are also good enough for tomorrow. If you put off to
tomorrow what you ought to (and which you can) do today,
chances are high that you will also put them off again when
tomorrow comes. Even if you do not do so, today‟s assignments,
which are put off for tomorrow, will make you unable to take care
of tomorrow‟s challenges. Do today what you have to (or ought to)
do. This prepares you to face tomorrow‟s challenges by
eliminating carry-over tasks from your life.
In the words of H. Jackson Brown, Jr., “The best preparation for

tomorrow is doing your best today.” Doing your best today makes
room for having the best tomorrow. You should not expect the best
tomorrow if you are not doing the best today. The best way to
destroy the future is to waste the present. The results of tomorrow
are buried in the activities and events of today. What you do today
determines what you get tomorrow. The best preparation for

tomorrow is performing today‟s tasks before tomorrow.
One of the differences between foolish, average and wise people is

that while foolish people perform yesterday‟s tasks today, average
people perform today‟s tasks today. However, wise people have a
different approach to life because they perform tomorrow‟s tasks
today. This is why they are proactive, while others are reactive.
This is also why they achieve more than others. The implication of
this is that foolish people live in the past, average people are
preoccupied with the present, while wise and successful people are
future-oriented.
The things you do today are the foundations of tomorrow‟s

success. Hence, your inability to do them (very well) today will
obstruct the potential successes of tomorrow. In a similar vein, the
things you do not do today (which you ought to do) are the
foundations of tomorrow‟s failure. Your inability to do them today
will be responsible for your failure tomorrow. Your inability to do
them today will also guarantee your failure tomorrow. Besides, the
things you fail to do today, and put off may never be done.
From the above, it is obvious that the things you do today are the
foundation of tomorrow‟s success, while the things you fail to do
today are the foundation of tomorrow‟s failure. The future is
buried in the present. Fear is an enemy of success you should avoid
at all costs because it drains you of courage to confront the
challenges of life with bravery. It makes you see problems in
opportunities rather than see opportunities in problems. It also
prevents you from making attempts, forgetting that no one will
ever succeed in what he did not attempt.
The Motivations of Success

There are many tools for achieving success, though they play
different roles in the pursuit of success. One of the tools is
motivation. Motivation is a very powerful tool in accomplishing a
set goal. It is a precondition for achieving success. This is why
every achievement is preceded by motivation. As a matter of fact,
there can be no success in the absence of motivation. But what is
motivation? What is the meaning of motivation?
Motivation can be defined as the enthusiasm for success. It is the

stimulus to the pursuit of success. It is also the drive force for
success within an individual. If you are not motivated you will lack
motivation. The more motivated you are, all things being equal, the
more likely you will succeed, for as long as you take the right
actions on the right tasks. This is why it is very difficult, if not
impossible, to accomplish any set goal without motivation.
The implication of this is that you cannot succeed in the absence of

motivation since success is not achieved by accident. Just as goal-
setting precedes success, motivation precedes goal-setting. Hence,
just as success cannot be achieved without goal-setting, goals
cannot be set without motivation. The logical implication of this is
that success cannot be achieved without motivation. This is why
motivation is a precondition for achieving success.
The term, motivation, has assumed a pride of place in scholarship

in contemporary times, especially in management studies.
Managers at all levels are becoming increasingly aware of the need
to extort optimal productivity from their employees through
motivation. They have also realised that their organisations have
very high probability of enjoying the optimum productivities of

their employees if they are adequately motivated.
Motivation usually comes from within, though it can also be

induced externally. However, since you are the best beneficiary of
your success, but the worst victim of your failure, you should not
expect to be motivated by others before you strive for achieving
success. Success belongs to the self-motivated. If you expect to be
motivated from external sources before you take the right steps in
life, you may never succeed because such may never happen.
The two basic motivations for success are the fear of failure and
the pleasure of success. The shame, disgrace, embarrassment,
discomfort, dishonour, humiliation, pain and sadness of failure and
the joy, pleasure, delight, bliss, ecstasy, elation and happiness of
success are the incentives for greater commitment in the pursuit of
success. They are also the enthusiasms, incentives, inspirations and
stimulations for the pursuit of success.
People who are afraid of failure always do everything within their

strengths to ensure that they escape it. This could be the benefit of
fear. This shows that fear is not always negative, as many think.
Observing the pleasure and happiness of success in the lives of
successful people can also kindle the fire of passion for success.
This is why „interacting with‟ or observing and studying the lives
of' successful people could be very profitable.
The Challenge of Success

