There are no shortcuts - Chapter One

My views have dramatically changed in the last 10 years. It's interesting for me to wonder what would have happened if my views had changed 10 years earlier.

It's never too late to change and my hope is that this series of posts, may open your eyes, and encourage you to shift your views (if even only a little).

Chapter One

We live in a society where people are always on the look out for a get rich quick scheme. Many people believe that there is one out there that works but they just haven't found the right one yet.

We tend to look for shortcuts in many areas of our lives. I'm no different, I've done this time and time again in many areas of my life. Heck from time to time I can still catch myself trying to shortcut things.

I've spent a large portion of my life believing in sayings like "Work smart, not hard" and what I've learned is that if you keep believing in that saying, basic success will turn into a marathon that never ends.

In reality, no matter how intelligent you are, there is no substitute for hard work. It takes time and practice to learn, then master a new skill. It takes time and hard work to be successful period.

It's also important to remember that success is a relative word. Meaning your definition will constantly be changing.

When I was 15 making $4/hour I thought if I could only make $10/hour I would have it made.

When you make $30,000/year you think $50,000/year will be all you need and then some.

You can make this list as long as you like and include 6 figure and 7 figure incomes, the point remains the same. When you get to that next level your definition of success will shift.

This is not saying you will never be successful. I'm simply trying to show you that for most people (with any drive at all), once they reach a "level" they immediately start looking at the next "level". This is a good thing in my opinion.

Only you can define your definition of success. I just think it's important to understand it may change and there is nothing wrong with that. Don't sell yourself short!

What's most important to understand, is that no level of success happens without hard work and there are no shortcuts. In order to get a taste of success you need to stop "working smart" (trust me it's not working) and realize you are selling yourself short. Stop wasting time and put in the hard work so you can see results faster.

Don't have the time? We all have the same 24hours to work with, stop making excuses, I've used them all.

Don't wake up one day and realize that it's too late to put in the time to get the success you deserve.

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This is the first post in a series. In the next posts I will be sharing thoughts on networking, time management, following up, knowledge is power, and a handful of other topics to round out the series.

This is my experience, yours may vary....