Post date: Nov 23, 2010 7:7:41 PM
The biggest roadblock we face when trying to implement
something new in our lives is our own mind. When we read or
hear the material we become excited, we say, "I can do
this", or even better "I will do this". We see the
importance of the principles taught and if we are wise we
will implement them into our daily lives. The problem is,
"Life happens".
The world is programming our minds every day; it does notwant anyone to excel. You have all hear of the crab in thebucket story; if you put one crab in a bucket it will climbright out. If you place several crabs in a bucket they willnot let each other climb out, they will continue to pulleach other back down. People are not much different thancrabs, we have a difficult time allowing those around us toexceed beyond our own achievements. We would rather havepeople maintain the same level of discouragement that wehave, rather than help them excel to greater heights.Many of us do this without even thinking about it. We wouldrather bring others down than to admit that we could haveexcelled right along with them if we would have put our mindto it. Most people do not want to leave their nice littlecomfort zone of failure. It's easier for people to say, "Ijust can't do it", and stay where they are then to trysomething new and risk failing. "Only those who will risk
going too far can possibly find out how far one can go"!
(T.S. Elliot) What if you fail; what do you loose? Possibly
some pride; you need to loose that anyway. If you fail are
you any worse off than before. No, you are still better off.
One of my older brothers worked for years on an idea he had
that could revolutionize the trucking industry. He borrowed
twenty thousand from a bank and started pushing the idea. It
was only about six months before he realized the idea wasn't
working. In his mind he had just lost twenty thousand
dollars. I beg to differ; he just gained an education he
could never have paid for with twenty thousand dollars. He
received an education on how to run a business, structure an
S-Corp, secure a business loan, hire employees and sale a
product not to mention the mental aspects of doing something
on your own. He understands the difficulty of self-discipline
being the boss, being solely responsible for getting out of
bed and making sure you are turning a profit each and every
day.
Give me a University that teaches a program like that, it
just isn't out there. The only place knowledge like that can
be learned is in the University of Hard Knocks. If we fail to
recognize the lessons that can be taught from the trials and
failures in life we will miss eighty percent of the
opportunities for growth. People who are afraid of looking
stupid and refuse to try new things are missing many
opportunities for growth. I would rather try to reach new
heights and fail and have the knowledge gained from the
experience than to sit there and do nothing. People have a
hard time letting go of old habits. You've heard the saying,
"Old habits die hard," well it's true. For example, when my
wife and I were first married we had a few things we did
differently.
One of the things I did that irritated her was, after I left
a room I would turn off the light, even if I was coming right
back to the room. She once told me to leave the lights on
because it used more electricity to turn the light on and
off then it did just by leaving them on. When she first told
me her theory I almost fell over laughing. A word of advise
to couples, laughing and mocking your newly-wed wife about
her beliefs no matter how bazaar, is not a good idea. It
took a quick little lesson on electricity and how electrons
worked before my wife stopped complaining.
We all have beliefs and none of us want to admit for a
minute that any of them could be wrong. Many people will
keep walking down the same path of failure rather than
correct their mistakes and face the fact that they are
wrong. It is never easy to step out of your comfort zone.
It's warm and familiar in there, but it's out there where
the growth takes place. Once you step out of your comfort
zone and begin to excel you will realize how damaging
staying there for so long was. When you decide to step out
of your nice little comfort zone and change something in
your life is when you will start to see real results.
Too many times in our lives we let the fear of failure stop
us from doing what we want to do. We need to take that fear
and turn it into positive energy. I believe the best way to
assure success is by being prepared. A world champion runner
does not get to be a world champion by putting on nice
running shoes and getting some tight spandex. That world
champion runner will practice for hours per day and for many
years. Start today, do something different today, simply
drive home a different way; start small if you must but
please start today!
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