It is a pity that many people are yet to realise that success is a
challenge. This is why many people cannot manage their success.
Success is a challenge because it is tough and difficult. Success
also constitutes a challenge because it is demanding, taxing and

testing. It is noteworthy that „challenge‟ is not the same as
„problem‟. The difference between „challenge‟ and „problem‟ is
attitude. While optimists use „challenge‟ to describe a difficult
situation, pessimists use „problem‟ to describe the same situation.
Success constitutes a challenge in two ways: becoming a success

and remaining a success. Every individual is confronted by either
of these challenges at every point in time. At every point in time,
everyone is either striving to become a success or striving to
sustain a success and remain a success. While successful people
combat the challenge of sustaining and retaining their successes;
failures and average people confront the challenge of achieving
success. One of the reasons success is celebrated is because neither
of these challenges is easy to manage.
According to the late reggae legend, Bob Marley, “Everyman

thinks his burden is the heaviest”. This is why people who are still
struggling to achieve success believe that the challenge of
becoming a success is more difficult than whatever challenge
successful people undergo. But on the other hand, successful
people are unhappy that most unsuccessful people do not realise
that there are challenges in their world. They are unhappy that
others have no sympathy for the burden of challenges their
achievements place on their lives.
Indeed, achieving success is an uphill task. Channeling one‟s effort

towards the pursuit of success without accomplishing the set goal
is unarguably very frustrating and discouraging. Many people who
are still struggling to succeed are convinced that achieving success
is an uneasy task. Some of them believe that becoming a success is
the most difficult goal to accomplish. For some of them, after their
successive efforts at achieving success continuously fail, they
believe that they require the knowledge of some mysteries, not just
secrets, to accomplish success.7
However, people who are successful consider their burden of

challenge to be proportional to the heights they attain. Though
becoming a success and remaining a success are challenges, the
burden of the latter challenge is heavier than that of the former. If
you observe closely and cautiously, you will realise that it is more
difficult to maintain being a success than to become a success. This
is also vey applicable to celebrities. This is why there are
numerous people across the globe who failed after attaining very
reputable positions and heights in (different aspects of) life.
Some people believe that they can remain at the top if anyone can
assist them get there. This is very incorrect because it is more
difficult to remain at the top than to get to the top. The implication
of this is that if you can remain at the top if you were there, then
you can get to the top if you are not yet there. In other words, if
you can remain being a success (if you were a success), then you
can become a success. If it is more difficult to remain successful
than to become successful, then whoever can maintain being a
success can also become a success.
There are many people who (have) tasted success but are failures
today. There are many people who were once rich but very poor
7
See Eugene C. Onyibo and Ethelbert Arua OSJ, Rich God, Poor
Believers: The Secrets of Overcoming Poverty by God’s
Children, (Lagos: Skyheight Success Consult, 2013.), p. 29 - 31
for a detailed discussion on Mystery and Secret.
today. There are also many people who were the bests in their
fields at a time, but have been displaced and rendered irrelevant.
The realisation of this truth speaks very eloquently on the fact that
everyone who achieves success may not be able to remain a
success. The implication of this is that the failure of some
successful people is only a matter of time. It is a pity that many
successful people are ignorant of this truth.
Success, like power, could be transient. Like a liquid, success

could evaporate with time. This is why there are many people who
are celebrated today but will not be celebrated tomorrow. Not
everyone who achieves success will die a success. By the very
nature of some success, they are transient. For instance, being the
best athlete of the year is a success that lasts for a year, except it is
renewed. However, there are some successes that can be sustained
for the rest of one‟s life, if they are properly managed. Examples of
such are marital success, financial success, etc.
The road to success is filled with the thorns of failures, mistakes,

setbacks, etc though they are usually helpful in acquiring the
expertise for managing and sustaining success (later). You will
easily admit the truth of this claim if you observe the histories of
most people who became rich suddenly (e.g. through lottery,
inheritance, etc.). They usually go back to where they started after
a while because they are unable to manage their fortunes. They
cannot sustain their success because it has a weak foundation.
Every sustainable success is built on a solid foundation.
Success is a challenge. It could be the beginning of failure, if it is

not properly managed. It is much easier to become a success than
to manage success. This is why many people are usually unable to
sustain and retain their success. The beginning of the failure of

