Have you ever faced that obstacle and immediately thought, “There’s no way I’ll ever finish this” What about the days when you’ve stood at the starting line for that foot race and thought, “There’s no way I can beat these guys”: Perhaps you’ve had a great idea and immediately thought, “I’m never going to have the money to do this”
It’s often easier to take the path of least resistance and throw in the towel, rather than search for the sunshine in opportunity and — go for it”. I’ll admit it takes far more effort to stand your ground and go the distance, but the rewards are far more incredible than never having faced a challenge: Never having stood your ground and squared up to challenges. In that action, you find the bigger the obstacle, the far greater is the reward at the end.
There’s no shame in not winning. In fact, there’s no shame in not doing anything at all. That is of course unless you know you could and should have done something and didn’t: You had wonderful opportunities but instead chose to sit on the sideline and watch the world pass you by.
No-one can make you do anything: No-one can let you feel shame or disappointment. Those are emotional tags we hang on ourselves when we finally understand the impact of our actions and inactions on ourselves and through the extension, those who are in our lives and look to us for guidance, support, encouragement and assistance. In letting others down, we must first realise we are letting ourselves down and therefore, building barriers to prosperity in our lives.
When you fill your heart and mind with those negative statements, you are in effect destroying any real desire you have of embracing success and prosperity in your life. It’s the signal to your subconscious that your life really is not worthwhile and you resign yourself to being ordinary.
I was once asked to attend an audition for the role of a homeless man in a television series. I set about wandering the city, checking out the many homeless people whom I had never previously observed. It didn’t really give me an insight, so I decided to play an undercover role of my own. Without telling my family or friends, I spent five days living as a homeless person, wandering the city, sleeping out and begging for money.
I found it simultaneously challenging, frightening, exhilarating, sickening and heart-wrenching. I was spat on, screamed at, physically assaulted and humiliated, but the experience has stayed with me for a lifetime. The stories I heard from the people on the ground form the basis of a television series proposal I’m currently writing.
I didn’t end up getting the role and while I was initially angry, I understood there was a greater purpose to my actions. Those thoughts freed me up and formed the catalyst I needed and rather than scream and rant and rave about how useless the whole exercise was, I quietly congratulated myself on the achievement.
It’s never about what happens in life, but what you do in respect to the challenges faced. There will always be obstacles to overcome and if you choose to wallow in self pity and refuse to seize the opportunity to challenge yourself and put your game of life into overtime, you will never know how it feels to prevail over adversity and you can’t understand the exhilaration of achievement.
The sweetest success is savoured when you have your back to the wall and believe that all opportunities have passed you by.
If you choose to say “never” and allow it to become a constant in your vocabulary, there will be no just reward for stepping off the plate and having a swing at life.
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Dubbed “The Success Wizard” by clients and friends, Kieran is an International Specialist Success Coach, & Motivational Speaker. His programs are assisting individuals and corporations worldwide, to connect with and harness the incredible power of the human spirit, where true inspiration and courage often lie dormant. Visit Kieran at KieranRevell.com
-What are some key lessons you got from reading the ideas above?
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