My son is a total gymnast wherever he goes. He is always looking for something to jump off or crawl onto. Before he goes wild, he will reach out his hand to me and I will walk him through whatever he wants to play on. Once he knows that the ground is safe, the bars are stable and that I will be there if anything happens, he goes to town.
We see a pricetag today and think that it’ll be cheaper on eBay or we can find someone giving it away for next to nothing on craigslist, but success doesn’t work like that. If success came easier and easier, then everyone would be successful. Think about the infamous iPod that came out October 3rd, 2001. You rarely see someone without some kind of iThing if they want one. Since success is something intangible and never loses value, you must be willing to work for it. If you really want to be successful at something there are three things you need to do:
- Find out what you want?
- Find out what it costs?
- Pay it!!!
Seems pretty simple, right? Unfortunately, we’re always looking to negotiate the price of success. In order to make sure that you are getting the results and success you want, it’s better to overpay the cost! That way, you can be assured that you have worked your hardest to get what you want most.
What are your first steps?
Plan
If you don’t plan at all then you’ve instantly succeeded. Why is it so hard for people to plan ahead? Perhaps because it takes work and thinking. Using your head and thinking through situations requires you to gather data about what you want and then understanding what it’s going to take to get there. Going on a roadtrip doesn’t just take money for gas. You have to look at the weather at where you’re going, what activities you are going to do when you get there, and what kind of shape is your car before you leave. One crucial step is to ask someone who is where you want to be. If you neglect to ask a successful person the steps it takes, you will be checking and adjusting more than necessary. Once your plan is laid out, it’s time for the next step.
Do
If you never put your plan into action, you are deluding yourself if you think you’ll get there. It’s time to put your money where your mouth is and actually start following through with your plan. You’ve already laid it out. What’s stopping you? If it’s money, then add something to your plan to get you from where you are to having the money to keep going. If it’s time, do the same thing. Doing your plan should entail you to get from where you are right now, to where you want to go. Not including where you are just means you are dreaming (although important), not planning.
One thing that holds people back from planning is executing is permission. We usually think of gaining permission from someone else. I can remember being in class and asking permission to use the bathroom. Once you get to college, you stop asking and take the responsibility yourself, knowing there will be consequences to your actions (like missing whatever the professor says when you’re gone). Now that you are an adult, it’s time to realize that you can give yourself permission to succeed. If you realize that the price to success is high but the cost of staying where you are is more than you can handle, give yourself permission to plan and execute.
Good Quotes
– The harder I work, the luckier I get!
– It takes about 10,000 hours of doing what you want to be successful
– 1 years experience copied 20 times is not 20 years experience
– If it’s not hurting, you’re not growing.
– Choose excellence over ego.
– Great performers are constantly getting better
– Champions don’t do things that are comfortable
Again a great photo, and I will be copying down those quotes. I love quotes.
I think this is another great article for steps 2 and beyond. It’s missing helping people with step 1, what are you good at? What should you focus on? Nobody can do anything they want, your brain is hard wired to be good at something and you can’t assume people know what it is. I have had thousands of direct reports in my career and found very few really can define their talents and what they are gifted at. I’m not talking about some vague response like “detail oriented”. I mean something really deep.
A great set of books on this are “First Break All the Rules” and “Strengths Finder”, both by Gallop Press. There is a teenager version of Strengths Finder as well that I will have each of my kids do when they turn 14. My oldest is 13 and I’m super excited to help her truly identify her strengths and giftings.
I’ve gone through this exercise for myself and my wife and we are both supremely happy compared to before. When you are able to directly apply your strengths to the above, that’s when you find true satisfaction because you are doing what you were meant to do and not something else. I have found dissatisfaction comes more from doing what your not gifted to do (along with some of the pieces in another article of yours), for every person I have helped identify their true talents and to execute on them daily and be the best version of themselves, they have all found real enjoyment in whatever it is they are doing.
Again, great article Lee, I look forward to what else you have to write.
So true!!! I think when you focus on using your talents instead of what will just make money, you start to find happiness around every turn. Will keep the books in mind too. Thanks.
Also for your bullet points, periods or no periods, not both 🙂