Secrets of the Successful – #1

I’ve been in financial services for over 30 years. When you do something for that long the patterns emerge and you see why things are the way they are. I’ve had the privilege of getting to know hundreds of successful people, some of the most successful people in the country, to discuss their dreams, their hopes, and their plans for the future. Most of them grew their success from nothing.  They did not start with a lofty inheritance. They were not the beneficiary of a family business. Most started from scratch. What made them so successful? What resulted in their business, their dream, their plans being fulfilled while others continue to struggle? I’d like to share with you some of their secrets over the next several weeks. Here’s the first.

The Successful Don’t Wait. Are You?

Are you waiting? Waiting to find out what you are good at, waiting to make the right decision, waiting until you feel worthy, waiting until someone else seems interested, waiting until it’s easier? There are lots of reasons people wait, but if you are waiting…you have already waited too long!

There is no waiting in the lives of the successful. They just do. They wake up early, they make things happen, and they don’t let failure or the fear of failure stop them from moving forward. They also accept that sometimes they have to do exactly what it is they don’t want to do.

Thirty years ago, if I waited for people to come to me, people to be interested in what I was doing, or what I had to say, I would not be where I am today. It was not easy traveling a long country road, knocking on the doors of those I did not know only to get the door slammed in my face at times. I knew to make a connection with people it had to be done, so I did it. And the act of doing is what has made the difference!

Doing doesn’t mean that success will come overnight, because more often than not it does not. Julia Child released her first cookbook at age 39, Morgan Freeman didn’t land a major movie role until age 52, and Vera Wang didn’t design her first dress until she was 40. They had been doing all along. Doing helps you move closer towards success and increases your probability for achieving success!

Think about it! What have you said you need to do today, that you’ve already told yourself to wait on…Retrain your brain to do the opposite! Stop waiting!