Category: Goals

How to Use Desire to Achieve Success

We spend much of our time fulfilling other people’s desire. We have responsibilities, loyalties, relationships, and requirements for which we are committed. How much time do we spend on our own desire?

I don’t ask this question in a selfish manner, but from the perspective of our grand plan for success in our life. Napoleon Hill in his book, Think and Grow Rich, said, “The starting point of all achievement is DESIRE. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat.”

Sometimes another person’s desire becomes our desire. But at other times, we need to know our real desire. I have a friend and mentor who loves to ask the question, “What do you want? What do you really, really want?” Unless we spend some time really thinking about our desire, we may never have the ability to really achieve what we want.

The most significant achievements develop from the desire that resides within us. We need to be able to tap into that desire with certainty, inspiration, and effort.

Even when we discover our desire, we must be prepared for obstacles. It was Dan Brown that wrote, “Men go to far greater lengths to avoid what they fear than to obtain what they desire.” It is common to observe this in our own actions from time to time.

To achieve great things, we need to have great clarity in our desire. Desire must be greater than our fear in the required actions to achieve.

How often do you reflect on your desire for success or achievement? What do you really, really want?

Why Is It So Hard to Be Intentional?

Yesterday I attended the event, Get Motivated Indy. I enjoyed the day, the speakers, the messages, the offers.  But yet, I found myself thinking about why it is so hard to stay motivated, and intentional with our actions. The speakers had everyone energized, excited, and ready to take action. Of course, we know that talking about action is easier than taking action.

I am curious about how many people will follow through with their intentions after yesterday’s event. From my experience the percent is very small. Change is a process, not an event. We can gain inspiration from the event, but that rarely turns into the motivation to make changes in our life. We often lack the persistence to stick with it. We fail to do the work. We fail to change our ideas into actions.

One of my mastermind groups just finished a 15 week study on growing through failure. Our final discussion was about how difficult it is to embrace failure and take risks, even when we know we must. We know risk is the path to success. We know growth happens outside the comfort zone. But yet, it is still hard.

Success is not easy. People want easy. What is going to motivate you to take action? What is going to motivate you through failure? What is going to give you the perseverance to learn from your mistakes?

These are questions that we should continually be asking ourselves. I know this much. It comes from within. You can’t find motivation from a speaker, a book, an event. You can find knowledge. You can find inspiration. But you will not gain motivation.

From yesterday’s event, I discovered some actions and ideas that I want to pursue. Actions I want to be intentional about accomplishing. But the motivation to follow through must come from me.

Why is this important to understand? We are bombarded by motivational messages. They are helpful, only when they touch us in a way that we have a desire to respond. If we are impacted by them, we need to search within ourselves for the motivation to act and be persistent.

How does that happen? I think our motivation is strongest when we have clarity about our purpose, our passion, our goals, our values, and our desired legacy. When we find ourselves inspired and it is aligned with what we want and who we are, we become empowered. Many people fail to become clear on what it is they want to achieve, and why they want to achieve it. Unfortunately, this prevents people from becoming highly motivated.

When you find yourself lacking motivation, what helps you get back on track?

 

5 Fundamental Lessons to Change Your Thinking About Risk

The more you risk failure, and actually fail, the greater your chances of success. It is rare that anything of value is created or accomplished during the first attempt. Failure, reflection, evaluation, adjustment, and persistence creates your path for success.

Most of us limit the risks we take. We work to avoid failure. We view failure as a negative, and become stuck in our comfort zone. We want more, but are unwilling to risk more.

Here are four lessons that may help you view risk from a different perspective.

1. Who cares if you look bad? Sometimes it is better to care less about looking good. Don’t let the fear of looking bad keep you from taking a risk. Would you rather look good, or find success? Step back and ask yourself this simple question, “Who cares if I look bad?” You normally don’t look good doing something the first time. So just do it.

2. Why are you waiting? Are you waiting for the perfect circumstances before taking action? If you find yourself continually evaluating your options, and gathering more data, stop analyzing. Stop thinking about why you need to wait, and think about why you need to act. You will never have all the data. The faster you move forward, the faster you reach success.

3. Do you have a budget? Create your own budget for risk and failure. Set a goal for your failures. The budget can be based on money, time, or effort. It could include all three. Plan on spending it every month. Make it a habit. This practice provides visibility to how much risk you are actually taking.

4. Where is your inspiration? Is your inspiration based on the value you place on your goal? This may seem obvious. But when your actions are driven by the wrong motives, this question may remind you to get back on track. Are you inspired and motivated by the right reasons? When your values and actions are aligned, you will find risks easier to accept. You are able to move forward faster.

You may read these questions, and think this does not apply to me. I take risks. I am action oriented. It may be true. However, my experience has shown, no matter what level of risk you are used to, everyone has the opportunity to grow in this area. We tend to overestimate the risks we actually take.

This week’s challenge is to evaluate where you are taking risk, and where you are risk adverse. Challenge yourself to find the opportunities that are waiting for you. You may discover something great that you have been avoiding.

The 6 P’s Shape Your Daily Success

Last week I had a cold, and didn’t accomplish much. I just didn’t have the energy and engagement that I needed to be effective. But the world continued on as if nothing was different. The cold impacted me and my perspective and not the rest of the world.

It made me realize that whether I have a cold or not, my results are based on how I view and interact with the world. It is up to me to make every day count. So as a reminder to myself I came up with the 6 P’s of making sure I have a great day.

1) Passion. I must love doing what I love. I am driven by what is important to me. I want my day to be driven by passion.

2) Purpose. If today is going to count, I have to know what I want to achieve. I like to define my  purpose and intent each today.

3) Perspective. How does my purpose fit with what else is happening around me? When I have a good sense of perspective I am more effective. Perspective provides me awareness and a positive attitude for the day.

4) Process. I convert my ideas and my plan into results through action. I must proactively process my daily challenges and tasks. I have to be focused on getting work done.

5) Persistence. Life is difficult. I can give up, or I can be persistent. I choose to be persistent.

6) Pep. Being energized helps me be my best. If I am tired, I will not have a great day. If I want to be at my best, I need to have the energy to stay focused all day.

When I make a plan that includes all 6 of these, I will have a great day. A day full of success. No one else can provide these aspects to my life. It is up to me. The responsibility to have a great day rests on my shoulders. So the next time I have a bad day, I know who to blame.

Do you want to explore coaching? From coaching you can expect to get clarity about your purpose and your goals, your action plans, and your follow through. If you want to learn more, contact me and let’s schedule a session.