Some of the smartest people I know
continuously struggle to get ahead because they forget to address a few simple
truths that collectively govern our potential to make progress. So here’s
a quick reminder:
#1
– Education and intelligence accomplish nothing without action.
It doesn’t matter if you have a
genius IQ and a PhD in Quantum Physics, you can’t change anything or make any
sort of real-world progress without taking action. There’s a huge
difference between knowing how to do something and actually doing it.
Knowledge and intelligence are both useless without action. It’s as
simple as that.
#2
– Happiness and success are two different things.
I know an extremely savvy
businesswoman who made almost a million dollars online last year. Every
entrepreneur I know considers her to be wildly successful. But guess
what? A few days ago, out of the blue, she told me that she’s
depressed. Why? “I’m burnt out and lonely. I just haven’t
taken enough time for myself lately,” she said. “Wow!” I thought.
“One of the most successful people I know isn’t happy.”
I also know a surfer who surfs
almost all day, every day on the beach in front of our condo complex in San
Diego. He’s one of the most lighthearted, optimistic guys I’ve ever met –
always smiling from ear to ear. But he sleeps in a van he co-owns with
another surfer and they both frequently panhandle tourists for money. So
while I can’t deny that this man seems happy, I wouldn’t classify his life as a
success story.
“What will make me happy?” and “What
will make me successful?” are two of the most important questions you can ask
yourself. But they are two different questions.
#3
– Everyone runs their own business.
No matter how you make a living or
who you think you work for, you only work for one person, yourself. The
big question is: What are you selling, and to whom? Even when you
have a full-time, salaried, ‘Corporate America’ position, you are still running
your own business. You are selling one unit of your existence (an hour of
your life) at a set price (the associated fraction of your salary) to a
customer (your employer).
#4
– Having too many choices interferes with decision making.
Here in the 21st century where
information moves at the speed of light and opportunities for innovation seem
endless, we have an abundant array of choices when it comes to designing our
lives and careers. But sadly, an abundance of choice often leads to
indecision, confusion and inaction.
Several business and marketing
studies have shown that the more product choices a consumer is faced with, the
less products they typically buy. After all, narrowing down the best
product from a pool of three choices is certainly a lot easier than narrowing
down the best product from a pool of three hundred choices. If the
purchasing decision is tough to make, most people will just give up.
So if you’re selling a product line,
keep it simple. And if you’re trying to make a decision about something
in your life, don’t waste all your time evaluating every last detail of every
possible option. Choose something that you think will work and give it a
shot. If it doesn’t work out, choose something else and keep pressing
forward.
#5
– All people possess dimensions of success and dimensions of failure.
This point is somewhat related to
point #2 on happiness and success, but it stands strong on its own as well…
Trying to be perfect is a waste of
time and energy. Perfection is an illusion.
All people, even our idols, are
multidimensional. Powerful business men, polished musicians, bestselling
authors, and even our own parents all have dimensions of success and dimensions
of failure present in their lives.
Our successful dimensions usually
encompass the things we spend the most time doing. We are successful in
these dimensions because of our prolonged commitment to them. This is the
part of our lives we want others to see – the successful part that holds our
life’s work. It’s the notion of putting our best foot forward. It’s
the public persona we envision as our personal legacy: “The Successful
ABC” or “The Award Winning XYZ.”
But behind whichever polished
storyline we publically promote, there lies a multi-dimensional human being
with a long list of unprofessed failures. Sometimes this person is a bad
husband or wife. Sometimes this person laughs at the expense of
others. And sometimes this person merely takes their eyes off the road
and rear-ends the car in front of them.
#6
– Every mistake you make is progress.
Mistakes teach you important
lessons. Every time you make one, you’re one step closer to your
goal. The only mistake that can truly hurt you is choosing to do nothing
simply because you’re too scared to make a mistake.
So don’t hesitate – don’t doubt yourself.
In life, it’s rarely about getting a chance; it’s about taking a chance.
You’ll never be 100% sure it will work, but you can always be 100% sure doing
nothing won’t work. Most of the time you just have to go for it!
And no matter how it turns out, it
always ends up just the way it should be. Either you succeed or you learn
something. Win-Win. Remember, if you never act, you will never know
for sure, and you will be left standing in the same spot forever.
#7
– People can be great at doing things they don’t like to do.
Although I’m not suggesting that you
choose a career or trade you dislike, I’ve heard way too many smart people say
something like, “In order to be great at what you do, you have to like what you
do.” This just isn’t true.
A good friend of mine is a public
accountant. He has told me on numerous occasions that he dislikes his job
– “that it bores him to death.” But he frequently gets raises and
promotions. At the age of 28, out of nearly a thousand Jr. Accountants in
his division, he’s one of only two who were promoted to be Sr. Accountants this
past year. Why? Because even though he doesn’t like doing it, he’s
good at what he does.
I could come up with dozens of other
examples just like this, but I’ll spare you the details. Just realize
that if someone dedicates enough time and attention to perfecting a skill or
trade, they can be insanely good at doing something they don’t like to
do.
#8
– The problems we have with others are typically more about us.
Quite often, the problems we have
with others – our spouse, parents, siblings, etc. – don’t really have much to
do with them at all. Because many of the problems we think we have with
them we subconsciously created in our own mind. Maybe they did something
in the past that touched on one of our fears or insecurities. Or maybe
they didn’t do something that we expected them to do. In either case,
problems like these are not about the other person, they’re about us.
And that’s okay. It simply
means these little predicaments will be easier to solve. We are,
after all, in charge of our own decisions. We get to decide whether we
want to keep our head cluttered with events from the past, or instead open our
minds to the positive realities unfolding in front of us.
All we need is the willingness to
look at things a little differently – letting go of ‘what was’ and ‘what should
have been,’ and instead focusing our energy on ‘what is’ and ‘what could be
possible.’
#9
– Emotional decisions are rarely good decisions.
Decisions driven by heavy emotion
are typically misguided reactions rather than educated judgments. These
reactions are the byproduct of minimal amounts of conscious thought and
primarily based on momentary ‘feelings’ instead of mindful awareness.
The best advice here is
simple: Don’t let your emotions trump your intelligence. Slow down
and think things through before you make any life-changing decisions.
#10
– You will never feel 100% ready when an opportunity arises.
The number one thing I persistently
see holding smart people back is their own reluctance to accept an opportunity
simply because they don’t think they’re ready. In other words, they
believe they require additional knowledge, skill, experience, etc. before they
can aptly partake in the opportunity. Sadly, this is the kind of thinking
that stifles personal growth.
The truth is nobody ever feels 100%
ready when an opportunity arises. Because most great opportunities in
life force us to grow emotionally and intellectually. They force us to
stretch ourselves and our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally
comfortable at first. And when we don’t feel comfortable, we don’t feel
ready.
Just remember that significant
moments of opportunity for personal growth and development will come and go
throughout your lifetime. If you are looking to make positive changes in
your life you will need to embrace these moments of opportunity even though you
will never feel 100% ready for them.
By: Marc
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