THE PRICE OF SUCCESS

DEDICATION

Most people interpret the word dedication as amild involvement in an endeavour. They think that if they dabble in an area for a while they may get lucky and strike it rich.Dedication is not a sometime thing. It is a total commitment to the project at hand. A dedicated person is an unstoppable force because they refuse to split their time, interest or activitieswith anyone or anything that is not moving towards their goal. Because of this dedication they are labeled anti-social, greedy, selfish and stubborn. It is because of this dedication they are able to pay the second item on the success account;

SACRIFICE

This means turning down drinks, cocktail parties, functions, events, holidays and any other non-productivity. Some of the biggest sacrifices one will have to make in order to be successful is that of sleep, time and home life (even if you work from home). Hours, days, months even years of study, innovation, experimentation and effort will result in you growing and perhaps even becoming a new person. This will mean even sacrificing friends, family and social events because you don't have the time. You will hear them say that you've "changed". "you don't love me anymore!" and "forget your mates as soon as you come into bucks".Then just when you thought it was time to ring up the total, they will hit you with the next item on the statement;

THE DEATH OF THE OLD YOU

The success journey will require you to give up, change,adapt and renew the old limiting thoughts, beliefs and attitudes. Many limiting beliefs have been with you since childhood. Until you realize thatthe success journey requires the old to pass to make place for the new, true growth is impossible. Just like the seasons, everything must diein winter in order for there to be new, progressive life. And as you go through these changes you will receive probably your biggest account, and one that most are not preapred to pay; 

THE LAUGHTER, SCORN AND OPINIONS OF OTHERS

It is true what they say - that we worship two gods. One being the god called money, the other the god called the opinion of other people. It amazes me how many people never try to improve their circumstances for fear of what others might say and think. It is impossible to live a full life, the one you were destined to live, if you continuously worry what other people will think and say. Try and remember this little saying when you next find yourself immobilized by it. "If your friends and your enemies are not talking about you, you are doing something wrong". As a matter of fact if you are not consistently aggrevating someone you're probably not making much of a difference in this programmed, "the way it should be", world.

THE FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN

This is probably what stops us not even trying to pay the price. We have become creatures of habit and comfort and not knowing what the future holds is frightening. As a result of this we rush out and demand basic salaries, insurance, medical aids, unemployment funds, job descriptions, fixed annual leave, set hours and as much predictability as possable. The problem is that the future is only unpredictable to those who seek security and who have no plans of their own. Those who are waiting for others to make their plans for them. Someone once said that if you don't have plans for your life, someone else has got plans for you. Unless we wake up everyday and wrestle the unknown we'll do and be exactly what others want us to do and be, and we will moan all the way.

LET US TRY AND GET TO A TOTAL

Rejection, failure, stress, hard work, cancelled orders, delivery problems, nasty people, corporate politics, office politics, back stabbing, under cutting, lies, deceit, power plays, faulty products, delays, incompetence - the list goes on and on!

So is it worth it? Is the price worth the rewards?

I say ABSOLUTELY! We have the price within us; we all have what it takes to deal with the challengesof the success journey. We were given enourmous amounts of talent and skill to help us achieve.

Are the rewards worth it? Ask any "successful" person who has the freedom, power, love and recognition they've worked for, if they would have it any other way. You not only have all that it takes to be a s"success", but you were born to be a "success". You were born to wake every morning and courageously do battle against poverty, prejudice, inequality, lies, hate and selfishness.

Don't let some scared , bankrupt negative doomer hiding in a "quality of life town", sway you from your destiny with examples of the few who tried and fell. Talk to 'rich" people about the price of success vs. the rewards of abundance.

PAY THE PRICE, HAVE FUN, MAKE A DIFFERENCE, STAY LOOSE AND BE BIG!!

This article was written by Gavin Sharples.