Tagged: breakthrough

One lesson away

What we don’t know can kill us. Or at least it can kill our chances of achieving our goals.

We often don’t realize that we are just one lesson away from getting there. There’s that one small thing we need to learn to turn everything around. To become professionals.

Sometimes it’s right under our noses, and sometimes it’s been pointed out by our peers yet we ignore it. It can’t be that important is what we say. That can’t be what’s holding me back. But it very well might be.

What’s the one lesson you haven’t learned yet? Look around, it’s much simpler than you think it is. Thank me later.

Questions part 2

Are you taking the right steps towards your goals?  What does your gut tell you?  Did you go to bed satisfied with your efforts last night?

Is your environment an ideal one for you?  Are your friends as motivated as you are? Are you making good use of satellites? Do you find yourself in the same places movers and shakers in your industry dwell?

Are you making an impact? Is your work helping anyone but yourself?  How many sincere thank yous did you get yesterday?  Would anyone care if you suddenly changed professions?

Is fear holding you back from being great?  What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?  When was the last time you failed big time?

Does your work reflect your genuine values?  How comfortable are you talking about your work to family and friends?  Do your hobbies have any connection to your professional life?

How many breakthroughs have you achieved by asking tough questions without being scared of the answers?

Creativity and breakthroughs

I ran across the video below on fellow blogger Seth D. Cohen‘s site and I couldn’t help but share it with the world myself. The video makes some great points on how creativity works and how breakthroughs really happen.

One of the main points it makes is that we imagine creativity as something that just comes to us serendipitously. That it just falls in our lap without us seeking it out. We always talk about the happy ending of when a great idea has been acquired, but we often fail to mention the hard work that went into preparing your mind to perceive it.

The act of feeling frustrated is an essential part of the creative process. When we reach the point of believing the answer is beyond us is when the answer finally hits us wholly in one shot.

The best business minds always put in the work first, with no guarantee of success. But they realize that consistent effort and knowledge-building will ultimately tilt the odds of a breakthrough to 100%.