Last week I received a note from a dedicated reader of the "Weekend Update" saying..."...enough on the introduction of living the Decided Life...tell us what decisions we have to make..."
"...What decisions do I have to make to be successful and happy?..."
My Response
I wish that I could simply say, "Only two decisions..."
The first one is to decide to be successful and the second is to decide to be happy!
The fact of the matter is that it is that simple, but at the same time, it is significantly more complex!
How can that be?
Let's start with on of my "Epiphanies of the Utterly Obvious"
"...When you find yourself in a position that you have to make a decision, you do not have enough information!..."
Those whose have spent any time with me...have heard me say this over and over...and more important...they see me live by this axiom...
Before we can decide to be successful and happy we need information...I call this Stage Setting!
STEP 1
First we need to know what we see success and/or happiness is...
Success and happiness MUST be clearly defined and understood.
It needs to have measurable aspects like, "I consider success as making $1,000 each day or more" or "Happiness is spending at least 3 hours each day of the week, at the beach."
From this point you can then determine if you are successful with a high degree of confidence...in other words, you will know when you have become successful. If you are making $800 per day, then you can say that are not yet successful...if you are spending 3 hours per day at the beach only on weekends you are not yet successful.
Although I have only cited a small piece of an overall definition of success, you can see what the overall definition should look like.
To ensure that it covers all aspects...use the words "and" and "or"
To go a bit deeper, all of your definitions should sound like a LONG run-on sentence. Success is making $1,000 every day of the year and spending 3 hours each day at the beach, rain or shine and...and...and...!
There will be many more and should be,,,"ands" and "ors" in your definition, just make sure that you have covered EVERY aspect of what it will take for you to say that you are successful...
Don't be like those who refuse to clearly define success and happiness and claim. "I will know it when I see it!" or "I am leaving doors open...just in case..." These people often have success in the grip and they let it go because they didn't realize that it was there!
STEP 2
Once you have defined real Success and Happiness, you can use what you now "know you want" to understand what you currently have.
This is actually quite simple.
Once you understand that success is making $1,000/day and you need to see how much you are currently making each day. For this extended example we'll say $240/day.
If spending 3 hours/day at the beach will make you happy, you can then look at your current life and see that you how much you are spending. We'll sat that you are spending less than an hour each day.
Repeat this for each and every part of the Step 1 definitions until you have covered each.
Step 3
The next step compares where you are to where you need to be.
This is easy!
I am making $240/day and need to be making $1,000/day to be successful. I am $760/day from success.
I am spending 1 hour/day at the beach and I will be happy when I spend 3 hours/day. I need to spend 2 hours more each day to be happy.
NEXT STEPS
We are now ready to begin deciding.
But not today!
We'll do this in the near future!
For now, it is important that you clearly define and understand What "Success and Happiness" specifically is for you. Work diligently at this understanding,,,to the point that you can not deny that you are successful and happy. If there is any doubt, you need to work harder.
Be patient...good things are worth working for...
Your success and happiness depends upon it!
No comments:
Post a Comment