Archives for November 2015

“Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life. Think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.”  Swami Vivekananda

The secret to success is to focus on one thing you are passionate about and never, ever quit. When you dedicate your life to one thing, you eventually become an expert in that one thing. Passion is the key because passion drives your persistence. Persistence, for most of the self-made millionaires in my study, was never forced. It was a byproduct of their fanatical obsession with one thing they were passionate about. In my Rich Habits Study it took the average self-made millionaire 32 years to accumulate an average of $4.3 million. But for those self-made millionaires who were single-mindedly focused on pursuing something they were passionate about, it only took them 12 years accumulate an average of $7.4 million. So, for those of you who want to “get rich quicker”, find something you love, which you can monetize, and stick with it.

The fact is, unfortunately, most do not succeed in life. Only 1-2% achieve self-made millionaire-type success. What’s worse, the vast majority struggle with poverty, or are one paycheck away from poverty. There’s a reason for this. Those who struggled financially in my study did not invest their life in one individual pursuit.

These individuals suffered from something I call Bright Shiny Object Syndrome – always in pursuit of something new. Those suffering from Bright Shiny Object Syndrome do devote themselves to one thing, if that one thing does not immediately pay dividends. They lose interest and then begin looking for something else. They take their focus off what they were doing and seek out something else to do. Those who suffer from this malady never become expert in any one thing. They are too busy shifting their focus from one thing to the next thing. The sad thing is that, since I completed my research, I see this happening all the time. My eyes are now wide open. I see individuals I know, some of whom I’ve even worked with, who go all in on an initiative for a year, maybe even two years, and then they quit and try something else. Unfortunately, Bright Shiny Object Syndrome is the rule, not the exception.

If you want to succeed in life, you must devote yourself to one thing, every day, and think about it 24/7. You must devote your life, not one or two years, to that one thing. If you’re not doing that, you will not succeed. You may get by and even do OK, earning a respectable living, but you will never realize your true potential in life and you will never become a self-made millionaire. You have one job in life. Find your passion and pursue it until the day you die. When you do, you automatically attract to yourself all of the critical success characteristics that make self-made millionaires so special.

Daily repetition in developing an expertise or skill is the hallmark of all self-made millionaires. The key is to find that niche in life that you can monetize and which energizes you with passion. Passion provides you with the desire to engage in an activity until you become expert in it. With passion you will be able to power through your mistakes and learn what doesn’t work.

Becoming an expert is the end goal. Experts are paid the most for their knowledge and skills. Expertise expands your means (income) which enables you to accumulate enormous wealth over time. The more you practice, the more money you make and the more wealth you accumulate.

In time, what you practice becomes a habit. The beauty of habits is that they endow you with instantaneous recall as well as effortless performance of your perfected skills. Passionate practice prevents poor performance by perfecting your knowledge and skills.

Find something you are passionate about and that you can monetize and you will want to engage in that activity 24/7. Over time, you will become the best at what you do. You will become so good at what you do that you cannot be ignored.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, humans are the only mammals who do not regularly nap during the day. The need to nap is hardwired into our DNA. One of the most important purposes of napping is to restore willpower. Willpower is a finite resource. When it’s low (known as decision-fatigue) it causes us to do things and say things that create most of the problems in our lives. Loss of willpower makes us more susceptible to addictions, moral lapses, frivolous spending, outbursts of anger, relationship problems and every sort of lapse in judgement normally prevented by our ability to control destructive impulses. Loss of willpower results in a loss of self-control.

The key to staying on course for a successful life is to preserve willpower for activities that move us forward in life and help us realize our dreams and accomplish the goals behind those dreams. Napping restores willpower and helps “clean” the brain of damaging plaque that builds up during the day, making the brain more efficient and healthier.

So, the next time you find yourself struggling to concentrate or focus on a task, take a 30 minute map. It will restore your energy, willpower and help clean your brain so that you can improve your performance and increase your ability to accomplish your goals and dreams.