You need to state each of these succinctly and clearly. If you cant write each of these steps in at most two or three sentences, you still arent clear enough about what youre doing. Do not go into action until you have accomplished these 4 steps. It may take you days, or even weeks, to figure it out. It will be time well spent!
Joe is a very good chef and he wants to start a restaurant. However, Joe has almost no knowledge about business. Jill, on the other hand, is a CEO and has always liked food, but she has no clue about cooking. How successful do you think Joe or Jill will be in the restaurant business?
In order to succeed you have to know the tools of the trade. That requires some basic knowledge. You can either get that knowledge from personal research and experience, or find people who have the knowledge you lack and hire them. However you do it, you have to get up to speed in the area in which you want to have success. This seems really obvious, but most people dont do it! They start off with a great idea and think that their enthusiasm will carry the day. Well, its true that without enthusiasm you arent going anywhere, but without developing a knowledge base you are just flying by the seat of your pants.
The primary purpose for knowledge is to develop an Action Plan. Without a plan of action, all of your theory is just a lot of daydreaming. People who know what they want AND have an action plan to get it are the most successful. Just as action without a vision is useless, so too is theory without a workable plan to put your theories into practice. Successful people are always passionate, and passion is not possible without knowledge AND a way to practically use that knowledge in the accomplishment of the goal.
You can have all the skills and knowledge in the world, and be immensely talented to boot, but it will all come to nothing if you arent organized. I dont care whether you are running a company with thousands of employees, or you are a oneman consulting firm working out of your basement. You have to organize your thoughts and your endeavor, otherwise your actions are inefficient. It is impossible to bring any endeavor to fruition without organization. Those who neglect the organizational part of an enterprise usually work ten times as hard as necessary until they get their act together, or they fail.
My friend Dave is an example. He is a genius. He plays 5 instruments, is an exceptional oil painter, knows how to weld, woodwork and build keyboards; he knows assembler code and how to build his own circuit boards, he developed his own musical tablature; he teaches, writes, and performs. But he's so disorganized he can't get anywhere! I walk into his shop and there are lathes, saws, welding equipment, and assorted machinery all over the place. The floor is littered with junk. My friend knows he has to get organized, but he doesn't do it!
Organizing yourself and your endeavor is the last thing many people want to do, because it's mostly drudgery. But it has to be done! Organization is a state of mind that translates itself to a clean and efficient workspace, and efficient action along the path of least resistance.
This is so important that it could have gone first. What is integrity? Its always keeping your word. Its staying true to your goal and not allowing critics or naysayers to deter you. Its making sure that the product you are selling is the absolute highest quality that is in your power to make it. Why is integrity so important? Because it keeps you connected to the creative energy of the universe! Have you ever cut a corner to get something done? What did that feel like? Integrity also keeps your vibration pure, and your conscience clear. Nothing will slow you down faster than the knowledge that you cut a corner or cheated someone. Unscrupulous people always fail, because their products or services dont measure up. Diminished integrity will eventually show up in every aspect of your endeavor, from advertising and promotion to the production of your product or service.
I am willing to bet that the actual productive time you spend at work is less than two hours in any eight hour day. By productive time I mean action that directly leads to the fulfillment of your job function. No, not doing your email, staring at the computer screen in a programmers daze, talking to fellow employees (or supervisors), surfing the net, or shooting the breeze on the phone. Many people have jobs that are not on their soul purpose. Therefore, they find ways around doing useful work, because they are not aligned to that work! Intention is what establishes your attitude and your vibration towards what you are doing.
Having a strong desire, knowing exactly what you want, and having a plan to get it breeds passion. Successful people are always passionate, because they are focused very intensely on what is wanted, and are highly motivated. Every successful person I know or have ever heard of is passionate about what he or she is doing! If you look at your own life, you can discover very quickly what you are passionate about. In those areas you will almost surely experience success.
Both Mother Theresa and Joe Stalin were passionate people, and successful. Josef Stalin was a scumbag and a murderer, but he knew the Mental Keys to Success. Guys like Stalin always go down, however, because their lust for power eventually conflicts with their personal integrity.
Interestingly enough, an evil person can be successful if he or she is always true to the goal. The saying honor among thieves just means that a successful thief honors his obligations. The more successful an endeavor, however, the more integrity it has and the less evil it is! The universe is set up to reward honorable people and punish scumbags.
As we talked about last month in the Still Point, any endeavor is nourished by connection to the creative energy of the universe. Those who choose the "dark side," however, lose contact with this energy, and with themselves. Their failure is inevitable, even though their ultimate fate - transition out of the body and return to Native State - is assured. All endings are happy endings!
You might ask, "If the universe rewards honorable people, why are there so many scumbags?" Actually, there are not that many. Most people you meet are honest and decent. it's only when you listen to the news that you hear about the bottom feeders. That's because what's newsworthy is scarce. It's uncommon! In a roomful of friendly people, the angry one stands out. That's the guy who makes the headlines.
Persistence just means, carrying your intention and your passion through time long enough to make it happen. Mostly, persistence is thought of in the context of struggle against large odds, but thats not what Im talking about. if you think your task is that difficult, you are already not aligned to the goal and you will probably fail. You need to go back to steps one and two, or take a look at the Keys To Deliberate Creation Course. You are also setting yourself up for unnecessary sweat and strain. A motivated, passionate, knowledgeable and organized person can accomplish the task with a minimum of turbulence. Nevertheless, no one is perfect. When roadblocks appear, you have to overcome them. Persistence is the key quality that allows you to do that.
What is persistence? It is applied intention through time. That's all it is. Persistence isn't mysterious or hard, because it involves focusing and acting upon something you are passionate about!
Multibillionaire Ross Perot said, "Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown." This statement expresses the idea that you sometimes dont know when youre going to have a breakthrough. Sometimes, you quit just before you see the manifestation. As the old saying goes, its always darkest just before the dawn.
How can you be on the onefoot line and not know it? Because the vibrational matching property of the universe works invisibly. Sometimes, you may not see how the vibrational threads are being weaved in the background. Each one of us is surrounded by an energy potential. We create that potential. Imagine that surrounding you is a web of energy that reaches out and touches others. Sometimes, just one more thread is needed to complete the tapestry before a manifestation can occur. So dont give up!
Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race
Calvin Coolidge (30th President of the United States, 1872-1933)
Maybe ol' Calvin went a little too far with that statement. But there is no denying that when you study the lives of successful people, persistence is one of the qualities that almost always shows up.
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