‘The Seven C’s for Success’ can help us grow spiritually

Brian Tracy has given us “The Seven C’s of Success.” I want to apply them to our spiritual life, but before I do, I want to caution you. We usually measure success in material terms – how much money a person makes, how fast someone moves up the corporate ladder, etc.

Albert Einstein tells us, “Try not to become a person of success. Rather, become a person of value.”

The late spiritual writer, Father Henri Nouwen, tells us what our Christian calling means, “We have been called to be fruitful – not successful, not productive, not accomplished.

“Success comes from strength, stress and human effort. Fruitfulness comes from vulnerability and the admission of our own weakness,” he continues. “Openness and vulnerability are two essential requirements for genuine encounters with others.”

God will not judge us by how much success we have in life, but whether we stuck to our God-given values and principles. With this understanding, I will present Tracy’s Seven C’s in italics followed by my own comments.

1. Clarity: Eighty percent of success comes from being clear about who you are, what you believe in and what you want.

Spiritually-motivated people realize they are on a journey. They belong to God. They came from God and one day they will return to God.

2. Competence: You cannot climb to the next rung on the ladder until you are excellent at what you do now.

The spiritual life is the same. We cannot grow in love and our reliance on God until we have experienced basic trust in God and others.

3. Constraints: Eighty percent of all obstacles to success come from within. Find out what is constraining you and deal with it.

Obstacles to spiritual growth also come from within. What do we need to remove from our lives that keeps us from being the loving people that God wants us to be?

4. Concentration: The ability to focus on one thing single-mindedly and see it through until it’s done takes more character than anything else.

Jesus expressed this idea when he said, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matt. 7:13-14)

We are going somewhere. Keep focused on the goal!

5. Creativity: Flood your life with ideas from many sources. Creativity needs to be exercised like a muscle, if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.

Psychologist Marion Woodman echoes the same sentiment when she says, “If we fail to nourish our souls, they wither, and without soul, life ceases to have meaning. The creative process shrivels in the absence of continual dialogue with the soul. Creativity is what makes life worth living.”

6. Courage: Most in demand and least in supply, courage is the willingness to do the things you know are right.

Someone once said, “Courage does not always roar. Sometimes, it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.'”

Author Ambrose Redmoon reminds us, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.”

7. Continuous learning: Read and organize your time so you spend 30 minutes a day exploring e-mail, sending messages, going through Web sites. If you get away from it, you’ll lose your edge.

We are only beginning to explore this beautiful world that God has created. The more we know about God’s creation, the more we appreciate the Creator.

Religion and science can go together. Believing in our God-given gifts and being open minded are keys to spiritual growth.