Success – Life Lessons

Compete with a Purpose

Everyone has a mission specific to the individual. If people would focus most of their time and energy on finding their own purpose in life, then they would not bother to keep up with what someone else is doing. Competing can actually be a major distraction in one’s life. While wasting time trying to stay ahead of the competition, one’s purpose is losing its value.

Unless you’re in a contest, there is no need to be in competition with someone, especially if that person does not know. You will find yourself doing all you can to keep that person out of the race. That is not how you compete with purpose. You compete with purpose only when you have a willing opponent. Your friend, relative, co-worker or anyone you have an alliance with should not be your opponent. You can damage a healthy relationship by being in secret competition with someone.

People who are in competition have one focus, and that’s winning. There is usually some reward or other type of recognition for achieving the winning title. Hard work and dedication to any given challenge or assignment warrant a generous acknowledgement. That is fair and purposeful. Sometimes you don’t know what you’re capable of until you’re thrown into the ring.

For those who fail to offer their effortless support just to keep someone from being one step ahead of them, it is shameful. Opportunities are not scarce because they are created every day by the ones who overcome doubt and fear. People are so afraid of losing that they believe they can claim a position in the economy by keeping someone out of the race. This won’t work for a few reasons: 1) it takes at least two to compete (If you are the only one competing, then there’s no competition) 2) the person has to enter the competition (Once again, the person has to be a willing participant) 3) contestants must comply by the rules (People who are focused and determined don’t play by the rules) 4) a judge has to announce the winners (Winners don’t need confirmation).

You see, while he or she is racing, the other person is pacing. The person who makes it to the finish line wins the race, but the one who makes it to his or her final destination earns the title. In the Olympics, the winner is not determined by winning one race. He or she has to compete multiple times before claiming the grand prize (title). Winning one race does not make you a solid winner. That’s called luck. You haven’t won until you’ve created a track record.

Instead of competing, collaborate. Synergy is created when teams compete, not individuals. Individual efforts can produce money, respect, and recognition, but collective efforts can produce wealth and power.

If you desire to compete, that’s fine. But when it comes to achieving life goals related to finances, you should not compete yet complete what you started in your own time and at your own pace. Take notes from those who are ahead of you, and commend them for their success or good fortune. When you make it to your destination, you will expect others to do likewise.

And remember…
“Make sense of what you do, and make every cent count.”

What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear them.

Submit topic suggestions using the “Contact Me” page.

Photo 1: Flickr. Competition by Mary Beth Griffo Rigby CC
Photo 2: Flickr. Decanation Charlety 2006 by Killeur_Lapin CC

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Don’t Give Up Just Yet

Giving up is common because it is one of the easiest things to do, besides making excuses. Have you ever tried to put a difficult puzzle together? Or better yet, have you ever tried to solve Rubik’s colored cube puzzle? Seems like every time I got close, I just gave up. Life makes you want to give up sometimes. I said life makes you want to give up sometimes. I know I’m talking to somebody. I can’t be the only one who has every felt that way. Well, I’m here to tell you that usually when you give up on something, you are actually closer than you think. “When you give up on something that is important to you, you set the mark for failure” (I’m GOOD, Chapter 8, pg 125).

It’s easy to get through life without facing obstacles, but those stories are only told in fiction books. I’ve had enough setups and setbacks to make me lose my mind. I thought all my problems would be solved after I graduated from college. Not. Then, I thought I could get away from them by moving to Texas because people seem to flourish there. Nope, not for me. If you only knew how difficult it was solving the puzzle in my own life, you wouldn’t throw the towel in just yet. I’ve had more no’s than yes’s. More failures than successes. More debt than credit. Did I survive? You bet!

As stated in my book, I’m GOOD, to be released in July of 2016, “Whatever is impeding your success, it is creating substantial stress in your life. Winning is never easy, but losing is even harder. Don’t let your losses be an excuse to give up. Opportunity only knocks where there is a door. You can’t be still standing and torn down at the same time. That’s an oxymoron! If you don’t have a plan for success, you can surely plan to fail.” Yep. You will fail because you gave up on yourself. If you really think about it, life gives you more than second chances. It’s not that you kept missing the ball. You stopped going for it.

And remember…
“Make sense of what you do, and make every cent count.”

What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear them.

Submit topics suggestions using the “Contact Me” page.

Photo: Flickr. Don’t Give Up by Alison Phillips

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You Failed Because You Didn’t Attempt

Failing is not such a bad thing. It’s all about how you perceive it. The biggest failure comes from not trying at all. If you’ve never attempted, how could you possibly know what the outcome would’ve been? You have all these great ideas but no plan for execution. If you don’t put a plan into action, you can surely plan to fail. How many times have you seen your ideas implemented? While you were thinking about it, someone else had already acted on it. While you were dreaming it, someone else was already making it come to fruition. If you don’t leap from your thoughts, you will fool around and miss your opportunity to manifest all that untapped potential.

Some of the best ideas are buried in the grave all because people were too afraid to take a chance. But when you think about it, you take chances in life every day. A chance is no different from a risk because both have consequences. As stated in my book, “I’m G.O.O.D.”, to be released in July 2016, “There are risks in every decision you make. It’s just that some risks are high, medium, or low. You have to determine the level of risk you are taking. Some risks are hard to gauge. In the event, you just have to take a chance. Life is sometimes a gamble you do not have to pay for! You just have to be prudent in your decision-making; but if you are going to succeed, you cannot be afraid of chance. You took a chance when you went to the casino and played poker. You took a chance when you got married. You took a chance when you bought that used car. You even took a chance when you accepted that job. Even bigger, you took a chance when you had sexual intercourse for the very first time and every time afterwards”. As you can see, life is full of chances and in many instances, they are inevitable.

If you are a bit worried about what people might think of your idea, you may have to change your surroundings. The only dumb idea is one that is not converted into a plan of action. If you are not careful of whom you share your ideas with, that person may steal your idea and try to beat you to the punch.

And remember…
“Make sense of what you do, and make every cent count.”

What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear them.

Submit topics suggestions using the “Contact Me” page.

Photo: Flickr. Keep Trying by Steve McOrmond

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