Keys to Success in Life

This summer (2025), I had the honor of speaking at CHEO’s annual homeschool commencement ceremony. The first CHEO commencement for which I spoke was in 2001 and it’s been great for me to have such a long-standing relationship with such a wonderful organization. 

As I considered what to share with the graduates, I thought about what I would have told my 17-year-old self. What has made the biggest difference in terms of my success in life? I believe the following decisions have been the guiding forces that have helped me avoid much difficulty and have provided a path forward for me in having a meaningful life.

Salvation

Having a personal relationship with the living God through the Lord Jesus Christ has been the compass that has guided everything else. It is important for young people who have been raised in Christian families to recognize their own need for salvation and not merely rely on their parents’ faith.

Marrying Wisely

The bible tells us: “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD” (Prov. 18:22).

This has absolutely been true in my life. Marrying godly wife who inspires me to become more like Jesus is an absolute blessing! When I met my wife, we didn’t merely “fall in love,” and decide to get married. We were guided by loving leadership like our parents, mentors and church leaders who all gave their blessing to our relationship. Young people are foolish when they ignore warnings or cautions from older and wiser people who often have a more objective viewpoint.

It is important to find someone who loves Jesus more than they love you, and someone who already has good spiritual disciplines in place. A spouse can either drag you down and hold you back, or they can help you to become everything God intends for you to become.

Choose Friends Wisely

Proverbs 13:20 tells us (as a general principle) if wise people instruct us, we will become wise, but if we hang around foolish people, we will suffer great harm (especially to our character).

1 Corinthians 15:33 says bad company will corrupt good morals. Our friends have a major impact on shaping the people we become.

Spiritual Disciplines

We all like to think we will just grow up some day and become mature without any effort on our part. That’s not how life works. Every day we are becoming the people we will be. Spiritual disciplines are called that because they take work. They aren’t easy. We aren’t naturally inclined to do them. Just like physical exercise takes work, so does becoming strong spiritually.

Prayer, Bible reading, church attendance, giving, fasting, silence, serving – these are all vital aspects of our sanctification and growth as Christians. Making sure we prioritize our spiritual development is paramount for our entire lives.

Seeking Counsel – Triangulation

Years ago, when global positioning systems (GPS) were first becoming available to the consumer market, I read an article that intrigued me. It said that GPS systems cannot find their location from one satellite alone. They require something called “triangulation” (reading from three satellites at the same time). This sounded to me like a metaphor for life.

“Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety” (Prov. 11:14).

If we want to know where we are going, we should also be willing to reach out to others we trust for wise counsel. In my life, I have been blessed to have godly mentors who have had success in life and have already achieved what I wanted to in the future.

I learned that finding mentors is exceedingly difficult because successful people are usually busy people (they aren’t idle), and therefore they have limited time to spend helping people. I found as a young man that I would scare people away if I approached them and asked, “Will you please mentor me?” It sounded like too big of a time commitment (and perhaps with too needy a person). So, over time, I learned that I could “trick” people into becoming my mentors! Rather than asking them directly for something that sounded like a long-term investment, I would simply ask them if I could ask their advice on one matter. They would all agree to do that. I would listen to their advice (and try to implement it), and later, if it worked out well, I’d go back and ask them again about a different matter. Over time, without their knowledge, they had become my mentors!

But I used the principle of “triangulation” in that I’d ask three older friends the same question and write down their advice. If on any point they all gave me the same advice (assuming it wasn’t against scripture or clearly wrong), I would endeavor to put their advice into practice. I never made an unwise decision when I acted on advice received by the method of triangulation.

“Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed” (Prov. 15:22).

The Local Church

According to an AI search, approximately 17% of college students reported attending religious services “about weekly” (in 2024). An older study by Lifeway in 2019 said the two-thirds of all Protestant college students who previously attended church in high school drop out of regular church attendance during college.

Consistent church attendance (especially your regular home church where you are already a member) while attending college has been demonstrated to be one of the most effective ways to keep your faith strong during your young adult years. 

“Do not neglect meeting together, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:25).

Living Debt Free

“The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender” (Prov. 22:7).

Being debt free allows you to make the best choices for yourself (and your family, once you are married). Avoid debt like it is your mortal enemy, because it is.

Read the Best Books

It has been said you are a composite of the people you hang around and the media you consume. Choose both wisely. Life is short. You don’t have time to read acceptable books. Read the best books! Don’t merely read novels and books that are easy or fun to read (although that’s not bad in moderation, if they are wholesome and well-written). Read biographies, history, theology, books on Christian living, relationships, business, finance, apologetics, and much more.

Being a Lifelong Learner

Commit to a lifetime of learning new things. Never feel like you have “arrived” when you get a diploma or degree. There is always more that you don’t know and ways you can continue to grow and improve.

Taken together, I believe these principles can help you to achieve a life that will be meaningful to you and cause you to become a blessing to others. I wish you all the best on your journey ahead.

Israel Wayne is an author and conference speaker and the founder of Family Renewal, LLC. www.FamilyRenewal.org (see also www.IsraelWayne.com)