Be Extraordinary: 5 Things the Most Successful People Refuse to
Believe
If you want to achieve differently, first you need to believe
differently.
I'm lucky to know a number of remarkably successful people.
Regardless of their profession or industry, they all tend to believe and think
many of the same things.
And, just as important, they all tend to refuse to think and
believe some of the same things.
So can you. Each of us
can decide to think and believe differently than most other people -- and in
the process, achieve differently than most other people.
That process starts with refusing to adopt certain mindsets.
Here are a few things successful people never think.
1. "Someone is always holding me back."
Maybe someone else has ruined an opportunity or blocked an idea
or taken what was rightfully yours. Maybe suppliers didn't come through. Maybe
your partner wasn't committed. Maybe potential customers weren't smart enough
to recognize the value you provide.
Doesn't matter. You can't control other people. You can control
only yourself.
Always decide it was your fault whenever you fail. Not only is
that a smart way to think, but it's also almost always true. Although
occasionally something completely outside your control will cause you to fail,
most of the time the root cause is you.
And that's OK. Every successful person has failed numerous
times. Most have failed a lot more often than you have; that's one reason why
they're so successful today.
So embrace every failure. Own it, learn from it, and take full
responsibility for making sure that next time, you'll do what it takes to make
sure things turn out differently.
Never think it's another person's fault; when you do, you're
guaranteeing it always will be.
2. "I never seem to get the right opportunities."
Hey, join the very large club. No matter how it looks from the
outside, no one is given opportunities he or she doesn't deserve. Opportunities
are earned. And even if someone else did get an opportunity you feel you
deserved, you can't change that fact, so why dwell on it?
Maybe, years ago, you did have to wait: to be accepted, to be
promoted, to be selected, to somehow be "discovered."
Even if that was once true, it's no longer the case. Access to
opportunity is nearly unlimited. You can connect with nearly anyone through
social media. You can create and sell your own products, develop and distribute
your own applications, find your own funding ... or, like Taylor Swift, pitch
the right person and in the process help him launch his own record label.
You don't need to wait for someone else to give you the
opportunity. You can give yourself the opportunity--which, by the way, is what
successful people have done for centuries. The only thing holding you back from
seizing an opportunity is you--and your willingness to try.
Don't think about opportunities you need to be given; think
about opportunities you need to take.
3. "I would definitely work harder if I knew it would be
worth it."
Ever heard someone say, "If I knew I would get a raise,
then I will be willing to work a lot harder"? Or, "If I knew my
startup would succeed, then I would definitely be willing to put in more
hours"? Or, "If I knew there would be a bigger payoff, then I would
be willing to sacrifice more"?
Successful employees earn promotions and higher pay by first
working harder; in other words, they earn their success. Successful businesses
earn higher revenue by delivering greater value first; they earn their success.
Successful people, in all areas of life, earn bigger
"payoffs" by working incredibly hard well before any potential return
is in sight; they earn their success through effort and sacrifice.
Most people expect to get more before they will ever consider
doing more.
First decide how you define success. Then think of compensation
not as the driver or requirement for exceptional effort but as the deserved
reward.
4. "If I just had the time."
Sure you do. You have the same amount of time as everyone else.
The key is to decide how you fill your time.
For example, anyone can create a schedule. But most people don't
ensure every task takes only as long as it needs to take. Most people fill a
block of time, either given or self-determined, simply because that is the time
allotted.
Don't adjust your effort so it fills a time frame. Instead, do
everything as quickly and effectively as you can. Then use your
"free" time to get other things done just as quickly and effectively.
Never think about how time controls you -- instead, think of how
you can best control your time.
When you do, you'll quickly realize you have a lot more time
than you ever imagined.
5. "If only I had a special talent."
It's easy, and extremely tempting, to assume successful people
have some intangible entrepreneurial something -- ideas, talent, drive, skills,
creativity, etc. -- that you don't have.
In fact that's rarely true. Talent typically reveals itself only
in hindsight. Success is never assured; it looks that way only after it is
achieved.
Sure, other people may have skills you don't have -- at least
not yet -- but you have skills other people don't have. You don't need a gift.
You just need yourself -- and a willingness to put in a tremendous amount of
hard work, effort, and perseverance -- because that is where talent comes from.
Never think about what
you don't have. Focus on what you do have
-- and more important, what you are willing to do that others are not.
That is your true gift, and it's a gift we've all been given.
You just have to use it.
BY JEFF
HADEN
http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/be-extraordinary-5-things-the-most-successful-people-refuse-to-believe.html?cid=em01014week15a
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