Orrin Woodward on LIFE & Leadership

Success never goes on sale, but most people spend their whole life dickering over the cost, never making the purchase.

Success comes at a price, but then again, failure comes at a price.  We are given our gifts, talents and energies for this life, not permitted to bank any for eternity.  If one must spend it anyway, why do so many dicker over the price of success? Ending up paying the full price for failure because they were unwilling to pay the full price for success?  For the last seventeen years of my life, I have had a front row seat, witnessing both types of behavior numerous times, pondering what is the difference between winners and potential winners.  I believe that the main difference between the people who win and the people who try hard is the willingness to pay the price.  So many people that I know, in their attempt to find an easier path to success, have ended up taking no path at all.  Success never goes on sale, but most people spend their whole life dickering over the cost, never making the purchase.  Success boils down to three simple steps:

1. What do you want?
2. What does it cost?
3. Pay it.

Many will state their dream; some will determine its cost; few will pay its price. Only the few achieve success, less because of innate talent, but more by a strength of will. Identifying what you want, picturing yourself in your new conditions, feeling the exhilaration of having accomplished your dreams in your mind, are all parts of developing your dream.  My good friend Chris Brady says, “Success is a picture in your minds eye.”  What is your picture?  Do you see it clearly?  This is a necessary step on the journey to success.  Discuss with your spouse if you are married, developing a clear picture of what your future looks like.  Yes, the picture may change as one walks down the success road, but one must begin where one is at.  There is power in a vision that is focused.  Vision is tomorrow’s reality expressed as an idea today.  Lock in your vision to move ahead to the next step.

Developing a vision for the future can be fun, but determining the cost of that vision requires confronting reality as it really is.  What type of person will you need to be to fulfill the vision inside of you?  What areas do you need to start working on today?  Is there a mentor that you can help you develop a step by step plan to achieve your vision?  Are you prepared to pay the price over a mature time frame?  Two to five year plans are real time frames for success, but many people are dejected after two to five phone calls.  The price for success is not paid in one lump sum, but paid in installments over time, having to pay all the installments before you receive the prize.  This is one of the reasons that success is so tough for today’s microwave aged short term society.  Our credit card society buys things today, paying for them later.  True success is different, paying for it consistently over two to five years, receiving success only after full payment is made.  What did success cost me?  Much of the price for success I gladly surrendered, giving up my: bad habits, stinking thinking, poor associations, poor self worth, lack of Faith, and lack of discipline.  With the benefit of hindsight, I now realize that the true cost for success is trading your old self to build a better new self.

Now that we know the cost, all we have to do is pay it.  Sounds simple enough, why don’t more pay it?  It’s almost as if people believe they already deserve their dreams; thinking that if they stand around long enough, their dreams will be handed to them without payment.  Let me clear your mind of this delusion.  I have never personally witnessed someone achieve their dreams without a resolution to pay more than the perceived price, willingly going above the asking price to ensure the victory is purchased.  One will hear people talking about waiting for their ship to come in, but I believe that one must build your ship since no ship is coming.  Waiting for your ship to come in is like waiting for someone to hand you success, it’s not going to happen.  Decide today that you are worthy of a great victory and pursue this victory with everything you have.  But what if I don’t feel worthy?  Not to worry, I didn’t feel worthy of success either. But after you pay the price, knowing you have done everything that it takes, you will feel worthy of the victory.  In other words, the work comes first and the feelings come after, not vice versa.  Many winners work through a sense of duty, long before they feel like a winner.

In closing, remember that the true blessings of success is not the material results, but the person you become in the process.  The true victory is in an improved you, not the improved material conditions; although, it certainly isn’t something to complain about.  God is less concerned about your outside conditions and more focused on the condition of your heart.  People wonder if success is worth it.  I think that is the wrong question. Instead, they should be asking is failure worth it.  No one gets out of this world alive, but striving for success will teach you principles that will lighten, not only your load, but the load of all around you. What do you want?  What does it cost? Pay it! God Bless, Orrin Woodward