From ordinary to extraordinary: the power of action
The one thing all successful people have in common (and it’s something you can do today)
Time to read: 8 minutes
TLDR (for those a little busier today): Whatever it is you want in life, start going after it today. Honestly, that’s it. Take action. Said another way, if you do nothing, you will get nothing.
Need a famous person to drive the point home?
“If you change nothing, nothing changes.” - Tony Robbins
Of course, there’s more to this story so keep reading if you are interested.
What’s the #1 thing that people who have created and achieved success – personally, professionally, financially – have that others don’t?
Are they smarter or have higher IQs?
Are they better looking?
Are they more naturally talented?
Maybe it’s where they’re from?
Do they know the right people? Honestly, I could make this #1a.
Or maybe they’re born with it?
Maybe it’s Maybelline? (Does anyone else remember that commercial?)
The truth is that it’s none of these things.
Stick with me and I will tell you what it is.
Let’s back up a second. I want to share a little secret I learned from many coaches and mentors in my almost 20 year career as a financial advisor.
I always used to think that the proven way to build wealth is all about following the right process. Don’t get me wrong. A sound process matters, and it does play a role in achieving financial success.
But a secret started to emerge as I learned from these coaches and mentors and reflected on the stories they told, the advice they gave, and, of course, the beers we shared.
And, if I am being honest, it seemed so obvious when I figured it out, and, also, it’s something that so many of us overlook when we see people that are financially successful because it has nothing to do with money.
Here’s my take on this little secret
Life isn’t about becoming a wealthy person.
It’s about becoming the type of person that’s capable of becoming wealthy.
Money, or wealth, is the output. It’s the personal growth and the person you become that’s the input. There isn’t some miraculous moment where someone decides to pay you more for your work. Nor is there some miraculous moment where someone bestows wealth upon you.
You become the kind of person that is capable of creating success and you develop the philosophies, habits, and strategies along the way that when consistently applied lead to the creation of financial success.
And the best part?
Everyone is capable of becoming that type of person.
I’ll repeat that because it’s important.
Everyone (even you) is capable of becoming that person.
But how do we so often overlook this simple, yet powerful truth?
Because all too often we focus on the wrong thing. We focus on the money and wealth part of the equation (i.e. the output and not the input). It’s also not solely our fault. The media is very quick to talk about “the next big stock to make you rich” or “how to become a millionaire overnight” or even “the next billionaire tech founder.”
Very rarely, do they (the media and other people) tell the real story of the time, the discipline, the inner work that goes into creating their financial realities.
“The greatest reward in becoming a millionaire is not the amount of money that you earn. It is the kind of person that you have to become to become a millionaire in the first place.”
— Jim Rohn
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QUICK TIME OUT! Ok, reality check. There will always be people who do find a scheme that makes them rich very quickly, that happen to find the next big company whose stock shoots into the stratosphere, or that start the next tech unicorn. And, also, this isn’t the norm. These aren’t the things that work consistently and repeatedly over time to build meaningful and sustainable wealth.
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But people who have achieved extraordinary levels of personal, professional, and financial success know that it’s not about the money, at least not at the start.
Don’t get me wrong. Money matters. It’s important to create it, keep it, and use it intentionally in our lives, but money, or wealth (which, to me, is the intentional use of money and not just the accumulation of it), is simply an indicator of success.
“Your income is the outcome.” - Me
The income you become capable of creating is the outcome of the work, the discipline, and the personal growth along the way. You become someone different and that new person is capable of creating outcomes that may seem unrealistic today.
And now back to the original question
What one thing do (financially) successful people have that others don’t?
A START DATE
Seems overly simplistic, right? But it’s true.
At some point in their lives, they created a clear vision for the life they wanted, the person they needed to become to make it possible, and…
THEY TOOK ACTION.
They aren’t better or smarter or more deserving.
THEY SIMPLY GOT STARTED.
And after hundreds, more likely thousands, of trials, failures, learnings, and achievements they eventually mastered the ability to consistently produce the results they desire most.
