Success in 2010

Olympians fulfilled their dreams in Vancouver, BC this year. They competed at the peak of their ability, and with the best performers in their sport.

In an earlier post, I gave you 3 reasons why you can just lay down and quit. But this is an Olympic year, so I feel obliged to balance that with 3 reasons why you should keep striving, keep working toward your goals, and hang onto your dreams.

Here are the 3 biggest reasons I’ve ever seen for taking hold of success:

1. I don’t have time

2. I don’t know what to do, and

3. I need help

I know what you’re thinking…These are the same reasons from the other article, right? How can they be reasons for quitting AND reasons for succeeding? Let’s have a look and find out…
I don’t have time

We’re all pressed for time. Mostly we want time to relax and enjoy ourselves, but I’m not talking about a vacation.

Imagine waking up in the morning – every morning – and knowing that you don’t have to report to a job. Feel the security that floods through you because you can decide how you’ll use your time today. That’s the most relaxing thing I can think of – a sense of security.

But how do you get there when every day is filled to bursting?

Let’s step back to that earlier post and look at something I wrote. Keep in mind that I chose my words rather carefully…

So let’s start with knowing we aren’t going to get everything done – today – that we want to get done.

The linchpin in that sentence is “want.” We’re looking at the things we want to do. Of course, we all know the difference between things we want to do and things we need to do. Which should be leading us to ask why we keep focusing on the “want” when doing the “need” naturally gets us both.

Consider an Olympian. At some point, she decided she wanted to compete in the Olympics. Now what was the very next thing she thought about? Right. She focused on what needed to be done to achieve that goal.

Well, our goal is to have more time. We want to have control over how we use our time, and that often translates into wanting financial security.

Okay. That’s cool. We know what we want, and even why we want it. That’s a great foundation for making a plan to get it. So what’s the next step?

Just like the Olympian, our next step is to plan what we need to do to achieve the want.

I don’t know what to do

You never have, you aren’t going to, and that’s what makes it fun!

When Bob Bly gave me my first writing assignment – Writing e-Books for Fun and Profit – I didn’t know what to do. It was my first big project, and I was intimidated by the prospect of writing for Bob.

When I started writing Friends, Followers and Customer Evangelists, I didn’t know how to use social media. That’s why I started writing the book. I figured most people would have the same sort of questions as me.

Now I’m looking for sponsors to do a book tour. I don’t know what I’m doing.

But there are people out there who do. I have a friend in Toronto who runs BizLaunch.ca. His name is Andrew and I’ve asked him for help. Then there’s the internet…You can bet I’ve done a couple of searches for information on writing sponsorship proposals.

Of course, David Hancock and Rick Frishman are helping me along. Since Morgan James Publishing is publishing Friends, Followers and Customer Evangelists it makes sense for them to help, right?

And what about the sponsors themselves? Since I’m a Rotarian, and the book tour is being arranged using the Rotary Districts as a roadmap, do you think potential sponsors are interested? And especially that they’re interested in reaching that target market of business owners who are active in their communities and live by the credo of Service Above Self?

You betcha!

Here’s the point: No one knows what to do until they take action.

Tim, my accountant, didn’t know how to write a good article. So he took action and asked me to coach him.

He made a small effort every day, and learned a little bit. That little bit, and the small effort, added up over time – just like compounding interest on an investment. Today, Tim writes a better article than most journalists.

I need help

These are words that come out of my mouth at least twice every single day.

Yes, I need help. You need help. Every business owner, mother, dad, and student would really like to have some help. Really, really…

The problem is that we’re looking for the wrong kind of help.

I’m forever saying “I wish there was someone to do this,” or “I wish I had an assistant.” Sure, having an assistant would take some of the load from my shoulders, but dreaming about it isn’t helping to get the work done. See what I mean?

As valuable as an assistant will be to me, I need a different kind of help to get through the day today.

Back up a second and look through the first two reasons for quitting again. Do you see how breaking things down into smaller, manageable tasks makes the time issue easier to handle?

It also makes the knowledge barrier smaller by breaking the learning down into easy steps. I didn’t know how to write a book for Bob, but I could handle researching one topic and writing 1,500 words about it. Put enough topics together and you get a book.

Tim didn’t know how to write a good article when we started. He put in the practice time, learned a few techniques, and now he’s a solid writer.

The cool part is that the help you want comes along while you’re making progress.

The “trick” is getting the help you need to make that progress. The help you need is support and encouragement. That comes from two places.

The first one is what you expect – a friend, family member, somebody you know who encourages you. That’s easy. The second one is something you might not have thought of – your role models.

When I want support, I look to what Jon Hansen is doing. I also look to Michel Fortin, Armand Morin, Connie Ragen Green, Dr. Jeanette Cates, Jeff Herring and several others who have “made it” in my industry. Studying their websites, reading their articles, and buying their products is a great source of support.

They make the learning a lot easier because they’re good examples to follow.

Are You Ready to Succeed?

There you have it. The 3 biggest reasons I’ve heard over the last two years for getting my life in gear and reaching for success. They’re also the 3 biggest reasons people use for not even getting started.

There’s a tag line I use when signing books: Life is a marathon. Be social. It’s slightly different for my e-mail signature: Life is a marathon. Be diligent. Finish strong.

In both cases, the core thought is the same: Life is a whole lot of days strung together.

One year from now…One day from now…That time is going to pass no matter what interval you choose. These next 24 hours are yours to use in any way you choose.

Choose success. Complete one task today that improves your mind, builds a better future, and makes you the person you want to be. Read 10 pages from a book, write the blog post you’ve been putting off (check – that’s done!), or tell somebody you love them.

It is that simple. One day, one choice at a time, we are all building our future. What will yours be?