Persuasion Tool #12 –Success Shortcut
There were these two neighbors that live near each other in the mountains. They were very competitive; they were always testing each other’s strength and having contests. One day they needed a bigger challenge so they wanted to see who could chop the most wood in three hours and they both agreed to the challenge. The first neighbor started out strong as he chopped away, but the second neighbor only went for ten minutes then sat down under the shade of a large tree. The first neighbor couldn’t believe his eyes. “What laziness,” he thought. Then the second neighbor continued to take ten-minute breaks every hour for the duration of the whole contest. Finally, the contest was over. The first neighbor didn’t even pause to take a single break and knew victory was his, but to his dismay, he found that the second neighbor had chopped twice as much wood as he had. He said, “wait a minute, that is not possible.” Without batting an eye the second neighbor replied, “I wasn’t resting, I was sharpening my ax.”
That’s what we are going to talk about; personal mastery; exercising your brain; sharpening your ax and realizing that knowledge is power. Derek Bok, former president of Harvard University said, “if you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” Speaking of Harvard, let me tell you about a Harvard study. Not only is it important to learn the things people expect you to know, but this study shows that those who are learning and growing every day are more optimistic, they are more enthusiastic about where they are going and what they are going to accomplish and those who are not learning and growing every day become very negative, pessimistic, and doubtful about themselves and their future. Personal development makes you more influential. You feel more influential. Personal development increases motivation, reduces fear, and it enhances your ability to influence.
Look at these painful numbers; 58% of the US adult population never reads another book after high school; 42% of college graduates never read another book; 80% of US families did not buy or read a book last year. That is painful because you have to understand that in the business world and in life, what you don’t know will hurt you. Did you know that almost all million-dollar homes have a library? Did you know that success expert Bryan Tracy says if you read 30 minutes per day you will double your income every year? When you learn and grow, you feel more competent and seem more competent to others.
Books and audios are a great way to start. Always read a book. Listen to personal development material in your car. Turn your car into a university on wheels. Even quicker are seminars and webinars. It integrates with more aspects of your mind. You will remember it better, and you will learn faster. The quickest way, of course, is having a coach or having a mentor.
Coaching is the quickest way for personal development; get the answers right now. These coaches or mentors have been there. They have done it. They can see the mistakes you are making, and they can look around the corners because they have already accomplished what you are striving to do. Every professional athlete needs a coach. You cannot learn to play basketball by reading a book. So which method should you use? My answer is all of the above depending on the situation and how fast you need to learn.
Application
Start with 15 minutes a day of personal development. You should probably be doing 30, but as you start doing 15 minutes it becomes addicting, and you will notice a difference. You will be learning more, and you will be earning more. I don’t care how you do it. You can multitask. You can listen to audios in the car. You can watch videos while you are working on the computer. Read the books. Find the mentors. Go to the seminars. Listen to the webinars. Watch these videos. It makes a difference. Make a commitment of 15 minutes a day. You do this, and it will enhance your mindset. You will feel more competent. People will see you differently; you will act differently, and you will be more influential.