Dont Take Advice From Successful People
Do you know what the problem is with asking successful people for advice? They dont always know why they are successful – but theyll give you all the reasons you want. I once watched an 100-year-old man explain that smoking every day was the secret to his longevity. It would be great to know why he lived so long, but Im pretty sure we wont learn by asking him.
Dont Listen To Success – Model It
Dont do as they say, but rather do as they do. That is the way to learn success from the successful. A wealthy real estate investor once told me he didnt believe in setting goals. Only later in the conversation did I realize that he knew just where he expected to be with his projects in six months. Thats goal-setting – he just called the process something else.
Dont stop listening to what successful people have to say – but read between the lines. Look at their words for insight into how they think about things, how they approach their challenges. A successful basketball player might only advise you to practice more, but if he mentions “I saw that going in,” after a great shot, start visualizing your shots going in.
Copy Everything At
First
Sometimes we wont know what is causing a persons succcess. I once tried to exchange links with other websites, but the owners didnt respond to my emails. Then I found a letter used by a successful internet marketer to get links. It sounded silly to me, and I wanted to change it, but the first time I tried it, it worked.
At first, it may be best to just copy many of the actions, attitudes and approaches of someone who is succeeding. As you learn, you can drop those parts that arent contributing, and add elements of your own. Model a successful parent, for example, and dont worry if you dont know right away which changes have made life with your children so much better.
You may not ever understand why some things work, but you dont need to, do you? Better to have success than to explain it. So do what they do, not what they say.
About the Author
Steve Gillman writes on many self help topics including boosting brainpower, losing weight, meditation, habits of mind, creative problem solving, learning gratitude, generating luck and anything related to self improvement. Youll find more at http://www.SelfImprovementNow.com
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