Alan W. Goff
Follow Alan:
What is the Reason you are Successful?
I was recently asked a very humbling question by an energetic young man who was looking to me as a mentor for the progression of his own personal growth journey. Answering his question wasn’t as easy as you might think. Many thoughts, ideas and strategies that I’ve learned from many of my mentors came rushing to mind and I wasn’t sure which one or two ‘reasons’ to share with him which prompted me to write down a collection of thoughts that in essence became a series of articles.
The question was… "What is the reason you are successful?"
When I asked the energetic young man if he was willing to give me some time to collect my thoughts and in so doing would spend more personal time with him, he agreed but wanted a ‘gem or two’ before he left. This is what I left him with… "The reason I’m successful is because I’m continually acting and moving in the direction of demand and because I am a good steward of opportunity."
Those two ‘gems’ really have "Action" as the key to success. To really answer his question would probably require I write yet another book. In the mean time, here are just a few thoughts from some other successful people that I’ve taken to heart and implemented in my own life and attribute greatly to my own success.
Although dead, Napoleon Hill has greatly influenced my achievement. One of the great quotes of his I hold dear and recommend to you is, "To become successful at living an abundant life with purpose you must be a person of action. Merely to "know" is not sufficient. It is necessary both to know and to do."
During a North American Leadership Summit I attended, I had the awesome privilege to witness an interview with former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, General Colin Powell who served under President George Bush and oversaw the invasion of Panama and Operation Desert Storm. During the interview, Mr. Powell said, "Plans don’t accomplish work, charts on walls don’t accomplish work… only people get things done; and that requires Action." It would serve us well to take that piece of advice to heart the next time we are tempted to make excuses for poor performance by blaming process or bureaucracy or go at the task with a half-hearted lackadaisical attitude. It has sure helped me become ‘successful’.
In his book ‘The 4-Hour Workweek’ Timothy Ferriss says this about inaction. "What is it costing you – financially, emotionally and physically – to postpone action? Don’t only evaluate the potential downside of action. It is equally important to measure the atrocious cost of inaction. If you don’t pursue those things that excite you, where will you be in one year, five years, and ten years? How will you feel having allowed circumstances to impose itself upon you and having allowed ten more years of your finite life to pass doing what you know will fulfill you? If you telescope out 10 years and know with 100% certainty that it is a path of disappointment and regret, and if we define risk as "the likelihood of an irreversible negative outcome," inaction is the greatest risk of all."
Notice the common theme in the potent and practical reasons for success I’ve given. They all have "Action" as the underlying ‘reason’ for success. What is the reason you are successful? And if you don’t consider your self successful, what is the reason your not? One of the biggest gifts you can give yourself that will propel you to success faster than anything else is the ability to take massive action on your goals, dream and desires… and act now.
Privacy Policy
Any private information you enter in the form will be sent only to Alan Goff for the purpose of the "P3" Newsletter subscription and the occasional special offer. Your information will not be lent or sold to any outside party.
Each Newsletter contains instruction on how to remove yourself from the list.
Take Advantage of Alan's World-Class Programs