“3 Clever Ways To Dramatically
Changing Your Future!”
by Craig Garber
Do you know who Roger Waters is?
No?
Yes?
I'll tell you a little story about Roger in just a minute, but first, let's talk about the very best way to kick-start your new year into high gear, straight away.
One early January, many years ago when I owned a financial planning practice, I was listening to a motivational tape.
It was more "institutional" or corporate-oriented, and less "let's actually get something done" oriented, but hey, you've got to start somewhere, right?
The guy on the tape was telling me how I needed to have a "business plan" for the year, detailing all of my strategic moves, or else I wasn't going to be successful.
I really had no clue what this guy was talking about. I mean, I took a look around my office -- which consisted of me and an assistant -- and I said to myself, "This isn't freakin' Microsoft here, what's he talking about?"
The only kind of "strategic move" I wanted, was to make money. I wasn't planning any "mergers and acquisitions" activities this coming year... no initial public offerings... and I certainly wasn't adding any new board members either.
So what on God's green earth could this guy be referring to, that I was totally missing the boat on, about being successful?
Well, fast-forward the clock a few years... after several hundred more hours of listening to cassette tapes... and several dozen more books about success... I now understand, what this bloke really meant was... to be successful...
You've Got To Set Goals!
Not setting goals for yourself is like getting into your car and going on vacation without having a map... or going fishing without knowing where the fish are biting or what kind of bait to use -- you can sit there casting your line out over the water all day long, but reality is -- it's going to be hit or miss whether or not you catch something, isn't it?
Now, far be it for me to give you advice on what kind of goals you should be setting -- Lord knows, I'm not qualified to do that.
But I do want to tell you 3 things you must consider, if you want any chance at making your goals become a reality.
First of all, you've got to write your goals down, and set yourself some kind of reminder to go over them on a very regular basis -- at least weekly.
You see, doing this makes you accountable to them, it lets you modify them along the way... and it keeps you on track for how you're progressing... how far you're moving forward... and even more important,
How Far You Aren’t!
And sometimes, the discord and discomfort of seeing "How Far You Aren't" moving forward, is just what you need to force you to get off your duff and start taking some action!
Remember, you don't usually do something until the pain of not doing it is greater than the pain of taking action and moving ahead. I call this, the "Law Of Action".
And I don't care whether you're talking about losing weight... starting on a new project... or tying up all the loose ends of an existing project that's been nagging you, the "Law of Action" is always going to ring true.
So you must write your goals down, regardless of what they are, and then you must re-commit yourself to achieving them, by going over them on a very regular basis.
The second thing you should do when you're setting your goals, is to...
Shoot for the moon!
After all, is there any reason why you shouldn't "be all you can be, " and live out your dreams?
What are you waiting for?
Do you really think you'll be more "prepared" or more "deserving" for that big house by the lake 10 years down the road, than you are right now?
What Are You Thinking?
And What Can You Possibly Be Waiting For?
And if you're a little anal retentive, and you need to look at things from a more practical standpoint, then consider this: It's going to take you as much work to launch a project that'll make you $100,000 Dollars, as it will to launch a project that will make you $37,000 Dollars, so why not go for the big numbers?
Let me tell you a little story: In March 1973, the powerhouse band Pink Floyd released a ground-breaking album called "The Dark Side Of The Moon".
If you're into rock music at all, no doubt you already know this.
The process of creating and releasing the album was extremely difficult, because the band's leader, Syd Barret, had just been institutionalized because of a nervous breakdown and a serious drug problem.
Nevertheless, with David Glimour (the band's new lead guitarist) and Roger Waters (the bass player) splitting the writing and vocals, the album was a major coup, staying on the Billboard Top 200 charts for 724 weeks, a record at the time.
And to date, the album has sold well over 41 million copies.
Anyway, I recently saw Roger Waters being interviewed and he had some very revealing and insightful things to say, that sort of sum up what I'm talking about.