many successful people is often the conviction that it could not
have been, and cannot be, otherwise. Many people forget that
success is a challenge. This is why they are easily carried away by
their accomplishments during their days of glory.
Success has a power of its own, and it usually affects the subject‟s
sense of reasoning in negative ways. Many people cannot sustain
their success because they cannot manage it. They are controlled
by their achievements because they cannot control them (their
achievements). Many people change after becoming successful,
and the change is usually not for the better. This is a challenge of
success. Many people easily acquire failure catalysts (arrogance,
pride, extravagance, rudeness, etc) after becoming successful.
One success can be the foundation of another success, as success

begets success. But this is possible only if the successful person is
able to manage his success. There are also people, though a few,
who remain successful after getting to the top. Such people keep
getting better and more successful as days grow older. Anyone
who has once tasted failure will never love to be identified with it
again if he ever becomes a success. In a similar vein, anyone who
has once tasted hardship will never want to be identified with
poverty, if he ever becomes rich.
But this is a condition that can be sustained only if the success is

able to resist the negative effects of the pride of success. Most
unfortunately, most successful people are usually unable to achieve
this. This is also why their success stories end as once upon a time.
Success is a challenge. It is up to you to determine whether you
will achieve it. Even when it becomes a reality in your life, it is
also up to you to determine whether you will sustain or lose it.

These will be determined by your attitudes to life. The more
successful you become, the more careful you should be.
Chapter Two
The Meaning of Success

The word, „Success‟, does not have a homogenous definition. It
can be reasonably argued that there could be as many definitions of
success as there are attempts to define success. Any teaching on
(how to achieve) success that does not give attention to the
meaning of the concept should be considered inadequate, if not
unserious. Teachings on the meaning of success should precede
any serious effort to assist people (learn how) to achieve success.
It is only when such is done that the audience will be afforded the
opportunity of knowing and understanding what they are pursuing,
so that they can pursue what they know and understand. Though
there are many definitions of success, all of them are not, and
cannot be, acceptable. When people are taught a pathway to
success without the meaning of success, they may pursue what
they do not know; since many people have wrong notions of
success. This could be, and is actually, very dangerous.
Indeed, many people have fallen victim to this ugly situation

because their conceptions of success are not only erroneous, but
also very misleading and deceptive. This accounts for why, after
labouring and struggling for years, if not decades, to achieve (what
they misunderstand, misconceive and masquerade as) success,
some people end up being unhappy after attaining their set goals.
The accomplishment of their set goals lacks the capacity to
increase their happiness.
Such people waste their precious time, treasure and abilities

pursuing illusions they masquerade as success, though with
sincerity of intention and purpose. Indeed, such experience is very
painful, worrisome and disappointing. Perhaps, this is why Stephen
R. Covey remarks that you should ensure that the ladder is leaning
on the right building before you start scrambling up. This is why
teachings on success should (or ought to) commence with teaching
on the meaning of success.
Common Wrong Notions of Success

It was remarked that every intentional act is meaningful but only in
relation to its ability to contribute to the attainment of a specified
goal (either directly or indirectly). It was also remarked that
success is the word that summarises the intended goal of every
deliberate act of man. Success is a word that is employed to
designate accomplishment, the intended goal of every pursuit. It
implies the successful completion or execution of a set goal.
Since every human being naturally desires success, most people

are deceived into taking the meaning of success for granted.
Perhaps, one of the reasons the meaning of success is often taken
for granted by most people is that success is a common word that
is relevant to daily human endeavours. Hence, though the word
„success‟ is common, its true meaning is uncommon. As a matter of
fact, many conceptions of success are unacceptable.
If you ask many adults the question, “What is Success?”, chances

are high that you will be very disappointed with the responses you
will get from most of them, even the very educated and intelligent
people among them. I conducted the exercise with the attendees of
some of my seminars, but was disappointed with the responses I
got from many of them. I then asked myself, “If people cannot
define success, how can they achieve it?” Let us consider some
common erroneous definitions and notions of success.
Success is having more money than others

