Hard Truths You Should Know Before Becoming Successful: A Seven Part Series - Part 6

Thanks for the incredible response we’ve had to this series. Here is week six and the continuation of an article I read by Benjamin Hardy, the Bestselling author of Willpower Doesn’t Work. Find Week #1, Week #2, Week #3, Week #4, & Week #5 posted here.

Today we look at five new hard truths about the journey to success. Enjoy this week's read!

1. Five Minutes Is A Lot Of Time

When you have five minutes of downtime, how do you spend that time? Most people use it as an excuse to rest or laze. By lazing for 5 five minute breaks each day, we waste 25 minutes daily. That’s 9,125 minutes per year (25 X 365). Sadly, my guess is we’re wasting far more time than that.

I was once told by my 9th grade English teacher that if I read every time I had a break — even if the break was just for a minute or two — that I’d get a lot more reading done than expected. She was right. Every time I finished my work early or had a spare moment, I’d pick up a book and read.

How we spend our periodic five-minute breaks is a determining factor to what we achieve in our lives. Every little bit adds up. Why can we justify wasting so much time?

2. Leverage Your Position

No matter how small your wins along the way are, leverage your position! You have a high school diploma? Leverage your position! You know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy? Leverage your position! You get an article featured on some unknown blog? Leverage your position! You have $100? Leverage your position!

Sadly, most people can’t stop looking at the other side of the fence. They fail to realize the brilliant possibilities currently available to them. This is bad stewardship. There are people you already know who have the information you need. There are people you already know who have capital you can use. There are people you already know who can connect you with people you should know.

Instead of wanting more, how about you utilize what you already have? Until you do, more won’t help you. Actually, it will only continue hurting you until you learn to earn something for yourself. It’s easy to want other people to do it for you. But real success comes when you take ownership of your life. No one else cares more about your success (or health, or relationships, or time) than you do.

Your current position is ripe with abundant opportunity. Leverage it. Once you gain another inch of position, leverage it for all it’s worth. Don’t wish for more. Wish you were better. And soon enough, you’ll find yourself in incredible positions and collaborating with your heroes.

Success is based on choice.

Success is based on having and maintaining a motivation worth fighting for. It’s based on believing what others might call a fantasy. It’s based on leveraging your position and maintaining the momentum of every step you take.

3. One Dollar Is A Lot Of Money

I was recently in Wal-Mart with my mother-in-law buying a few groceries. While we were in the check-out line, I pointed an item out to her I thought was interesting (honestly can’t remember what it is anymore). What stuck out to me is that she said, “One dollar. That’s a lot of money!”

Why this surprised me is that my in-laws are not short of money. Actually, this happened while we were on a family trip (30+ people) at Disney World — the whole thing is paid for by them.

Understanding the value of one dollar is the same as coming to appreciate the value of time. To thoughtlessly spend one dollar may not seem like a big deal, but it actually is. That frivolous spending compounded over a long enough time could be millions. It also reflects a lack of care about the details, which is where the true art and value lies.

Additionally, most millionaires are “ self-made”, 80 percent being first-generation rich, and 75 percent were self-employed. Not getting paid hourly challenges you to take more responsibility for every minute and every dollar. Consequently, a great majority of millionaires are extremely frugal — or at least highly mindful — with their money.

4. Your Work Should Be A Performance

The cool part about poetry is that to most poets, how their poems are performed is just as important — if not more important — than what is actually said.

In a similar way, when you go to an event or to hear a speech, you’re usually going to see the speaker, not hear what they have to say. You already know what they have to say.

No matter what type of work you are in, it will be better received if you see it as an art-form. You are performing for an audience. They want you just as much as they want your work — often more.

5. You Get To Decide How It Works

Ryan Holiday, author of The Obstacle is the Way, explains what he calls “the moment,” which every skilled creative has experienced. “The moment,” is when your eyes are opened to the mechanics and behind-the-scenes of your craft.

Until you have this moment, it all seems like magic to you. You have no idea how people create what they create. After you have this moment, you realize that everything is done by a person intentionally creating a particular experience.

I was recently watching Lord of the Rings and it dawned on me that those movies would be completely different if they weren’t directed by Peter Jackson. Completely different!

Every shot, every set, the lighting, the costumes, how the characters and landscapes look, and how the whole film feels and is portrayed. It all would have looked and felt completely different based on the experience a different director was trying to create.

Thus, there is no right or wrong way. Rather, it’s about doing things your way. Until you experience this “moment,” you’ll continue attempting the correct or best way to do things. You’ll continue copying other people’s work.

But if you persist, you’ll become disillusioned to those who were once your idols. They are people just like you and me. They’ve just made a decision to create in their own way.

The idea of imitation will become abhorrent, freeing you to create as you see fit. You’ll emerge with your own voice and original work. You’ll be less troubled about how your work is received and more focused on creating something you believe in.

As I prepare a final article next week on the topic of success, please keep sharing your comments, critiques, and discussions below. Or get in touch directly with me at: skrawitz@savills.ca. I would love to hear from you!

Have a great week,
-Stan Krawitz