ABC's of SUCCESS

I was initially toying with using the 26 letters of the alphabet to come up with positive traits for success. When I got to letter "D", I somehow realized I may have bitten off more than I can chew. 26 letters all of a sudden feels like a lot of work. And I just cannot think of anything for the letter "X" other than Xenical. Backtracking a bit, here's a shorter version of the ABC's of SUCCESS :

Sacrifice: success demands a high degree of sacrifice from you. Forget about saturday night parties and weekend outings. Say hello to sleepless nights and hypertension. Success demands fathers and mothers to leave family and country painfully behind in search of a better future.

Commitment: how much time, effort, resource and emotion are you willing to lay on the line just to see your dream turn into reality? Will you back out at the slightest hint of failure? Or will you persevere, burn your bridges, and push forward?

Competence: knowledge is power. In aiming for your goal, you need to know how to get from where you are right now to where you desire to be. Even better, you need to know if there are better ways of getting there. You need to know the "tricks of the trade". Research. Research. Research.

Enthusiasm: will you be still as excited with your goal next week as you are right now, or will the excitement fade with time? Will the enthusiasm still be the same after you have faltered and failed so many times?

Self-reliance: the best person who can help you succeed is you... nobody, nobody but you. The only reason so many have failed to stand up on their own is because they have always relied on somebody else to be there for them. Trainer wheels on bicycles are great, but eventually, you know you have to take them off.

Share: success is best savored when shared with somebody else. How silly would it feel to climb Mt. Everest and have nobody to tell about your triumph. Often, you dream of success not only for yourself but more for those around you. All your sacrifices would seem much easier to bear when you offer your goal to a higher purpose. The most successful people today are also some of the biggest donors.

What about "U"? Obviously, there can be no success without "U". Success depends on "U".