On the night of the orchestra’s dress rehearsal, one elderly violinist was the only musician who arrived ready and on time.
The conductor walked over and said, “I want you to know how much I appreciate your being here.”
The violinist replied, “Well, I thought it was the least I could do considering I can’t be here for the concert.”
You have to admire his honesty!
Most people want to be successful in their careers, relationships, finances, health, and personal lives. But if they’re completely honest, many of them also want to know: “What is the least I can do and still become successful?”
I understand the question. We’re all busy. We would love to discover one shortcut, one secret, or one magical button marked “Press here for immediate success.”
Unfortunately, that button does not exist. If it did, someone would have already ordered it from Amazon—and it would be on back order.
But here is the good news: Success does not always require a complete reinvention of your life. Sometimes it begins with a few small but important turns in the way you think and behave.
During my more than 30 years of speaking, teaching, coaching, and working with more than a million people, I’ve seen the same pattern repeatedly. The most successful people are not necessarily the smartest, most talented, or luckiest people in the room.
They simply make better behavioral choices—and keep making them.
Here are five small turns that can lead to much bigger results.
Turn #1: From chance to choice
Some people wait to see what life will bring them. They take whatever job appears, follow whatever path seems easiest, and hope everything will somehow work out.
Hope is wonderful. But hope is not a strategy.
Successful people decide what success means to them and then make choices consistent with that definition.
So let me ask you: What does success actually mean to you?
Could you stand up right now and speak for five minutes about your personal definition of success? Would you know exactly what to say?
Most people couldn’t because they have never taken the time to define it. And if you haven’t decided where you want to go, almost any road will take you somewhere—but probably not where you hoped to end up.
Your definition also determines your choices.
If success means having a close marriage and strong family relationships, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week probably won’t get you there.
If success means enjoying a long and healthy life, you can’t continually ignore exercise, sleep, nutrition, and stress and then act surprised when your body sends you an overdue notice.
Your action step: Write one sentence that begins, “To me, a successful life means…” Then identify one choice you can make this week that supports that definition.
Turn #2: From convenience to conviction
After one of my programs, a man I’ll call Tom spoke with me privately. He had been a successful insurance salesman for 30 years, but he admitted that he had never truly wanted that career.
His real dream had been to become a doctor and serve people in an underserved part of the world. But selling insurance was more convenient. His father had done it. The opportunity was available. The income came more quickly.
So Tom spent 30 years dragging himself out of bed to do something he didn’t particularly enjoy.
He had achieved financial success, but he did not feel successful.
That conversation has stayed with me because it raises a difficult question: Are you building your life around convenience or conviction?
Conviction does not mean you must quit your job tomorrow, sell your house, and move halfway around the world. It means you stop allowing ease, habit, or other people’s expectations to make all your decisions.
You begin asking, “What matters deeply to me? What do I believe in? Where can I make my greatest contribution?”
Your action step: Identify one part of your life where you have been settling for what is convenient. What is one small move you could make toward what is meaningful?
Turn #3: From education to empowerment
Education is valuable, but gathering information is not the same as changing your life.
You can own 500 books and still not apply a single idea. You can attend seminars, watch videos, listen to podcasts, and fill notebooks with brilliant insights—and remain exactly where you are.
I know people who have enough information to run three companies, repair six marriages, and lose 40 pounds. They just haven’t used any of it.
Empowerment occurs when you take what you learn and put it into practice.
Less effective people make excuses for the skills they lack:
“That’s just the way I am.”
“I’m not a people person.”
“I could never speak up in a meeting.”
“My company should provide that training.”
Successful people take responsibility for developing themselves. They ask, “What do I need to learn, practice, or change to move to the next level?”
That attitude has guided my own life and career. After more than 3000 programs in 49 states and 22 countries, I am still learning, revising, testing, and improving. I have never reached the point where I can say, “Well, Alan, you certainly know enough. You may now stop growing.”
And neither have you.
Your action step: Choose one skill that would make the greatest difference in your life right now. Then schedule one specific way you will begin developing it this week.
Turn #4: From wisecracks to wisdom
Everybody has an opinion and many people are delighted to give you theirs before you ask for it.
But successful people carefully choose whom they will listen to.
Your brother may be a wonderful man, a devoted husband, and the best gardener in the county. You should probably listen to him when your tomatoes turn purple. But that does not automatically qualify him to advise you on business strategy, leadership development, or retirement planning.
People often give advice because it makes them feel helpful or important, not because they have any expertise.
Whenever you try something new, someone will be ready to tell you:
“That will never work.”
“You’re too old.”
“You’re too young.”
“You’re not qualified.”
“People like us don’t do things like that.”
As I’ve often told my audiences, people have a constitutional right to their ignorant opinions but you have an entrepreneurial responsibility to ignore them.
Seek wisdom from people who have character, experience, sound judgment, and results. Listen to those who want you to grow, not those who need you to remain small so they can remain comfortable.
Your action step: Think of one important decision you are facing. Ask yourself, “Whose wisdom has earned the right to influence this decision and whose opinion should I graciously ignore?”
Turn #5: From patience to persistence
Patience and persistence may sound similar, but there is a major difference.
Patience waits.
Persistence works.
Patience says, “Perhaps things will improve someday.”
Persistence says, “I’m going to keep learning, adjusting, trying, and moving until I make progress.”
That doesn’t mean blindly repeating something that clearly isn’t working. If you keep walking into the same wall, persistence does not mean walking into it harder. Sometimes persistence means changing your approach while remaining committed to your purpose.
Over the years, I’ve had programs that didn’t go exactly as planned, proposals that were rejected, ideas that failed, and opportunities that disappeared. That is part of every meaningful life.
Success does not belong to people who never stumble. It belongs to people who refuse to let a stumble become their final destination.
Your action step: Identify one goal you have been tempted to abandon. What is one different approach you could try before giving up?
Make Your Turn Today
You do not need to change everything about your life this week. Choose one turn:
- From chance to choice
- From convenience to conviction
- From education to empowerment
- From wisecracks to wisdom
- From patience to persistence
Then take one visible, measurable action.
Small turns may not feel dramatic at first. But a one-degree change in direction, continued over time, can take you to an entirely different destination.
And those turns are much easier to make when you don’t have to make them alone.
That is why I created NEXT-LEVEL YOU™ an online coaching and learning community for people who want to keep growing in their confidence, communication, relationships, leadership, and everyday success.
We meet live online every week for an hour of practical teaching, personal reflection, discussion, and application. But the growth doesn’t stop when the weekly class ends. Throughout the week, our members continue the conversation in our online community asking questions, sharing victories, exchanging ideas, and encouraging one another to put what we’re learning into practice.
You don’t simply receive more information. You become part of a community that helps you turn information into transformation.
If you are ready to stop leaving your growth to chance and start making more intentional choices, I invite you to become part of NEXT-LEVEL YOU™. In fact you can join us tonight, August 4, 2026 at 7 pm Eastern when we work through the strategies that build UNSHAKABLE CONFIDENCE.
Don’t wait for someday. Make one small turn today and let’s take your next steps together.
The best is yet to come!
Dr. Alan Zimmerman