Catapult to Success

Are you as successful as you would like to be? If you aren’t, it simply means that you still have something to learn about success, doesn’t it?

Do you believe that success is a learnable skill? Of course it is! But you have to be WILLING to learn, right?

So let’s take a look at the three qualities necessary to learn how to be successful.

➢ Willingness to Change
➢ Continuously Growing Yourself
➢ Be the Best

The first quality I will discuss is to have a Willingness to Change.

According to T. Harv Eker, author of NY Times best-selling book, The Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, the three most dangerous words in the English language are: “I KNOW THAT.”

Why are they the most dangerous? Because as soon as you utter those words, you are no longer open to learning! You already know! And as soon as you believe you already know something, what happens? You stop paying attention! What if that person was going to tell you something new? Something crucial that was important for you to know? You just shut down. Could that make a difference? Sure it could!

Do you agree that the world is constantly changing? Wouldn’t you agree that it is changing more and more rapidly these days? If you don’t stay open to changing, what will happen? You’ll be left behind, won’t you?

Years ago, I worked for Digital Equipment Corporation. It was a huge company in its heyday. In fact, it was a real privilege to work for them! They were the inventors of the mini-computer! Before Digital, computers were as big as rooms. But Digital revolutionized automation in small businesses by producing computers that were the size of refrigerators or even as small as stoves. They were booming!

But they made a fatal error. They forgot to grow and keep up with the changing times.

When personal computers came out, they thought no one would want them. Hah! Everyone has a computer these days. And I’ll bet some of you even have more than one computer, don’t you? Needless to say, as personal computers infiltrated more and more of the market, the demand for Digital Equipment’s mini computers went down, and they ended up going out of business.

Remember – be open to change.

The second quality is Continuously Growing Yourself.

What is the most important result in the journey to success? Is it the money? Is it the big home? Is it the fancy car? Or perhaps the grand annual vacations? Actually, the most important result is WHO YOU BECOME! To be successful, you must grow yourself!

Napoleon Hill says that 90% of success is HOW you THINK and 10% of success is your skillset. His book was called “THINK and Grow Rich,” not “Work Hard and grow Rich.”

So, how can you THINK like a successful person? Do what Napoleon Hill did. Watch what successful people do and model them!

Here is a list of some ideas on ways you can learn to think like a successful person:
➢ Listen to audios by people who are already successful
➢ Watch DVDs that successful people have made
➢ Go to success-building seminars and workshops
➢ Hang out with successful people
➢ Read books about success

Speaking of books, do you like to read books? A mentor of mine, Kevin Trudeau, says Leaders are always Readers. Do you want to be a Leader? Then read books. Did you know that if you read a book like Think and Grow Rich for 20 minutes a day at the same time each day that you will actually change yourself within the next 30 days? You will! Just that simple action will make a difference because you are establishing habits of discipline and you are feeding your mind. Reading books actually triggers new neuro-pathways in your brain because you are using your imagination. Get in that habit of reading for 20 minutes a day and watch your life change!

The BEST way to learn is by doing! Even if you fail, or maybe even ESPECIALLY if you fail, you will learn, IF you are open to learning from your mistakes. They are mis-takes – opportunities to try again. How many ways did Edison learn NOT to make a lightbulb? As Rocky Balboa said in the movie, “It’s not about how many times you fall down, it’s about how many times you GET BACK UP!”

So remember, keep growing yourself, especially by taking action and gaining valuable the experience that leads to true wisdom.

The third quality is to Be the Best.

Who do you think gets paid the most? An expert, or someone who is just mediocre?
An expert does! And how do you become an expert? According to Malcolm Gladwell, it takes 10,000 to master something, and so you must practice, for 10,000 hours.

How many of you have heard the expression, “Practice Makes Perfect?” Do you believe that? NOOO! Practice makes Permanent!

What if someone teaches you the WRONG way to swing a golf club? Are you going to win any tournaments? No! You need to learn from an EXPERT Golf Pro, and THEN you practice what you learned from them. The saying should be PERFECT Practice makes Perfect.

The best athletes practice constantly. That’s what you have to do to be successful. You practice until it becomes easy, and then you continue to practice so that you stay that good.

How many of you ever played a musical instrument? Well, if you don’t pick up that instrument for several years, will you still play as good as you did when you were practicing every day? NO! Of course not!

So, remember, you must learn from the best, and then practice, practice, practice constantly so you can be the best.

When you develop the good habits of being willing to change, continuous self-growth, and practicing to be and stay the best, you will catapult to success!