Today I’ll talk about what it takes to be successful - that one skill above all the others that helps us to be successful in every sphere our life.
Since I’m in Greece right now, I’ll refer to the great Greek philosopher Socrates and also dedicate this post to him.
OK… I admit, besides the fact that I’m in Greece, there is another reason why I dedicate this blog post to Socrates. The reason is that I’m going to show you how you can use his skill in today’s fast-paced life and use one technique that guarantees your success.
But, since the success-guaranteeing-technique comes from the first skill, let’s talk about that first.
Let me also add that we all are aware of this skill, but seldom use it.
The skill is…. Common Sense !
Hmm… you expected more, didn’t you? Well, if I put my head to it, I may conjure a more complex and lengthy explanation- but in all honesty and simplicity, this is all that is there to it - plain, old common sense is the foundation for success in all fields of life.
Let’s dig deeper and you are likely to agree what I’ve come to accept - Socrates was right.
We act out of habit
Aristotle, another prominent Greek philosopher, derived a formula for common sense, which is:
Either something is there or it is not.
In other words, we either use common sense - the foundation of success - or we don’t. Period.
You may be tempted to wonder what common sense has to do with success and being happy, healthy, and wealthy; the answer is everything.
By using common sense in everything we do and asking one question for every action we take, we can be successful. The question is:
"Is what I’m doing going to take me closer to my goal?"
When the path to success is so simple and obvious, then why aren’t all of us successful? Why then, are we not beaming with happiness?
The answer, my dear friend, lies in the fact that most of us don’t use common sense.
Why don’t we use something we already know? If we want something, then why we don’t do everything that can take us to our goal?
Rather than doing everything we can do to achieve our goal, you are likely to find that the majority of us often act opposite to what we know to be the right thing to do.
The basis of this contradictory behavior lies in the fact that most of us act out of habit- habits that we develop over the years through our upbringing and emotional programming.
An Example
I have a friend who will go to extreme lengths to save money. From a distance, this may appear rational. But when you look closer, you understand that if only he spent the same amount of energy on earning money, he would become far richer via trial and error.
His money worries has bogged him down so much that even when he has sufficient wealth, in his opinion, he always has less than what he should have.
Is this man using his common sense?
No. This man acts out of habit- the habits his family acquired and passed on to him.
If only my friend applies common sense and uses the technique that I will explain in this blog post, he will not only have more wealth, but will be a lot whole happier.
Let’s talk about you
Can you guess the one comment that I get most frequently?
"Thank you, you told me something I was already aware of."
There are many points in this blog that have not been said for the first time. We all have the basic knowledge about how to keep ourselves fit and healthy. The million dollar question is: do we act in accordance with our knowledge?
Do you…
- Drink 2-3 liters of water each day?
- Exercise daily for 15-25 minutes?
- Sleep early and rise early?
- Stay away from processed foods and eat wholesome foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables?
- Avoid caffeine at night?
These are just a few examples of things you know that are good for your health and will make you feel good, but you still don’t do them often.
Common sense tells us we should do things that will make us feel good, but we mostly act opposite to what common sense tells us we should do.
Why we don’t do what we know we should do
Most people say they are unable to take care of their health and body in the way they would love to because of lack of time. This is crap, with a capital C.
To drink 2-3 liters of water, you don’t require time. Most people spend hours chatting on the internet, but will not spend 20 minutes exercising. Your fast paced life is not the reason why you drink caffeine at night and then experience trouble sleeping.
Isn’t it true that a positive attitude will get us to our goal faster, while resentment and a negative attitude will only pull us farther from our goal? Why then, is a large part of our days filled with resentment, and why don’t we adopt a positive attitude in everything we do?
The reason for the gap between our knowledge and actions is there because our old habits determine the course of actions we take.
So, in today’s blog, we conclude that most of our actions defy common sense and we often act opposite to what we know we should do.
Where is this going to lead us?
Many centuries ago, Socrates was executed for showing the wise men of Athens how their actions defied common sense and how big the gap was between what they knew was right and their actual actions.
Socrates didn’t do this out of malice, but because this was what he saw.
Socrates believed that he didn’t know much and was extremely stupid. However, the noble men of Athens regarded thought him to be the wisest person living on earth.
Socrates was amused. Because he didn’t want to offend the noble men, he thought that perhaps it will be best if he went and talked to them, and find out whether the noble men of Athens were wiser than him.
True to his word, Socrates went and met the authorities in Athens. He discussed various topics with the noble men, but to his amazement, found that the wise men contradicted their own knowledge and actually didn’t have any idea of what they were talking about.
After the meeting, Socrates concluded that he indeed was the wisest man on the planet, since he knew he didn’t know anything and claimed to know nothing.
Sometimes, it is best to be humble!
The mantra for success
Hmm… I’ve digressed enough. Let me get back to the purpose of this blog post, which was to tell you the success-guaranteeing-technique.
The mantra for success goes like this:
Find something that works and keep doing it!
Is it indeed so simple? Well, what can I say? It seems all good things come in small and simple packages.
An Example
Why does Starbucks, an international coffeehouse chain, have more than 17,132 stores in 49 countries? Because a man had a great idea- he tested and put it into action, and it worked the first time.
They did it the second time, and it worked again; then they did it the 100th time and it worked. The owner of Starbucks kept doing what worked again and again, and the result now is for everyone to see.
Morale
Keep doing what works for you. If exercising for 20 minutes makes you feel good, do it daily. If eating wholesome foods made you healthier, then eat them daily.
Just find out what works for you and then continue to do it every day without fail.
The same chain of events repeats itself
Over the years, I’ve observed that with many people who invest their time and money in my programs experience the cyclical nature of events repeating themselves.
Euphoria
Clients tell me their condition has improved after they gave my program a try. Their snoring has reduced, blood pressure is under control, the TMJ pain is not as severe as before, the migraine no longer stops them from enjoying a walk in the park, the acid reflux no longer troubles them, and their sexual performance is getting better.
The sinking feeling takes over
For some reason, some of my clients had stopped doing what was working for them - they stopped using my program. And this is when the improvement process stops- and in most cases, things go back to square one.
The thing is that my programs give you all or nothing and are designed to fix the root cause of the condition, for which you need to complete the program. If you quit in the middle, you don’t get anything.
Leaving my program just when you see the first glimpse of results is like giving up climbing a mountain after you are 100 feet up. When you quit climbing after taking a few steps, then there is only one direction you will go, i.e., down.
But if you continue with climbing, you can reach the top and stay there forever.
So, why do people quit programs that are working for them? It doesn’t make sense, does it?
But then, didn’t we conclude today that most of us do not use common sense?
I’ll sign off by urging people to stop this trend of doing the opposite of what they know they should do. Let’s base our decisions and actions on common sense and overcome old habits.
Warm Regards,
Christian Goodman
PS: All my health programs are listed on the right-hand side of this page.
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