Financial literacy and success are tightly interrelated—not because success is equated with having a big pile of money (which for some people it is)—but because financial literacy is an enabler for living the life you want to lead. A life in which you can live your purpose and pursue a vision for your future that aligns with a one-size-fits-you definition of success.

You’ve resolved that the skills and characteristics of grit, determination, persistence, perseverance, drive, and resilience are key ingredients to success by any definition of the word.

So what’s next in the list of universal ingredients to success?

Grace, competence, financial literacy, curiosity, effective communication, and good old fashioned showing up!

To recap, you’ve determined that you want to be successful, you’ve done the work on yourself to create an authentic definition of success that aligns with your personal purpose and values, you’ve identified your personal blockers to success and have developed the courage to challenge your internal itty-bitty-$hitty-committee and the expectations of society and your network. So what’s the next ingredient to achieving success?

Grit, Determination, Persistence, Perseverance, Drive, and Resilience

I believe strongly that being grounded in one’s personal purpose leads to a higher probability that intermediate-term vision statements and definitions of success will be more aligned and authentic to who you are at your core—minimizing the likelihood that you’ll adopt other people’s definitions of success. What’s better? Authenticity or superficiality?

The problem was that I didn’t know what was really important to me. I just knew what was important to others. Self-reflection and curiosity about what mattered to me was not encouraged in my youth. Independent, introspective thought was labeled as weakness and was not a “manly pursuit.” The lack of coaching and guidance to determine what mattered to me meant that my IBSC was ripe for undue influence and manipulation. Third-party expectations were driving the bus, not me.

So what’s step one on the road to writing your own, authentic success story? Step one is to work on you. To understand your own needs and desires. To build a one-size-fits-you roadmap for your future. To create a customized vision statement that’s based on the definition of your desired future state.