From Plato and Aristotle to the present day, the wisest people who have ever thought about challenge and achievement in our lives and work have left us bits and pieces of powerful advice for attaining true success in anything we do. I’ve put these ideas together in a simple framework of seven universal conditions. Let me lay them out briefly and then we’ll look at each. Whether you apply them in your practice, in your life, or teach them to your patients, they can be very helpful for focusing on what it takes to reach important goals.

The 7 Cs of Success

For the most deeply satisfying and sustainable forms of success, we need to bring into any challenge, opportunity, or relationship:

(1) A clear CONCEPTION of what we want, a vivid vision, a goal clearly imagined.

(2) A strong CONFIDENCE that we can attain that goal.

(3) A focused CONCENTRATION on what it takes to reach the goal.

(4) A stubborn CONSISTENCY in pursuing our vision.

(5) An emotional COMMITMENT to the importance of what we’re doing.

(6) A good CHARACTER to guide us and keep us on a proper course.

(7) A CAPACITY TO ENJOY the process along the way.

There are certainly other concepts often associated with success, but every other one is just a version or application of one of these in specific situations. The 7 Cs give us the most universal, logical, and comprehensive framework for success.

(1) A clear CONCEPTION of what we want, a vivid vision, a goal clearly imagined.

In any facet of our lives, we need to think through as clearly as possible what we want to accomplish. True success starts with an inner vision, however incomplete it might be. The world as we find it is just the raw material for what we can make it. We are meant to be artists with our energies and our lives. And the only way to do that well is to structure our actions around clear goals.

(2) A strong CONFIDENCE that we can attain the goal.

Inner attitude is a key to outer results. Philosopher William James learned from championship athletes that a proper confidence should be operative in all our lives. In any new enterprise, we need upfront faith in what we’re doing. Sometimes we may have to work hard to generate this attitude. But it’s worth the work it takes, because it raises our prospects for success. The best confidence arises out of competence and then augments it.  It’s of course no guarantee of success. But it is among the chief contributors to it.

(3) A focused CONCENTRATION on what it takes to reach the goal.

Big dreams just lead to big disappointments when people don’t learn how to chart their way forward. Success at anything challenging comes from planning your path and then putting that plan into action. Gestalt psychologists teach us that a new mental focus generates new perceptual abilities. Concentrating your thought and energy in a new direction, toward a clear goal, you begin to see things that you might have missed before, that relate to the goal you’ve set. This focus allows you to plan and act, and adjust along the way. Even a flawed plan can start you off and lead you to where you can discover a better one. A focused concentration of thought and action is key.

(4) A stubborn CONSISTENCY in pursuing our vision.

The word ‘consistency’ comes from two Greek roots, a verb meaning “to stand” and a particle meaning “together.” Consistency is all about standing together. Do my actions stand together with my words? Do my reactions and emotions stand together with my deepest beliefs and values? Do the people I work with stand together? This is what consistency is all about. It’s a matter of unifying your energy and efforts in a single direction. Inconsistency defuses power. Consistency moves us toward our goals.

(5) An emotional COMMITMENT to the importance of what we’re doing.

Passion is the core of extraordinary success. It’s a key to overcoming difficulties, seizing opportunities, and getting other people excited about your projects. Too much goal setting in the modern world has been an exercise of the intellect and not also of the heart. Philosophers appreciate the role of rationality in human life. But we know that it’s not just the head, but also the heart, that can guide us on to the tasks right for us, and keep us functioning at the peak of our abilities.

(6) A good CHARACTER to guide us and keep us on a proper course.

Character inspires trust. And trust is necessary for people to work together well. Good character is required for great collaboration. In a world in which innovative partnerships and collaborative synergies are increasingly important, the moral foundation for working well together matters more than ever before. And good character does a lot more than just provide for trust. It has an effect on each individual’s own freedom and insight. Bad character not only corrupts, it blinds. A person whose perspective has been deeply skewed by selfishness or mendacity cannot understand the world in as perceptive a way as someone whose sensibilities are ethically well formed. Good character makes sustainable success more likely.

(7) A CAPACITY TO ENJOY the process along the way.

The more you can enjoy the process of what you’re doing, the better the results tend to be. It’s easier to set creative goals. Confidence will come more naturally. Your concentration can seem effortless. Consistency will not be a battle. The emotional commitment will flow. And issues of character will not be as difficult to manage. A capacity to enjoy the process is entwined with every other facilitator of success in a great many ways.

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These conditions of success are all deeply connected. They constitute a unified framework of tools with which we can work our way toward the most fulfilling forms of achievement. They will help us to make our proper mark in the world. They will move us in the direction of true success. And why should we ever settle for anything less?

Tom Morris is the author of such books as True Success, The Art of Achievement, If Aristotle Ran General Motors, and If Harry Potter Ran General Electric. He writes weekly for The Huffington Post and can be found philosophizing on Twitter as TomVMorris.  He can be reached at TomVMorris@aol.com or through the Morris Institute.

Dr. Morris was kind enough to guest author this article for OrthopaedicLIST.com.