Get Out of Your Own Way

This week I wanted to write about one of the greatest obstacles you will ever face on the road to success. It’s an obstacle that is especially frightening because it can be so stealthy, you won’t even realize that it’s impeding your progress. That obstacle, is you! Whether your goals are personal or professional, whether you’re working at becoming a better partner or a better golfer, one of the biggest keys to your success is getting out of your own way.

Have you ever been set a goal or yourself, and been ever-so-close to achieving it, only to fall short? Have you ever experienced the frustration that comes from reaching a plateau where you just can’t seem to make any progress in whatever you’re doing? More often than not, the reason for these road blocks is that you’re getting in the way of your own success. Sometimes the best thing you can do to help yourself succeed is to get out of the way and let success happen.

I’m a runner. Everyday, I see the power that we have to help or hinder our personal performance. When someone starts running for the first time, they notice great gains in fitness and speed almost instantly. Within weeks they are able to run farther, faster and with less effort than when they began. This rate of progress continues for different periods of time for different people, but eventually, everyone reaches a plateau. Progress slows down, or almost stops entirely. It can be a very frustrating time, especially for those who are very competitive.

The mistake that many people make when they reach a plateau is that they begin to train harder, farther and faster thinking that more effort will produce better results. However, what often happens is exactly the opposite. Rather than getting stronger and faster, they stagnate or in some cases, their performance gets worse. Why, because these people are getting in the way of their own success.

The same principal applies in all aspects of life. Whether you’re a student studying for a test, a young executive trying to climb the corporate ladder, or an independent business person trying to grow your enterprise, sometimes the best thing you can do, is just get out of the way and let things happen.

Am I saying that hard work isn’t necessary? Absolutely not. Success doesn’t just happen without working at it. You can’t just sit in a chair ad think about your success and expect it to find you. Success requires action. That’s one of the central flaws with “The Secret” that’s gained such great popularity is that it seems to imply that action isn’t necessary (but that’s another article).

While action is necessary to create your success, too much action can be as detrimental as no action at all. It can be tempting to get in the drawn in by the idea that we should always be doing something to create our success. With that attitude we can begin to feel like if we aren’t doing something all the time, we’re failing, but sometimes the best thing you can do to succeed, is to not do a thing.

Miracles Happen All the Time. Do You Recognize Them?

I couldn't let the evens of this week pass without talking about this subject. On August 7th, 2010, tragedy struck Chili. A mine collapsed with 33 miners underground, trapped and presumed dead.

Despite the dire odds that anyone would have survived, rescue efforts began. On August 22nd, nearly two weeks after the collapse, drills were able to break through and it was discovered that just one, but all 33 of the miners were alive, and all things considered, doing well! Then, finally, on Wednesday, October 13th, more than seventy days after the mine collapsed, the miners were freed!

When I see stories like this one, the only word that comes to mind is "miracle". To me, there is nothing else that explains how all of the minors would survive, and in such good shape (they have all been released from hospital less than a week after being underground for more than two months!).

In my short life I've been privileged to see a few amazing miracles like this one. The "miracle on the Hudson" where a large commuter plane "crash landed" without hurting anyone on board comes to mind. These events can certainly be explained with words other than "miracle". People who don't believe in them, can easily explain how individual skill and training allowed Captain Sully to land that plane, and I'm sure there are geologists and others who give scientific explanations for why the minors were not harmed in the mine collapse. The truth though is that there is no logical explanation for why everyone should have survived in either case. But they did.

So what's the point? Beyond a good news story and impact on the families of those involved, what is the take-away for the rest of us from a story like this? Simply this; miracles can happen and most of the time, it takes us to MAKE them happen! Hope is never completely lost. There is always good that can come from tragedy. But we have to play our part in the process.

Miracles, little ones anyway, happen all the time. Who has seen a child be born can say that they didn't witness a miraculous thing? A hundred years ago, who would have said we would send someone to the moon? It now seems likely that in our lifetime, we may witness the development of a cure for MS. But these things don't just 'happen' they take human beings, who care for each other, doing their best to make a difference.

So if you're struggling in the rough economy, if you have problems with your relationships, if you hate your job, or you feel like your friends aren't there for you, remember, miracles happen; but it's up to us to help them along! So go out and make a little miracle in the life of someone today. GB. Mark

Opportunity Doesn't Always Knock

There is a proverb that states "opportunity only knocks once". A lot of the time, that may be true, but I believe that even more often, it doesn't even knock at all. It just comes to the door, stands there, and waits for a few minutes to see if we'll come out to greet it. If we do, great, if not, it moves on the house down the street. Sometimes, you even have to go to the side of the road and flag it down as it flies by.

Okay, so maybe I've stretched the metaphor a little, but you get the point. If you spend your lives waiting around for life to come to you, you may just miss out. Success comes to those who go out and make things happen.

This past week I was able to land a major speaking opportunity, but the opportunity didn't come knocking. In fact, I had to go out and find it and then work really, really hard to seal the deal.

The event is the Atlantic Dream Festival (contact me at: Mark@MarkBlackSpeaks.com for tickets) and features many big name speakers. I saw the event advertised for weeks. Each time I drove by one of the big billboards in town, I thought to myself how great it would be to be a part of the event.

For many, myself included a lot of the time, it would have ended there. I would have thought, "oh that would be nice" but I wouldn't have done anything about it. But this time, for whatever reason, was different. I wanted to be a part of the event, so I decided to take action. I contacted the organizers, offered my services and made my best pitch to get myself in.

It took several tries. After generating considerable positive interest, I though I had the deal done, only to have it disintegrate. Not willing to give up, I made one more last-ditch effort. I took a considerable risk, offering something I had never done before, in order to entice the organizers to find room for me...and they did.

Only time will tell if my risk pays off, but the lessons learned in getting the gig, will stay with me and serve me well the rest of my career. A lesson about persistence, motivation and making your dreams come true. A lesson I hope you'll learn as well.

This week I challenge you to go out and make things happen for yourself! Opportunities will most certainly come in the course of your life, but if you sit around waiting for them to come, you'll find there are less of them and they'll come less often. Opportunity begets opportunity. So go out there and make your dreams come true!

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If you want an added boost to help you on that road, check out the Atlantic Dream Festival. Listen to speaker from Sir Richard Branson (Virgin companies) to Steve Murphy (Live at 5) over the course of 3 days. You're bound to take something home that is worth multiples of the price of a ticket. To get more info or a ticket, contact me at: Mark@MarkBlackSpeaks.com or Call me: 506-878-0492.