The words, “Need to know” popped into my head when I opened my word processor this morning, so I haven’t a clue where this goes. Buckle your seatbelt and let’s take an off-road adventure together and see where we go.

My sense is that “Need to know” is sensitive or privileged information that is given to only a few.

The question I have is: Why was I kept out of that loop?

Am I too dense to comprehend the information? Am I a blabbermouth? Does it not concern me in the least? Am I not to be trusted with it?

Those are all thoughts that get in the way of me knowing what others already know. If I’m too focused on my thoughts about why I was left out, I’m ignoring the actions that others are taking who got this secret information.

Perhaps you never got the money memo. You know, the one that tells you how to make money. Since you were not on the need to know list, there is another way. Find the people who are making money and find out what they do and do it.

It also works in reverse. Suppose your parents were overweight and you are overweight as well. You did get the overweight memo, but you don’t want to be heavy. Reverse the role modeling – See what your parents do/did and don’t do that.

There are no secrets to success; there are plans and actions that will get you to a specific destination. You just have to find and follow them.

The finding is easy. Find someone who has what you want and find out their formula. Autobiographies are filled with such information. Informational interviews with successful folks is another avenue. Most successful people I know are willing to share their strategies. You just have to ask.

Following is where our efforts fall apart. Look at the typical gym membership. You found the neighbor who is in the shape you want to be in. You got their formula directly from them and you headed off to the same gym. The difference? You may not have followed through.

Follow-through is a quality of all successful people. It’s the secret formula in all the “need to know” memos.

Now you know. So every excuse you make from this point forward just shines a spotlight on your failure to follow through.

Plans without follow-through are dreams that die.

Following through is a habit. It’s one worth developing. It’s a transferable skill, so you can practice it in any area of your life and it will transfer over to other areas as well.

That means to find something small and follow through on it. Then find another small desire and follow through on that too. You are developing the habit of following through. It may seem that you are working on something too small to make a difference until you do it often enough that it begins to show up in bigger areas of your life.

Success sneaks up on you when you follow through. This is something I thought you needed to know.

All the best,

John