Henry Ford once said: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right. ”There’s a great deal of truth in that, but it has to be tempered a little if you’re to avoid chasing pipe dreams.
If someone of similar background and abilities has already done what you hope to achieve, then, of course, you know you can do it. That’s why finding appropriate mentors and role models is important – more about that elsewhere. But, if it hasn’t been done already, the jury is out and you have to make an appraisal of whether what you want to do is realistic.
It would be wrong to talk down your prospects here – you are capable of far more than you can imagine – but as anyone who has ever watched a TV talent show will testify, there are far too many people chasing ‘goals ’which will never come to fruition.
In truth, there are very few areas where talent puts in place an immovable barrier – entertainment, sports and music spring readily to mind – but unfortunately these are the areas where unrealistic aspirations tend to flourish. The good news though, is that very few career or business paths require innate talent or skills that a determined and motivated person can’t learn. Though, as Henry Ford recognised, even the most realistic goals will wither in the face of a lack of belief.
To succeed in any effort, it’s essential that you accept full responsibility for the outcome. Starting out with any other attitude almost guarantees failure. Teenagers who are told that their criminal behaviour is a result of social deprivation will carry on, secure in the knowledge that it’s someone else’s fault. Employees who think they have a poor boss will hold back, knowing they can blame him when it goes wrong. Businesspeople who believe that the economy is dying on its feet will stop investing, secure in the knowledge that their failure can be laid at the Government’s door. It is all depressingly self-fulfilling.
Don’t deceive yourself. Whatever ventures and endeavours you undertake – accept responsibility. The outcome is down to you… no excuses.
As soon as you do this, a miraculous thing will happen – your chances of success will multiply. It’s easy to blame someone else, but not so easy to blame yourself. When there’s someone else to blame, it’s so tempting to give up at the first hurdle. “The bank wouldn’t give me any money”, you may say. “The customers didn’t see what a good product I had”, or maybe, “My colleagues let me down” and “There’s just too much competition out there.”
When you accept full responsibility for the outcome, you won’t give up: “Let’s try another bank… and another”, you now say. “Let’s see how else we can sell it”, or “ I’ll make up for my colleagues short comings.” Also maybe: “How can we provide a better service than the competition?”
Colonel Sanders, at the age of 66, approached over 2,000 restaurants with his idea for Kentucky Fried Chicken before he found one that would give it a chance. How many would you have approached? Five? Ten? Most of us would have given up long before, not blaming ourselves of course, but rather the damn fool restaurant owners who wouldn’t know a good idea if it jumped up and bit them. Sanders took full responsibility. He had no intention of blaming anyone else, and as a result, he had no reason to.
Twelve publishers turned down J K Rowling before she found one that would publish her Harry Potter books. It would have been so easy for her to bemoan the fact that the publishers just wouldn’t give a chance to a single mum writing adventure stories, primarily for boys, and give up. She didn’t, she took responsibility. And now she’s at least £400 million richer!
Do yourself the biggest favour you can. Take full responsibility for the outcome of every project you undertake from day one. Your successes will be all the sweeter and your failures all the more rare.
If you want to understand the needs, wants and motives of others – and it’s critical to optimising your life outcomes that you do – there’s a really easy way to do it. When you realise what it is, you’ll be amazed you didn’t figure it out before, but you’ll also, more than likely, be a little disillusioned.
You see, people have been telling you that you are unique since you were a small child, and on the surface, you are. Scratch below that surface though, and we all share pretty much the same wants, needs, hopes, desires and motivations.
So when you’re trying to figure out what that other strange person you’re dealing with really wants, it isn’t difficult. Their underlying wants are the same as yours, although they may be manifested in slightly different ways.
We’ll be looking at what some of these wants, needs and desires in other articles, but for now hold on to the idea that the people you’re dealing with each day are just like you. When you’re trying to figure out ‘where they’re coming from’, a little introspection will usually deliver the answer.
I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying: “It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good.” Like me though, you’ve probably not given it a great deal of thought, or considered what you can learn from it.
Ill winds don’t come much worse than tornados. Despite being an incredibly destructive force, there is a positive side if you look hard enough. For example, there was a gentleman called Tetsuya Fujita, of the University of Chicago, who has made a career out of ‘twisters’. He is a world expert, and the scale on which the severity of a tornado is measured carries his name. Thanks to tornadoes, Fujita’s place in history is assured. Without them nobody would know who he was, and he may never have made his mark. Tornadoes have benefited others too. Numerous film-makers, TV documentary teams, authors and photographers have enhanced both their professional reputations and bank balances as a result of work associated with these killer winds.
