Until very recently I had a personal mantra which I felt certain summed up who I am and the path to success. You know; the punch in my personal “elevator pitch”. It defined not only my past but paved the way for my future in both business and personal endeavors.
“Of all the things I’ve done or been, a Quitter is not one of them”.
Then I read something so compelling that I shifted from certainty to a state of confusion. As a student of Tony Robbins work, I’ve learned that a state of confusion is a wise place to reside on occasion. Why, because confusion by definition, is lack of certainty. Lack of certainty translates to an open-minded state of learning.
Although my pride was sometimes out of proportion with the reality of my knowledge, skill level or probability of succeeding; I believed pride to be a healthy part of tenacity and part of a good work ethic. Pride fueled my persistence and a belief that only quitters fail. The recipe for success should have been this simple-to succeed you only need to not quit.
Wrong! Winners fail time and time again before they succeed. Much more importantly however; winners know when to quit and what to quit on. Choosing the wrong hill to climb is part of the inevitable series of failures which precedes success. Some hills should be surveyed and then abandoned. That is not quitting! Other hills will serve as great battle grounds with opportunities for growth and learning without the desired end results. It is the search for the right hill that must not be abandoned. Choose carefully with applied experience. Then, bring all of your sure-footedness, knowledge, passion, strategy, ethics, and a bit of confusion to the hill and don’t quit until you make it happen. Bring your conviction and plan to thrive on the hill-but fight like you are willing to die on the hill.
- You may believe that you have a phenomenal product, service, idea or plan but you can’t sell it to everyone. Know when to change your audience OR when to change what you are selling.
- Unless you are the wealthiest or most powerful (not always one in the same person) you must be the most persuasive. You can’t persuade everyone.
- Adjusting your strategy is not the same as quitting on your end goals.
- Failures are inevitable and if you embrace the confusion they can cause, they are powerful learning opportunities.
Louise Haller
Last updated on March 1st, 2018 at 09:59 am
