Its a myth that people who work hard always reach their goals. Do you know any miserable people, who work themselves silly, and still are not getting what they want. OK, so we all agree on that.
At least I have never met a happy person, who became happy or successful that way. I figure he will achieve great things, then want more and become insatiable and fall hard from the heights he rises to.
What an excellent comment on the alternative to the real route we must take to reach our goals. Since being your best is not a quick fix journey,What is the alternative to a success pill? I always think about this when the going gets tough.
First think of a goal.
Then, think of your mindset, or approach to that goal.
Is it to work hard?
Endure the lessons?
Overcome fear and/or failure?
That's Option 1. Here's Option 2.
Work hard until it gets hard?
Quit before we start?
Dabble here and there, work and stay busy, 'multitasking,' doing the same thing over and over and expect a different result?
Hope for luck?
Frankly there is no guarantee for success with either!!!!!!
Option 1 clearly takes perseverance and focus, which is a bit counter culture these days. In the era of remote control everything, protein shakes, and quick 140 character text messages, we are starting to see email as the "new snail mail"- I can tweet it and facebook it to to 400% more readers simultaneously than I can blog and email anymore, and research shows if its more than 140 characters I will lose the reader.
SHAZAM.
But, is it a mistake that we find ourselves most happy, and most satisfied because we exercised self-disclipline, overcame a fear, did the right thing, and so forth....regardless of the outcome? It is really that you must "work hard so you will be happy, regardless of the goals achieved"? Maybe.
The most inspiring successes are from those who at first failed their butts off. Bradley aside, I still have never heard nor read of anyone who just woke up fit and rich one day. The hard truth is they had a hard time and there were tears shed, relationships tested, faith tested, doubts entertained, and tempers flaired. And while I think the pill Bradley takes that eventually ruins his life would be a bummer, what if I never quite get there and I've sacrificed all the above or [insert imagined sacrifices here]? Now, that is a tough pill to swallow.
But, your alternative is to never try. And if you never try, you'll never know. And to me that *IS* a guarantee for an unhappy, unfulfilled life. While you may work hard and never get what you are aiming for...if you avoid committing to it, you will never have a story to tell. You'll never have the chance to fail your butt off and figure out what you are supposed to be doing.
In his book Today Matters, Brian Tracy (more of our recommended mindset books here) really makes you stop and think about how you define success. How would you know you had a good day? Does that align with the goals
you have set for yourself? This is a key step for anyone seeking success. You don't have to think so much about the hard work part, that is a requirement for the happy part. If the success part comes, then even better.
you have set for yourself? This is a key step for anyone seeking success. You don't have to think so much about the hard work part, that is a requirement for the happy part. If the success part comes, then even better.
So, if I define success as using my life for some greater purpose, for some good, learning to become better and better everyday, as a Mom, a trainer, an entrepreneur and friend, and being willing to go for it in all those arenas and learn the lessons along the way, regardless of the outcome, then that beats the snot out of Option 2.
