Most common way to fail

Do you want to know what the most common way to fail is?

The most common way to fail is to set an extreme goal without breaking it down into easy to accomplish steps, but rather pointing to someone who achieved that goal as an example to follow but ignoring the journey they took to get there and only focusing on the end result.

In today’s TV filled society, we are taught to look to those that have achieved incredible things and then mimic some aspect of their lives.  Working with startup businesses, I see this all the time.  They read an article talking about Richard Branson and his views on success.  They say that all you need to do to have that much success is to never give up.  Unfortunately that is horrible advice.  Remaining flexible is one of the best ways to be successful and endure, not stubbornly ignoring all reason and continuing in a bad direction.

Another example that I see is with those that obsessively play the lottery.  They say that “someone has to win, it might be me.”  If their goal is financial security, wealth or even to be debt-free, the best way to achieve those goals is by setting small goals and systematically moving towards success.  Instead they do the exact opposite and put their money at almost certain risk for loss and get further and further away from their goals. 

Someone has to win.  Every year an NFL team will win the Superbowl, a baseball team will win the World Series and an NBA team will win a championship.  The reason that they achieve that incredibly difficult goal isn’t by saying “well someone has to win.”  It is by working hard and doing the necessary steps to improve day in and day out.  

If you are starting a new business, don’t just look at Steve Jobs or Bill Gates and say that your goal is to be as successful as them.  You could easily miss the little things that make the biggest difference and instead fill your head with misconceptions about the journey that they took to get where they are.  

We never seem to pay attention to the journey, only the end result.  The only way to truly succeed is to focus on the journey and continue to improve every day.  By doing this you will progress towards success faster than by looking for a quick shortcut that will likely leave you feeling discouraged.