When news of a tornado is reported in the press or on TV, everyone focuses on the cost. It’s always portrayed as a negative event, which is understandable. But one man’s cost is another man’s revenue. The cost of clearing up after a tornado doesn’t disappear into the ether. It goes into the pockets of the enterprising individuals and companies who make it their business to deal with such matters. The following news story illustrates this…
“Great news today from Jackson County, Texas, where a tornado ripping through several large towns has created a boom for construction firms in the area. A spokesman for the local trade association estimated that $30 million of work would be coming the way of local building firms, and at least 1,000 short-term jobs will be created. Local hospitals also reported record business, with billings to insurance companies likely to approach a five-year high.”
I’m sure you realise that I’m using tornadoes as a euphemism for just about any “negative” event. The point is this – for any negative side to an event there is always the other, more positive, side… a positive side for someone. The task is to identify that positive side and capitalise on it.
Let’s look at more examples. War and international conflict are universally regarded as negative. Yet for many – those involved in the production of armaments for example – war is good and peace is bad. It’s the other side of the coin that we rarely look for.
Understandably, when my office was broken into, I wasn’t in the mood to appreciate the positive side of the ever-increasing crime figures in this country. However, the companies I subsequently paid to install an alarm system and roller shutter doors were probably better placed to do so.
Then there’s the economic recession, which is almost universally viewed as negative. Yet in any recession there are winners and losers. Reduced property, equipment and stock prices will provide an economic springboard to many new ventures.
Redundancy is also perceived to be a negative event. And yet an equally valid interpretation is to see it as an opportunity to make a fresh start, allowing time to find a new, more fulfilling path, and there may be a hefty redundancy payment to finance the search. Many people go through redundancy and find a far better paid, more fulfilling job than that which they lost. And with their redundancy payment still intact.
There isn’t a single ‘negative’ event that doesn’t have a positive side –yes, even death, as any undertaker or florist will testify. The important thing is to identify the positive aspect to events and put yourself on the right side of the fence.
Kind Regards
John Harrison
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On the night of April 14th 1912, during her maiden voyage, RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank two hours and forty minutes later in the early hours of April 15th. At the time of her launch in 1911, she was the largest passenger ship in the world and regarded as the safest. The sinking resulted in the deaths of 1,517 people, making it one of the worst peacetime disasters in maritime history and by far the most famous. But what caused the unsinkable to sink?
It’s been the subject of much controversy for decades. Some have blamed a faulty rudder, while others have cited navigational errors. But according to new research, the key factor in the ship’s sinking may have been the use of sub-standard rivets.
The ‘rivet theory’ was first raised in the 1990’s, no pun intended, but was denied by Harland and Wolff, the company that built the ship. Now, historians have uncovered evidence that the company was forced to compromise on quality as it struggled to build three huge ships at the same time. Faced with a regular supplier unable to cope, they turned to smaller forges producing less reliable products, to make up the shortfall.
RMS Titanic was deemed unsinkable because it was designed to stay afloat, even if four of its watertight compartments were flooded. But when it hit the iceberg, so many rivets popped along the starboard side that five compartments took on water, and the ship went down. And so it seems that this most famous of ships succumbed to the truth of a well-worn saying: “A chain is as strong as its weakest link. ”No amount of engineering or technology could overcome a deficiency in a small, but critically important part of the ship.
What’s true of RMS Titanic s true of you. Are you confident that the ‘rivets’ in your life are strong enough to withstand some unexpected impact? Or have you perhaps cut corners along the way, gambling that you can avoid any nasty icebergs? The bottom line is that you can’t afford to neglect any area of your life (and health is particularly critical) in pursuit of what you see as more important goals. Any shortcomings will eventually find you out and sink all your plans.
Kind Regards
John Harrison
PUBLISHERS NOTICE
“Is This The Fastest Way To a Luxury Retirement?”
Dear Streewise Customer,
Did you know that by doubling your money, you’re only 16 steps from turning £100 into more than £1,600,000 – (THAT’S ONE MILLION SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS!)…
This powerful wealth strategy is THE fastest way to a luxury retirement. What’s more, it’s now available in one full package for the very first time.
Let me introduce you to one of my most trusted insider sources. To meet him visit:
It took me a while to arrange this invitation, so I hope you’re going to take advantage of it. Don’t waste this chance, you’ve just been referred to someone who can change your life.
Kind Regards
John Harrison – Streetwise Publications
PS This comes with a full cast iron money back guarantee. Take a look today with no risk what so ever.
