Obstacles and fears: the filters of success

September 21, 2007 · Posted in Change, Self-help, Success 

How many times have you heard someone say that they had the original idea for some “hot”, new product, service or web application? The chances are pretty good that they did have the original idea or one very similar to it. So:

  • What happened?
  • Why did their version of the idea “die on the vine”?
  • Why are they not reaping the harvest of their “original” idea?

The quick and dirty answer

The quick and dirty answer is that having ideas is easy, whereas implementing those ideas is not. Please note that I did not say that the activation of their idea is hard. I merely said that it was not easy – not easy in the sense that there is work to be done. But I did not say that the work would be difficult.

Difficulty is a matter of opinion

People tend to associate difficulty with any task that is awkward or time consuming. Almost anything new to you will be awkward at first but this does not mean that it is difficult for you. It only means that there is a learning curve involved, which will consume some of your time.

Learning to walk as a child was both awkward and time consuming, but you did not give up. You tried, you fell, you tried, you stumbled, you fell and this repeated over and over until you became proficient at walking. The same things occurred when you learned to ride a bicycle, swim or drive a car.

Learning anything new takes time. How much time? It depends on a number of variables:

  • your desire to learn – do you want to learn or is it being forced on you?
  • your motivation to learn – why do you want to learn this new thing?
  • your determination to learn – how badly do you want to learn?

It’s up to you

You can and will do what you want to do in most cases. I can hear some people saying that they would rather be doing this job or pursuing that lifestyle. My response is, “then why aren’t you?”

And typically I get a list of obstacles and fears. Obstacles are those things that stand between you and the realization of you dreams. Obstacles can be:

1. A lack of “know how” – you don’t know what to do, what’s involved or where to start on your big idea. This obstacle is easy to overcome in theory. You only have to find the information and then apply it to your situation.

In practice it is time consuming. And because it is time consuming, it is confused with being difficult. Well here’s a clue – the difficulty may lie in you having to tear yourself away from you favorite sitcom, but the learning part is a piece of cake because you are way more intelligent than you give yourself credit for being.

The difficulty is being determined by you attitude to the time you must allocate to acquiring the information and not by your aptitude which for most people is being underutilized.

2. A lack of funding – again it seems difficult, but when you “break it down”, you may change you mind.

If you have equity in you home, then getting a home equity line of credit or a 2nd mortgage is really easy. The difficulty is in putting your home on the line.

If you have a 401k retirement account or a life insurance policy, then you can borrow against them. This is not hard to do.

You may have a “rich” friend or relative who is willing to invest in your idea or lend you the money outright. The hard part is having the humility to ask.

Obstacles stand between you and your goal. There are ways around, over, under or through them. It’s up to you to figure out how to eliminate or minimize them.

Fears are mental roadblocks

1. We are afraid of what others think – if you have a great idea and don’t launch, then people are going to say that you lack courage, that you are not committed. If you do “dive in”, then someone will say that you are reckless, that you lack “good” judgment.

The bottom line is who cares what someone else thinks? You can’t please everyone anyway. Anytime that you try to move away from the “herd”, you are inviting criticism and scrutiny because if you can be successful, then what does that say about the rest of the “herd”?

Do not underestimate the “power of the herd”. The status quo is a powerful motivating force that opposes all change. But in reality, if you want to be successful, can you remain in the herd? It’s a rhetorical question – the answer is no.

To be successful, you must think, speak and act like successful people. That alone will cause you to alienate yourself from the drones of sameness.

2. We are afraid to get out of our comfort zone – whatever it is that we are doing right now is a known situation and that makes it comfortable. Anything new will be uncomfortable.

But you can refuse to think of your discomfort in terms of anxiety or stress. Instead, see it for what it is – the butterflies of excitement. It’s the “pump” before a big gave or a big presentation. It’s the thrill and anticipation of attempting something new and wonderful. It’s all in how you choose to look at the situation.

The filters of success

Obstacles and fears are the outer and inner roadblocks to success. They are the filters that stop so many people. They are the reasons that so few ( 3–5% ) ever reach financial independence. They are the excuses that keep the “herd” of mediocrity full. These are the reasons that you hear people say, “I had that idea first”.

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Comments

3 Responses to “Obstacles and fears: the filters of success”

  1. Stephen Hopson on September 27th, 2007 12:42 pm

    Chris:

    I really liked this article, especially the part where lack of funding tends to hold people back. Your tip about borrowing against a life insurance policy was the second time I had seen it this week. That means the universe is trying to tell me something!

    I learned about you through Priscilla’s List of PD blogs and decided to stop by to say hello and offer a congratulatory note for making it to her list.

    My goal is to visit every blogger on that list but only write to those who I felt touched in some way by visiting their sites. I liked the energy that came flowing from your words and so here’s my “hello”!

    I’m a fellow blogger who made the list too and have been “in business” since April 06 over at Adversity University.

    I hope to make new friends doing this and expand my network of connections in the blogsphere.

    Have a wonderful rest of the week!

    Stephen Hopson

  2. Chris Melton on September 27th, 2007 12:53 pm

    Thank you for your kind words. I will be stopping by to check out your site shortly.

  3. Stephen Hopson on September 27th, 2007 2:06 pm

    Chris:

    Way cool! Look forward to having you stop over for “coffee” at AU. :)

    Stephen

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