Four Reasons Why People Fail

“The key that unlocks your greatness is deliberate, disciplined and consistent effort.” - Darren Hardy

The age old question is: "Why do some people fail and some succeed?"  You can have two people equal in talent, skill and intelligence and one will fail and one will succeed at whatever they do.  Even more mysterious, out of those same two people, one may have the benefit of more money, more education and more opportunities than the other, yet, the one with "more" is the one who fails.  What is the problem here?

                This is not hard for the success-minded person to figure out.  The one who succeeds is the one who takes action, keeps at it and knows where he/she is going.  I know that it sound simple, however this is a dilemma so many in our society face every day.  Maybe  you have tried and tried to achieve a dream and yet you do not seem to make much head way.  You do what you know to do and still you face failure in your efforts.

                There are really only a few reasons why people fail.  They may come by different names and titles, but when analyzed they all come down to the same four issues; risk, belief, determination and planning.  I would like to look at these and hopefully by discovering why so many people fail, you can prevent it from happening to you.  Most people fail for four reasons:

They Do Not Try

                The simple truth is, people many times do not even try to pursue their dreams.  They fear the risk of failure so they think that by avoiding it they will somehow not fail.  The great hockey champion, Wayne Gretzky had it right when he said, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."  Failure to try is failure all the same.

                Success-minded people know that in order to win you have to be in the game.  You have to be willing to take the risk of failing if you want to win.  For the person who is willing to try there is no failure.  We quickly begin to realize that you can do it or you cannot do it.  If you do it, you keep doing it until you win, otherwise you give up, which is really worse than failing.  In the words of the great philosopher Yoda, "Do or don't do.  There is no try."

They Do Not Believe

                Rev. Robert H. Schuller, founding Pastor of the Chrystal Cathedral often said, "What you see and believe you can achieve."  Belief is a powerful tool in the life of a success-minded person.  If you are to achieve your goal you first have to believe you can.  No one can succeed by working for something they do not believe in.  This is why you need to clarify your goals to know just what it is you hope to achieve.  Here is an example: Many people set a goal have having a great deal of money.  Money itself is a weak goal.  Why, because we really do not want money.  What we want are the things money can give you.  Identify what that is, and you have something to believe in.

                If you look at successful people throughout history in all areas of life, you will see that they believed in what they were doing.  They knew that they could make a difference and have an effect on the world.  Andrew Carnegie believed that in building a great business enterprise he would in turn make many wealthy and improve living around the world.  He spent half his life building a great fortune and the second half giving it away.  Mother Teresa believed that she could ease the suffering of those who were thrown away and forgotten by the world.  She spent her life serving the poor and not allowing the sick to die alone.  It is the belief in what you are doing that will give you the power to succeed.

They Do Not Persist

                The old saying is, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."  Reality is, "When the going gets tough, most people just quit."  Where did we ever get into the thinking that success was easy and we would never come across any road blocks?  Success is hard and it takes much work.  It also takes a willingness to persist at you goal no matter how long it takes.  We must be willing and determined to see it through to completion.

                Success-minded people understand that there is no such thing as quitting.  You will be told to quite by others.  Some of those people will be people you love and trust.  You will want to quite at times.  Even the most successful can tell you of many times they did not want to go on - yet they did.  The issue is not coming to the point where you do not want to quiet, it is simply not quitting, no matter what.

They Do Not Plan

                The famous baseball hero, Yogi Berra said, "If you don't know where you're going, you might wind up someplace else."  Success-minded people not only know where they are going but they have a plan on how to get there.  One of the greatest reason why people do not achieve their dreams is because they do not know what they are.  It is like going on a journey from New York to Los Angeles and not taking a map, just head west.  Chances are really good you will never see LA.

                If you want to achieve a dream, make sure you know what that dream is.  Write it down and review it often.  None of this, "I have it in my head."  The problem with your head is that it leaks.  Study after study have shown that people who write down their goals have the greatest chance of achieving them.  Take the time and write it down.  Make then clear, and set a plan on just how you will achieve them.  You do not know every step, but you do know the next step and that is all that matters.

To read more from John Patrick Hickey or to get his books, training and book him to speak to your church, business or group, visit our website at http://www.growthcenter.net or www.johnpatrickhickey.com.   © 2013 John Patrick Hickey