Many of us have tried different things in a bid to achieve excellence but failed because we have not been able to put into consideration the law of nature- whatever you put into life, you will get-whatever you sow into the seed-bed of your future, you will reap. Living is a risk. For you to achieve excellence, you have to be ready to take risks towards achieving our goals with strong desire.

Many of us are unwilling to take risks. Taking a calculated risk in terms of setting a clear goal, working towards it with discipline is true risk-taking. The person, who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing and is nothing. He becomes a slave to his attitude and a waste to himself. We must therefore be ready to face our challenges and boldly work towards our dreams.

Before you can actually take a risk, you have to have a clear idea of what you want to do. With a well-crystallized idea in your mind, you can begin to prioritize. If you do not prioritize right, you begin to waste time, not realizing that time wasted is life wasted.

Prioritizing requires discipline to do what needs to be done rather than taking action based on your moods and fancies. One of the keys to solving mystery of success is to understand your priorities. Excellence does not come by memorizing principles but by understanding them, and setting your priorities to apply them.

The lack of conviction leads to middle road, meaning you will not be able to take a stand. Such people lack confidence, and courage. They conform to get accepted even when they know that what they are doing is wrong. One of the secrets of excellence is to become part of the solution and not part of the problem.

Faith without action is delusion. We have to back whatever we believe with action. If you want to be a part of success, you have to work towards it. You should not be part of those who watch things happen nor those who wonder what happened but those who make things happen.

Vince Lombardi said that ‘everyone has a will to win but very few have the will to prepare to win.'  The willingness to plan and prepare effectively is a key to excellence. Confidence comes from preparation, which is nothing but planning and practicing.

The pressures winners put on themselves is the pressure of preparing to win. Pressures come from unpreparedness. Shiva Khera noted that Preparation= purpose + principle + planning + practice + perseverance + patience + pride.

Preparation means tolerating mistakes and not accepting them, it means having the courage to face defeat without feeling defeated. It means learning from mistakes- simply admit your mistakes, do not dwell on it, learn from it, never repeat it and do not apportion blame or make excuses. There is nothing you cannot achieve with commitment, focus and discipline.