One of the most common definitions and notions of success is
having more money than others. Perhaps, this is the most common
and most popular definition of success. Many people strongly
believe that success is all about having more money than others.
By the standard of this definition, anyone who acquires material
wealth more than others is automatically regarded as a successful
person. But to what extent is this belief right?
Does success really mean having more money than others? Is

success all about the accumulation of material riches? Is the
accumulation of material wealth the only standard for ascertaining
who successful people are? Is success all about (making) money?
Is every rich person necessarily successful? Is every successful
person rich? The answers to these questions are very important
because, to a very great extent, they assist in having a clearer view
of this notion of success.
The belief that being a success is having more money than others is
wrong in its entirety. This notion of success is not only incorrect,
but also very misleading. This is why it is unacceptable, though it
is the right meaning of success in the opinion of many people.
Success is not all about having more money than others. Success is
also not all about money or material riches. As a matter of fact,
being a success may not have anything to do with money. 8 This

notion of success devalues the concept of success.
It is obvious that whenever a discussion on success (or successful

people) is raised, one of the most common thoughts that often flash
through the minds of most people is the amount of money people
have. Hence, once an individual acquires more money than he
needs, or more money than others, he is easily considered a
successful person. This is why people who are rich in material
possessions are easily considered as successful people, while poor
people are easily regarded as failures.
But does money play any role in ascertaining who successful

people are? Or better, what is the place of money in success? It is a
pity that money has been erroneously employed by many people as
the only criterion for ascertaining who successful people are.
Financial success is only an aspect of success. There are other
aspects of success. Equating financial success with success
amounts to equating a part to the whole. As earlier remarked,
success is not all about money or material possession.
The belief that being a success is all about having more money
than others, or about having more money than one needs, is a
popular error. However, truth does not depend on popularity or
convention. The existence of truth is independent of people‟s
8
Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Pope John Paul II, Mother
Teresa, Winston Churchill, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King Jnr.,
C. S. Lewis, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, Sir Issac
Newton, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, etc are celebrated
as exceptionally successful people globally. But their success has
nothing to do with the accumulation of material riches.
opinions. Besides, the truth value of a belief is not determined by

the number of people who subscribe to it. The fact that a belief is
common does not necessarily imply that it is right. A common
belief could be wrong, while an uncommon belief could be right.
However, though success is not all about having more money than
others, there could be a financial dimension to success.9 This
implies that there is a minimal financial requirement for becoming
a successful person (especially in the secular world). This is why
success in other aspects of life should be balanced with basic
success in an individual‟s finances before he can be truly
considered a successful person. Otherwise, the person‟s success
status may be questionable or dented.
Success is being a celebrity

Another common notion of success is that it is about being a
celebrity. In many people‟s belief, anyone who is a celebrity
automatically becomes a successful person. This is why celebrities
like movie stars, musicians, athletes, models, etc are easily seen as
successful people by many people. A common assumption is that
an individual cannot be a celebrity without being a success. But to
what extent is this notion of success acceptable? How rational and
reasonable is this belief?
If you ask an average adult to list the names of successful people

he knows, chances are very high that he will recite the names of
rich people and celebrities he knows. But are all celebrities
successful, or are all successful people celebrities? What is the
relationship between being a celebrity and being a successful
9
This rule is not applicable to people in the consecrated life (Jesus
Christ, Buddha, Confucius, Tao, Mother Theresa, etc).
person? Being a success is not about being a celebrity; neither is

being a celebrity about being a success. It is important to correct
this erroneous assumption because it is very deceptive.
There are numerous celebrities who are not successful people, just
as there are numerous successful people who are not celebrities.
Hence, all celebrities are not successful people and all successful
people are not celebrities. This implies that there are some
celebrities who are successful people, and there are also some
celebrities who are not successful people. As a matter of fact, there
are numerous celebrities who are woeful failures in life, despite
excelling in their various professions.
The above argument also implies that there are some successful
people who are celebrities, and some celebrities who are successful
people. As a matter of fact, most successful people are not
celebrities. The above argument implies that being a celebrity is
not synonymous with being successful, neither is being successful
synonymous with being a celebrity. Hence, you can be a success
without being a celebrity and you can also be a celebrity without
being a success.
Success is being famous

