If you ask someone you consider to be successful whether they see themselves the same way, the answer is likely to be: “Hmm, I don’t know, I’m not sure.”

We have a habit of being ultra-critical of ourselves in spite of obvious successes.

We can be our own worst enemy when it comes to bettering ourselves. We let our mind get in the way, we get distracted by external influences, or we associate with the wrong people.

There are a lot of factors that can impinge upon your ability to become successful.

You have to learn how to recognize these factors, and take steps to eliminate them as much as you can from your life.

We all want to be successful, but sometimes, we don’t want to do what is necessary to get there.

1) Doubt:

If you doubt your ability to achieve, then you will not achieve anything.

We all doubt ourselves from time to time. A little bit of doubt is healthy, as it allows us to focus our mind on what we could improve. However, if we continue to doubt ourselves, it will only inhibit our ability to achieve.

Doubt can take over your life and paralyze you if you’re not careful.

Taking risks is scary, whether it’s starting a new business, talking to someone new, or moving to a foreign country.

The difference between those who are successful and those who aren’t is that they don’t let their doubts overpower them.

They recognize them and push forward anyway.

Remember this: it’s better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all.

2) Conformity:

Conformity is one of the biggest inhibitors of success.

Modern society frowns upon people who strike out on their own and choose their own path in life. We are expected to live our lives according to a certain model, and not deviate from it.

This is okay for some people, but it offers you limited opportunities to improve yourself and become successful. Just because everyone is doing it does not make it right.

If I had done what everyone else around me was doing, I would not have quit my dead-end job seven years ago, traveled the world, and set up my blog.

I decided to go against conforming and chose my own path in life. I had no idea it would lead me down the road it did, but I couldn’t be happier with where I ended up.

If you want to do something, but you’re worried about other people may think, that means you should do it anyway, and maybe find some better friends.

If you follow the crowd like a sheep, how can you be a success?

3) Not Understanding Your Why:

Just wanting to be a success is not enough.

If it was that simple, everyone would be successful! The challenge of being successful goes much deeper than that.

You have to understand why you want to be successful.

Is it to provide for your family?

Is it to become location independent?

Is it to remove money worries?

If you don’t know what you want, you will scratch around, and end up with something that does not resemble your goals.You have to have a clear idea of what you want to be successful.You need to get to the heart of why you want to be successful and understand the root of your passion.

Find your why to find success.

4) Lack of Desire:

Life does not hand you opportunities on a plate.

If you’re waiting around for life to throw you a favour, you’re out of luck. It doesn’t work that way.

Life is what you make of it. If you’re spending time wishing things were better instead of working towards making them better, you’re not going to get very far.

If you’re lazy, you’ll forever be stuck in the same place. You have to go out, grasp life by the balls and make the most of it.

Only a select few became successful by accident. You have to work your ass off to get there. No amount of wishing or feeling sorry for yourself will get you there!

Take charge of your life and work towards your goals. You may hear it all the time, but there is no substitute for hard work and being consistent.If you can work hard and stay the distance, you will be successful.

5) Too result-oriented:

I tended to get down if I don’t see results quickly. I wasn’t looking at the bigger picture.

Results take time a long time. You could be working at something for a number of years before you see any signs of success.

You need hours of practice and failure before you become successful at anything. 

Bill Gates didn’t become successful overnight. He was fortunate enough to live next to a university, which allowed him to practice coding whenever he wanted.

He practiced during his teenage years and was able to put this to use later to make Microsoft the successful company it is today.

If he had focused on results at an early age, he would have become discouraged and quit.

There is no such thing as an overnight success.

No matter who you are, it takes time.

6) Environment:

The environment you’re in is surprisingly important to how successful you will become.

If you’re spending time around people who are lazing around watching TV and playing video games, it’s going to be hard to be successful.On the other hand, if you’re spending your time with people who are motivated to achieve their goals and have a burning desire to do so, this will rub off on you, and push you towards your goals.

