The ORTEGA Philosophy

Ortega was a Spanish philosopher who lived centuries ago, whose basic philosophy was “In living, you can do one thing or another.” Put another way, everything in life boils down to our choices and decisions. Today, I share a few of my favorite success attitudes using the acrostic ORTEGA.

Opportunistic: Be opportunistic-minded, that is, willing to seize the opportunities that come across your path, even when they do not at first appear to be an opportunity. First, you need to ensure that it is not illegal, immoral, or just plain wrong. As you do your due diligence, you’ll ascertain the potential for greater success in your life. Never allow fear to hold you back, or the opportunities that come your way will pass you by. Grab hold of them and hang on tight.

Ready: If you are going to seize opportunities, you must be ready with a plan of action for each of your major commitments in life. Cultivate a preparedness mindset, like that of Oliver Cromwell, who once said, “Trust in God, but keep your powder dry.”

Tenacity: When you commit to something, you need the tenacity to stay committed to it and not allow challenges, breakdowns, or anything or anyone to get in your way of success. Hang on with all you have, like a bulldog hanging on to his bone. Don’t give it up!

Enthusiasm: Approach all of life with a spark of enthusiasm. As Conrad Hilton once said, “Enthusiasm is the little recognized secret of success,” and I think he’s right. I always tell people in my seminars that even when you don’t feel enthusiastic, you can always act enthusiastic, and you’ll be enthusiastic!

Goals: Become a goal-setter. Start by dreaming big dreams, but don’t stop there. You’ll achieve 35% of your goals if you write down your goals. Increase your success rate to 65% by simply putting a deadline or a timetable on each of your written goals. Then, take it a step further by going to someone you love, trust, and/or respect and asking them to hold you accountable for your goals. Consistently using this formula, you will accomplish 95% of all your life goals.

Attitude: Approach every day with a proper mental attitude. Take the word “problem” out of your vocabulary and replace it with the word “challenge.” Then you can begin to see the opportunity in facing up to the challenge and start taking the negatives and turning them into positives. With that kind of attitude, people will be drawn to you like a magnet.

It’s true! In life you can do one thing or another. What will you choose?