A New Focus: Outcome vs Process
Go to SCHOOL, get good GRADES, go to COLLEGE, get a JOB, WORK your way up the ladder and RETIRE at 65...(Millenials: 75-Never).
This is the process that, for most of us, has been instilled in us from the day we were born. Some of you grew up with parents that owned their own small business and they probably encouraged you to start a business of your own, but the rest was probably the same. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why this is the process? We hear everyone tell us that this is the formula for success. Is this truly the formula for success or is it the battle cry of mediocrity?
If we are all doing the same thing we are all destined to end up in the same place. Some of you might be thinking that's not true because you feel you are smarter and have a stronger work ethic so you will climb the ladder faster and be more successful. I felt the same way and worked my way up quickly everywhere I worked, but why didn't I feel more successful? What I realized is it doesn't matter if you are the CEO, VP, Manager, or Salesman, you are all living the same lives. Yes, the CEO may have granite countertops and a nicer car than you, but you both have to wake up at the same time to go to work 5 days a week so you can let loose on the weekends just to do it again the next week. Whether you are an entry-level employee or a VP, you live the same average lives. You sacrifice 50-100 hours/week, for 50 weeks a year, for 40-45 of the best years of your life, so you can retire and start living when you are 65-75 years old on half the salary you were making. This is the "process" we are told to commit to. No thank you.
"Once you realize that you pay for everything with your time and not with money, that is when your whole world will change and you will comprehend what actually holds value versus what you are told is valuable."
Why are some people able to create different results in life? Simple, you are where you are in life because of how you think. You think like the masses you will join the masses. If you want a different outcome for your life you have to begin to think differently. As I began to study and research some of the most successful individuals in the world, they all had something in common. They were all outcome focused. The most successful people allow the outcome to make their decisions for them and not the process. So many people rob themselves of opportunity and success because they focus on what they have to do rather than what it provides. Mike Rowe is very outspoken on the idea of delusion of passion.
When I finally took some time to take stock of what was truly important in my life, is when my focus began to change. I had spent so much of my life going after things that would create the perception of success to those around me. Reality is, it doesn't matter what my job title or salary is, I will live an average life as long as I continue to think and do as the masses do.
When I got married and we started building our family is when I really understood what I was doing was selfish and came from having a really poor self-image. You can't feed your family and your ego at the same time. I now pursue things based on what they can provide me and my family and it has opened me up to people and opportunities that I would have otherwise passed over. I'm no longer pursuing a life of existence, I am now pursuing a life of significance and impact.