The Achieve Master Series: Getting There…

(Note: Some of the following may seem offensive or controversial to some…well, I’m sorry but anything interesting enough to read  usually is)

Earl Nightingale said that “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal.” Because he was instrumental in the realization of my success through the many books and tapes he produced (and that my successful father encouraged me to read and listen to), I wanted to dedicate this first of the Achieve Master series of articles.

Most of us have at least a fuzzy idea of what success is and if we are of that precious few who have made the attempt to make this idea more concrete in our thinking, we may be sure we know what success is. But what does it take to be a Master of Achievement?

First let’s clear the air a bit.

There are so many books, tapes, methods, philosophies, techniques, etc. on success and self-improvement that the mind is quickly boggled. A quick visit to a library or bookstore will verify this fact. Much of the current crops of titles combine a panoply of various new-age gobbledygook with just a sprinkling of actual common sense. Add to this a massive marketing budget and you have another best seller destined to be sold in a few years at the bargain basement used book-store. I should know… I have a ton of this stuff on my own bookshelves.

Let’s dig through some of this stuff, past the yellowed, dog-eared tomes of the past few years until we find some of the first ideas that actual successful individuals used to achieve awesome levels of success, the kind of achievement that you want for yourself.

Let’s begin with the statement that is also the title of this article:

“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal.”

Look at the last 3 words: “a worthy goal”. What makes a goal “worthy”? What does that even mean?

Let’s start by cutting the crap that most guru based new-age self improvement types dish out… None of this “Worthy goals are different for different people…blah blah blah.”

Obviously different people want different things, but some of those things are not worthy. And sometimes the things people say they want are not what their actions show they really do want.

People get what they actually want.
That is a basic principle. There is nothing “mystical” there, nothing magical (unless you did not realize that this was actually the case!). People get and have the things they truly in their heart focus on.

Now some will argue this pointing to those who are in horrible situations like Hurricane Katrina or who live in some horridly oppressive third world. However there are success stories even in those situations. I do not mean to imply that the external situation you find yourself in is under your control—it’s not, but your attitude about what you will do, and what you will focus on, always is.

Some who lived through Katrina have thrived despite perhaps losing everything, and some in oppressive third world countries escape those situations, many times to come to America and in a few years become wealthy themselves! They had a burning desire for a worthy goal, and let nothing stand in the way of achieving it.

But others who were born here in The United State of America (or other free democratic countries), who are able bodied and fit, will whine and complain that they can’t be successful, that their circumstances don’t allow for them to achieve anything, that they need help from those who do produce, their “need” being the blank check against those who have actually achieved something. These people are also getting what they truly, ultimately desire…

Abject failure.

That is what they truly want, that is what they focus on – and their subconscious mind, their projected intent goes out into the universe.  And the universe returns to them what they actually asked for, it can do nothing else.

(and of course there are so many politicians in government just waiting to softly massage them and tell them that they are right in thinking this way, and hand them a government check that was cashed against actual achievers output.)

So let’s review: A worthy goal is any goal that you have that will raise your personal worth to yourself, to your family, to those around you (neighbors and community), and to posterity. It can be small or big, but to be worthy, it must first be true, it must uplift, and it must be good - it must be something you know deep in your heart lifts those around you as it lifts you.

It must be True: – If your goal states or implies falsehood, it is not worthy. Notice the welfare bums in the previous example who complained that their experiences or circumstances were not ideal for them to be successful. The truth is nobody has it perfect, if they did there would be no challenge and nobody would be uplifted by achievement. (Note: I am not implying anyone who has ever used assistance is a bum – only those who have decided that they are entitled to it and intend to continue to live on it).

It must Uplift: If your goal leaves you where you are at currently, or pushes you or others down into the gutter, it is not a worthy goal. (“I want to be known as the greatest bank robber ever!”) That has been the unworthy goal of some actual bank robbers, but it did not uplift, it was therefore not worthy. (“I want to create a fast food restaurant that provides high quality fresh, hot food, fast, excellent service, and a wonderful customer experience.”) That was the worthy goal of Wendy’s creator Dave Thomas. Compare the two and you will quickly understand worthiness in a goal.

It must be Good: Notice how a worthy goal’s three points flow into each other. Goodness is simple. Does it help or does it hurt? Does it inspire others or does it confuse and cause fear in others. Does it create a wave of enthusiasm? Good goals build up and cause a spin-off of more good goals.

So that wraps things up for this part of the Achieve Master Series. Remember, you always get what you really want. The trick? Knowing what you truly want and making sure that it is worthy of you.

Please be sure to read my next article about how we progress in our destination towards our goals.

I am developing a software system to help with this process of achievement called “Achieve-Master”. Would you be interested in being a Beta Tester of this software? I have 15 slots available as of the posting of this article. Be sure to check out my site http://www.achievemaster.com and look for the link to sign up.

- David T. McKee

P.S.
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Seven bucks, the price of a combo meal at McDonald’s! Order one today and you will be reading and mining awesome ideas for years – just check out the post on this collection here. Order the collection here.

Note: This is copy-righted content, Copyright  2008, David T. McKee

(This is a reprint of an article I wrote a year or so ago on ezine articles…)

Nightingale-Conant corporation has been producing audio tapes, and disks for many years, ever since Earl Nightingale recorded his famous “The Strangest Secret”. That secret was that “We become what we think about”. Today we see the new book and movie “The Secret”, which is basically a rehash of the same principle with lost of intrigue and Hollywood graphics (oh, yes, and don’t forget Oprah fawning all over it as if it were some new thing….)

The truth is this secret is not. It has been know for thousands of years, it is even in the Bible (Proverbs 23:7). It is not so surprising that we become the person that reflects what we think about, because it is the ability to think that is so uniquely human. It is what gives us the ability to create vehicles, and skyscrapers, and artificial hearts, and poems and music, etc. It is not so surprising that our success or failure is also tightly linked to this capability.

James Allen wrote the classic book “As a Man Thinketh” way back in 1902 and gathered together many of the important aspects of how thinking correctly and with focused intent is so very important. Many great men and woman have recognized this little book as a starting point of their personal success.

Thinking is hard work, at least focused thinking is. Most people do as little of it as possible, the problem is, the thinking motor of the mind never really stops, so if a person is not thinking in a focused way, then that motor is just running wildly and grabbing any unrelated impulse and sense that floats by. When this happens the person becomes unfocused, and his life becomes unfocused.

The analogy of a rudderless boat has been used in the past, but I submit the boat has a rudder, just that no-one is holding onto it. The rudder handle is flailing back and forth, and the ship is meandering all over the waters until it runs into a reef and the boat, like the life, sinks.

I have discovered in my own life, that when I listen, I am gripping the rudder. If I listen to something worthwhile, I am not only gripping the rudder, I am steering it. If I listen with the intent of going to a specific location (or achieving a specific goal) I am steering the boat for all it’s worth. But first I listen because that focuses my thinking motor. I have discovered that listening to audio about success or business opportunity, or uplifting music, or news or what ever is a very good way to get into tune. This gets the hands on the rudder and starts the mental juices flowing. That is why I personally like success tapes so much, and talk radio, and my MP3 player!

It is so much better than TV which to me seems to just take the place of the thinking motor, you feel like a zombie many times…

Getting back to the original premise of this article, I wanted to show how listening to success oriented material is a good way to put into practice the principles that James Allen laid out so well in his book. While I don’t agree 100% with everything Mr. Allen wrote, I agree with much of it and have used it myself.

- David T. McKee

Note: This is copy-righted content, Copyright  2008, David T. McKee