How can one person touch something and it turns to sh** while somebody else with seemingly the same things going on can touch something and turn it to gold?
I've sat at my desk, analyzing a bunch of things that have happened in the past couple of years (including certain people who will remain nameless) and have started to put something together on how "mindset" really works.
Success really is no mystery. Especially when you analyze people who have no success over others who do.
Success is a series of habits that are performed day in and day out. The habits in question, of course, are derived from a simple "action plan" that the successful person would have put into place, either writing down these steps or committing them to memory.
For example, years ago I have some crappy credit resulting from Divorce #1. So, what did I do? Sit in a corner and cry my eyeballs out? No. I found every book and course I could find on the topic of repairing my credit and followed the basic instructions provided. Of course, I know 1000% more now than I did when I started but usually you "learn as you go" when blazing new trails.
Another example...many years ago I ended up in a situation that devastated me financially. So, what did I do? Roll up in a ball and suck on my thumb? No. I went into overdrive andstudied every realistic money-making plan out there, followed basic instructions, and made a financial success out of myself within a short time after that. Yes, I had to "tweak" things here and there but I pulled it off without much difficulty.
Success "happens" when you do the following:
1) Decide to make a change.
2) Create an action plan to follow.
3) Consistently follow the action plan, day in and day out.
People have asked me..."So, is your brother a success because he has such a successful sister like you to show him the ropes?"
Nope. He's not successful.
Why?
Simple. He chooses not to be.
I have offered to help him in a variety of different ways from improving his credit to helping him get into a business. But nope. He's simply not interested. It requires a little "work" and isn't as simple as receiving free money from the government so therefore there's no motivation to alter that course of life he's selected for himself.
Changing sometimes isn't easy to do. And it's not because deciding to follow a new course of action is rough because that's actually the easy part. Where the "hard" comes in is deciding tostop doing the "bad" stuff in lieu of doing the "good" stuff. The habits are what makes it hard. Especially the bad or non-productive habits.
Here's another example: I've been able to make some phenomenal changes in my body by working out. Here's the weird part about it. The hard part for me wasn't deciding to work out or finding the right work out plan that worked for me. It wasn't actually doing the working out that was hard either. The hard part is laying off the heavy doses of complex carbohydrates which is the culprit of stacking the fat on my body. This is what I'm trying to demonstrate here. The bad habits are what steers people off into the wrong direction.
So, what do you do?
Find something that you want so bad that you can "override" the bad habits. That's the solution.
Don't want to be a fat ass anymore? That "goal" isn't enough. In fact, that's not even a "goal." You have to want being slim and sexy much more than being a fat ass pisses you off. And until the desire to be slim and sexy "overrides" the benefits of being "content" with being a fat ass due to the perks of overeating and being lazy then, unfortunately, a fat ass you'll remain until that happens.
(By the way, if I'm insulting any of you, it's because I'm trying to illustrate what I'm talking about in a way you'll actually understand. The unfortunate part of not getting what you want in life is because you're not understanding how success works and/or you're not creating that"override" switch to make the changes you ultimately want.)
Bottom line, let's talk about what you want then we'll talk about how to get there.
Let's start mapping out your new future.
1) What is it that you want?
Note: For the purposes of this illustration, I'm going to assume that you want to be "financially free." If that's not what you really want, let's go with it anyway. However, chances are, that's probably what you actually want.
2) Define what your desire actually means.
Note: This would be the part that you become very specific about what you want. Being "financially free" isn't a goal. It's an illusion when you think about it. You need something more specific and concrete like, "I want to be financially free, making $5,000 cash in my pocket after all business expenses per week, working from home."
3) Find a realistic plan in which to make your desire come true.
Note: You probably have run the gamut with the "scam business opportunities" like most MLM (multi-level marketing) or network marketing "plans," stuffing envelope schemes, and the many other "opportunity systems" that are only devised to make money for those selling you the bogus system. What I mean by "realistic plan" means that there's nothing about it that screams "get-rich-quick" and it's a realistic, doable plan to make money.
4) Create a "bite-size" step-by-step action plan based on the realistic plan you found.
Note: This means breaking down your realistic plan (which may be just a "concept" and not really a plan) and putting it into doable steps for you to accomplish one by one. The less intimidating the steps, the more apt you will be to complete each step.
5) Being consistent with the process.
Note: You do all of your outlined steps. If you're not getting the result you had in mind, keep "tweaking" your plan until you get what you want. The good news about seeing some money inflow from a plan, even if it's not even close to being enough, is that all you have to do is "tweak" while duplicating your efforts and you'll get to the financial goal you set for yourself.
If you recall, in both personal examples I've used, I indicated that I researched, studied, and learned what I could to get what I was aiming at or what I was trying to do.
When lining up any significant change, you have to start with the education needed to get to where you want to go. None of us roll out of been and automatically have the information needed to get what we want, inserted overnight by some crazy form of dream osmosis. (I wish!)
Instead, we have to do our "due diligence" to ultimately get what we've set out to do. (I have a funny story to tell you guys...I'll tell you in a couple of days!)
The only reason I've committed to "sticking around" for another year (possibly less) is that I have some additional educational materials to disperse to my students before I exit stage left. Until I've exhausted every avenue in which to teach you how to financially improve your life, I will remain in the picture.
Now, you're probably wondering..."Monica, why don't you just give all this stuff away for free?"
And here's why:
People who aren't "invested" in some way don't use the materials I present. Period. It's because they don't see the value in something for free and therefore do nothing with it. Earlier in my teaching career I'd take on the couple of people here and there that would want to be my "project" that would ultimately turn into a testimonial for me. Needless to say, I never got their testimonial because I'd give them the materials for free and they'd fall off the face of the earth.
To solidify this concept, I learned that this goes with every business out there. We had a wholesale distributor buy several cases of our product with the intent on giving the boxes away to his retail locations for free. His "theory" was that the stores would sell the product and quickly order more but paying for it the next time around. I knew his theory was flawed and I was right.
What ended up happening?
The retail stores saw no value in the product they received for free so they never pushed the product to their customers. Some threw the product in the back storeroom and didn't try to sell it at all. This is what happens when someone isn't financially invested. There is no value to them.
And this is why I can't do that to my students. I'd actually be doing you a disservice by giving you my powerful information for free because you'd never use it, thus wasting your life away at a dead-end job forever and dying a miserable, broke death.
I can't do that to you.
See you at the top!
Your mentor,
Monica Main