Results...Rather Than Reasons
Sometimes, a swift kick in the butt and punch in the nose is the absolute best medicine for the agonizing, debilitating and dreadful “Stinkin’ Thinkin’ Disease” that can stop us dead in our tracks from getting what we want out of life. As I heard so eloquently many years ago from a ridiculously successful entrepreneur, “Some people are so ignorant, they just need to stay that way.”
I don’t know how else to put it so it makes logical and emotional sense, so I’m going to tell it straight, “If someone has achieved the results that you want; they did it ethically and didn’t take short cuts, and they are willing to tell you EXACTLY what to do to accomplish the same thing or better; you then take their advice but make up your own rules and do it your way anyway…then you are really ignorant and need to stay that way.”
I know, I know, I can hear the roars of, “OMG, I can’t believe he just said that. It’s so politically incorrect I may have to turn him into the political correct police ‘yesterday’”, ringing in my ears. I’d like to say I’m sorry but I’d be lying if I did. I'm sharing this with L.O.V.E., wanting you to discover your full potential, and have the experience of being the ignoramus I'm speaking of. If you get over the emotions of feeling offended, then the fact of the matter is really simple. It’s the results we want…not the reasons of why we don’t get them.
The shortest distance from where you are to where you want to be is a straight line. The highest probability you have of achieving your intended result is finding someone who has produced the results you seek; beg, plead, grovel, pay for the privilege, or WHATEVER you have to do to have them share their blood, sweat, tears and experience with you…then do EXACTLY as they say.
Einstein said it best when he said, “To get out of a problem, you can’t use the same level of thinking that got you into it…you’ve got to get a new level of thinking.” Even though logically this makes sense…rare is the human ego machine that actually does it. For example, I recall with absolute astonishment the following true story.
I’m coaching at the Olympic Training Center (OTC) in 1995 and a College All-American (A-A – placed 2nd at the NCAA tournament that year) comes to a training camp with the best wrestlers on the planet in attendance as they were preparing for the World Championships and a run at the upcoming 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. In attendance at this camp were 8 Olympic Champions, 10 World Champions, and 13 World and Olympic medalist from all over the world (won Silver or Bronze). This full of himself A-A believes he has a real shot at dethroning the reigning World and Olympic Champion (W&O Champion) in his weight class so he picks another W&O Champion to teach him what he needs to work on to do it. This W&O Champion who happened to be a close personal friend of mine starts sharing his wisdom, experience and proven results to the young gun when all of the sudden the A-A stops him and starts to tell the W&O Champion that he doesn’t understand that the stuff he was sharing with him may have worked for him, but he (the A-A) was different…then he seriously starts showing him his ‘much better’ technique and suggest to the W&O Champion that he should try it? Some people are so…
I wish I were lying, but I’m serious as a heart attack. Needless to say, this ‘one and done’ All-American (he never placed at the NCAA Tourney again) didn’t make the team, and was never invited back to the OTC again. In case you may be thinking, “we’ll that was just one example, most people wouldn’t be that ignorant”, you are dead wrong. I saw this same thing happen again and again and again over my seven years at the OTC. Not surprisingly, the athletes who made the teams and won the medals were not necessarily the most talented…but the most teachable.
The only thing that stops us from applying what at face value seems so obvious is our own ego, pride and arrogance…every time. We ignorantly feel like we ‘should’ know so we don’t ask; We think we have to ‘prove our value’ to our teacher so we interrupt and show him/her ‘our experience and knowledge’; we sometimes listen then dismiss the mentorship because our ego jumps in and goes, ‘I already know that…I already did that…it may have worked for you BUT…’ and on it goes.
Bottom line is this, it’s the results we want regardless the process right? If you get the opportunity to learn from the best in your chosen field of endeavor, or someone who has the fruit on their tree that you desire but you haven’t quite figured out how to manifest it; shut up, listen to what they say, follow the path they’ve laid out to the T, and THEN after you’ve accomplished your goal you’ll have the authority to offer your opinion of how it could be done different. This is of course assuming that you want results…rather than reasons!
Believe…