SALT LAKE CITY — While recently reading a host of famed people’s success stories, fueled by Katie Couric’s book, “The Best Advice I Ever Got,” I noticed several common threads in their rise to the top.

1. Allow yourself to bottom out.

Whether financial, emotional or physical, most famous people had experienced a severe, if not completely debilitating setback. Bill Cosby got the shot of a lifetime at the most famous comedy club that hosted the likes of Lenny Bruce. Scheduled to do two shows, Cosby spent the entire six hours before the first show in his dressing room telling himself how he was horrible and unfunny. Predictably, his first show bombed.

Afterward, he told the club owner he was leaving and never coming back, to which the owner wisely agreed, and then asked him to send back the real Bill Cosby, because he was funny. So Cosby did, and was a hit, and the rest is history.

We can allow ourselves mistakes — even glaring, humiliating ones — and learn from them to better succeed.

2. Make the pivotal choice.

Each successful person apparently faced a key decision in order to move forward. George Lopez faced it while bunking on his friend's couch. Drifting through life after being abandoned by both parents in his childhood, he decided at that moment, on the couch, not to avoid life or quit anything else again. This led to his unique and unexpected success as a Latino comedian.

We each will face a pivotal choice in our deepest desires and dreams in life. And we’ll need to choose whether we’ll stay on the couch, or get up and move.

3. Find your purpose.

Related:

3 Reasons Why Failure is the Key to Success

If you're like most people, you probably have a bad relationship with failure. The truth is, failure happens to everyone. The only thing that separates people who succeed from those who don't is a proper understanding of the power of failure.

Once these people put a "why" to their lives, everything changed. Suddenly the boring task, menial job, or scary opportunity brought meaning, acting as a vehicle for a dream or destiny.

My mom is not famous and is older than 40 (she doesn't tell her age, or believe in aging, but let's just say she was getting Medicaid pamphlets). She wanted to start a new business, but at her age? What appeared daunting and risky became motivating when she considered who she would help. As a therapist, she decided to combine with other therapists who could better serve their family clients (young children, teens and adults). Focusing on her purpose, she experienced incredible opportunities and is now the proud owner of such a business.

4. Go with your gut.

Successful people listened to their soul to confirm a correct choice, despite what others said, or when everything seemed to be at stake. As a waitress, Suze Orman was given a surprise $50,000 gift from kind customers to start a restaurant. The customers said to pay it back when she could, with interest.

Her first broker turned out to be a crook who lost the money. Orman decided to become a broker and told her new boss about the illegality of his former employee, but she was told to keep quiet. That moment she had to decide to remain employed or do what was right. She did the latter, and through her success ultimately paid back the $50,000, with interest.

5. Do it.

As successful people moved forward, they saw that God and life sent opportunities, people and circumstances that took them, sometimes in a detour fashion, where they wanted to go. Whether it was to get more knowledge — after leaving modeling, Tyra Banks went to Harvard and started a successful business — or to get more experience — Matt Lauer chose to do an internship instead of finishing his last few classes of college, with stellar results — they pulled a Nike and decided to “just do it.”

I've had my own recent experience with this. After outlining my next fiction series, I chose a main character who is a photographer that enters a contest and travels to Paris. Unaware of my series plans, a dear friend (also a photographer) randomly shared that she was doing a workshop in, of all places, Paris.

I boldly shared my writing plans, to which she ecstatically replied that she needed childcare help and a model (the latter would be my daughter). After considering all the angles with my husband and daughter, we went with it! Twenty-four hours later plans were set for me, my baby, and my daughter to fly to Paris later in the year for a week-long dream opportunity.

Creating a successful, fulfilling life takes many things, which definitely include failure, pivotal choices, purpose, instinct and action. With faith, trust and "a little pixie dust", we can experience a wonderful life that hopefully inspires others in their own quest.

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Note: A heartfelt thank you to all who donated to the Salcido family by purchasing "40 Days with the Savior." We raised $500 for this grateful family!

Connie Sokol is an author, speaker, TV contributor and mother of seven. For more, visit www.conniesokol.com.

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