"Bravery" Is In The Eye Of The Beholder
So what exactly is my crime? I failed to obey one of the most important rules in self-improvement and in the achievement of goals: the teaching that we must surround ourselves with people of like thinking -- people who have similar dreams, goals, and desires of achievement that closely match our own. For anyone unfamiliar with this teaching, let me explain why it is very important.
As we work toward any goal, we need positive support. Support is vital to our success. Because the road to reach any goal is often fraught with obstacles, it is very easy to become discouraged and lose the will to carry on. Only when we have a "support" group -- a group of like-minded people who can understand our trials and tribulations -- can we overcome the barriers, pick ourselves up, and continue on to the finish line. Without such people, we are left to fend for ourselves, making the journey far more strenuous and possibly leading us to abandoning the endeavor all-together. Yes, it is possible to reach our goal. But we can get there faster, have better results, and have far less stress when we place ourselves in the company of like-minded, forward moving people.
Far too often, the people around us shoot down our ideas. They tell us that our goals are a silly waste of time -- pipe dreams. From our own point-of-view, we are fighting the good fight to make our lives better. But from the outsider's point-of-view, we are being foolish to chase those dreams. And in the face of such ridicule, we must fight the war on two fronts: the battle to reach our goal and the battle to quiet the neigh-sayers.
I know this from experience.
For you see, during the creation of my internet business, Portable Potential (writing the ebooks and the huge task of building the website), I failed to immerse myself in the support and encouragement of positive individuals. I can count on less than three fingers the number of people who gave me the much needed help -- and even then, I was unable to talk with them on a daily basis. Most of the people that I have had daily contact with bad-mouthed the whole endeavor. It made the journey almost unbearable at times. But I survived. And I made it to the finish line. But I know for a fact that it would have been much easier and I would have enjoyed the process so much more if I had practiced what I had been preaching and followed what I had been teaching.
Please drink-in the importance of this quote by Pulitzer Prize winning author, Theodore White:
"To go against the dominant thinking of your friends, of most of the people you see everyday, is perhaps the most difficult act of heroism that you can perform."
I now keep a printout of this quote hanging where I can see it every day. It's a reminder that following one's dreams can be a struggle, but to surround oneself with the right kind of positive, motivated people makes the struggle so much less difficult.
Something to Think About: "I would rather work with five people who really believe in what they are doing rather than 500 who can't see the point." - Patrick Dixon, futurist
Related Tags: success, self-improvement, support, self-help, goals, achievement, group
About the author:
David J. Radtke is the creator of Portable Potential ( http://www.portablepotential.com ) -- a website dedicated to helping others achieve greater success and personal mastery. With over 20 years experience in the field of education, Mr. Radtke has helped thousands of people improve their lives through one-on-one consulting and through his many e-books.
If you enjoyed this article, then please visit http://www.portablepotential.com to learn more about Mr. Radtke's life-changing e-books!
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