For most people, success means possession of wealth, prestige or status. By these criteria alone, the majority of us would not qualify. Yet the truth is that success is really a subjective perception. In other words, it is all in the mind. If one thinks one is successful, that perception is valid by one's own reckoning.

The fact is that no-one is perfect and no-one can do everything well. It is sufficient that each one of us does our best. Within the individual limitations or constraints that each one of us finds ourselves; and to the extent of our knowledge, capabilities and skills; when we do our best, we have indeed achieved success.

This approach is what I like to call success thinking supported by appropriate actions. It combines positive thinking with reality, and espouses practical methods of achieving success in a progressive, comfortable way. So there is no hype, no magic formula, and no instant solutions.

There is real work involved to achieve individual success targets whether these be lofty ambitions or something as simple as cooking a good meal. No matter what the goal, everything has to begin with the right thinking because this is a prerequisite to the right behaviours and actions to actually bring about the right outcomes.

The exciting thing about the human potential is that we can all continue to learn to be better in our chosen activities. This allows us all to achieve increasing levels of success as our thinking improves and our actions help us go beyond original targets and set higher ones.

Thus success thinking and actions provide us with useful strategies to overcome self-limiting beliefs and attitudes which often prevent us from realising our actual individual potential.

When we embrace this approach, not only can we erase self-doubt, we can also acquire new strengths and new skills that will help us grow as successful individuals, and also help others in their journey.

I hope these reflections can encourage those who may be struggling in their lives to believe that solutions exist for all problems and that these can be discovered with the right thinking and mindset. The solutions then point to actions that must be taken. If we follow this path with our best efforts, we can be sure that we can achieve the success we have defined for ourselves.