Luck vs. Work

Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States of
America, said, "I am a great believer in luck, and I find that
the harder I work, the more I have of it."

What do you believe in?

Do you believe in divine direction or luck or hard work?

Maybe you believe in all of them or in a little of each.

Personally, I don't want to put my future in the hands of
"luck" or "divine direction."

However, I do very much believe in hard work.

I'm not sure I've been lucky. I know I have had some breaks in
life, and I feel those breaks are the result of hard work and
persistence.

Persistence is the fuel that helps us achieve our goals.

Often when I'm interviewing a prospective coaching client, I
ask, "What prevents you from achieving your goals?"

The usual answer is, "I give up because it just doesn't work
out."

I then ask, "Do you think you did not realize your goals
because you lacked persistence when your goals were not
achieved overnight?

The reply is usually silence, followed by, "Yes, it didn't
happen fast enough."

Ah, the goal fell short due to the diagnosis of "Immediate
Gratificationitis." This awful diagnosis is suffered by many.
I'm sure you're familiar with the symptoms of this particular
disease.

When life or "things" don't go the way you want or don't happen
fast enough, you give up. Sometimes people rationalize, "Well,
that's just the way it's supposed to be."

Well, what happens if that isn't the way it's supposed to be?
Let me offer you an example. One of my clients from California
has been trying to buy a house for the last year. As you may
well know, the housing climate is very tough right now,
especially in the Golden State. She finally found a house, but
when her "already verified" loan did not go through, she was
ready to give up. When we spoke she said, "I guess that's the
way it is to be. If I were supposed to have the house, the loan
would have gone through."

I said, "Have you tried a different bank? Did you offer to take
possession sooner? Did you try offering a larger down payment?"
Long story short, we worked out a few more scenarios, she went
back to the table, and she closed this week. She was ready to
give up just because it didn't immediately go her way.

Goals usually fail because of lack of persistence, lack of
support, lack of resources, and/or lack of direction.

Goals also fail because of improper planning and goal
construction, i.e. specificity of the goal, ways to measure the
progress of the goal, and whether the goal is realistic and
actually achievable in a timely manner.

If you are looking for direction or lack the proper resources
to attain your goals, please let me know. I can offer you
support and assistance.

Thomas Edison summed it up nicely when he said, "Many of life's
failures are people who do not realize how close they were to
success when they gave up."

Have a great week!

Dr. Michael Kaye
Knowledge, Action, Results