5 Strategies for Success

What strategies do successful people use to achieve what they want? FEU Training explored 5 strategies for success, and how to apply them, in a practical session led by Muriel McClymont.

Last updated: 31 March 2023

1. Care about what you do

There are vast differences in what people consider to be successful, said Muriel, but what matters is that you’re doing something meaningful to you. Ask yourself, “what does success mean to me?” and take that as your starting point.

2. Think long term

Muriel thinks about defining success as “compass setting” – choosing an overall goal and making life the journey of achieving it. You don’t want to be too prescriptive though. The world changes over time, and you don’t want to miss out on the benefits of new ideas and technologies because your goal is fixed.

3. Take action and keep taking action

“People get so paralysed thinking what to do” said Muriel. Don’t waste time thinking what is the perfect next step, she advises. Keep taking opportunities and chances, don’t get hung up on any one in particular, and keep working.

4. Keep getting back up

Just keep going. Muriel recommends substituting the word “failure” with “feedback”, so you can do something constructive with those comments. Think about any feedback, try to understand why they said it, analyse it, learn from it, file it and move on. Every disaster is an opportunity to learn.

5. Take care of yourself

For Muriel, this takes two forms. The first is looking after your physical health, exercising and eating well. The second is especially important for creatives whose work is constantly put up for judgement by others: be true to who you are. Breaks come from all sorts of often unexpected places, so it’s important to always be yourself and remember what you want to achieve.