The heart of a leader

Most people inspire to be more but something gets in the way. For many of use it is perception which translates into unfounded beliefs or a fictional reality.

Perception is very powerful and for many of us the perception that wealth was linked almost exclusively to luck began with our parents. I know my parents worked very hard and they earned enough to pay for a house, cars and put food on the table. We were a typical middle class family. Never traveled much or had fancy things. I was always taught that if you wanted those things you had to go to college and become a doctor or lawyer, otherwise you had to be really lucky. Luck? My parents played the lottery just about every week and we weren’t getting rich that way either, so I guess luck was out.

It wasn’t until years later that I realized that most of the very successful people in our country had minimal college or never finished it. Most of the doctors and lawyers had a nice house and nice things but they weren’t really rich. Worst they had no life outside of the office and their living expenses were in line with their income so if they stopped working they were in the same boat as I was.

So what made these people successful if it wasn’t years of education or the lottery? The answer is drive and determination. They made a goal and they stuck with it until they were successful.

Refocusing your resolve starts with changing your perception. Now that you understand that education alone is not the determining factor in wealth or success you can begin to refocus your goals.

Since most people need to make a paycheck to survive the best first step is to look at your schedule and plan out what hours during the week you have to devote to your goals. It is better to devote 3 or 4 hours in one day then 1 hour over 4 days. Set aside this time like it was an appointment that can’t be canceled. Nothing should invade this time. If you can’t find 3 or 4 hours to devote then you need to take a hard look at your schedule and compress or remove things that steal your time. Time is truly the only thing we have that is more valuable then anything we can own or purchase and most of us waste it like it is in unlimited supply.

Once you have decided when, next you have to decide what. There are thousands of opportunities to choose from. Pick something that you are interested in personally.

The last and most important task is to write down a list of why you are making this change. If your why is to get a house, car, vacation or to do better for your family. You need to write these things down and read them every time you sit down to start work. Some people get sample prints for their dream house or a brochure of the car or vacation they want. Anything to keep reminding yourself why you are taking these new steps.

Don’t ever quit on your dreams!