"I like for things to happen and if they don’t happen I like to make them happen."— Winston Churchill
2008 has arrived and it's time for making resolutions and goals destined to end in failure and frustration. Sounds pretty negative, huh? It is, but merely having a positive attitude won't change your outcome. In fact, just about now the majority of the New Year's enthusiasts' passions are already beginning to wear off. For most, 2008 will be a virtual replay of 2007--or worse, a virtual replay of every year of the last ten years!
Of course, there will be a few people who finish what they start and make 2008 their best year ever. Lets call these people the 5% club. The 5% club realize it takes more than passion to create success in any endeavor. Without the right plan--and a great dose of tenacity--you can forget about accomplishing anything life-changing.
The reality is, you can achieve your goals with or without passion. That's right, even if you're a miserable person and hate all the day long, executing the right plan and sticking with it will still bring you great results. On the other hand, the most positive person in the world achieves nothing relying on passion and poor planning. And adding hard work to the mix simply enables you to fail harder. Truly, an overly positive attitude may be the very thing preventing you from spurring change. After all, if you think everything is fine already, why bother putting in the hard effort to effect change? To be fair, neither is an overly negative attitude the way to go. If you see no hope--why bother trying? The truth is both positive and negative perceptions are irrelevant. What is relevant? An effective plan, putting it into action and the resolve to never give up.
I'll say it again: passion is not enough. Far from it. I feel irritation when I hear people saying passion is the most critical factor to success. I know plenty of passionate people who love what they do yet barely make ends meet. Every one of their businesses have been stuck in first gear for years, and they continue going nowhere fast. Do they love their work? Sure, and loving what you do is nice and a very important factor in overall happiness but every one of these people to whom I refer wish they made more money. They front contentment with what their present situations but in the back of their minds (and in their hearts) they desire more than merely getting by.
Earning a desirable income and achieving an abundant lifestyle requires more than passion. For that matter, achieving your training goals takes more than passion. Passion is fickle and can dissipate at any moment--and then what do you do? If you're like most people, you give up, couch it, and go back to watching your nightly four hours of reality TV.
In relying on passion as a primary motivation, you're actually doing yourself a disservice because no matter what you're doing in life, you won't feel passionate about it all of the time. There will be times when you dread working out or putting in long hours on the job. What separates successful people from unsuccessful people is this: successful people are willing to do what needs to be done regardless of their feelings about it. Whether enthusiasm is high or low, the work gets done and this is what makes a professional in the game of life.
There are parts of my business I love, such as kettlebell workshops and designing personalized client programs, and there are less enjoyable aspects, like writing ad copy for my products and services. Yet good promotional copy is a critical component of my business and it's why I make a great living and a major reason why I enjoy life.
Without good web placement and a content-rich site to attract people, no one would know about my workshops, services, and DVDs. Without following through on those activities I might not find enjoyable, I wouldn't have the chance to experience the exhilarating side of my business--which is helping people. Whether writing and posting free articles, producing DVDs or presenting workshops, I enjoy helping people, and I'm passionate about it, but it all amounts to nothing without my marketing expertise which I am not so passionate about. Without that I'd be without customers. So while I may not enjoy marketing and promotion tasks, they are vital to my success and I'm glad for my adeptness. I know a lot of people lacking those abilities and, lets just say, I don't want to be in their shoes. Many people simply tell me they don't want to do what they don't enjoy. This is their excuse for being a marketing moron. Well, if you work for yourself and survival is an instinct you possess, you better learn the rules of marketing. More importantly if thriving is something you want, then it is critical that you take your success into your own hands and learn the art of marketing and promotion.
Another crucial component of success? Multi-skills competence. For example, being a gifted strength trainer is not nearly enough in and of itself. You must be able to promote yourself and manage your time intelligently. Some of you might think those things can be outsourced, and that's fine, if you have a nice bank roll ready. But what if you're just getting started or simply have more time than money? Make no mistake: the more things you can do on your own, the less you need rely on others--and the less you rely on others, the more power you have in your life. No doubt delegation is important and you cannot learn everything well. However, that is no excuse for failing to understand at the least the basics of several arenas such as accounting, website design, marketing, networking skills, and public speaking skills. Once you become more successful you can outsource things you do not enjoy to others and focus on what you love to do. Until then, get ready to be a jack of all trades for a while.
I'll continue this topic in the next issue. For now, happy New Year to you and your families and here's to doing what needs to be done to join the 5% this year...and the rest of your life.
Live Life Aggressively
www.mikemahler.com
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