Hi, friends! It's been quite some time since we've talked.
Sorry about that.
Really.
But I know you love me, and that you'll forgive me for this, won't you?
So I don't want to waste any more time in sharing the following story with you.
Making things super-easy
Today I received a very interesting spam message from a very well-known personal development product site. I won't mention the name, cause it's so famous that you might have heard of it and might even be using its products! (Though, of course, if you've received this message too, you'd know who I'm talking about J )
Oh, I know spamming is for the bad guys. The good guys all "hate spam as much as we do", don't they? Never mind that!
Due to some evil influence of my stars I'm sure, one day in the age of dinosaurs I had visited their site. I don't remember how they tricked me into giving them my email address-since then they send me this kind of trash almost everyday. Whenever I open my mailbox I find their messages
Anyway, today I found their subject was "4 top factors in goal achievement".
Goal-setting has always been my favorite topic of discussion. I personally believe it's one of the most crucial steps for success. And I think I'd never be where I am today, if it was not for proper setting of goals at every stage of my life. I'll tell you more about this very soon, but let me first tell you this story.
The no-commitment success strategy
As I was saying, because of the mention of goal achievement in the subject' of this spam-message, I opened it.
This is how it went:
"Many have told me they've read mountains of goal setting
books and listened to a boat load of tapes and CDs.
They got the steps down pat. They go something like this.
1- Identify the thing you want or what you want to achieve
and write it down.
2- Write down all the reasons you want it, emotionally,
spiritually, etc. What will achieving it give you, how
will you feel? This is for motivation.
3- Know your obstacles and challenges. Write down your
limitations that might stop you.
4- Find out what you'll need to know/learn and find out
where to get the help and who can help you... get the
advice, ask for help.
5- Put a deadline on when you want and expect to achieve
the goal.
6- Create your plan... all the things that will need to be
done to reach the goal.
7- Imagine yourself already having achieved the goal.
8- Keep going. Stick with it. Don't give up.
These goal setting steps above work pretty good
only for people who are 100% committed."
And so they were offering an alternative', something that'll work wonders for you even if you aren't committed.
Wow!
Cool, isn't it?
Hey, that makes life easy!
Smooth.
A cakewalk.
But then how come you don't know about this magic pill? How come self-help gurus have been teaching those same old stupid goal-setting steps for ages? Who's wrong then?
They, surely?...
Jokes apart, this is the kind of trap that is being laid all around us all the time-trash passing for self-help. They take all your money, give you some crappy hogwash that never ever come to any use, and ruin your self-confidence in the process, cause you start thinking, "I'm worth nothing. I haven't got a bit of what it takes to be successful-I spent so much money on this, took professional help, and still I haven't made any progress."
Let me tell you this, nothing can make you successful (I mean really successful) if you don't have 100% commitment. Every genuine self-help guy will tell you that, and it's true.
Oh yeah, you can always do pretty well'. You can be successful' in an everyday-average way. But you can't be amazing, unless you really really want to. You can use all your potential and be really amazing, only if you're 100% committed, and that is what I call success.
So what do you do?
So my only suggestion to you, don't start buying just about anything that wants to sell itself in the name of self help. Be especially cautious about spending your hard earned money on self-help, cause shoddy self-help programs not only take your money, but your confidence and self-image as well.
In this world of madly proliferating self-help literature and even companies selling self-help products, it's very important for us to not be conned by the liars.
The litmus test
Take note of a few things before you sign up for any program, or buy any product.
1. Whether the guys have got solid credentials.
2. What are their ex-clients saying about them? And in this regard please don't ask them about it, cause they will invariably treat you to the "Five hundred success stories of our clients." Do a Google search or post a question on Yahoo! Answers if you can't find anything satisfactory elsewhere.
3. And the litmus test will be to check whether the guys are trying to imply in any way, that your key to success lies with them. Remember, your key to success lies with you, and you only. The self-coach who tells you that is very likely to be the real thing.
Do let me know your take on this (and also any new litmus test of the self-help guru' that you want to add J ) by leaving a comment.
Cheers.
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