Billy Ward from Verona, NJ, is a finalist in the Dear GMA Advice Guru Contest. Read his response to a viewer-submitted question below!
Question from Charles in Shenandoah, W.V.: "I've recently graduated from high school and my entire life is ahead of me. I'm not quite sure what I want to do in life. Can you tell me what you see as the key ingredients to success in life?"
Billy's Answer:
Dear Charles,
Congratulations on your recent graduation from high school! I was psyched to read your question and know that it is coming from a young man with a determined heart to live the best life possible. You are way ahead in the "game of life" with your efforts to find an answer to the key ingredients of finding success. Continue to ask yourself quality questions and you will definitely blaze a path to attain the goals you set for yourself.
When you have a goal to reach, you will start the trial and error of reaching it. If you really believe in your goal, you can read this next line with some optimism.
OPPORTUNITYISNOWHERE.
It is easy to read that opportunity is "nowhere." But if you get yourself in a new state of mind, you see that opportunity is "now here." Being filled with hope is a choice, and successful people have hope that they are always moving in the upward direction.
Success takes faith in what you are doing or what you are about to do. Many advice givers suggest that people "lower their expectations to avoid disappointments." I would only suggest this if you are over- consumed by being a perfectionist. There is nothing wrong with having hope for the best in this life. Half of the recipe for success is failure. These two words are not always opposites. Don't be afraid to fail. Failure is opportunity to learn what to change for the better.
The best indicator to your success is being in touch with how you feel. For example, when I feel happy and at peace I may feel successful. Experiences are all relative. One person may feel good about waking up to a house that has a proper working furnace and another person may feel good knowing that they just closed a million dollar deal.
In thinking about your age and your question, I placed myself back at graduation and thought, "What would I have liked to know back then?"
Make a commitment to grow in mind, body and spirit. We are either growing or dying. Continue to work on yourself in these three areas and you will develop a routine that keeps you well balanced and focused.
Learn to love yourself. It is the single most important relationship that you have. Some people call this confidence or self-esteem. It is through this understanding that you will interact with the world and the people around you. The more you love and accept yourself, the more you are able to love and accept others.
Forgive. Don't be so hard on yourself! The best athletes drop the ball thousands of times in their life but can still pull through to catch it most times when it counts. You have to move forward and allow others to be forgiven for when they "drop the ball" too. Learn to see beyond the mistakes of others. Very few people are successful all by themselves.
Love and be loved,
Billy