personal incomes by taking action on my teachings . I tell my Business Owners of stories of clients who have scaled their businesses at multiple times growth and profitability . Yet , the overwhelming majority do not “ take action ”.
The key to being successful is “ activity ”. Activity breeds further activity . Those who do elect to take action ( activity ), I can almost 100 % guarantee that they will be hit with adversity . With obstacles . Those who enjoy success display GRIT .
They view adversity more as a challenge , and in their effort of self-mastery , they act accordingly and overcome the obstacles . Successful people are willing to do whatever is necessary to be successful , whereas those struggling are unwilling to stay with it . Rather than waiting until all the details are figured out , successful people in life embrace the uncertainty , and therein lies the breakthrough opportunities !
More often , failure in the future is the result of inadequate imagination in the present . I think about growing up in a modest family environment with my Dad working 6 days a week to put a roof over his family , food on the table and clothes on our backs . Then , I look at myself racing and finishing 15 Ironman competitions ; bungee jumping the world ’ s highest jump ; flying a jet fighter plane ; hang gliding above Christ Redeemer ; diving with great white sharks off coast of South Africa ; and traveling the world as a professional speaker ; and the list goes on . This despite being educated as an accountant ; not knowing how to swim at age of 58 ; no flying lessons ; and a fear of public speaking ! This begs the question – “ How ?”
Let ’ s go back a long time , when I was 13 years old . I worked as a caddie at a private country club and quickly realized that the members were living a significantly better life ( success as I saw it ) than my Dad . Given a choice , I ’ d have preferred their life ! So , while carrying their clubs , I ended up “ interviewing ” about 200 of them . I peppered them with questions as to how they achieved such success , and what advice could they share with an ambitious kid who sought similar . Here ’ s what I heard : 1 ) Set goals , don ’ t pick too many , and put them in writing ; 2 ) Build a written plan on how you will achieve the goals , indicating both activities needed along with associated time frames ; 3 ) Have a system of measurement of activities ; and 4 ) Share the goals and have some folks hold you accountable .
I picked 4 goals , all of which I would complete by the “ old age ” of 30 , covering the following areas : Financial , Professional , Education and Family . Once I had my Vision / my destination , the task was to “ reverse engineer ” and identify the things which needed to be done in order to arrive at the desired end zone . Well , the goals were all accomplished and in less than the stated timeframes . This did not happen without incurring sacrifices . This did not happen without facing down adversity . But , the magnetism of the goals , the sharing with others all assisted in me pushing through to the end zone . The amount of “ NO ’ s ” I had to express was at times overwhelming . The social events I missed were numerous . The question to be wrestled down is “ How bad do you want it ?” In order to ask that question , you must first determine what “ IT ” is ! Then , laser focus and grit .
What was started at 13 years of age has continued through the years and here I am in my late 60 ’ s and the process continues . I encourage a visit to www . jackdaly . net to see my personal goals for the year and my Life Bucket List ( 75 % complete life to date ). Over the years my central categories have changed . I ’ ve worked with others and they ’ ve set categories of a different nature , as our definition of success can differ from person to person ( no right , no wrong ). Health has become a significant category for me as my life has progressed ( without that , nothing else matters ). What one does Professionally will generally be a key category ( happy there , and happy in many other arenas . Put another way , unhappy there , and likely unhappy elsewhere as well ). For some the category of Spiritual will be a significant category ; for others it might be Financial , for others , Family , etc . Identifying your categories of importance and painting a picture of your “ success ” is the Vision . Then the task of breaking each down into actions with timelines , and we are on our way to success !
Jack Daly
Jack Daly is a leading sales speaker and trainer with over 30 years of sales and executive experience . Jack ’ s track record is a testament to his real-world knowledge and extensive expertise in sales and sales management . He started his professional journey at CPA firm Arthur Andersen and rose to the CEO level of several corporations , building six companies into national firms along the way , two of which he subsequently sold to the Wall Street firms of Solomon Brothers and First Boston .
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