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    Former Guinness World Record Holder for largest book signing ever, Orrin Woodward is a NY Times bestselling author of And Justice For All along with RESOLVED & coauthor of LeaderShift and Launching a Leadership Revolution. His books have sold over one million copies in the financial, leadership and liberty fields. RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions For LIFE made the Top 100 All-Time Best Leadership Books and the 13 Resolutions are the framework for the top selling Mental Fitness Challenge personal development program.

    Orrin made the Top 20 Inc. Magazine Leadership list & has co-founded two multi-million dollar leadership companies. Currently, he serves as the Chairman of the Board of the LIFE. He has a B.S. degree from GMI-EMI (now Kettering University) in manufacturing systems engineering. He holds four U.S. patents, and won an exclusive National Technical Benchmarking Award.

    This blog is an Alltop selection and ranked in HR's Top 100 Blogs for Management & Leadership.

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RESOLVED: Private Victory Failure Modes

Posted by Orrin Woodward on December 12, 2016

True longterm success in any field demands the mastery of the 13 Resolutions. Indeed, failure to master any of the resolutions will shortcut the success process, causing the success engine to seize up similar to an engine running without an adequate supply of oil. For instance, the majority of the people fail to succeed because they never master the first four resolutions (the private victories), let alone master the public and leadership victories which lead to one’s legacy.

The first four resolutions identified and explained in RESOLVED (and elaborated upon in the Mental Fitness Challenge Program – Click here for a FREE trial) are 1) Purpose, 2) Character, 3) Attitude, and 4) Alignment of the Conscious and Subconscious Mind. Failure to apply any of these resolutions is fatal to success for a person who does not achieve internal victories will not advance to enduring external victories.

Ever wonder why many people who “win” the lottery end up in worse shape than they were before their alleged victory? The simple answer is the lottery winner (victim?) catapulted past his private victories directly to the public ones and the foundation could not hold. Like a building collapsing upon itself, the lack of a solid mental and moral foundation caused the responsibilities of success (the Bible states, to whom much is given much is required) to starve the fruit produced before the roots were ready.

So many people want success, but seem unwilling to invest the time necessary to build the foundation upon which the success structure is built. After all, we live in the modern age and we need things done quickly. Who has time to truly develop one’s purpose, character, attitude, or mental alignment? Just give us the results of success and then we will go back and get the foundation. Needless to say, anyone with a basic understanding of human nature know this isn’t true. A person may run from the resolutions at any time but not the poor results one obtains by doing so.

Let’s examine just the first two. Why is purpose so important? For one thing, without it, at the first signs of resistance, the person retreats from his dream and into a settle for life. Resistance, in other words, is a necessary part of all success because it determines the level of “fight” in the person to overcome obstacles. Like the old saying goes, “It’s not the size of the man in the fight, but the size of the fight in the man that counts.”

As a result, a person without purpose, a purpose that feeds his courage, doesn’t rise to the occasion but rather runs from the altercation. This is why people who seemed so committed suddenly move to a path of least resistance because the pain of the process has called out their lack of a clear purpose. Covey said, “Begin with the end in mind.” A person must identify the end in mind that he know he must do in order to fulfill what God has called him to do and then pursue it with a relentlessness that stuns those lukewarm souls who do not know the power of purpose.

Similarly, character is another must-have quality of all truly successful people. For the person without character will take shortcuts personally and not do the necessary self-examination to be sure he is being true to his dreams. Naturally, a person who isn’t true to himself will not be true to others and the lack of character will reveal itself in a lack of results. This, by itself, isn’t fatal unless the lack of temporary results leads becomes permanent because the person lost his character by blaming someone else.

Who is responsible for your success? Who in other words, will be recognized when you succeed? You or the person you are currently blaming because you haven’t succeeded? One of the greatest lessons of character Laurie and I learned was to not blame anyone else for our lack of results. Simply learn, grow, and eventually win.

To be sure, it would have been easier to blame. After all, despite working 6-7 days a week for 5 and 1/2 years, Laurie and I accomplished very little. In fact, outside of private growth, we had litter publicly to show for our efforts. Our friends and families thought we were nuts, but we knew enough about the resolutions to know better. Laurie and I were growing internally, and we knew internal wins precede external ones. Instead of blaming our support team for what they did or didn’t do, we learned to trust that God had a great plan and purpose for our lives.

We learned not blame our circumstances on others and to this day we have never blamed anyone for our lack of results. Blaming leads to bitterness and resentment and is like drinking poison expecting someone else to die. Blaming, to put it bluntly, is a character fault and we refused to sell out our character on the altar of frustration. Those who blame, in short, ought to be ashamed. We realized when God is giving swimming lessons, it’s not the time to demand a lifejacket. Just like butterfly cannot fly unless it strengthens its wings by tearing itself out of the cocoon, so too must people tear themselves out of the cocoon of complacency in order to win. Leaders do not need charity; instead, they need an example. Be the example for your team.

