(Published Online: 27th
July 2007)
By this I mean it is quite likely
you may not be doing enough to EMPOWER those around you to
achieve their own authentic successes.
It is my strong belief that anyone who
claims to be successful will prove it by making his/her success
rub off on others (i.e. making his/her success "contagious").
If you feel comfortable having people who continually underachieve
around you, and you do not feel a compelling NEED to challenge
them to SIT UP and take diligent personal action to become
better, then YOU are not as successful as you think you are
- No matter how much money or fame you enjoy!
Does Anyone Look Up To You?
How many people can you point to who
would want you to be their mentor today – and would
still feel that way a year after? The answer will come easily
to you - if you’re honest with yourself. To those who
think playing safe, being risk-averse, never making mistakes
etc is the way to go, let me say this: You cannot give what
you don’t have!
It is likely that you already have people
who look up to you now at home, work or in the neighbourhood/society.
What will you have to offer them (that will be of lasting
value) if you haven’t tried out anything to be sure
it works? You can give money and get someone to say thank
you. But you can really change someone’s life for the
better – and possibly forever - by teaching him/her
how to go about doing something useful that YOU have learnt
how to do (sometimes the hard way).
E.g: Maybe you went out on a limb to
do it, when you knew absolutely NOTHING about it, making mistakes,
and learning from them – UNTIL you became as good as
you now are in it. Sharing that experience with someone about
to face a similar challenge could make the difference that
helps him/her achieve the breakthrough s/he needs!
The Interesting Paradox About
Sharing
Sadly, some people don’t believe
in sharing like that. They are fond of saying things like:
“Ah, no O! Do you know how many years it took me
to learn to operate that thing? How can I just teach you to
use it just like that? You will have to find your way and
learn too! Do you think it is easy? 10 years experience is
not a joke O!”
But many people who are authentically
successful do it everyday – I mean sharing. They don’t
like to have others re-invent the wheel by going the long,
hard way when there is an easier and better alternative that
can be used to achieve the same end. Consider all the wonderfully
useful resources that today’s successful people give
away (sometimes free) through the Internet alone, and you
will appreciate what I mean.
Funny thing is despite “sharing/revealing
their secrets”, these generous hearted celebrities have
not stopped being successful. On the contrary, they remain
leaders in their various fields. If anything, they seem to
grow in stature as they continue to share freely with others
less fortunate than themselves!
In contrast, have you noticed that people
who are “stingy” with knowledge/gifts they have,
are often the greediest users of the gifts made freely accessible
by the above mentioned successful persons. They are seldom
to be found putting up useful knowledge they have on the net
for others to freely download (even if for a fee). They only
consume – and very rarely CREATE for others to consume.
They take, take, take and take.
Yet they wonder why they never really
attain the heights of success that those who give freely do.
Anyone who is guilty of being like this, needs to change for
the better if s/he truly desires to achieve great heights
of authentic success. S/he must begin to think of how to improve
the lot of others around him/her even as s/he strives for
more personal successes.
Summary
By working hard to make a POSITIVE and
impactful difference in the lives of others using your knowledge
and skills, you will over time build goodwill for yourself
with others. Many of those who benefit from your generousity
WILL begin to look up to you – for guidance, and more
imporantly LEADERSHIP. They wull believe in you , and one
day will demonstrate that belief by going out of their way
to give YOU the support you need when you least expect it
– and possibly when it matters most! Mark my words,
this often happens.
So, why should you say you’re
“just okay”, “doing fine” or “have
no problems” when all around you are people actively
searching for someone to spend time with them and SHOW them
how to achieve the kind of “success” you claim
to have achieved? If you are truly authentically successful,
then you will not be scared to share the secrets of your success
with those less fortunate than you, who are yet to discover
them.
Multiply yourself in others. Clone Yourself™.
Share that little that you have and help others grow, then
see how it comes back to you in multiple folds. Play your
part in making the world better than it currently is by helping
another person(s) discover/actualise his/her GENIUS like you
are doing!
"It is only as we develop
others that we succeed permanently” - Harvey
Firestone
FINAL WORDS - IN FORM OF A WARNING:
Before I go, I must draw your attention to a VERY valid observation
made by Dan Kennedy in one of his books. He noted that some
people DO NOT want to be helped or motivated or challenged
to improve themselves. YOU may see that THEY need to sit up,
and decide to encourage them to do so, but THEY may NOT want
to be “disturbed” in that manner, and being quite
happy where they are, could take SERIOUS objection to your
efforts!
“Strange”, YES, but
quite TRUE – as I have, like Dan, personally discovered.
The implication of the foregoing is therefore that you will
want to avoid destroying your relationship with someone by
pushing too hard for him/her to change/aim for success like
you. If you notice that s/he seems unwilling to be “challenged
to aim higher”, you might be better off letting him/her
be!
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