In the opinion of some people, success is being famous. In the
thinking of people who subscribe to this view, anyone who is
famous is successful, and everyone who is successful is famous.
Proponents of this view believe that no one can be successful
without being famous. It is worthy of note that this notion of
success, to a reasonable extent, is very common in the society. This
is why famous people are easily regarded as successful people by
many. It is high time this view is reconsidered.
This notion of success derives from the notions of success

discussed above (“Success is having more money than others” and
“Success is being a celebrity”). The reason for this conclusion is
that many people who have more money than others (i.e. the rich)
are usually famous, at least within their environments. In a similar
vein, many people who are celebrities are also famous, at least
within their environments too. As a matter of fact, being a celebrity
is incomplete without being famous.
The critiques against the above notions of success are also

applicable to this notion of success, since they are its foundation. It
is irrational to conclude that someone is successful simply because
he is famous. Besides, some people become famous by
accomplishing immoral and socially-unacceptable goals. Indeed,
such people cannot be classified among successful people, though
they are famous. This speaks very eloquently on the fact that an
individual can be famous and still be a failure.
Success is being powerful and influential in the society

Some people believe that successful people are those who are
powerful in the society. People who belong to this school of
thought believe that successful people are those who are influential
in the society. In their opinion, anyone who is powerful and
influential is successful, and everyone who is successful is
powerful and influential. Proponents of this view believe that no
one can be successful without being powerful and influential.
This is why great men and people who have heroic

accomplishments are easily considered as successful people. Since
the powerful people in the society are usually those who occupy
public positions, this is also the reason such people are also
regarded as successful people. It is worthy of note that this notion
of success, to a very reasonable extent, is very common in the
society. It is an obvious truth that many people who are regarded
as successful people belong to this category.
This notion of success derives from the notions of success above

(“Success is having more money than others” and “Success is
being a celebrity”). The reason for this conclusion is that many
people who have more money than others are usually powerful and
influential within their communities. As a matter of fact, being rich
is usually considered incomplete without being powerful and
influential. In a similar vein, many people who are celebrities are
also influential within their environments.
However, it is irrational to conclude that someone is successful

simply because he is powerful and influential. It is worthy of note
that some people who are powerful in the society use their powers
only in performing evil acts. There are many influential people in
the society who cannot be identified with any good thing. Indeed,
such people cannot be regarded as successful people because
success necessarily has moral credentials. This shows that an
individual can be powerful and influential and still be a failure.
A major mistake most people make in ascertaining who successful

people are is using a single standard in making their judgments.
This is very erroneous, though it is a common error. This is why
most people‟s judgments on successful people are wrong. Many
people are regarded as successful people simply because they
distinguished themselves in a field, or because they excelled in an
aspect of life. This is not an objective criterion for making such
judgement because being a success in life is not all about an

accomplishment in a single aspect of life.
It is a faulty standard for ascertaining who successful people are.

Someone may make more money than others and, as a result, be
judged as a successful person. Another person may become a
celebrity because he distinguished himself from others in a field
and, as a result, be judged as a success. Someone may also become
more famous than others and also be considered a successful
person. Yet, another person may be considered a successful person
because he is very powerful and influential.
As earlier remarked, a major mistake most people make in

ascertaining who successful people are is using a single standard in
making their judgments. The above accomplishments (on their
own alone) are insufficient to make an individual a success
because they are mere accomplishments in an aspect of life, and an
accomplishment in an aspect of life is unarguably not all that there
is to success. At best, it is only an aspect of success and also
success in an aspect of life, but not success in life.
Consequently, such should be judged as success in an aspect of

life, but not as success in life. It is one thing to be a success in a
field (or in an aspect of life), but another thing to be a success in
life. Equating success in an aspect of life with success in life
amounts to equating a part to the whole. It is obvious that this is
one of the worst and most common mistakes many people make in
ascertaining who successful people are. In the light of the above,
how can success be defined? What is the acceptable, or at least,
(more) objective definition of success?
The Definition of Success

The above views unveil some difficulties and challenges in
attempting to conceptualize the term „success‟. It also shows that
some conceptions of success are unacceptable because they are
misleading and deceitful, despite being common. Success is what we
believe we know, but which we cease to know when we are asked
what it is. This is why many people become speechless when they are
asked to define success, despite the fact that they desire it, speak
about it and assume that they know the meaning.
It can be reasonably argued that many people who desire to be

successful in life really do not know or understand exactly what
they want, though they easily assume (or believe) otherwise. The
above definitions, notions and conceptions of success, as seen, are
vulnerable to some criticisms. Critics may query the rationale of
these views. If there is no generally accepted definition of success,
then every individual should have the right to define the concept as
it pleases his thinking.
This book, The Success-Driven Life: Guides to Achieving a Life

