Success starts and ends with the letter A

After a few long walks with my dog, below are my personal, albeit non-scientific, suggestions of the three “As:” Aspiration, Attitude and Action. And while there are many roads to the same destination, these three best reflect what I’ve observed.

Success begins with aspiration. Deeply personal aspirations rise from the inside and are rooted in your core needs. Aspirations, those able to survive the gut punches of life, burn from within and are rarely material.

Instead, the strongest aspirations rise from inside with foundations rooted in results that reward you in ways not reflected on a bank statement. The urge to find rewarding work, help others and provide security for your family tends to be among the most common.

More times than not, highly successful people say they had an idea or opportunity, and the success that followed was simply a byproduct. The reward was found in the burning urge to effect change or create something of value.

Richard Branson never set out to be a billionaire, but something inside him called out to him each day. The same is true for Elon Musk and Steve Jobs. What drove them was rooted in something much more powerful than money or fame — themselves.

But aspirations are only dreams without adding the right attitude to navigate the gut-wrenching journey. People are too willing to take an eraser to their ambitions when the road gets bumpy. Failure is the one constant in success for everyone. Coming to terms with obstacles or the unpleasant things that happen along the way is a dealbreaker.

If your aspirations lack the resiliency to take flurries of punches or setbacks, aspirations quickly turn to dust — and potentially damaging mental baggage to carry for years.

Thomas Edison failed 1,000 times attempting to create the electric lightbulb, shrugging off each miss as one more step toward finding a solution.

Additionally, mindless positivity is nauseating and not helpful either. Knowing how to embrace setbacks constructively allows you the perspective of adjusting your actions and finding a new direction.

And finally, all the aspirations and attitudes fall flat on their faces without action. Nothing good happens in the absence of positive direction and motion. Too many carry around the weight of unrealized dreams or pursuits — aspirations stopped cold by self-doubt and or turning back at the first signs of difficulty.

But the biggest difference-maker between success and those on the other side is the relentless understanding nothing happens without action. And only with effort — regardless of the outcome — will aspiration and attitude pay rewards.

I’ve learned the most successful people — those most at peace with themselves — measure their lives with a playbook based on the three “As.”