The Countdown to Greatness (Part 1 of 4)
Maybe you don’t want greatness …
That’s cool.
Warning: You will by the time I’m done with you. (You’ll see by Day 4.)
Maybe you don’t believe it’s even possible.
That’s cool, too.
Warning: That’s about to change, too.
This is your last chance to quit …
Still here?
OK …
Over the next four days I’m going to unabashedly tinker with your mental wiring.
Think of it as a mental tune up.
Ah, hell. That doesn’t do it justice. This is more like a full-blown engine replacement.
I’m going to replace grandpa’s sputtering 10hp golf cart success motor with a full-blown 500hp V8 success engine.
And it will get 10x the mileage on 1/10th the fuel.
These posts are going to be short and simple.
Deceptively simple.
But there is a legit miracle hidden in the simplicity. And each post is extremely important, so stick through this all the way to the end.
OK, let’s start with a half-truth platitude …
“Clearly written goals are the key to success.”
It’s about as true as this tried and true plan for success from South Park …
Look, we need goals.
More accurately, we need forward motion.
As the great Maxwell Maltz said …
“A bicycle maintains its poise and equilibrium only so long as it is going forward towards something. You have a good bicycle. Your trouble is you are trying to maintain your balance sitting still, with no place to go.”
Enough said? You need to be moving toward something at all times.
If you’re not, your life is going to turn into a stagnant “pit of despair.” Even worse, you’re likely to get caught up in any random (political, ideological, financial, etc) charlatan’s plans for your life.
Over the next 3 days I’ll show you what’s missing.
But first, let’s deal with a few common pitfalls. Pitfalls that are invisible to most of us.
Hidden Pitfall #1: The Passion Trap
Just find your passion. The success faeries will sprinkle magic alignment-dust on your path and everything else will fall into place. So sayeth the folks selling “success in a pill” books.
But here’s the problem … how do you know what “your passion” is?
“Oh, you’ll know when you find it.”
Right. How’s that going? I’ve seen folks waste decades of their life “searching” for their passion – assuming it is the essential wonder drug that will cure all that ails them.
The problem is … where is your passion written? Was it predetermined before birth? Will you, on your vision quest through the Amazon, stumble across some sacred relic where it is chiseled in granite?
Don’t get me wrong. Passion is a tremendous force-multiplier.
As Steve Jobs said, “if you don’t love it, you’re gonna give up.”
He was partly right, but …
1. There are many throughout history who achieved great things through sheer brute-force.
James Joyce, for example, apparently struggled daily with every single word he wrote. 7 words on paper was a “good day” for him – and he begrudged them all.
2. You can train yourself to love the things you don’t love, but must do.
A very good idea, I might add. Joyce may have written more had he known this. And perhaps his writing would have been a bit less steeped in existential angst.
More on that later.
Moving on …
Know what your passion is? Awesome! Hop to it.
You don’t? No problem. Pick something small, meaningful, and believable – and keep moving toward it.
Maybe you’ll find it along the way. I hope you do.
But maybe you never will.
And maybe that’s not so bad.
Hey, if Da Vinci or Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton or Jose Rizal had fallen in love with a single passion they never would have joined the ranks of history’s great polymaths.
Whatever you do … Just keep moving forward.
Hidden Pitfall #2: The Moonshot
I once challenged a business partner to stretch his perception of what was possible. I assigned him a moonshot goal. And he missed.
Days later I saw him declare from the stage … “Some people will tell you to shoot for the stars and if you hit the moon, that’s not so bad. But in truth, if you miss, you’ll get demoralized. This is bad advice.”
He didn’t say my name, but I’m pretty sure I was on his mind 
And actually, he’s partly right …
It was bad advice for him – at that particular point in time.
I thought he was ready.
He wasn’t.
Well … actually, I’m pretty sure he was ready. I mean, I know for a fact he could have pulled it off.
But he was missing two things:
1. Faith in himself
2. Willingness to stretch outside of his comfort zone
So, take a moonshot if you’re ready!
But, if you’re not …
Pick something small, meaningful, and believable – and keep moving toward it.
Now, one last question for today …
Should you put a date on your goal?
Some folks swear by it. But I’m not so sure. Just like the moonshot, if that works for you – go for it. But if it doesn’t, don’t worry about giving yourself a deadline for now.
Everyone responds differently to different kinds of pressure in different situations. Be like a scientist. Test things out and see how you respond. Make observations. Make adjustments.
But keep moving forward. At all costs!
Now listen …
Just play with this stuff. Play, ok?
You’ll learn more about that in the next few days, too.
Tomorrow I’ll reveal something that, in my experience, is far far more important than any specific goal.
All the best,
Mark
Mark Joyner
Founder and CEO
Simpleology®
P.S. If you have a business goal …
I want to share a must-have resource with you. The great Dr. Joe Vitale said this new business weapon is my “magnum opus.” And several others who have seen it agree with him. I am grateful for the praise, but … guys, I ain’t dead yet haha! I think my best years, and my best work, are still to come, yet I am indeed quite proud of what my team and I have done here. And I’m also quite confident it will multiply your profit margins.
