The 4 Keys to Success

Why in the world would a group of arborists be concerned with keys to success? Probably for the same reason a group of football players, newspaper editors, teachers, and attorneys would want to know how to be more successful. Let’s think of success as becoming who you want to be and achieving what you want to achieve. Obviously, that means success is different things to different people.

A sportswriter once called professional basketball player Spencer Haywood a superstar. Haywood said: “Hell, I’m no superstar. A superstar is a man or woman who makes 150 bucks a week, raises six kids, and gives them good values.”

I believe creativity, objectives, patience, and enthusiasm are four keys to success.

Scientists have discovered you can cut the heads off some insects and their bodies will continue to live for as long as a year. The bodies continue to react to stimuli. Unfortunately, many people seem to be running around with their heads cut off — reacting to stimuli. Use creativity to take control of situations … rather than being controlled by situations. Don’t put blinders on your mind when problems crop up in your life. Break the chains of mediocre thinking by using creativity to rise above problems.

Creativity can also be used to set objectives for your life. Studies have shown you are more likely to succeed if you determine goals for your life and take the extra step of writing down those goals. This will enable you to focus your energy — do a few things well, and as you set short-term objectives to help you reach long-term dreams, you will not feel frustrated. You will automatically become more patient as you see in your own life that success comes one step at a time.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A thousand forests are in one acorn.” Remember, first comes the acorn (an idea), next comes the sprout (objectives for that idea), and last comes the forests (success).

But you won’t be truly successful and happy unless you are enthusiastic. Napoleon said the effectiveness of an army is based on its size, experience, training, and morale … and morale counts for more than all the other combined.

Four keys to success are: (1) creativity, (2) objectives, (3) patience, and (4) enthusiasm. But there is a fifth — and most important — key to success. If you combine the first four keys with love, you’ll end up with a giving spirit. And a giving spirit will enable you and others to reap tangible and intangible rewards for years to come.

• © 1982, International Society of Arboriculture. All rights reserved.