“There are three types of people in this world. Firstly, there are people who make things happen. Then there are people who watch things happen. Lastly, there are people who ask, what happened?” – Steve Backley
Have you known people like that? Which one are you?
How many times have you looked at others who are successful and said something like, “they are successful because they are just gifted?”
It can be easy to think that because, let’s face it…some people are gifted and excel in areas where others might not. And they do it with seemingly no effort. At least from our perspective.
I talked a little bit about these three types of people in my MOJO Monday video earlier today. If you haven’t seen it you can check it out here.
Let’s get down to it.
The fact is, we are all gifted. Our basic thoughts about life take us on the pursuit of our “reason for being here.” Aren’t we all looking for our gift that we are to share with the world?
So what really does set successful and the not-so-successful people apart? What makes some people really excel and always be on top of their game and in control of their life while some just watch success roll by them? And what about those folks who cannot seem to get their head above water?
I believe this quote says it best.
“Success is a decision, not a gift.”
Steve Backley, OBE, former javelin World Record Holder, said this powerful statement in his book The Champion in all of Us: 12 Rules for success. The book, although fiction, is based on four athletes and their strengths and weaknesses. Steve put together a montage of the 12 Rules and you can watch it here. I want you to pay particular attention to rule 11 at around 5:22 on the video. Take notes on that one!
More About the Three Types
- People who MAKE things happen
- They have it together
- Nothing ever gets in their way
- You know they must be working hard, but it just seems so easy.
- People who WATCH things happen
- You are walking the path of average while dreaming of being awesome.
- You bought all of the right courses.
- You have the right tools.
- You even listen to the right mentors.
- You know what needs to happen.
- You even make a list.
- But, still you watch others succeed while you remain average.
- People who WONDER what happened
- There you are on rock bottom.
- Life is just not what you thought it would be.
- You cannot figure it out.
- You don’t know where to start.
- So…you do nothing.
- And the result? Nothing happens.
The key: You must DECIDE you want to be successful.
Once you make that decision, ask yourself these questions. Be specific with your answers.
- Who will you have become?
- What will you be doing?
- What will you have then that you do not have now?
I am sure you have seen this happen. Once you make the decision to do something and you can close your eyes and see yourself accomplishing it, all it takes is to do the steps it takes to get there. Motivation kicks in. You have motive to do it.
When you think of motivation, how many times do you go to the woohoo excitement of it all? The hype and excitement of it all? Those are just the side effects of motivation. Motivation is actually the drive…the why you do things.
A couple of the definitions that kept appearing when I looked this up were:
the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way
the general desire or willingness of someone to do something
Don’t get me wrong, the celebration and enthusiasm are fantastic. They are signs that you have excitement about what you’re doing. But the motivation part is the drive that causes you to take actions on something that you want. The motivation is because you want something out there, something ahead of you. And you want it maybe more, or in a different way, or in addition to what you have now.
That desire motivates you to move forward. Maybe your life is not exactly what you want it to be. Maybe you don’t have the job that you really want. Maybe you don’t make as much money as you need, or you don’t have as much freedom as you want, so you’re motivated to do something different. And when you’re motivated, you take actions. Sometimes those are big grandiose actions and sometimes and it can be as simple as taking a day off and going to the park because you can do that and it’s what you enjoy doing but today I want you to remember something.
Look at what it is that you want that’s different from your life. Why do you want that? What is going to drive you toward getting it and focus on steps that you can take to get there.
A lot of times we wonder what happens. You know we see everybody else beside us. They seemingly have similar life circumstances but they’re moving forward and we say, “what it is that they are doing?!” Often it is just because they’re doing… they’re taking action
And then sometimes there are people who who look back and just watch things happen. Maybe they are in the midst of things. They’re taking training, they’re learning new skills but not applying what they are learning. I know I’ve been there. How about you?
Ok, and then there are those people who were just going gangbusters! It looks like that they are on fire and they are moving forward at lightning speed. They are motivated. They are driven and they are taking the actions to get them where they want to go.
I want that to be you today. If you find yourself in the first two categories, reach out to me, reach out to somebody. Find someone who can help Maybe you’re overwhelmed because you don’t know what steps to take. Maybe you are confused because you don’t know how to prioritize the steps needed. But if you are motivated; if you want to move to a step beyond where you are now and you know why you want to do that, then you can get moving. Just reach out. If you cannot do it on your own reach out. I want to help you succeed.
Let’s do what it takes to get you to the next level. We want to move forward all the time. I want you to move forward all the time. If you need help, let me know.
That’s it for today.
Remember to: Dream big. Believe in yourself. Let’s do the work.
See you next time,
Deb Bennett