Sacrifice does not always Lead to Success
Many people, entrepreneurs especially, think that they need to sacrifice in order to succeed. By sacrifice I am referring to the 18 hour days, working 7 day week, skipping meals, losing sleep and missing out on time with their loved ones.
Success is not an Inca god, it does not keep score of your sacrifice. Instead, success is keeping score on what you’ve achieved.
1. Are you proud of being the Sacrificial lamb?
Achievements are the milestones you’ve reached along the way to success. These achievements, some small, some huge are the necessary steps you take.
Sacrifice on the other hand, are mostly unnecessary things that people do and then boast about in today’s business world; “I was so busy that I missed lunch, again. I worked till so late last night that I slept at the office.”
We have many business owners, executives who all boast about how much they have sacrificed to become successful or to just keep on top of things.For these people, sacrifice is a badge of honour, they reflect on the insane hours they keep, the health squandered away, the time spent on paperwork and meetings and they feel like they have achieved a good day’s work.
Yes, they may have spent a long day doing things but were all of these things truly beneficial to their success?
2. What does Success mean to you?
Many people view success from one view point only, this view point being money of course. This is not quite so. Success is also made up of the other things in your life such as your family, your relationships with others and your health.
Without these portion of your life fulfilled, you will never find true success. After all, it is hard to regard your extensive wealth favourably when you have no one to love or are dying from a terminal illness.
3. The Here and Now
When we choose to suffer now for success in the future, we are selling ourselves short because it is time we can never get back.
Being in the here and now means that you are fully focused on getting your to-dos accomplished, and that, you are truly living everything that is happening.
Here are some points to ponder for making better use of your time:
a. Is this task or activity going to help you in any way towards your goal?
Too many of us confuse quality with quantity. Doing many pointless tasks does not equal to a quality activity that takes you one inch closer to your goal.
b. What would happen if this task or activity does not get done now?
Remember, time is a resource you cannot get back. Weigh the pros and cons of doing or not doing something. Paperwork at the office or your son’s birthday party?
c. Can this task or activity be done by someone else better qualified?
- If you were to write a book, you will probably hire an editor to edit all of your spelling mistakes, your grammatical errors and possible hire a designer to design your cover page. You could try doing it yourself but chances are that you will spend a lot of valuable time on it. What other stuff in your life do you do that could be done by others?
Sacrifice of time and energy need not be your modus operandi to succeed. Be present in your life by making room for the real tasks that makes a difference in your life.
