05.27.08
Nothing Worked So Far?
How many seminars and events have you attended, how many books have you read, how many retreats and Bootcamps and talks have you been exposed to? How many of them changed your life? Why didn’t your life change? You spent so much time and money, and every time you thought, “THIS might be the one that does it for me…” but it didn’t, did it? WHY? I believe there are only two basic reasons why none of these training sessions or books worked for you so far.
The first reason is that you’ve become such a “course junkie” that there is no urgency, and you really think you’ve heard it all before, so there is no more real excitement, and in the back of your mind, you know there will be another seminar next week, anyway. No rush. And you justify the time and money you spend and the lack of success in your life by reasoning, “I need more information - I am still learning - one more seminar” - like the eternal student, the gray-haired loser that never leaves university, and never applies what he learns. Hooked on learning and the little high he gets at each event, the course junkie never intends applying the information. He has been playing the Cash Flow Game for years, but he still works for a boss, and he always will. He likes the idea of being an entrepreneur and getting rich, but he’ll never do it. Perhaps he’s waiting for an inheritance or she’s waiting to marry someone rich… Attending seminars is her HOBBY. Nothing wrong with that - you’re welcome to have a nice hobby. Enjoy it!
The second reason is PAIN or the lack of it. We will only make a dramatic change in our lives when the pain of staying where we are exceeds the pain of change. Until we reach that pain threshold, there will be no change. It is said, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear”. “READY” means “Enough Pain”. Realistically, any one of the seminars you attended or books you read could have been the catalyst to launch you into a brand new life of success, but you were too comfortable, so you didn’t bother to apply the information, or you did so half-heartedly to justify the time and money spent. When there is enough pain in your present circumstances, you will do whatever it takes to get out and make the changes required. At that point, the seminar or book will become your way out.
How can you induce that level of pain and change? How can you get leverage on yourself to actually change your life, to become a student who will follow the instructions of a master with absolute commitment, trust, obedience and faith? How can you heighten your receptivity and motivation to a point where you apply the instructions meticulously to your life, do whatever it takes, and subjugate your arrogance and slothfulness to an awareness and drive that propels to you heights of success you never dreamed possible?
Stand back and look at your life. Focus on the pain. We will do more to remove pain that to gain pleasure, so use pain. Ask yourself what your life will look like in three years if you DON’T make the requisite changes. Weigh the two: What you have, and what you COULD have. If this doesn’t float your boat, ring your bell, and get you leaping out of bed, you’re simply not ready - YET.
And that’s the scary part. “A hard rain’s gonna fall…” Usually, it takes a dramatic, disastrous episode in one’s life - a divorce, a bankruptcy, a death, the unexpected loss of your job - before you wake up, smell the coffee, and make the changes. Your ego needs to be gobsmacked so hard that that you find out who you really are and where you’re really at. The only problem with that is that sometimes, it’s simply too late. The Chinese say, “Dig the well BEFORE you thirst.” So by all means, play the “What IF?” game, and see if that heightens your awareness sufficiently to finally make the changes and apply what you learn. Think about it. But then, you spend a lot of time thinking, don’t you? Perhaps ACTION is the key?
Robin J. Elliott www.DollarMakers.com
