There are thousands of books and other products that teach about how to become successful in record time (such as in five days, two days, or even hours), however, once we become successful, we have to know how to maintain that status.

In today’s society, you will see many different methods of how people define and maintain success. For example, those members of the elite club, “the rich and famous”, attain this status because someone, millions of people like you and I, takes notice of their success as well. Anytime we see our favorite celebrity in a movie, produce an album, create a clothing line, or representing the “face” of a particular product, we run to the movie theater or the store to patronize them.

Now, I will be quick to say that there is nothing wrong with entertainment because all of us need a balance in our lives. We can’t work all day and everyday without the fruits of our labor. However, we must change our perspective on success and actually attain this goal for ourselves in every area of our lives. And, not only must we change our perspective on success, but we must know how to maintain a successful life. There are many people who write books and “get rich quick schemes” about being successful in 5 days, 2 days, and even hours. Yet, once we become successful, we have to know how to stay successful.

But, before we can even delve into maintaining success, we must define success. The most important thing to remember is that success can’t be defined in the same way for everyone because we all have different goals and paths in life. A basic definition for success is to achieve high quality status in that particular area in such a way that benefits you financially (career), physically (health), and socially (relationships) for example. Take time today to determine and define what success means for your life.

Yet in still, we must be careful to understand that success will not manifest itself in the same way as in the lives of your friends and family. To an extent, you have to come to terms with the fact that you may not become a millionaire or one of Hollywood’s finest. On the other hand, you may become a millionaire or stock broker, and you have to be prepared to deal with whichever way success comes in your life.

On the other side of this argument, you do have control of your destiny. No, we can’t control everything in life, but you can make the decision to pursue that dream job, lose the extra weight, go back to school, or any other goal you have set out. I am a firm believer in the fact that if we take the initiative and take the initial step, God will help us to complete that goal.

Once you have defined success and taken the first steps in reaching your goal, you have to decide how you will maintain that status. It is very important to note that maintaining anything takes a lot of hard work. So, you have to be prepared to run into discouragement either from other people or yourself. You may fail the first time, but try again. Depending upon the situation, you may have to learn a new language or new skills, but don’t fear the changes, embrace them willingly.

Finally, take action, go out there and become successful.

有成千上萬本書籍或其他作品告訴人們如何才能在短時間內獲得成功（比如五天內，兩天內，甚至幾小時），然而，一但我們成功了，我們要知道如何才能保持這種狀態。

在當今社會，你會看到人們怎樣定義并保持成功的各種不同的方法。例如，那些精英俱樂部的會員們,＂財富新貴們＂，靠某個人獲得如此殊榮，成千上萬的人們包括你和我，注視著他們的成功．我們只要在電影里看到喜歡的名人，出了新的專輯，創造了新的服裝潮流或者為某種產品做了代言，我們就跑到各大影院或商場去支持他們．

現在，我想馬上說的是這樣的娛樂并沒有什么不妥，因為我們在生活中需要平衡一下．我們不能整天都在工作或者每天不去分享勞動的果實．所以，我們必須改變對成功的預期并且要確實在生活中的每個方面都要達到目標．還有，我們不但要改變對成功的預期，還要知道如何保持成功的生活．現在有很多人出書寫關于在五天內，兩天內甚至幾小時內＂快速成功的秘訣＂．然而，一旦我們成功了，我們要知道如何才能保持這種狀態．

但是在我們要研究怎樣保持成功之前，我們必須給成功定義．記住最重要的事就是成功不能被定義得適用于每個人，因為我們所有人在生活中都有不同的目標和途徑．對成功的一個基本的定義就是以某種方式在某個領域達到一種高品質的狀態而有益于你的財產（職業），生理（健康），和社交（各種關系）等等．今天就抓緊時間下定決心并且定義什么樣的成功對你的生活有意義．

我們依然要仔細想想成功不會以你朋友的家庭生活的那種相同方式再次上演．從某種程度來講，你必須要面對你不會成為百萬富翁或好萊塢巨星的可能．從另一方面來講，你也有可能成為百萬富翁或股票經紀人，并且你不得不要做好準備來對待生活中成功到來的任何方式．

討論的另一方面就是你確實在掌控你自己的命運．不，我們控制不了生活中的任何事情，但是你能下定決心去追求理想的工作，減掉多余的體重，重返學校或完成你制定的其它任何目標．我堅信一個事實就是如果我們有主動性并且開始邁出第一步，上帝會幫助我們完成目標的．

一旦你已經給成功準確定義并且為達到目標開始行動以后，你必須決定如何才能保持這種狀態．重要的一點是要注意保持有任何東西都需要大量艱苦的工作．所以，你不得不準備好面對來自他人或自己的打擊．你也許第一次會失敗，但是要再試一次．取決于這種形勢，你必須學會一門新的語言或新的技能，不要害怕改變，欣然去接受他們．

最后，趕快行動起來，離開這里取得成功．