The Lure of Easy…
I have been in business for just over 24 years and I have seen promoter after promoter talk about the “easy” way to win in business. People stand in front of “their” sports car or in front of a mansion and talk about how they made massive amounts of money in 6 months and how they can teach you to do the same. It seems that most of the people making a fortune in business seem to only teach other people how to make a fortune in business.
When I was in college, I bought into an MLM (multi-level marketing) company. I loved going to the meetings where the speakers would get you to dream about the incredible success you were going to have. All I had to do was tell 10 friends, who would tell 10 friends, who would tell 10 more, and I would be rich! Then, they would sell tapes (a long time ago) of them pumping you up and reminding you of your incredible destiny. I remember thinking, the only people who are getting rich off of all of this are the people selling tapes!
Then, about 10 years into my professional business, I started letting go of the fear of other people copying me. At first, I was afraid someone would take my content and create their own business. After a while, I realized that people who take the “easy path” are the ones who won’t actually put in the hard work required for success. Success demands sacrafice. It demands that we read the books, and then implement what we have learned through disciplined action. People looking to get rich quickly don’t typically discipline themselves.
The trap so many people fall into is that of trying to find the easy button when it comes to succeeding in life. When I tell people that being successful in the leadership training business only took 3600 cold calls in the first 52 weeks, with 3080 of them resulting in rejection but 520 of them resulting in appointments, they cringe. Of the 520 appointments, over 400 of them told me no. I believe success is the summit of a mountain absolutely worth climbing. Along the way, there will be trials, tribulations, challenges, setbacks, and so much more. They are all there to see who really wants to make it to the top. They are there to weed out the people looking for the easy path.
To find the summit meant for you, you have to step into the challenge. You can’t dodge it, avoid it, or quit in the middle of it. The path to the top requires the development of your self-discipline muscles. I believe this is why so many people who are successful also practice competition in other parts of their lives. They run or lift weights, or play a sport, but they compete. They are not really competing with others though. They are competing with who they used to be and chasing who they can be.
My challenge to you is to ignore the people saying that all you have to do to succeed is drink a magic potion or follow 3 easy steps. Instead, embrace the challenge. Embrace the struggle. Embrace it because it is the act of struggling that creates the strength you need to make it to the top and stay there. What can you do today that will make you stronger? What can you do to embrace the challenge of success, not just the lure of easy? Though the struggle is real, the view from the top is worth it!
You’ve got this!
Jody N Holland, M.S. Psychology
