In my home, we consider success to be vital to our family's future survival. My wife and I are on the same page with this; we meet often to talk about why it is so important and determine exactly what we have to do to keep secondary issues out of the way. I don't just mean success in monetary terms but in every area—our marriage, health, religion, contributions to the community, and future—even long after we are gone. You have to approach the notion of success the way good parents approach their duty to their children; it's an honor, an obligation, and a priority. Good parents will do whatever it takes to take care of their children. They will get up in the middle of the night to feed their baby, work as hard as they have to in order to clothe and feed their children, fight for them, even put their lives at risk to protect them. This is the same way you must envision success.
Quit Lying to Yourself
It is fairly common for people who don't get what they want to provide justifications—and even lie to themselves—by minimizing how valuable success is to them. It's easy to spot this trend in our society today within entire demographics and population segments. You can read it in books, hear it in church, and see it promoted in schools. For example, children who can't get what they want will fight for a little while, cry for a bit, and then convince themselves that they never wanted it in the first place. It is entirely okay to admit that you wanted something that didn't come to fruition. In fact, this is the only thing that will help you eventually reach that goal—despite the obstacles you'll encounter along the way.
Even the most fortunate and well-connected people among us must do something to put themselves in the right places at the right times in front of the right people. As I mentioned at the end of a previous chapter, luck is just one of the byproducts of those who take the most action. The reason why successful people seem lucky is because success naturally allows for more success. People create magical momentum by reaching their goals, which compels them to set—and eventually reach—even loftier goals. Unless you are privy to the action, you don't see or hear about the number of times the successful went for it and failed; after all, the world pays attention only when they're winning. Colonel Sanders, who made Kentucky Fried Chicken famous, pitched his idea more than 80 times before anyone bought the concept. It took Stallone only three days to write the script for Rocky, and the movie grossed $200 million, but when he wrote it, he had no money to his name, couldn't afford to heat his apartment, and even had to sell his dog for $50 just to be able to buy food. Walt Disney was laughed at for his idea of an amusement park, and yet now people all over the world spend $100 a ticket and save up their whole lives just to have a family vacation at Disney World. Don't be confused by what looks like luck to you. Lucky people don't make successful people; people who completely commit themselves to success seem to get lucky in life. Someone once said, “The harder I work, the luckier I get.”
We can even take this one step further: If you are able to repeatedly attain success, it becomes less of a “success” and more of a habit—almost everyday life for some people. Successful people have even been described as having a certain magnetism—some “x factor” or magical charm that seems to surround and follow them. Why? Because successful individuals approach success as a duty, obligation, and responsibility—and even a right! Let's say that there's an opportunity for success in the vicinity of two people. Do you think it will end up with the person who believes success is his or her duty—who reaches out and grabs it—or the one who approaches it with a “take-it-or-leave-it” attitude? I think you know the answer.
And despite the oft-used phrase, there is no such thing as an “overnight success.” Success always comes as a result of earlier actions—no matter how seemingly insignificant they are or how long ago they were taken. Anyone who refers to a business, product, actor, or band as an overnight success neglects to understand the mental stakes that certain individuals have made in order to forge this path. They don't see the countless actions taken before these people actually created and acquired their much-deserved victory.
Success comes about as a result of mental and spiritual claims to own it, followed by taking necessary actions over time until it is acquired. If you approach it with any less gusto than your ethical and moral duty, obligation, and responsibility to your family, your company, and your future, you will most likely not create it—and have even more difficulty keeping it.
I guarantee that when you, your family, and your company begin to consider success to be a responsibility and an ethical issue, then everything else will immediately start to shift. Although ethics are certainly a personal issue, most people would agree that being ethical is not necessarily limited to telling the truth or not stealing money. Our definition of ethics can certainly be expanded from that—perhaps even to include the notion that we are required to live up to the potential with which we've each been blessed. I even suggest that failing to insist upon abundant amounts of success is somewhat unethical. To the degree that electing to do our personal best each and every day is ethical, then failing to do so is a violation of ethics.
You must constantly demand success as your duty, obligation, and responsibility. I am going to show you how to guarantee that this happens—in any business or industry, at any time, despite all obstacles, and in whatever volumes you desire!
Success must be approached from an ethical viewpoint. Success is your duty, obligation, and responsibility!
Chapter 5
There Is No Shortage of Success
The way you view success is just as important as how you approach success. Unlike a product that is manufactured and inventoried, there is no “limit” as to how much success can be created. You can have as much as you want, and so can I—and your achievement does not prevent or limit my ability to achieve. Unfortunately, most people look at success as though it is somehow a scarcity. They tend to think that if someone else is successful, it will somehow inhibit their ability to create success. Success is not a lottery, bingo, a horse race, or a card game that allows for only one winner. It is simply not the case. Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street said, “for every winner, there is a loser.” Success is not a zero sum game, there can be many winners. Success is not a commodity or resource that has limited reserves.