of Significance, is culled from the book, Pathway to Success:
Roadmap to Unlimited Sustainable Success.
To get the book, click here
You can also copy the link below and paste on your web browser
to get the books.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JDAJRTW
Recommended Books by the Author
Numerous job seekers stare helplessly at amazing job opportunities

slip through their fingers because they are least informed (or
uninformed) on the basic things they ought to know in order to get
their dream jobs. This is why many of them are ignorant of
employment opportunities until they cease to exist. This is also why
many of them send job applications that are not, and can never be,
considered by prospective employers. Furthermore, this is also why
they cannot convince prospective employers that they are the best
candidates for the positions they applied for during job interviews.
This speaks very eloquently on the fact that inadequate job
opportunities is not the only factor that is responsible for high level of
unemployment in different parts of the world, as most job seekers
think. Getting a job requires specialized knowledge and skills. Most
unfortunately, many job seekers are ignorant of these knowledge and
skills. Worse still, these specialized knowledge and skills cannot be
acquired by intuition or reasoning. The Book, What Employers Want
From Job Seekers: How To Get Your Dream Job, is designed to
enlighten job seekers on the things they should know before they can
get their dream jobs. It contains detailed information and guides on
how job seekers can easily become employees. The book is
concluded with best answers to 55 Most Frequently Asked Job
Interview Questions.
To purchase this book online, Click Here. Alternatively, you

may copy the link below and paste in the space bar
https://lnkd.in/dCfCZJv
If you are resident in Nigeria, you can Click Here to see the
official distributors of the hard copies of this book close to you.
Alternatively, you may copy the link below and paste in the
space bar
https://lnkd.in/d7rGjmw
Job interview is usually the last and most difficult stage in getting a
job. Most job seekers are rejected after successive interviews
because they cannot justify why they are the best candidates for the
positions they applied for. Consequently, they stare at amazing job
opportunities slipping through their fingers, despite the fact that
they are in dire need of the jobs. Worse still, some organizations
are unable to employ most (and sometimes, none) of their
applicants after their screening because they are unable to convince
them on why they need the jobs. Many job seekers, even those who
graduated with good grades, will remain unemployed because they
are ignorant of the expectations of prospective employers from job
seekers during job interviews. This book, Best Answers to 400
Most Frequently Asked Job Interview Questions: A Guide to
Preparing for Job Interview, offers a reliable guide to job seekers
on how to excel in job interviews. It is recommended to all
categories of job seekers. This book is also available online at
www.amazon.com {in soft copy (https://goo.gl/NmUTmM and
hard copy (https://goo.gl/K7nwbg) formats}.

This is a Non-Governmental Organisation that was established
in 2008. The organisation empowers people for optimum
success by assisting them discover and develop their latent
potential, and leverage them for success by committing them at
the service of humanity. Skyheight Success Consult, under the
leadership of Eugene C. Onyibo, believes strongly that
ignorance is the oldest and worst problem of humanity.
The organisation was born out of the conviction that one of the
best solutions to the challenges of humanity is knowledge.
Hence, the organisation is relentlessly committed to improving
man's condition on eath through information dissemination and
intellectual / mental empowerment. The key areas of interest of
the organisation in her training and services are (though not
limited to):
1. Leadership Education
2. Recruitment Education
3. Career Improvement Education
4. Personal Financial Management
5. Personal Development Education
6. Practical Entrepreneurship Education and
7. Management Consultancy
Our objectives are achieved through:

1. Publications,
2. Products in digital formats,
3. Online training and counseling, and
4. Success seminars, workshops, conferences, symposia, etc.
For More Information, Contact

P. O. Box 104, Oshodi Post Office, Oshodi, Lagos, Nigeria
www.skyheightsuccess.com.ng,
www.facebook.com/eugene.onyibo
[email protected],
+2348037471052,+2348097999455
Let’s Relate!
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.skyheight.com.ng
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/inspirationalbookspage
http://www.facebook.com/eugene.onyibo
Twitter: http://twitter.com/eugeneonyibo
Eugene C. Onyibo
Author
Eugene C. Onyibo is a motivational speaker, trainer, business
coach, entrepreneur, personal financial management expert,
philosopher and prolific writer. He is the Director of Skyheight
Success Consult, the Organization that provides the platform
through which he empowers people for optimum success in life.
He has transformed numerous lives with his inspirational teachings
in recruitment education, career improvement education, personal
financial management, personal development, entrepreneurship,
leadership, etc. He is a much sought after and wildly traveled
speaker at empowerment and capacity building programs of public
and private organizations. He lives with his spouse and children in
Lagos, Nigeria.
Contact Details:
[email protected]
www.skyheight.com.ng,
www.facebook.com/eugene.onyibo,
www.facebook.com/inspirationalbookspage
+2348037471052, +2348097999455
Books Authored by Eugene C. Onyibo

