If you have ever fallen short of a goal that was important to you, I know how you feel. You feel like you made your best effort, but you still fell on your face. It’s frustrating, confusing, and a blow to your ego. I get it.The problem is that it’s very easy to get bogged down in over-planning, procrastination, and self-doubt. These things are time and energy suckers. You can literally waste days, weeks, and months living in this world – and not realize it until it’s too late.Good news. You could be just one or two small adjustments away from turning the corner and crushing your goals.Here are eight qualities that exist in people who routinely do just that. Adopt these qualities and watch how your performance improves.
1. Spend Your Time on Implementation.Average people spend their time and energy coming up with, rehashing, and discussing ideas. Not you! You spend your time on implementation of ideas because you know that ideas are the seeds of results, but in and of themselves are just ideas. A brilliant idea unexecuted is worthless. Results come from action – and you are someone who takes action.
2. Create Opportunity.As the rest of the world waits, hopes, and wishes for opportunity – you know that real opportunity is created. You are someone who reaches out to others, who spreads the word and steps up to the plate. You create opportunity by letting the world know who you are and what you do. And when you create an opportunity, you take advantage of it.
3. Have Several Back-Up Plans.Self-help books are great, but I don’t know anyone who got hit by a bag of money while reading one. Positive thinking is a part of success but by all by itself, it’s just nice. Successful people always have a back-up plan…or two…or three. You are one of those people. You are ready for the unexpected and can roll with the punches when the unexpected occurs.
4. Tolerate Failure.While the masses tend to sit back and stew over their plan because there is a chance they could fail and look stupid, you forge ahead. You know that while failure certainly sucks temporarily, it’s not fatal – and each time you do it, you get a little smarter. You understand that the small risk of temporarily looking stupid is outweighed by the possibility of real, permanent success.
5. Find Out For Yourself.The mediocre crowd has a tendency to believe conventional assumptions about: Themselves, their industry, their product, and their potential. You take the time to find out for yourself. You do research, you think outside the box, you consult trusted advisors. You don’t listen to nay-sayers, because you have done the legwork. Once you have an original plan, you go, go, go. (See #1)
6. Give.Leave “greedy” and “selfish” for the bottom feeders. You are someone who gives generously of their time and knowledge because it’s the right thing to do…and because it demonstrates integrity, sincerity, and credibility. Winners give.
7. Have Confidence.Let the other guys second guess themselves. If you have come up with a good plan and have done your research, then you have full confidence in going after your goal full-tilt. You ignore those less evolved life forms who might…no…WILL tell you that you can’t do it. Ignore those sad, negative people and remain confident in your plan. You’ve done your due diligence – so you KNOW that you absolutely CAN do it.
8. Keep Going Until You Get There.The clones of the world throw in the towel when they run into obstacles. You are not a clone. If you fail, you tweak your plan and go after your goal again and again until you reach it. Because as we have just learned – you are a person who takes action, creates opportunity, has multiple back-up plans, who isn’t phased by temporary failure, who doesn’t assume, who helps others in need, who has full confidence in themselves, and never EVER quits.
Spend some time with this list. Can you identify any areas that might be slowing you down and affecting your productivity? If so, begin replacing some of those bad, time-wasting habits with their more productive counterparts and start crushing your goals.