There will never be a dearth of success because it is created by those who have no limits in terms of ideas, creativity, ingenuity, talent, intelligence, originality, persistence, and determination. Notice that I refer to success as something that's created—not acquired. Unlike copper, silver, gold, or diamonds—items that already exist and that you must find in order to bring to market—success is something people make. Great ideas, new technologies, innovative products, and fresh solutions to old problems are all things that will never exist in shortages. The creation of success can take place all over the world—either at the same time or at different times and at different levels—by millions of people who have no limits. Success doesn't depend on resources or supplies or space.
Politics and the media perpetuate these shortage concepts by suggesting that there is not “enough” of certain things to go around—that “if you have something, I cannot.” Many politicians believe they need to spread this myth in order to energize their followers to take a stand for or against another politician or party. They make statements like, “I will take better care of you than the other guy,” “I will make life easier for you,” “I will reduce taxes for you,” “I promise better education for your kids,” or “I will make it more possible for you to be successful.” The underlying implication of these claims is that only I can do this—not the other guy. These politicians first emphasize the topics and initiatives that they know followers consider important—then they create the sense that citizens aren't capable of doing things for themselves. They highlight the “scarcity” that exists and do their best to make people feel that their only chance of getting what they want and need is to support them. Otherwise, they imply, your chances of getting your share become even more r
emote.
One of the reasons why it's difficult to discuss politics or religion with people is because exchanges about both tend to suggest a shortage—which then causes inevitable disputes. For example, if your political beliefs win, then my politics lose. If one party gets what it supports, then another group must suffer. The same can be said for certain general attitudes and viewpoints. It's extremely difficult for people to “agree to disagree”; people operate under the assumption that one person's beliefs cannot be maintained if another person's conflicting beliefs exist. This notion—based once again on the concept of limits and shortages—only increases the amount of tension we have with one another. Why does one person have to be wrong and another right? Why the need for shortages?
The notion of competition suggests that if one person wins, someone else must lose. Although this might be true in a board game, where the goal is to produce one winner, this is not the reality with regard to success in business and in life. The big players do not think in terms of restrictions like this. Instead, they think without limits—something that allows them to soar to levels that many others consider impossible. Financial legend Warren Buffett's success is not capped or limited because of someone else's investment strategies, and in no way does his financial prowess confine or limit my ability to create financial success for myself. The founders of Google didn't stop the creation of Facebook, nor did two decades of Microsoft's dominance prevent Steve Jobs from raising Apple's profile with iPods, iPhones, and iPads. Similarly, the amount of new products, ideas, and successful creations by these companies over the past few years will not prevent others—maybe you—from generating success at even more astounding magnitudes.
You don't have to look far to see the shortage myth perpetuated by most of the population via expressions of envy, disagreement, unfairness, and suggestions that those who “hit it big” have been unfairly compensated. Then there are the constant reports in the media of shortages of jobs, money, opportunities, and even time. How often do you hear someone make the claim that “there isn't enough time in the day”? Or someone else complain that “there aren't any good jobs” or that “no one is hiring.” The reality is that even if 20 percent of the population is unemployed, 80 percent have jobs.
Another example of this “shortage thinking” has taken place right in my own neighborhood. The man who lives next door to me is, incidentally, one of the most famous actors in Hollywood; he's a major star and an incredible actor. The road that separates my house from his constantly has potholes that the city never seems to be able to fix. Another neighbor who lives at the end of the street had the gall to suggest that “the movie star” fix the street because he makes $20 million a movie. I was shocked by this person's thought process regarding success—that just because this actor had created success beyond that which any of us in the neighborhood had, he should foot the bill for fixing the street. I was thinking that the rest of us should improve the road for him, since he improves the value of our neighborhood!
When some TV personality gets a massive financial contract, people often react by asking, “How can one person get paid so much money?” But money is created by man and printed by machines. Not even money exists in shortages; it merely suffers from reductions in value. Some group deeming a single individual worth $400 million should be an encouragement to you that anything is possible.
I've found that most—if not all—shortages are simply manufactured notions. The company or organization that can convince you that there are limited amounts of whatever you need or want—be it diamonds, oil, water, clean air, cool weather, warm weather, energy—can produce a sense of urgency, thereby inspiring people to support their cause.
