Limiting Belief – Page 5

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?

Discover a New Idea

I find it interesting that when I get intrigued by something, I am willing to put in the time and effort to learn more. It is not an unusual trait. You have probably experienced the same effect.

It starts with a new awareness. A fact that I was not aware of previously. Then I feed that curiosity with a simple search on the internet which produces a list ready to be explored.

After clicking and following a few leads, one of two things happen. Either I find my curiosity satisfied, and I am willing to move on, or I find my curiosity increasing.

As I continue to pursue more knowledge, the search process transforms into research. I find myself taking notes. I begin to organize and analyze data. Has this ever happened to you?

This can lead to taking action. Trying something new. Taking the knowledge and putting it to use.

For a thought to turn into action, and make it through all those obstacles, it must be linked to an outcome you desire. The desire for a new outcome is what allows us to dig deeper, solve problems, and tolerate mistakes. For me, and maybe for you also, only a few ideas survive this process.

It is difficult for us as human beings to change our behaviors. But yet all of our new actions or new behaviors begin with a single thought.

Usually I am intrigued by ideas that are related to my business, or my area of expertise. But sometimes inspiration comes from completely unrelated ideas.

I can tell you I am not very effective in this entire process. I am not sure anyone can be. Is our curiosity always bigger than our ability to follow through?

It only takes following through with one idea to make a huge improvement in your results. Also the time to research an idea in 2015 is a fraction of the time it would have taken in 1985. So we do research more. But do we take action faster also?

This process has lead me to be curious about how I could be more productive, yet more innovative, and even more curious than I am today.

Maybe we should do more searches, some of them even random.

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?

The Crucial Steps in Taking Advantage of Opportunities

One of my mentors explained to me that being in the right place at the right time has nothing to do with success. Instead, it’s critical to be in the right place at the right time with the preparations and awareness required to take advantage of the situation.

How critical is it? Imagine being in a public place requiring medical attention because you have stopped breathing. Who will be able to help you? Will it be someone that just happens to be there? Probably not. It will be the person that is trained in CPR and aware that you need help.

Think of the opportunities you want. Are you prepared with the proper skills, abilities, and services? How will you recognize the need? Do you have what is necessary to allow you to take advantage of the situations that occur throughout your day?

1. Increase Your Awareness. Increased awareness will help you see an opportunity. Learn from others. Spend some time with people that have accomplished what you want to accomplish. Connect with a mentor or coach. Discuss your experiences, and learn from their experience. Develop the ability to recognize when you can add value to a situation. Sometimes you may even need to slow down to become aware of the people and events around you.

2. Be Prepared. To achieve the highest levels of success, you must continuously invest in yourself. The world changes, and your skills become outdated if you are not growing. This is not just a phenomenon in technology. You can observe this in terms of generational differences between people. The success you desire exists within a dynamic world. To embrace it, you must continue to transform also.

Awareness and preparation is the foundation for success, but it also requires that you follow through with action. It is the awareness and preparation that will give you the confidence to act. In most cases this means stepping out of your comfort zone, because that is where the highest levels of success are found.

When have you found yourself prepared and in the right place at the right time? When have you recognized an opportunity but realized you were not quite prepared?