GrasshopperNotes.com - Thoughts for inspired living


March 3, 2014

Unwilling to Participate

Filed under: Uncategorized — John Morgan @ 8:48 am

C703875 mLike everyone, I have my hot buttons. I don’t get hooked by them as much as I used to but I still have my moments.

One of my most “sizzling” ones is the funhouse mirror logic many people have bought into that they don’t have to participate in their own success. They passively expect success without participation, as though attaining success is akin to getting a massage.

I know countless people who have gone to real estate seminars where they present all the ways you can make money in real estate. I’m only guessing here but I’m willing to bet that the number of people who actually make money in real estate as a result is less than 5%.

Did they receive bad information? I don’t think so. The methods presented all work when you work at them. How many times have you heard that someone “tried” a diet and it didn’t work? “I tried the chocolate covered snails diet and it didn’t work.” All diets, no matter how bizarre, work. You just have to continue to work at them.

What’s not being said is, “I expect results without having to do all the work.” That is a fairy tale that will never become a reality.

“I prayed and prayed and I didn’t get what I wanted.” What did you “do and do” to get what you desired? Did you participate in your own success?

Years ago, I got the best piece of advice when I was out of work. I was at a Richard Bolles seminar in 1980 and heard this: “When you’re unemployed, your full-time job is seeking employment.” He went on to add that if your normal job required 8 hours of work a day, you needed to spend 8 hours each day that you were unemployed looking for work.

“I just can’t find anything.” “No one is hiring.” “The job market is soft.”

“Did you work 8 hours a day looking for work?”

“Well, I made some calls, sent out some emails and they didn’t get back to me.”

Think about the absurdity of the next statement which I’ve heard hundreds of times: “I joined a gym but it didn’t work for me.”

“Did you go to the gym regularly?” “Did you do the exercises they recommended?” “Did you do more than pay your fee and buy a cool workout outfit?”

The level of expectation that people expect without participation is enormous, in fact, epidemic.

Just once, I’d like to hear someone say, “I’m just not willing to work that hard to get what I say I want.” That response would be rarer than a politician answering the question you asked.

If you are unwilling to participate in your own success, you will remain unsuccessful with a litany of stories as to why something didn’t work.

You and your actions are the main characters in your success story. If you’re always a bridesmaid and never a bride, the probability is high that you’ve never gotten behind the wheel – you’re just along for the ride.

There is a certain amount of luck involved in any success but it plays a cameo role compared to the star of the show – Participation.

All the best,

John



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