You must rid yourself of the concept that success can be restricted in any way. Operating under this notion will hurt your ability to create success for yourself. Let's say that you and I are bidding to win a client, and I get the business. This doesn't mean that you cannot be successful; after all, this wasn't the only client you were bidding for. Being dependent on only a single thing or person for success will limit your chances of achievement. Although you and I are competing on this one contract, “Mr. Think Big—No Shortages” is winning thousands of clients and showing us the real definition of success!
To get beyond the shortage myth, you have to shift your thinking to see that others' achievements actually create an opportunity for you to win as well. Success for anyone or any group is ultimately a positive contribution to all people and all groups as it provides validation of the possibilities to all. That is why people become so inspired when they witness some great victory or performance. Seeing success in action invigorates us all and reduces our belief that our ability to accomplish something is “impossible.” Whether the success is new technology, a medical breakthrough, a higher score, a faster time, or a new record price for a business acquisition—and whether you participated or not—achievements like these are a confirmation that success is not in shortage and is entirely possible for anyone.
Erase any concepts you might have that success is limited only to some and only in certain amounts. You and I can get as much as we want—at the same time. The moment you start thinking someone else's gain is your loss, you limit yourself by thinking in terms of competition and shortages. This is the moment when you must discipline your thinking to equate any success with the possibilities for more success. Then move back to your commitment that success is your ethical duty. This will motivate the most creative parts of you to find the solution and the way in which you can create original success in abundant amounts.
Chapter 6
Assume Control for Everything
I was going to call this chapter “Don't Be a Little Bitch” but decided to back off a bit so as not to offend anyone. I have been trying to work this title in since I published my last book, If You're Not First, You're Last. I still love the title and have been dying to work it in somewhere. I thought it would be perfect for this chapter, since the purpose here is to discuss the idea that crybabies, whiners, and victims just don't do well at attracting or creating success. It's not even that they aren't capable; it's just that people who typically succeed are required to take big actions—and it is impossible to take big actions if you don't take responsibility. It is equally impossible to do something positive when you are spending your time making excuses.
You must understand—as I've already stated countless times—that success is not something that happens to you; it's something that happens because of you and because of the actions you take. People who refuse to take responsibility generally don't do well at taking much action and subsequently don't do well in the game of success. Successful people accept very high levels of accountability for creating and having success for themselves—and even for failing to do so. Successful people hate the blame game and know that it is better to make something happen—good or bad—than to have it happen to you.
Those who suffer from victim thinking—which I roughly estimate to be about 50 percent of the population—will hate this chapter and probably picked up this book by mistake. Anyone who uses blame as the reason why something happened or did not happen will never accumulate real success in life and only further his or her status as a slave on this planet. Those who give control over to another for their success—or lack of it—will never be in control of their lives. No game in life is truly enjoyable without first accepting control over your understanding of the game, how you play the game, and then the outcome of the game. People who assume the position of victim will never be secure—simply because they elect to turn over responsibility to another party and because they never elect to know for themselves what they can do. They therefore never take charge over their outcomes going forward, saying, “I am a little victim; bad things happen to me often, and I cannot do anything about it.”
To get where you want to go in life, you must adopt the view that whatever is going on in your world—good, bad, or nothing—is something caused by you. I assume control ove
r everything that happens to me, even for those things that I appear to have no control over. Whether I am in control or not, I still elect to claim responsibility and control so that I can do something to improve my situation going forward. If, for example, the electricity goes out in my neighborhood, rather than blaming the city or the state for blackouts, I look at what I could do differently in order not to be impacted negatively the next time this happens. Do not confuse this with some compulsive need for control; rather, it's simply a high-level, healthy sense of responsibility and a way for me to generate effective solutions. The reality is that I didn't have anything to do with the lights going out; it could have been due to too many people using electricity at the same time, heat waves, weather, an earthquake, or someone hitting a transformer. I paid my bill as scheduled, and now I am without electricity and heat and am unable to boil water, refrigerate food, or use my computers. Blaming won't change any of those conditions, and because success is my duty, obligation, and responsibility, it is a bit hard for me now to turn that over to the state. It is kind of hard to consider yourself successful if you are without lights, heat, or unspoiled foods.
When I assume and increase my responsibility for this situation, I will probably come up with a solution going forward. You have probably already thought of what it could be. This didn't just happen to me because the electricity went out. It happened to me because I didn't have a backup generator. This wasn't bad luck or even bad planning; it was the result of turning responsibility over to someone else. Don't be a little bitch—get a generator. Oh, but generators cost money! Not as much money as being without electricity for three days and not being able to take care of your family. Once you decide to take control and increase responsibility, you will start to find successful solutions to making your life better!
The Ten Times Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure Page 4
