“I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
Robert Frost quotes (American poet, 1874-1963)
There is a certain line of thinking in personal growth and development circles when it comes to achieving success. You can even find it among a lot of multi-level marketing presentations. "Dream Big!" they say. "Picture your dream house, your dream car, your dream vacation. Write down how much money you want to earn!" Out come the dreamboards, out come the pictures from the magazines, and you are ready to be successful.
Well, I read an article recently that surprised me. I found it to be very refreshing, in fact. That's the Wrong Path to Success! In fact, this author and speaker, after much study and research, found that most people who set their sights on big material goals usually end up quitting, running out of the fuel and gumption they need to produce the results that will bring them the material things they desire.
Before everything else, you must remember that there is no Get Rich Quick mentality here. Anything of excellence takes T-I-M-E. Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers: A Story of Success, found that those who were truly at the top of their field, practiced persistently for 10,000 hours before mastering the critical success factors of their areas of excellence. I have heard that Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, top NBA basketball players, were often the first on the court, and the last off the court. They would practice earlier, longer, and harder than any of the others. And it showed!!
The first factor of success is to find out what you Love to Do. What are your passions? What excites you? What gets you up in the morning? What do you find yourself losing yourself in when you work on it? Too many people think that they need to work in a career that will pay a lot of money. Unfortunately, when they put the money first, they lose interest in what they are doing, and therefore are not able to produce at the level they need to. However, when you put what you love to do first, most often the money will follow.
Pay attention to this, in addition. The second factor of success is that you need to determine, once for all, that you will Be the Best you can be. What does this mean?
It means that you will need to focus! You cannot get too scattered, something that I have been guilty of at times. You must take the time to master the elements of your career. Brian Tracy has recommended a couple of ideas: First, take about one hour per day to read in your field. Personally, I don't have an hour to devote every day. However, I have thought of some practical steps I can take: I can order podcasts that I can listen to while I drive. I can turn off the tube and use that time to read and study in my field. Just by doing these two things, I will be far ahead of the average person, who may read one hour per week or one hour per month, or one hour per year!
Also, it means that, while you love what you do, you have got to be willing to roll up your sleeves and work hard! What kind of an attitude do you approach your work with? Do you approach it enthusiastically, gratefully, and energetically? Do you come in early and stay late? Do you give more than is required? Your attitude toward your job, your determination to overdeliver value, and your commitment to work hard, hard, hard, will determine how excellent you become.
So, do you want the big yacht, the dream vacation, the home in Hawaii, millions of dollars? Your on the Wrong Path if that is your main focus and motivation.
Do you want to serve God and serve others by providing top notch, excellent service that will blow their socks off? Are you willing to dedicate yourself to setting a personal vision and goals that include becoming the Best You Can Be in your career/industry/job/business? If so, the law of indirect results states that the money will much more likely follow when you are focused on giving this type of service to your Creator and to others. And you will be on the Right Path to success.
If you wish to read more on this subject, check out this post from Jeffrey Gittomer, who posted the following great article, Good, Better, or Best? over at Success Magazine.
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