The Waters interview took place in 2003, while he was discussing the 30th anniversary of "The Dark Side Of The Moon".
What you may not know, is when Waters made the album, he was just about to turn 30, and this is what he had to say about what was going through his mind at that time:
| “I suddenly realized then, that year... that life was already happening.
I think it was cause my mother was so obsessed with education... and... the idea that childhood and adolescence, and well... everything, was about "preparing" for a life that was going to start... "later". And I suddenly realized that life wasn't going to start later, that it starts at "dot" and it happens all the time. And at any point, you can just grasp the reins and start guiding your own destiny. And that was a big revelation to me. I mean, it came as quite a shock.” |
I don't believe Waters is alone in his thinking -- every successful person reaches a point in time when you realize, "the future really is now" sort of thing.
It also seems, once you do realize, and then fully embrace the freedom that comes along with this realization, you begin a very prolific and long-lasting period of creativity and success.
I mean, think about it: If you're no longer "preparing" for the future, you're no longer "auditioning" for it either, and there's a tremendous sense of "letting go" once you realize this.
Here's another thing I've noticed, time and again:
Everybody wants to get in on the
action...
but nobody wants to TAKE any action!
So lastly, if you want to have an amazing year, you simply... must...
Take Action!
Because you can have the most ambitious goals... written down and reviewed weekly... and the highest level of motivation to succeed, but if you don't ever get out there and actually put the key into the ignition, you're never going to get your car moving.
Listen, I talk to new people almost every week, and for whatever reason, people feel pretty safe and comfortable speaking with me, and they're usually compelled to share a lot of their innermost feelings and secrets.
And one thing that's fairly consistent amongst almost everyone I talk to is that we're all scared of something.
Some are scared of failure, and some are scared of success.
And some may be scared of being "less than perfect", so they wait... and wait... and wait... and things ultimately never get moving, because it's never perfect.
But What Is?
The problem is, although all of these fears are kind of "noble" in their own way -- when it comes down to it -- they're also all very self-destructive.
And so what usually happens is, most people obsess over their fears and freeze themselves into a state of paralysis...
And Never Do Anything!
I guess, for some people, that's a safer comfort zone than taking action and failing.
A friend of mine once told me "People are born, their cord is cut... and then they spend the next 50 years looking for a place to plug their cord back into."
And it's true: Lots of folks spend their days scurrying around looking for a new womb to cozy up in. Like M. Scott Peck said in "The Road Less Traveled" -- "Life is difficult" -- so some of us do retreat.
And yes, life is difficult, but it's also very very exciting if you dive into it!
And I'm no genius, but one thing I do know is this: If you do want to "grasp the reins" and gain control over your life... if you want to be successful beyond your wildest imagination... and if you want to really start living...
The only person to plug your cord into, is yourself!
See, you've got 2 choices: Either live in fear and let that fear hold you back from living your dreams, or... overcome your fears... do what you need to do... get busy, and start enjoying all the wonderful experiences life has to offer you.
Remember, the future -- YOUR future -- is out there waiting for you to change it, and your future... really... is...
Happening Right Now!
So get moving.
I don't know how you're feeling, but I'm coming out of the starting gate for this new year, like never before!
I'm feeling as excited and carefree about my life, as a 5-year old child running across the grass in the park on a warm Spring day...
So Watch Out!
See you next week.
P.S. Now you know the evolution of Roger Waters' lyrics, "Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time. Plans that either come to naught, or half a page of scribbled lines."
Next week: Some direct-response testing results you can immediately start using to sell more.
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Any comments?
Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them -- I appreciate your feedback!
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| “Craig Garber is America's top direct-response copywriter. Join the ranks of Garber's swelling list of global VIP's who subscribe to his unconventional weekly marketing moments, and discover how to dramatically boost your sales and improve the response to your sales copy, on his website at http://www.kingofcopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.” |