The best products aren’t the ones that sell the most. The best music isn’t what you hear on the radio. The best movies aren’t the ones you go to see. So why do you buy the products you buy? Why do you see the movies you see? You see the movies that are popular and buy name-brand clothing because success is more about social influence than quality. Once someone is successful, it’s easier for them to remain successful because people rely on credibility to make decisions. We’re lazy and would rather someone else make our decisions for us. We trust what the masses, and experts, say.
So if someone is in a position of success, we believe their work must be good — even if it’s really not. Our perception alters our experience. If we think something will be good, it generally is … for us. The great part is, we can use this understanding to achieve our goals quickly. Radically fast. And it doesn’t matter how audacious those goals are.
Here’s the process:
1. Start With “Why”
If you’re not motivated to do something, you won’t do it. You’ll quit. We need something to work toward that is meaningful to us. For example, my father-in-law was easily able to lose 20 pounds for his daughter’s wedding. But unless he has something like that to work toward, his eating habits aren’t pretty.
Starting with why creates the vision. It’s after you have the vision that you determine the medium through which to achieve it. Far too many people start with the medium and get stuck. Without the motivation behind their activity, most people fizzle out and “get a real job,” or simply “don’t have time for that kind of stuff.” But once you have a strong enough motivation — your why — you won’t quit. You’ll keep going, even if you have to change the medium through which your vision is manifest. You’ll be willing to change the “how” until you get it right. It might take decades. It might require switching jobs or hobbies or whatever it is you do 100 times. You may look like a non-committed fool.
The truth is, you’re committed to the vision and willing to look foolish.
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