1. What Successful People Know and Desperately want to
keep Secret: The Secrets of achieving a Happy and
Successful Life.
2. Success-Magnet Tools: The Key Success Catalysts.
3. Success Perspectives: Understanding the Aspects of
Success.
4. Road Map to Financial Security: How to Become Rich
and Remain Rich.
5. Now you are a Graduate, What Next?: A Handbook for
Fresh Graduates.
6. What Employers want from Job Seekers: How to get your
Dream Job.
7. Best Answers to 151 Most Frequently Asked Job Interview
Questions: A Guide to preparing for Job Interview.
8. Now you have got a Job, What Next?: How to get Job
Promotion, Increase your Income and Retire Rich.
9. Working Years will soon be Over: How to Prepare for
Retirement.
10. Rich God, Poor Believers: The Secrets of Overcoming
Poverty and Financial Hardship by God’s Children.
11. The Secrets of Successful Investors: Guides to Investing.
12. The Fundamentals of Business Funding: The Basics of
Raising Capital to Fund a Business.
13. How to get Bank Loan: Guide to getting Bank Loan.
14. 25 Business Funding Options: Multiple Ways of Raising
Capital to Fund a Business.
Copy the link below and paste on your
web browser to get the books.
goo.gl/plExFZ

The Success-Driven Life

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Success-Driven Life

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Success-Driven Life

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The

Guides to Achieving a Life of Significance

© Eugene C. Onyibo (2010)

Reprint 2012, 2017

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,

To send your comments, contact the author, make

Skyheight Success Consult

To my beloved wife, Ijeoma, for innumerable reasons.

Success and Ignorance

Part Three: The Perspectives of Success

I am thankful to the almighty God for making this publication a

I owe a debt of lifetime gratitude to the members of my natal

Onyibo, for being a close friend and confidant; my sister-in-law,

I express an unalloyed gratitude to Olumide Emmanuel. I was

Prior to my debut in public speaking, life coaching, training and

Some attendees of my seminars suggested that I should articulate

that becoming an author would be of significant benefits to my

Becoming an author is one of the best things that happened to my

This observation and my experiences in both careers compel me to

These were among the factors that motivated me to pursue a career

edition of the book was published and released in 2010. I am very

passion for success. It is very worrisome that everyone is interested

the foundational truths for achieving a happy and successful life.

Unfortunately, success is, and will remain, beyond the reach of

I am often confronted with the above questions by the attendees of

One of the most difficult pains to bear is working hard but

involves a total change of attitude towards life. It is a fundamental

This requires a high level of self-discipline to achieve. Perhaps, it

The first category consists of people who have no focus, dream,

However, they often believe that success can be accidentally

necessary, but always achieve little, if any thing. They usually

and worrisome to remark that this is the category most people

People in this category do not believe in working hard alone

they lack consistence, persistence, perseverance and endurance.

The meaningfulness of any premeditated action of man is validated

Every human being desires to be a success, wishes to be a success,

success. No one (even those who have indirectly chosen to fail

Every day is a record of series of successes. Every day, people set

Hence, everyday is a record of many successes because success is

There is more to success than merely accomplishing a set goal.

There is, however, a more significant sense of success. This is the

People naturally love being identified with successful people. As a

Since information about them easily captivates peoples‟ attention,

Successful people are easily taken as models and mentors by their

If an individual is fortunate to be related to an exceptionally

Things to Know about Success

According to Henry David Thoreau, “Success usually comes to

Being inordinately ambitious for success could be a gateway to

Being inordinately ambitious about success impoverishes you of

Do not bother about success because it comes at the appointed

Hence, anything that is subject to change is imperfect while

understood in the analogical sense. In the strict sense, it is

The reality of imperfection in life makes room for improvement

Success is a process, not a destination. It has a starting point, but it

You should continually „aspire to‟ and „strive for‟ (greater)

Success is a process. It is a progression. It also has a procedure.

There is a very important feature of a process that is worth

Your level of success influences your relationship with others

There can neither be strong nor cordial friendship among unequals,

Besides, communication is usually more effective among people at