Wow! We are just two resolutions into the Private Victories and, hopefully, many readers are already recognizing areas where they can improve. I will pick up on the other resolutions in future blog posts. I remember when I sat down to outline RESOLVED, I imagined I was writing my last testament to my children and future grandchildren, explaining to them what Laurie and I learned about success and life on journey.

After reviewing the book recently, the 13 resolutions seem as solid to me today as the day I first outline them. They are timeless principles that work for anyone who will work with them until they become second nature. If you haven’t read this book, I encourage the reader to do so as the journey of success begins with a journey of self-discovery.

I pray 2017 is the reader’s year for breakthroughs as he master’s the resolutions to bless not only his family, but others as well.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward: LIFE Chairman of the Board

17 Responses to “RESOLVED: Private Victory Failure Modes”

  1. Gyorgy Veszpremi said

    Great post. Thank you Orrin.

  2. Kristine Militello said

    Awesome insight!
    Purpose gives resiliency- so true.
    And while blaming is easier, and way less painful, it gets us no where. You and Laurie are excellent examples of both!

    Thanks for modeling the way.
    Kristine

  3. Ade Adetukasi said

    Great piece. Thank you.

  4. Tim Johnson said

    Wow! Thank you Orrin! This was a very timely blog post for me. We have had numerous struggles from cancer in the family to financial challenges and I have had to stop myself from sliding down the slope of the blame game numerous times in the past few months. I appreciate your wise words. I also realized that I need to reread Resolved–it truly is a great book!
    Thank you and God bless!
    Tim

  5. Luis Ortiz said

    Great post Orrin! I have been through the Resolved book several times and every time I can see where I have failed to apply the resolutions solidly. I am glad they are contained in a book so I can go back over and over to keep learning as I make progress.

    One of the greatest feelings I have experienced since the first time I was exposed to the resolutions, is knowing that despite the fact that I am not where I want to be, I can look back and proudly say “And I am no longer were I used to be!”

    I enjoy that fraction of a second when I realize that in the past I would have handled the situation differently and I have given myself permission to celebrate the victory internally. I know what comes next and it inspires me to keep going.

    God bless and I look forward to the next blogs.
    Luis Ortiz

  6. Jim Craig said

    Thank you Orrin for your unique insight into understanding the private victories we all must work towards achieving before any worthwhile public victories can be claimed. I have read and re-read Resolved several times and every time I come away with new nuggets to apply in my life. I now realize how important reading and re-reading this book has been in my life and I look forward to the new discoveries I will make on the next go around!! I recommend this book to everyone who is struggling with or searching for long term success in their life. Thank you for your leadership and friendship Orrin. I am truly blessed!

  7. Jennie Dibala said

    Thanks for the insight on PDCA’ing the resolutions, Orrin! Sometimes those blind spots can be hard to identify, but using Resolved as a guidebook makes that process much more straightforward. Thank you for that! Looking forward to future posts.

  8. John Caldwell said

    The analogy of the butterflies struggles gives me a new perspective of the daily struggles you go through when chasing success.
    Thank you Orrin.

  9. A great book indeed! Time to review it again. I really need to keep that in front of me. Thinking about purpose and character keeps it fresh and in the forefront of my mind (and remembering to be thankful for all my blessings) makes my day and my attitude so much better.

  10. Bob Rasmussen said

    Orrin your teaching in “Resolved” is nothing short of brilliant for anyone who wants to change. Thx for the blog reminder and I am getting my copy out to read as a great start for this year. I look forward to finding the truths in the book where I can improve and grow and we know as we grow everything and everyone we know will become better!! God bless

  11. CJ Calvert said

    Fantastic post Orrin

  12. Andrew LaFleur said

    My mind is like a parachute… It has to be open to work!
    If I was born normal, raised normal, and live normal, how do I know I am lost and can’t see? Especially if I am running into so many lost with me…being lost is “normal”. How do I find out? I know if I shine a light here, many used to the dark will tell me to put the light out! Will I? Is the shining light of victory normal?
    I don’t know about you, but this book sounds like it will show me how to be victorious and I want that!
    Thank you Orrin!

  13. Daniel Whiting said

    Orrin,
    What a great reminder to focus on bettering myself. Perfect time to start the 90 Mental Fitness Challenge again. Thanks for your leadership

  14. Leroy Robinson said

    Thank you Orrin for perspective. God bless this season. Selah

  15. Kathryn S said

    YES! This book has been the catalyst for so many lives changing in my group of family, friends, colleagues and our students! Movements, organizations, life plans.. all are edified by this holistic approach to leadership development. 😀

    Thank you, Orrin for your leadership.

  16. Eseta said

    Hi, Orrin Woodward, sorry to be on the minus side, but those Vets, who can’t receive the Mental Fitness Challenge are going to be so frustrated because I can’t pull it up on my Android phone. Just a feedback. Thanks. I was sending a Brand Email to myself to see what others see, but I couldn’t see it. Thank you…Love the Book though…by the way… EN

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