By Jim Connolly
In this article, I am going to show you why so few people ever achieve worthwhile success - but more importantly, I am going to show you how you can reverse the process in order to achieve anything you want!
When a salesperson has just broken their company’s sales record for the 3rd time in as many months, they never ask; “Why does this always happen to me?” Likewise, you will not hear this question uttered when a hard working student gets their 5th straight ‘A’ or the champion boxer successfully defends his world title for the 10th time. No, this question seems to be the sole domain of the serial-complainer!
Most people complain, but stay the same
I spoke recently to the owner of a retail outlet, who was complaining about her lack of passing trade. I asked her how long this had been a problem; “I’ve been here for 5 years now and we have never had any passing trade!” This lady was treating her business as if it were a 50 foot oak tree that could not be moved. When I suggested she relocate to a better position, she looked stunned; “But I like it here” she replied!
“If you always do what you have always done,
you will always get what you have always got!”
Cause and effect
If you have a recurring problem in your career, your business or in any area of your life; there is always a reason behind it - cause and effect! The challenge for most people is that they become comfortable with the status quo. They refuse to change and thus, keep having the same problems over and over again. For them, the problem is less painful than the thought of actually getting of their rear-end and DOING something about it!
Comfortable?
Have you ever heard a wealthy person described as being “comfortable” or “comfortably off”? Well, if that wealthy person made his or her fortune themselves, I can absolutely guarantee to you that they are NOT comfortable! In fact, all successful people NEED a level of discomfort in their lives! Successful people keep moving forward and to do this, they need to feel a certain level of discomfort with where they currently are. Do you honestly think Bill Gates kept running Microsoft for so long because he needed to make more money? Of course not! He kept going because he saw things that he wanted to improve.
In stark contrast, ‘the average person’ will do anything to avoid this feeling of discomfort!
That’s why the most successful products and services in our society are all aimed at helping us forget about the things we need to change! One of the fastest growing areas of the Internet is the development of ‘virtual worlds’. These virtual worlds have literally MILLIONS of members who ‘escape’ their real life for hours each day - pretending to be someone else!
The market for; gambling, credit cards, reality TV, alcohol, sporting events, loans and illegal drugs has exploded - because they all act as narcotics to take away the pain of looking at our lives and making the required improvements.
The universal law of ‘cause and effect’ applies to everyone, whether they admit it or not!
The truth is, most people are not actually asking a question when they say “why does this always happen to me” - they are simply making a statement! They are telling the world that bad things keep happening to them and the suggestion is that it’s not their own fault - it’s ‘just bad luck.’
They know why bad things keep happening, they are not looking for an answer - they are looking for an excuse!
There’s no magic or mystery here. We know that everything happens for a reason and as any scientist will confirm, it’s got NOTHING to do with luck!
Why does Tom’s boss take him for granted?
Simple, Tom’s obviously not providing his boss with something that his boss values. If he were, there’s no way it would continue! Cause and effect.
Why does Mary never have enough money?
Simple, Mary is either spending too much or she has not invested in increasing her market value to the salary she wants to earn. Cause and effect.
Why are my competitors doing better than my business?
Simple, they got professional marketing help BUT you tried to save money and handle your marketing yourself. Cause and effect.
Why did my sister get 200 Christmas cards when I only got 50?
Simple, she sent 250 cards out and I only sent 60. Cause and effect.
It’s all down to cause and effect - but isn’t that wonderful?
This means that YOU can have ANYTHING you want - WOW! All you need to do is decide what you actually want from your career, a business or any other area of your life and then commit to doing whatever is necessary in order to achieve it.
So, how do you find out what you need to do in order to have the career of your dreams, a profitable business or a life that excites you? Simple - start studying success, because ’success leaves clues!’
Start to study people who are successful in the areas of your life that YOU want to improve. Find someone who has already achieved whatever you want and ask them how they did it. Read books about people who have already achieved what you want to achieve and learn their ‘recipe for success’. Take someone out to lunch who already has something in their life that YOU want and ask them how they achieved it. Read the biographies of people who have achieved success and look for the magic that turned a thought into a fortune. There are also a number of other articles and guides on this blog, which will help you, so remember to take a look around!
Finally, allow yourself to experience some of the discomfort associated with whatever area of your life you want to change. That discomfort may well be the motivation you need in order to do what’s required to achieve your dreams and become what OTHER PEOPLE call; “comfortable!”
NEVER MISS A GREAT IDEA AGAIN!
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PS: If you found this useful, there are dozens of other free articles, guides and even a free audio program on my main website: www.jimconnolly.com
Filed under: personal development | Tagged: cause and effect, personal development
I can really relate to what Jim is saying here. For the first 35 years of my life I blamed everyone and everything for my lack of success and poor relationships. Then I realized that if I traced everything in my life backwards, it all led to decisions I TOOK! Good or bad, we are the creators of our own results.
Fantastic post Jim. I don’t know how you keep writing such powerful material but Im glad you do.
Rachael
Hello Rachael,
Thanks for your comment.
The real power comes when we realise that by changing our causes, we can change our effects. In other words - if we want a better future we can have it simply by planting the seeds of success in advance. We can copy what the most successful people do and dramatically improve our results extremely quickly.