How you view the world will largely determine what you accomplish, and what you can accomplish is who you are. For example, the term “he has a good heart” is irrelevant if “his” actions don’t provide proof. If you truly want to be a success, if you truthfully want to help people and better their lives, if you are to leave a lasting mark on this planet, make sure you see the world through the right eyes.
1. My life is in my hands.
Though the odds may be grandly stacked against you, and the likelihood of success small, the view that rising from your current position in life is impossible or even unlikely, no matter how much valid evidence you have to back this viewpoint up, is useless. It does you no good to think you’re relegated to your current position in life if your current position isn’t where you want to be, and your current position shouldn’t be where you want to be because men are creatures of motion. We need to be moving, elevating, growing if we’re going to reach our potential, which is something every man should aspire to attain in his lifetime.
What’s more is that from every walk of life, even from the depths of poverty, there are success stories. Though there are far more stories of people who remain, there is evidence to show that you can rise above. The man who is on the rise will take that speckle of evidence and see it as his entire truth, that even though the success stories are few, the possibility of them occurring transfers this possibility to everyone who is willing to work hard and risk.
If you’re going to be a success you have to have a foundation of faith that it will be so. This faith will be shaken but it can’t be destroyed. No matter how dark the days you must find a semblance of meaning, a sliver of hope that keeps you working, hustling, and taking the grand risks required for audacious success.
2. Failure isn’t the end.
There are those who don’t try and all-together avoid failure. There are others who try and fail and see failure as the end, as a time to move on. Then there are those who see failure as it is, a lesson.
[Tweet “Failure isn’t a curse, but a gift. It’s not the end, but a stepping stone.”]
To be a success you have to see failure as the latter; as something necessary, as something that’s positive and not negative; good and not bad.
It’s completely your choice; how you view the world and how you view failure. Make the choice that will lead to something positive, not the choice that will result in self-pity and waste.
3. There’s no hand to be lent.
You will get help in your journey, it’s inevitable. People are good, and those who have made it have a natural inclination to help those who are trying to make it, I see it in my industry all the time, but to wait for this helping hand is death. To expect that someone will come to your aid is crippling.
Think, instead, that everything you want to accomplish is entirely dependent on you, all the while paying attention to the opportunities that will come your way. You have to be open to receiving help but you can’t be expecting of it or feel that you’re entitled to it.
There are a couple reasons for this:
a. I’ve come across guys who feel that because you’ve done well that you have to help them do well. They’re cancerous, they latch on to you and want to take what you have, or have you give them what you’ve earned. They expect you to take time out of your day to help them instead of providing you value for some help in return.
Don’t feel entitled to anything. Don’t require help or feel that you’re entitled to aid. You’re not. No one owes you a single thing, but they will give you a hand if you show that you can work hard and that their hand lent won’t go to waste.
b. If you’re waiting for help you’re not going to do your due diligence. You’re not going to work and research and hustle. You’re not going to get off your ass because you’re waiting for someone to get off theirs to help you.
No one wants to help the person who’s dependent on help to succeed. They want to help the person who will succeed whether they help or not.
4. Have nothing to lose.
This is one of the most valuable views of the ways of the world and of your own existence. The antithesis of this view cripples many of those who have accomplished success, especially in the material form. When they earn, they fear of losing what they’ve earned. This fear is destructive as it stops growth, innovation, and the ability to risk.
Risk is as valuable as work. Without risk you won’t work on the right things and without hard work you’re not going to see the benefits that come from risk.
To take effective risks you have to feel as though you have nothing to lose. To truly feel like you have nothing to lose you have to know that no matter the hole you dig yourself into, you can always climb out of it.
5. I can always make it back.
I was driving somewhere with a pal, to a place I can’t remember but the conversation is still fresh in my mind. We were talking about money and about investing and he asked how much would I invest in project “a”. I said everything I currently have save a few dollars to remain a functioning human with a functioning business.
So basically all of my savings.
Somewhat shocked, he asked why. I said it sounds like a great business and if I lose everything I’ll always make it back.
That’s the value of true confidence, knowing that no matter how far you fall that you always have that ability climb back. That type of confidence that goes beyond belief and wades into the realm of reality must be founded on evidence. If you’ve had nothing and created something, you know, your reality tells you that you can rise from anything and everything the world throws your way.
That isn’t to say that you should invest everything in everything. This deal is interesting. It could be huge or it could never happen. I have this same approach to my business. I’ll invest more in my business than anything else. And I’m not a shining example, I’ve learned to let go of this fear that I could lose everything. It’s not innate, this belief, nay, truth that I can climb back from a tough loss. It’s something that has come through years of failure followed by success.
Do You Have to See The World Through These Eyes?
These aren’t my eyes, but tough lessons I’ve learned in life and from others and from books. Man Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl is one such book. Every friend that has created the life they want has also shared each of these world-views and have had the courage to impose their will on the world and the circumstances they’ve been handed.
Successful people see possibility whereas unsuccessful people see insurmountable obstacles impossibility.
What a wonderful, truly glorious fact that how we see the world is our choice. It’s all up to us. We can choose to see opportunity or we can choose to see nothing of value.
Learn to see the possibility in your life. Understand that failure is a good thing and no matter how bad you lose that you can always rise from the ashes, the depths, the place you don’t want to stay but the place where you’ll learn the most about yourself. You can do whatever you set your mind to, but you have to risk, you have to give something to get something. You hold the mighty sword called fait, wield it with daring.
