Why most of us want but only a few Get

In January 2014, during my early stages of setting up Upcountry Success (UPS), I had several interviews with both post-secondary and secondary school youths. All the two hundred youths I interviewed wanted to succeed in life. The reality, however, is that only a handful will achieve the level of success that they envisioned during the interviews. I kept a record and I often follow up with my interviewees. Sadly, out of all the secondary school youths that I have reached out to, none of them achieved their targeted grades. Out of the secondary school youths I have reached out to, only one is on track towards what they wanted to achieve in five years. The question I seek to address in this article is: Why do most of us want to succeed yet only very few of us achieve the success that we envision?

First, it is easier to envision success than to pursue success. Most humans are aware of what success looks like. They, however, do not know what to do to be successful, or they fail to act accordingly. For example, many want to become wealthy but spend each day trying to cut costs and not making more money. Cutting costs does not equal increased income. Or others want to be great farmers yet spend a huge chunk of their day watching Netflix movies which have nothing to do with farming. To be successful in whatever sector, you MUST put in the necessary and sufficient effort towards your destiny.

Secondly, many want to be successful but they are subconsciously stuck in the unsuccessful space. Our subconscious mind keeps bringing to our attention the preexisting beliefs that mirror the things we have done or believed in the past. For example, if one had believed the rich people are bad, their mind will keep reminding them that riches are bad. So no matter how much such a person tries to create wealth, their subconscious mind remains stuck in poverty and hence the person remains poor. To achieve any level of success, we MUST train our subconscious minds to be in sync with what we verbalize outwardly.

Thirdly, many decide to be successful but still keep the company of their unsuccessful friends. To be a farmer, one should keep the company of those ahead of them in farming. To become a millionaire, one should continually strive to explore new millionaire relationships and ditch their friends who are still thinking about hundreds.

Fourthly, for humans to achieve any significant level of success, they need to be loved and also love. In his book ‘Think and Grow Rich’, Napoleon Hill identifies love as one of the necessary elements for creating meaningful wealth, without which, one becomes depressed and unproductive. Back in my primary school, I had a teacher who loved me so much that she used to give me extra attention. She pushed me from an average student in Mathematics when she started teaching me, to above average when I completed my primary level of education. In your journey of success, pick someone you can love and one who can love you back. According to Napoleon, if that love can be accompanied by romance and sex, it can achieve more for you than if it was just bare love like the one for parents or siblings.

When one wants to succeed, they should be willing to continually change. This refers to a change in their habits, knowledge, and preferences. This comes with the need to learn new things and apply them. Not just learning new things, but continually learning and adopting ways of the successful.

At the very core of wanting to succeed, one MUST acknowledge that only a few people among millions achieve admirable levels of success. Through this acknowledgment, one should then be ready for an uphill journey that the average person is not willing to travel.

Do you want to achieve extraordinary success?

You MUST be willing to do what the average person will not do.