Everyone has core beliefs; those values and ideals that determine your personal success. Notice I said, “personal” success? That’s because success is defined by your goals, your desires and your individual talents and potential. Not by the achievements of others. A great athlete may study other great athletes to see how they achieved their success, but ultimately it’s the talents, work ethic and the potential of the individual that will determine personal success.

Below is my list of core beliefs:

1. Never judge your life or your achievements by the achievements of others.

2. Always go the extra mile when performing any task, even at the risk or perceived risk of short term monetary loss.

3. Commit to a life of continuous improvement and learning.

4. Never give up when a problem arises; whether in your private life or in your daily work. Work diligently to find solutions.

5. Never dismiss someone’s perception of you. While we should not govern our lives by other people’s opinions, how others view us should be considered. Are we respected and considered credible by the people we associate with?

6. Spend more time listening than talking.

7. Analyze what goes wrong in your life and learn from your mistakes.

8. Never hesitate to make a key decision out of fear of making a mistake.

9. Make decisions based on your gut feelings; which is founded on past experience, expertise and personal judgment.

10. Accept responsibility of your life, your family, the world around you and your coworkers.

11. When things go wrong in your business or in your life, blame yourself first. Ask yourself; “Was there anything that I could have done that would have prevented what happened?”

12. Think beyond your job description, always be willing to help others, the more you understand the concept of the team, the better individual you will become.

13. Be a leader, find other leaders and help others achieve their personal greatness.

14. Don’t look for praise or recognition. Knowing that what you do in life matters is recognition enough.

15. Find happiness in your life. If you spend your life looking elsewhere for happiness, you will never find it.

16. Focus on your strengths, not your weakness. Do what you enjoy, but also do what brings the greatest return of fulfillment in your life. Joe Montana, famous quarter back for the San Francisco 49ers, devoted his life to becoming one of the greatest quarter backs of all time. Although he was a great football athlete, he did not spend his time perfecting his skills in tackling and catching the ball. That would have been a waste of his time.

This is my list; you may agree or disagree with these core beliefs. The key thing to remember is that we all need to know what makes us tick. Who are we and what do we stand for? We may never know completely who we are and may never reach our personal definition of success, but, as we all know, life is a never ending journey, not a destination. Striving continuously in achieving our very best is what defines us and defines life itself.