There is a famous saying that you are the average of the five people you spend the most with. This saying is very true.

Success encourages success.

You have to surround yourself with like-minded people, who pull you up, instead of pushing you down.

Don’t be jealous of success, aspire to it.

7) Distraction:

We live in a world of distractions: Facebook, Instagram, Netflix.

Everything is designed to distract us. Learning to block out these distractions is vital.

While it’s good to be distracted and take a break from time to time, if we’re not careful, it can lead us nowhere.

There is a lot to be said for taking breaks. Walking is a great way to get your thoughts in order and refocus your mind. But if you return from these breaks and put off your work, you’re only doing yourself a disservice.

Learning to block out distractions and focus on your work is an art form.

Once you master it, you will be on your way.

8) You:

You are your own biggest enemy.

Learn to control the voice in your head. We tend to get in our way all too often. Only you can make yourself a success. It has to come from within. Believe in yourself.

9) Criticism:

Embrace criticism.

Sometimes, having your ideas and products pulled apart can set us on the road to success.

This has happened to me a few times recently. My plans have been picked apart by friends. It would have been easy to get mad at that them, but, instead, I took what they were saying on board.

Criticism, as long as it’s constructive, is one of the most tools you can use to improve yourself.

It’s easy to get excited about something and only see positives. An outside opinion can help us to keep grounded, and see where we can still improve.

If you reject criticism, you reject progress.

15 Places You Cannot Visit Even If you Want To:

When you start planning a vacation, the world is at your fingertips. Where will you travel next? How will you get there? What is waiting for you once you arrive? There are some locations, however, that you will never be allowed to visit, mostly for good reason! In this article, we are going to explore the locations that you either will never want to visit, or are just dying to find out what is there.

 

1. Snake Island, Brazil

Located off the coast of Brazil, Snake Island contains Golden Lancehead Vipers. These snakes have venom that can melt human skin and kill extremely quickly. The Brazilian government has forbidden any travellers from stepping onto this island as it is predicted that there are around 4000 snakes, which equates to one snake per square meter. This location is definitely a nightmare concept for many.

 

2. Area 51, Nevada

If you don’t know what Area 51 is, you have some Googling to do! Area 51 is a government facility that conducts tests on…well, we aren’t sure what. In the past it was used to test certain aircrafts, which is what many people misunderstood as seeing Alien saucers flying through the sky. But this was years ago…so what happens now? We can only guess what is going on, but this area was not officially acknowledged by the government to exist until around 2013.

3. North Sentinel Island, Andaman

A fascinating island located off the coast of Thailand contains one of the most untouched tribes in the world. This beautiful tropical island is surrounded by a large coral reef that will wreck any boat that approaches. If you happen to make it past the coral reef, just know that the tribe waiting for you is considered one of the most dangerous tribes and you will most likely be killed. In the early 2000’s, two fishermen got a little lost when they were out fishing and landed upon the shores of North Sentinel Island. They were discovered by the tribe and then killed. India has tried countless times to create a relationship with this group of people to no avail. Currently, you are not allowed to go within a three mile radius of this island due to obvious safety concerns.

4. Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Norway

Created to stand the test of time, the Svarlbard Global Seed Vault contains 864, 309 samples of seeds from around the world. These seeds are protected from any disaster, man made or natural, to provide an opportunity to rebuild after any possible disaster in the future. It is located on an island called Svalbard in Iceland where very, very few people even have the keys to the building. Only a select few are able to go inside on days when they are accepting new seeds.

