Success is traditionally linked with achievement and the ability to set a target and reach it. Success is also the ability to create economic wealth and prosperity from a business concept and the ability to acquire material possessions and financial security. In short, we have come to think of achievement and success as things we achieve in the material or "outside" world.

But is there more to success? Our inner wisdom is available to us all, to guide us to "our" success, our fulfilment and our sense of peace and happiness. This wisdom guides us through our inner world of thoughts and feelings and through the synchronicities in our lives.

 

We receive this guidance by being aware of our inner nudges and gut feelings about which situations, people and business ideas and thinking are truly for us to embrace. This inner wisdom is able to see much further ahead in our lives than we are able to see, and as a result is able to guide us to what is right for us to create and achieve in the material world.

Our inner wisdom also guides us to focus not just on what we are doing, but also on who we are being in any situation. Our inner guidance encourages us to be kind, loving, understanding, open, and giving the best of our heart and the best of our mind in all circumstances. With this focus on who we are being, we often re-define success to encompass these qualities so that we are able to embrace them anytime and anywhere. From this, we are then able to truly feel successful in any situation.

Here are 5 steps to listening more fully to your inner wisdom:

Taking time out from a business situation enables you to see the bigger picture, not only of your business but also of your life. It gives you the opportunity to see where your business might naturally be headed and allows you time to gain insight on what might naturally be your best next steps.

By doing this, short term difficulties and frustrations become smaller as you re-focus on the bigger picture of what you are to achieve. You have time also to re-focus on what is important to you and how much time and energy you are giving to what is of value to you.

Time spent in the morning preferably, going within and using some form of meditation practice is invaluable. Even just ten minutes spent focusing on your breath so that you start your day with a sense of inner connection is sufficient. The importance of morning meditation is that it gives you the opportunity to set  your mind up to be open and receptive to intuitive insights as well as the input you give it to prepare your day with positive intentions. Throughout your day you then receive the guidance you need, as well as enhanced clarity of thought, another benefit of morning meditation practice.

When you hit upon an inspired idea or have a strong gut feeling to say or do something, it is important that you act upon it. Often these inner impulses seem unrelated to where you think you should be going or what you should be doing, yet it is important to remember that there is a higher intelligence at play here that really does know what is best for you and for the greater good. So, if you are guided to people and situations that seem unrelated to your chosen outcomes, go with this guidance for it is always to be relied upon and this very action often is part of the path to our success.

We all know what activities or people inspire us and give us the energy to move forward. To feel inspired and motivated it is important that you allocate regular time to these activities, whatever they are for you. For many people it is time spent outside in a beautiful place in nature; it may be time spent reading inspirational literature or listening to music or time spent with people who are in themselves an inspiration. Recognise the value of incorporating this in your routine on a regular basis, for if you are to give of your best, you need this regular energising input.

It is worth spending time focusing within and gaining clarity on what success does mean to you as a person. If you choose to believe that true success is not just about achievement but also about how you are as a person in every situation, you then have the opportunity to be successful all the time, even when things are not going well in some area of your life.

 

By redefining success to include higher values shown both towards yourself and towards others, you are then available for success permanently. As a result you feel much happier and more successful.

To sum up, success can come easily and effortlessly by being guided from within in all that you do. It can also come through making a difference through your values and the more people you can do that for, the more successful you will feel. It is possible to feel good all the time if you are willing to make success an inside job.

Sarah Alexander is a leadership coach and an expert in spiritual intelligence. Sarah’s book Spiritual Intelligence in Business: the Eight Pillars of 21^st Century Business Success is available from Amazon, all good book retailers and from Sarah’s website