The art of achieving success is fundamentally an easy concept if you let it be that way. Too many times we try and complicate what success is and how it can be obtained. It’s not that success is hard to achieve, it’s just that you have to put in lots of work and consistent effort – the 10,000-hour rule.

Whether you are an entrepreneur or you are just trying to be successful in life, there are some basic principles that you should incorporate into your life.

If you do nothing else, then just practice these five success principles, and they are all you will ever need.

1. Your pain becomes your success

The first principle doesn’t really sound like something that can make you successful, but it’s the most important of the four. It doesn’t matter where you look, every great story, every inspirational person and anyone who has ever achieved the impossible has had some sort of struggle or pain to deal with.

What drives your success could come from something like a failed intimate relationship, family breakdown, tragedy or even a startup. At the time it will seem like everything is not going your way but this pain is actually what will give you success. If you never experience pain or a major struggle, then your chances of success are low.

The pain is what will make you re-think everything you have done to date an interrupt your pattern. It’s the drive and passion that you are lacking. When you see pain coming, know that success is not far around the corner as long as you get the message of the situation.

2. Passion is all that matters (passion = life)

When someone shows no passion, they make you feel like they are lifeless. Once you have met someone that plays life at the ultimate level, you will see that it’s passion that brings them to life. If the passion is taken away, then they become lifeless and back to being average.

Passion is the thing that is talked most about throughout our lives, and many of us never discover it. If there was one thing, and one thing only that we were meant to discover in our life it’s our passion. It’s the thing that get’s us up early in the morning and keeps us awake late at night.

It’s the thing that we talk about the most and makes us constantly take notes on our smartphone. It’s that one activity that causes you to get goosebumps down your spine. If you can unlock what that passion is for you, then you will have succeeded. Once it’s unlocked, all you have to do is utilise it and make it your obsession.

I was a drummer for many years, then gave it up, then I was a successful DJ and gave that up too. Looking back at my own life, I have discovered that I continually give up on my passion right before I am on the brink of greatness. Well, not this time. From this moment on I will pursue my passion as if it’s the last thing I will ever do.

I want you to do the same and make it your primary goal to discover what it is that is going to become your purpose. It may take time, but it’s the success principle that everything else will be born from.

3. Be grateful

All of us get to wake up and do whatever we want. The one decision you should make every day is to be grateful for what you have right now. Be grateful that if you are not achieving the success you desire, you can just turn on a movie and see someone else demonstrate their passion and achieve success – the movies strategies can then be mirrored in your own life.

Be grateful that you can start something new at any moment you choose. You have the opportunity to inspire others with your dream and what it is that you are good at. You can completely change how someone is feeling just through a smile or the smallest of actions.

Gratitude is something you should practice often, and it’s used by all of the people you follow and idolise. Don’t be afraid to just be happy with where you are right now. Be patient, keep doing what you’re doing and don’t give up.

4. You are meant for great things (belief)

All of us are destined for great things. To harness the power of this success principle, though, you need to believe this statement first. Once you know you can achieve greatness, it’s just a matter of persistence.

If you think you are going to be normal, you will but if you believe you are going to be great at something then eventually you will be. None of us have to continue to be average although we need to start doing something right now. We need to take some action towards some sort of goal.

In my own life, I believe that I can inspire other people through my work and this belief can never be changed. It doesn’t matter how dumb or uninspiring someone says I am; I know that what I think is what will shape my future.

Even at the lowest point when I think no one is listening, I am proven wrong. People are watching you at your best even when they don’t tell you or like your Facebook post.

5. Fire Up

The simplest of my four success principles is “Fire Up!” This might seem like a short phrase that means nothing but it’s very powerful. Fire up means that you need to live your life in a peak state. Change the way you are sitting, change the way you are talking, change what you are wearing and how you are standing.

Do everything in your life as if a football coach is screaming in your ear to try harder and show more passion. This simple phrase, “fire up” came from my friend in high school who was always liked by everyone because he was always fun to be around.

He made everyone else feel great because he would shout at people in a good way, and let everyone see his happiness. To be a leader and have people follow what you are doing, it requires you to fire up and show some vulnerability. Show people all sides of you, not just the perfect Instagram side that a lot of people portray as their true self.

When you really start to live in a peak state, your circumstances will change, and people will want to interact with you. In a sales pitch, you will be more convincing and more confident than you have ever been before. Your influence will be that of a world leader, and if you stay on this path, you may even become one.

Have you tried any of these success principles? Do you think they could work for you? Let me know in the comments section below or on my Facebook and Twitter.