Holding On To The Wrong Keys

"If it isn't your job to do it, perhaps it's your opportunity."

- Napoleon Hill

(1883-1970) Author/Businessman

Success many not be defined by having money, but it does have many things in common with it in our thinking.  For instance, people talk about success in many ways they do money.  Many will criticize it and complain about those who have it, but everyone wants it for themselves.  You hear people talk about those with money (or success) as being selfish, greedy, and nasty.  Yet millions of dollars are spent every day on lottery tickets.  Why?  So they too can become rich. 

                Both wealth and success are not bad or destructive in themselves.  There are many very wealthy (or successful) people who are kind, giving and all round great people.  There are many poor (or unsuccessful) people who are selfish, greedy and just plain nasty.  The reality is that if you are a jerk as a poor person, you will be a jerk as a wealthy person.  It is not money or success that makes a person, it is in them alone - no matter what their state.

                Allow me to share with you three keys, or behaviors that will guarantee that you will not succeed.  These work every time and you can see their examples everywhere you look.

Key One:  Making Excuses

                Have you ever noticed that when talking to people who are unsuccessful, it is always someone or something else's fault?  They can blame the government, economy, parents, spouse, children, the neighbor or any number of things, but it is not their fault.  On the job, they are the ones who quickly will announce that "this is not my job!" when asked to do a bit extra.  Then when they are passed over for a promotion or pay raise they scream of it being "Unfair!" 

                Success-minded people do not make excuses for mistakes or difficulties in life.  They know that they are responsible for their actions and their life.  Even when something is not "their fault" they take responsibility and make it right.  Benjamin Franklin pointed out that, "He who is good at making excuses is good at very little else."  Likewise, the person who does not rely on excuses but takes full responsibility for their life, is good at most everything else.

Key Two:  Missing Opportunities

                Thomas Edison had it so right when he said, "Most people miss opportunities because they are dressed in overalls and look like work."  We are surrounded by more opportunities to succeed everyday than we could ever take full advantage of.  So why do so many people miss this?  Because they are looking for easy, not hard.  They want things given not earned.  Opportunity is work - hard work, and the people who try hard to miss work will miss opportunities - every time.

                Success-minded people understand that they can achieve their dreams "IF" they are willing to work for them.  Nothing is free and nothing worth having is just given to us without our needing to achieve it.  Success-minded people are willing to pay the price to achieve their desires.  They work hard and strive for success.  What they are not willing to pay for is the cost of failure.

Key Three:  Not Taking Action

                Action is the key to all success.  That is the bottom line of it all.  Without action, deliberate, planned out and directed action, you will never (yes I said never) achieve success.  We live in a time when we are told that in order to succeed you must have a "level" playing field.  You have to take from those who earned their success and give it to those who did not.  You no longer have to pull yourself up by your bootstraps but others need to make it easy for you to succeed.  That never has and never will work.  If that principle (it is called socialism) works, then why are there more people in poverty and want than there are successful people?  It is all foolishness.

                Success-minded people know that they need to make things happen and they need to do it today.  They take action, deliberate, planned out and directed action to achieve their goals.  Success-minded people know that it is never about luck, getting breaks, or someone else's help.  Your success must come from you or it will not come at all.

To discover how you can achieve the dream you have believed was impossible for too long, read On The Journey To Achievement by John Patrick Hickey.  You can get a signed copy for yourself and get one for a friend, by going to http://www.johnpatrickhickey.com/it-is-good-to-set-goals-better-to-achieve-then/.  Now available on Kindle, Oops! Did I Really Post That? Online Etiquette in the Digital Age by John Patrick Hickey.

© 2015 John Patrick Hickey. No part of this may be reprinted or published without permission of the author.