5. Bohemian Grove, San Francisco

Possibly the most unsettling and bizarre gatherings in America is that of the Bohemian Grove. What sets this elite group apart from the rest of the cult-like gatherings, is that the attendees are the richest and most powerful men in America. To enter the club, you must pay $25,000 after being on a 15 year long waiting list. Then, each year, you maintain your membership by paying $5,000. You must also have an Ivy League College Education. Members have included George H. W. Bush, Clint Eastwood and Richard Nixon. To make a long story short, this brotherhood involves a variety of groups within the Bohemian Grove that all have different roles. In addition to this, activities such a practicing rituals reminiscent of the Occult and dressing up in Drag Queen costumes have been caught on camera throughout the years. Only two individuals have witnessed this gathering. Alex Jones, a far-right wing radio show host and filmmaker snuck onto the premises and actually caught the bizarre rituals on camera. Alex Shoumatoff, a writer for Vanity Fair was on the premises for approximately four hours before being arrested.

6. Surtsey, Iceland

This beautiful island is very young. It appeared in 1963 after a volcano erupted and caused this island to form. Today, no one is allowed to go near this island as it is one of the only land masses untouched by humans. Scientists are allowed to visit the island to study it but must clean up thoroughly after themselves. They sleep in a tiny cabin on bunkbeds in an effort to ensure minimal impact on the land.

7. Chapel of the Ark of the Covenant, Ethiopia

The Chapel of the Ark of the Covenant contains the two stone tablets that God gave Moses, containing the Ten Commandments. It is also claimed that Aaron’s Rod and a Pot of Manna is in the case as well. Manna is the edible substance given to the Isrealite people by God to sustain them during their travels in the dessert. Only one priest is allowed to view the Arc, if anyone else sees it, it is claimed that they will implode.

8. Pripyat, Ukraine

Founded in 1970, Pripyat was a busy city with 49,360 people. Unfortunately located near , Pripyat was permanently evacuated in 1986, the day after the nuclear disaster.

9. Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory

Once inhabited by 2000 people, Diego Garcia is a beautiful small island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. In 1973, the British evicted all inhabitants in order to allow the United States to build a Military Base on the entire island. Today it is still used for the American army.

10. Lascaux Caves, France

The Lascaux Caves are located in the southern part of France, containing cave paintings that are estimated to be 20,000 years old. They were originally open to the public to view in the mid 1900’s, however, after an odd mould breakout (which was destroying the paintings), they closed this attraction to the public in 1963. As you can see below, an exhibit was created to recreate the artwork for the public to see in a museum.

11. Metro 2, Moscow

Metro 2 are four lines of railroad estimated to be located about 50-200 meters underground that connects the Kremlin with the Federal Security Service. It is suggested that this railway was created during the reign of Joseph Stalin and is still used by the Ministry of Defence and Main Directorate of Special Programmes.

12. Bank of England Vaults, England

This is one of those locations that you know you just wouldn’t be allowed to go. Yes, all those bars of gold are actual bars of gold that are traded between countries and individuals. Each bar has it’s weight and serial number printed on the bottom. Switching the ownership of one of bar of gold from one owner to another means adding the serial number of that bar of gold to the new owner’s account, and removing it from the previous owner’s account.

13. Jiangsu National Security Education Museum, China

This museum is only available to Chinese citizens. It contains many artifacts of the techniques and inventions used in the past hundreds of years to win wars and to dominate enemies. Photographs are absolutely not allowed in this building and guests are carefully admitted to see these historic artifacts.

14. Javara Reserve, Brazil

The Javara Reserve is a heavily protected area of Brazil that is left untouched. After years of wondering whether or not there were tribes located in the Javara Reserve, images have been captured indicating tribes are still running in full force with long houses, huts and families inhabiting this dense land.

15. Room 39, North Korea

The ever so mysterious room in North Korea. If you can even get into North Korea, Room 39 is definitely off limits due to it’s heavy involvement with much of the corruption throughout the country. It is alleged that North Korea is printing counterfeit American money to take the place of their own currency which is essentially worth next to nothing. But that’s not the only thing stored in Room 39. There are also a lot of illegal drugs stored in Room 39. Needless to say, you probably don’t want to go in there anyway.