There is so much wisdom out there and so few putting it into practice. “That’s not for me”, “It doesn’t fit my context”… are familiar alibis. Reality is, wisdom shakes us. If we had to accept it, we’ll have to act on it; generating a very uncomfortable domino effect:
accept wisdom => act on it => change habits
Oh! Just the mere thought of it hurts! While it is a good recipe to move forward in life, it is also an effective trigger of immediate frustration…
This said I’ve picked a few pieces of advice I (personally) considered as indisputable and tried to put them into practice. Then I said to myself, maybe I should share them if anybody is ever interested.
So there we go…
1. Grow bigger than your problems — Jim Rohn
A problem cannot be resolved at the level of thinking it was created — A. Einstein
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The only real action plan to achieve anything is to be the person it takes.
As Steven R. Covey puts it, if you have a communication problem the last thing you should do is to take a communication skills course. You need to work on your character to address the very source of the symptom (e.g. puffed up ego, insufficient self-esteem, fear of rejection…). Once done, you can consider communication skills courses but chances are you won’t need them anymore.
What do you want to achieve?
=> Who do you need to BECOME to achieve what you want?
=> What do you need to CHANGE to become who you want?
=> Dream big, start small and KEEP the distance
You’ve got the point… Next. ☺
2. Do it daily — Darren Hardy
- Would you ever consider not sleeping all week and sleep around the clock over the weekend and expect to be on the go on Monday?
- Suppose you want to lose weight, would eating junk food all week and going vegan on Sundays make it?
It’s all about what you do frequently!
Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.― Ralph Waldo Emerson
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You’ve got the point… Next. ☺
3. Ask for advice from people that succeeded — Jim Rohn
I regularly meet people over breakfast who want to chat about some aspect of their life; one recurrent topic being choices. People want to «validate» some of their decisions through an external view. Here is how the conversation usually goes:
Friend: I want to do blablabla and I believe that blablabla is the best option for me.
Me: What made you settle for that option?
Friend: That’s the one most acquaintances advised.
Me: How many people did you talk to?
Friend: 4 or 5. Mainly close friends and family. Those I trust most.
Me: Out of the 5 persons you’ve talked to, how many are savvy on the subject or have achieved anything significant in the matter at hand.
Friend: Uh… Ah… Oh… Let me think… None! But I trust them!
Me: If you have a plumbing problem at home would you ask for help a plumber or a house painter even you trust the latter?!
You’ve got the point… Next. ☺
4. Spend less than you earn — Warren Buffet
Remember that last salary raise you got, at best it was damn useful for 2 months and then became insufficient… Same goes for your last bonus! We tend to manage our material lives in line with our revenue… the more input we get, the more material output we expect. Which means, we never have enough.
The idea is not to get into the sociological and psychological dynamic behind this observation but rather, to seek a pragmatic solution to a shouting reality. There are 2 possible approaches:
- Spend first and save what is left (i.e. nothing ☺).
- Save first and spend what is left.
So, you got the point. Just set up this long-overdue automated wire transfer to your savings account each month.☺
5. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life — Steve Jobs
Are you the kind of guy that would like to dress every day as Elvis or Michael would? Hopefully not! Many of us have people they aspire to. That’s fine. But the minute you feel like wanting to have somebody else’s life, I can bet a million something is wrong. You would say it’s not my case. Well, let’s double-check (or double click as a colleague would say ☺).
Do you feel jealous at times? Yes? It’s a natural feeling. Yet it unveils that, to some extent, you would like to borrow somebody’s life at that specific time on that specific matter. A good step to be your true self is to spot jealousy and work on it.
In business, many entrepreneurs find themselves launching “me too” products because there is some market potential to grasp. Rather, go for the untapped markets and remember:
You cannot always be better, you can always be different — K
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Good luck! ☺
If interested in learning how to work with your nature and not against it, check out my book at WorkWithYourNature.com