The Aha! Moment for Me in John C Maxwell’s Top 10 Reasons Why People Fail
Change…Is it good? Is it bad? Are you willing to change? Does change have an impact on our success?
In this post I share some more wisdom from John C Maxwell’s Failing Forward. Specifically, I will discuss the AHA! moment for me during the chapter where he describes his Top 10 Reasons Why People Fail.
That AHA! moment for me is….
Unwillingness to Change
This is another “look in the mirror” moment. Especially for me…I certainly was (and likely still am sometimes) guilty of this on many levels, and I had to come to grips with the fact that in order to progress and move forward, maybe I did/do have to change.
Here are 2 great quotes that hit home here. I can’t find an original reference for the first one:
If you change nothing, nothing will change
This 2nd one has been attributed to Albert Einstein, but I’m not sure he said it, or just implied the concept with his definition of insanity:
If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got.
You see, our path is determined by us, and by our actions. If we are unwilling to make a change, even if the path is not working out, then we can count on not reaching our goals. It’s that simple.
There are 2 basic types of change, and one is easier than the other.
Willingness to Change Procedures or Methodologies
This is usually the easiest. It means something like, “I tried this, this isn’t working, now I’ll try that”, or “Let’s try this new procedure from so-and-so because the one I’m following isn’t working.” Many times, we actually embrace this type of change, because this type of change is not likely to make us feel inferior.
For example, let’s use changing the oil on your car as an illustration. Assume you’ve changed the oil on many cars and know what has to be done, you just haven’t done it on your particular car. You start by simply opening the hood and trying to dig in with some level of confidence. You do this because you know WHAT has to be done (i.e., old oil drained, old oil filter removed, new oil filter installed, new oil installed), and you think there’s a good chance you can just figure it out along the way. Let’s say you hit a snag in trying to get the old oil filter off due to its placement. So you go to YouTube and check out some “how-to” videos on your particular car and realize you have to (___________) first. You likely have no emotional problem whatsoever just changing your approach and following the new procedure given by the video. You don’t consider this change an affront to your ability, or your moral character, or your belief the “right way”. You simply make the change.
Willingness to Change Beliefs and Self Awareness
Here’s where it gets interesting, but also where real growth comes. You must be willing to revisit things that you believe in, or things you believe about yourself. This can be hard, because unlike changing how you removing the oil filter in your car, you must look in the mirror and do some soul searching. This type of change, or at least the act of revisiting these topics, can be VERY UNCOMFORTABLE.
Here’s an example from my own journey…Network marketing has been around for a long time, and there are many successful people who are very happy to coach and train others on how to be successful. And there are just as many new network marketers (ahem….) that think they have a different (possibly better) way because the taught way is uncomfortable, or “not me, or (_________). You may believe that you can do it your way, and possibly you are right, but if you would just look in the mirror, and realize that change is necessary, then progress would start. Everything else is mostly spinning in circles. You may never enjoy showing up cold to a networking meeting, or a social gathering filled with people you don’t know, or reaching out to people you haven’t spoken to in a while, but the magic is in making the change that allows you to do it anyway.
You must confront your belief, which is really just fear and resistance, and be willing and open to a change.
Very successful people typically subscribe to the tenet that you have to become COMFORTABLE being UNCOMFORTABLE. You don’t have to love change to be successful, but you have to be willing to accept it and take action when it makes sense. If you are not regularly doing things that make you uncomfortable, then you are not likely moving forward.
Sometimes the “change” is started by a change of environment. Many times that geographical or vocational uncomfortableness sparks a change, even a minor change, that pushes you forward. How many times have we seen a professional athlete or coach simply change teams, and then start to have success.
So embrace the concept of change…take a look inside yourself…get uncomfortable…reach for the sky!
I hope this helped you in some way, and if so, please comment below, share it with others, and please connect with me. I would love to hear your thoughts and the experiences you’ve had as well.
Have a great day!
