The Reason You Are Not Succeeding

So here you are, sitting, contemplating why you are not finding success. It could be in your relationship. It could be in your job or career. It could be in your job search because you hate your current job. The reason you are not succeeding isn’t anyone’s fault but your own. It is a bitter pill to swallow. I have to swallow it myself sometimes and I choke on it every time I do. But you have to take ownership of it. The biggest reason you are not succeeding is your lack of self-development. Self-development is your greatest investment because you are investing in yourself. People waste their time and money on frivolous things like Netflix and cars when they should be investing that in themselves.

I have a theory that the reason people hate learning is because of our educational system. Our system is extremely outdated and old age. School has not adapted to today’s day and age and it has got to change. Kids are so unprepared when they get out of school it makes me sick just thinking about it. I think that school puts such a bad taste in peoples’ mouths that it makes them resent learning. I know it did for me. Don’t get me wrong I was a decent student (B+ or A- with the occasional C). I absolutely hated reading and studying but I did it anyway. When I graduated I took a few years off and it wasn’t till recently when I learned how important it is to never stop learning.

I preach it all the time, to my team. If you want to be successful, if you want to make money, you have to continuously be learning. Most of my team just looks at me as if I was a crazy person, when I tell them this, (seems to be a common theme for some reason… you’ll find out why from my blog post Sales: The Mental Chess Game) and seldom better themselves, at home. That is exactly what drove me to instantaneous success, in sales, and in the furniture business. I am sure it is the same with every profession. I know the reason I dominated the sales floor was because I never stopped learning. I worked harder than the guy or girl next to me. I was looking up sales techniques on my breaks, on down time, when I went home, while I pooped, etc. You don’t need to be a genius. You don’t need to have a photographic memory. You just need to put forth effort.

The investment in you is going to pay off, in the long run. It is rare to find instant success. This game is more for the long haul. Don’t get discouraged. Most things in life come with time. Your skills and know-how are your greatest attributes to put you ahead, in life. That is how you become an expert. I know that I am not going to be the greatest salesman in 5-10 years. It is going to take a grueling 20+ years. But if I want to accomplish this feat then I need to constantly self-develop. I cannot attain this goal of mine if I don’t but forth the effort and time. I cannot be lazy about this. I have to hold myself accountable. I have to keep my mind right. Stay on pace even when I’m down and struggling. That is what determines true grit and success. I can never quit and never give up.

You have to give up bad habits and replace them with good ones. For instance, I gave up watching mindless TV and being on social media for hours. TV is like cancer for your brain. If you watch more than 1 hour of TV a day I recommend cutting back. Social media is like a black hole for your time. Track how much time a week you are watching TV and on social and you will be disgusted. I used to have the excuse that I never had time. I did. I just allocated my time for the wrong things. I replaced my bad habits (TV and social) for reading articles and watching YouTube videos pertaining to my passions.

Don’t be afraid of learning. Learning is important! It will get you farther, in life. It does not have to just be about your job or career. It can be about anything you wish to accomplish. If you want to be a better gardener then go do it. If you want to learn about rocks then go do it. Each person is different.
You may be asking yourself “how or where do I start?” You can drive right in and go 100% like I did. You can also start off slow and then once you gain some ground you can add more and more. Here are some pointers that I found success in:

• Read or watch one article pertaining to your field a day.
• No more Angry Birds, on the toilet, use that time to self-develop.
• Look up the top professionals, in your field, and have them be your online mentor.
• Teach what you have learned to someone as that is the best way to gain a full understanding.
• Challenge yourself to read or listen to more books.
• Learn from YouTube.
• Take notes. If you want to retain all the information you are learning you need to take notes. Otherwise, it will be in one ear and out the other. You don’t have to go back to your notes but just writing something down helps you remember or retain it.
• Get more involved online by commenting on posts.
• Ask questions. If you can get someone that has a full understanding, of a concept, to teach you it you’ll save a ton of time.
• Review your notes. I know I mentioned earlier you don’t have to look at your notes. If you do you will retain the information more.
• Challenge yourself with deadlines. I am challenging myself by reading or listening to 50 books this year. I haven’t read more than 3 in previous years. But that means I have to keep the pace of about 4 or 5 per month or 1 per week.
• Purchase an online training program and complete the courses. You have to hold yourself accountable for this.
• Invest money in your mind. Most of the best knowledge out there is not free. You need to invest money to get that book or program. If you invest more money in drugs and alcohol than your mind you need to get your priorities straight!

Test out some of these tools and you will start to notice a drastic improvement. Currently, I am doing all of these. I did not start out with all of them I had to figure out what works for me. Each person learns differently so you will have to find out how you learn and retain. Figure out what is comfortable for you. If you are not sharpening your mind you are not going to succeed. You are not going to provide for your family and accomplish your goals. Challenge yourself and develop yourself. It is going to take time and hard work. Don’t get caught up and frustrated if there aren’t instant successes.

Please comment below one way you are self developing yourself. Where do you find success? Where do you find yourself struggling?

If you want to be great be relentless in the pursuit of excellence!

-Cody