And the day you become capable of getting paid for results (i.e. for the value you deliver) is the day you break free from trading your time for money. Trading time for money always has a cap because your time is always limited. We only get so much of it. But the value we can create is limitless.
Everything you want is on the other side of action…
…and a few other things which I’ll share below.
“It’s not about the goal. It’s about growing to become the person that can accomplish the goal.”
- Tony Robbins
I personally love this quote. The real goal is to grow to become bigger than the challenge, problem, opportunity, or goal. That’s when you become capable of so much more.
And the only way to become this person is to get started...
Let’s talk failure and persistence
…and then you need to keep going. You need to see failure not as a real failure but as a lesson to learn from. Because you will face failure.
Successful people fail … a lot. That doesn’t mean they risk everything over and over again. There is a very real art and science to not just building wealth but keeping it. That’s a story for another day.
Successful people know that the best way to learn is to try, fail, learn and repeat. Over time, you learn a new set of skills, habits, strategies, processes, philosophies, mindsets, etc that make you a better person.
And it’s that person that then is capable of achieving even greater financial success. You can make more money because you are providing more value to your team, company, or even your very own business and customers.
This will be hard. You will doubt yourself. You will want to stop. Other people will criticize you or say you aren’t good enough. You will make up a thousand excuses why doing something else is better. And you need to fight those thoughts and feelings and keep moving forward.
Because when you reach the tipping point, your life can, and likely will, change.
But most people will stop before they reach the tipping point.
They’ll post 30 videos on social media and give up.
They’ll record 10 podcast episodes and give up.
They’ll write 25 newsletters and give up.
They’ll (insert action) (X number of times) and give up.
But success isn’t about immediate accomplishment.
“Successful people have fear, successful people have doubts, and successful people have worries. They just don’t let these feelings stop them.”
A quick story before I close
I recently started posting more regularly to social media. I didn’t come up with a grand plan. I just started creating videos and posting.
And one day, a good friend of mine decided he would give me some feedback. What did he share? Here’s how the conversation played out:
Friend (that loves to give constructive criticism): “Your social media videos suck.”
Me: “Good…because that’s just the beginning”
Consider that the abridged version for the purposes of this newsletter.
The point is that you too may suck (technical term) at what you try to do at first. Most people do. The trick is to keep going and to test, to fail, to learn, to grow.
That’s the secret.
A final word on achieving success
Now, there’s more to this story. There’s a lot that goes into achieving success or accelerating your path to success. Things like:
Having a clear vision of what success looks like (or what you think it will look like).
Setting goals that are specific and measurable.
Establishing clear strategies for how you will execute your plan.
Having the resilience to stick with things when you fail or don’t succeed (some call this grit)
The mindset for continuous learning and growth through and from failure.
I will also add that a lot of these things will become more clear once you start. Don’t overthink the start.
But the point is that you can’t achieve success if you don’t start. If you get up every day and take action, take one step in the right direction, you will, over time, start to become a different kind of person.
Start small. Test, learn, fail, and start over. As you grow so too will your opportunities.
Let’s bring this home – a few questions and a challenge
So what do you want to achieve? And who do you need to become to achieve it?
And don’t just think about money. You 1000% can of course! But I always encourage people to look at their entire life and to think about where they want to grow.
Want to achieve career success? Find someone that is in the role you want and ask them to meet with you.
What to be a great parent? Find a good one and ask them to spend time with you.
Want to get in better shape? I’d probably recommend talking to a personal trainer.
Want to be financially successful? Find someone that has done it and recreate their process.
And, if you really want to accelerate the process, get a coach, find a mentor, or get professional advice. Most people shy away from these things because there might be a cost (especially to professional advice). But, in my opinion, it’s arguably the best investment you can make in getting it right today and avoiding the mistakes that so many people make along the way.
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I’ve had a fair number of people ask me how to find a “good” financial advisor. Here’s a great resource that shares the right questions to ask and what to look for.
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Here’s my challenge to you → What action will you take today to become that person?
Cheers to health, wealth, and the good (financial) life,
Brent