|
The 7 Mental Keys to Success
This article is based upon
The Keys to
Deliberate Creation Course.
The first Mental Key to Success is Desire.
What is desire? Something you want to create, or have. Let’s face it
–– you have to want something before you can get it! Otherwise, you
just shrug your shoulders and say, “so what?” Without a
desire, you can't even begin the creative process. That's because Desire is an indication that you are connected to the creative
energy of the universe. This energy is called chi, prana, life
force, etc.
The second Mental Key to Success is
Vision.
You have to know exactly what you want and what it will look and
feel like when you have it. These first two steps are the most
important in becoming successful at anything. Why? Because action
follows thought! If you don’t know precisely what you want AND have
a do–able plan to get it, then you won’t be able to make that plan
work, no matter how hard you try. You have to align yourself for
success BEFORE you go into action! Otherwise, you work very hard and
get nowhere, like this:
You need to do four things:
1)
Figure out and write down
the overall Vision for your undertaking.
2)
Figure out and write down the Goal of your undertaking.
3)
Figure out and write down the Purpose for your undertaking.
4)
Figure out and write down Why you want to be, do, or have it.
Definitions:
Vision: What do you want and how will you feel when you have
it?
Goal: The end result of your undertaking. What will it look
like after you are done?
Purpose: What are you trying to accomplish?
Why: The motivation or reason for your undertaking. Why do
you want to do it?
You need to state each of these succinctly
and clearly. If you can’t
write each of these steps in at most two or three sentences, you
still aren’t
clear enough about what you’re
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!
The third Mental Key
to Success is Knowledge.
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 don’t do it! They start off with a great idea and
think that their enthusiasm will carry the day. Well, it’s true that
without enthusiasm you aren’t 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.
The fourth Mental Key
to Success is Organization.
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 aren’t organized. I
don’t care whether you are running a company with thousands of
employees, or you are a one–man 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.
The fifth Mental Key
to Success is Integrity.
This is so important
that it could have gone first. What is integrity? It’s always
keeping your word. It’s staying true to your goal and not allowing
critics or nay–sayers to deter you. It’s 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
don’t 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.
The sixth Mental Key
to success is Intention. Intention simply means the conscious
application of the will to a defined goal. You can’t create
something by waving a magic wand. If you want something, you have to
apply yourself! You have to work at it. The guy who wants to start a
computer consulting business, but spends most of his time at the
beach, is going to fail. Intention is directed focus. Action that is
not aligned to the goal is wasted effort. Intention keeps you
focused on the goal and not on things unrelated to the goal.
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 programmer’s
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.
___________________________
The seventh Mental Key
to Success is Persistence.
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 that’s not what I’m
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!
Multi–billionaire 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 don’t know when
you’re going to have a breakthrough. Sometimes, you quit just before
you see the manifestation. As the old saying goes, “it’s always
darkest just before the dawn.”
How can you be on the
one–foot 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
don’t 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.
The seven Mental Keys
to Success:
·
Desire
·
Vision
·
Knowledge (Action Plan)
·
Organization
·
Integrity
·
Intention
·
Persistence
These qualities lead
to confidence, certainty, and success.
|
