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Take this quick 15 second quiz:
True or False: You are competing against hundreds, if not thousands of other people to get the career, income, and life you want.
True or False: One of the biggest challenges to getting ahead is beating that competition.
The answer to both is FALSE.
The truth is, employers are always looking for employees that can make them more money. Customers are always looking for businesses and contractors that can solve their problems and make their life easier. And the pie of life is big enough for anyone to have a slice. A very large slice, if that’s what you want. Hooray for a slice of apple pie as big as your head, right?
This is GOOD NEWS for you because it means there are plenty of opportunities even where you may think opportunities don’t exist.
People who succeed in life don’t waste much time with the competition. They focus on the things that will improve themselves, and the qualities that others are looking for. This makes it easy to get the opportunities that pass other people by.
How People Self-Sabotage Their Potential For Success
Here are the problems that cause people to not get ahead:
- they give into fear
- they don’t take chances
- they procrastinate on their goals
- they lack discipline
- they quit too soon
- they do not learn from failure
- they waste time with negative people
- they are lazy
- they are late
- they do not improve their skills
- they follow bad advice
The fact is too many people talk themselves out of success. They falsely believe they can’t get ahead. Or if they start to get ahead, they do something to sabotage it because on some strange level, they feel they don’t deserve success. So, they think ‘why bother’, and then use excuses about ‘the system’, ‘the rich’, ‘this situation’.
It’s kinda like the sad parent who tells their child they will never amount to anything. When it was the parent who never amounted to anything. And that kid struggles to break free from those beliefs.
What or Who Are You Competing Against?
The way to overcome the competition in life is pretty simple. The vast majority of people have habits and values that keep them from being a success. If you can identify and avoid them, you’re already one step ahead.
- Fear of failure. Everyone is afraid of failing. Read that again. The difference between people who get ahead is they just barge right through those feelings. Every failure is a learning opportunity. It’s funny because at the gym, they call it ‘going to failure’ when lifting barbells. The only way to get stronger IS to fail. You do need a spotter to keep the barbell from crushing your rib cage though.
- Fear of success. Weird, right? Lots of people aren’t used to success. When they get it, somehow, they find a way to mess it up. They just don’t believe they are worthy of greater things. It’s like the people who complain about having more money, and they think ‘well, I’ll just have to pay more taxes!’. I say, bring on more taxes baby. It means you’re making money.
- Lack of discipline. Big goals don’t get achieved overnight. It’s why the get-rich-quick industry is so successful at ripping people off. I believe anyone can build wealth over time. Anyone can get-rich-slowly. It’s when the tough times happen, that people give up. They lose sight of the reasons they started something to begin with.
Most people have or do one of those things, and it keeps them from success. Avoid those things and you’re so far ahead of everyone else it will be like having a 13–0 lead in a soccer game (go women’s soccer!).
3 Keys To Success
So, here’s how to set yourself up for success in your business, money, and life:
1. Do the things that matter.
Figure out what is necessary to succeed and do more of that. Every. Single. Day.
The inverse of this is – start getting rid of the things that don’t.
I’m not talking about stuff, having a garage sale, or ’tidying up’. But anything that doesn’t move you forward.
I’ve dropped out of three business groups over the past five years, because it go to where they were just consuming time. I’ve remained in one, because it helps move me forward.
- Do you belong to any Facebook Groups that just ‘consume time’?
- Do you have 18 hobbies, instead of mastering ‘just one’?
- Do you spend hours on things that should take minutes if you focused more?
2. Learn the difference between expenses and investments.
One takes money out of your pocket, while one has the ability to put more money IN your pocket.
I’ve been in business for myself for over 15 years. Up until the past several years, everything was an ‘expense’. Even vacations were an ‘expense’. Now I see the value of education, conferences, riding in helicopters to the tops of glaciers, as ‘an investment’. In business, family, and the ability to make more money.
- Is a marriage counselor an expense? Not if it saves a marriage.
- Is an accountant an expense? Not if they save you on taxes.
- Is a new laptop an expense? Not if lets you work more efficiently and effectively to increase your income.
Trim your expenses so you can increase your investments.
3. Make a decision.
Most people procrastinate and can’t decide on opportunities.
Successful people don’t delay. They act. They set a time for making a decision and execute. I read recently two weeks is a good maximum amount of time to decide. Yes or No, then do it. If the decision doesn’t work out, stop doing it and make a new one.
My wife Katie & I once had a booth at a cat show (yes, this is true). It was supposed to be for two days. After the first day (really after about 4 hours) we decided it was a waste of time. We packed up early, left and didn’t come back the second day.
Other people that don’t decide or can’t decide, will be that way for a long time. That’s not you. You must have the belief that you can, and also be aware that others won’t. Which is an advantage for you. So, take advantage of it.
These simple changes will infinitely further your success compared to the people who won’t do what you just read.
If you missed yesterday’s show (maybe you were busy at a cat show too?), please listen to Molly’s success story. She and her husband paid off $50,000 in student loans in just five years.
How To Get Started Investing
The international bestseller by CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Scott Alan Turner. Choose the right accounts & investments so your money grows for you – automatically. No jargon, confusion, or pie in the sky promises. Just a proven plan that works.
