22 February 2009

Why People Who "TRY" Seldom Succeed


"Nothing beats a failure but a try"

This may be true; however, it has been my experience that "trying" just doesn't quite cut it. Trying something implies that you're making an effort and that is a good thing; however, there is a difference between just making an effort and putting forth the effort necessary to succeed.


How many people have actually succeeded when they have said any of the following:

I'm going to try to quit smoking.

I'm going to try to quit drinking.

I'm going to try to quit gambling.

I'm going to try to quit cheating.

I'm going to try to get better grades.

I'm going to try to get that promotion.


I know people who have said each and every one of these things. Conversely, none of them have succeeded at what they have "tried" to do. There is one simple reason why I believe these people, and millions like them have not succeeded at the things they have "tried" to do in life.

In a nutshell...

THERE IS NO COMMITMENT IN TRYING.

There is no commitment in trying and commitment is what is needed in order to succeed. When you are committed to something there are no other alternatives. When I think of commitment I often think of the Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortes, who in the 1500’s arrived in Mexico with the goal of conquering it and adding it to the Spanish empire. Knowing he was outmanned & out gunned, in order to prevent his men from staying behind or deserting, he ordered his ships be burned. In other words, there was no turning back.

When you are committed to a goal, and you are steadily working towards achieving that goal, with every passing day that goal comes closer to you. When you’re “trying” to achieve a goal, every time you stop putting forth the required effort, you lose ground. Every time you pause you run the risk of having someone else step up and take your place.

These are lessons that can be learned as young as your teens. It’s as simple as deciding between if you’re going to try to ask that pretty girl or guy to dance or if you’re actually going to do it. While you’re sitting there “trying,” the person who is committed to dancing with that pretty girl or guy is going to step to him or her and may very well get that dance.
Here’s the thing about life. We live in a world where it is very possible for a person to make something out of nothing. We live in a world where you can turn an intangible idea into a tangible reality. The secret to doing this is commitment.

This is the difference between making it to the Super Bowl or the World Series and actually winning the Super Bowl or the World Series. This is the difference between wanting to be a singer, athlete, chef, or scholar and actually being any of those things.

You see, the most powerful sentence in the English language is also the shortest...

I AM.

There leaves no room for the concept of “trying” in this sentence. This sentence screams commitment. When you use this sentence, you stake your claim in the world. Even if you’re not there yet all you have to do is add the words “going to be,” and that alone can stand as a warning to the world around you and the universe above that you are committed to becoming more than what you presently are.

Where and what you are in your life is a direct reflection of the level of commitment you have applied to yourself. All of us are human. On that note we are all on the same accord. It is not our color or ethnicity that separates us, but our surroundings and conditions. We do not have any control over the conditions that we are born into and raised under; however, we do have absolute control over the surroundings and conditions we live and raise our families in as adults.

I was born and raised in the so-called ghetto. I no longer live in the so-called ghetto. Many of my friends and classmates from my youth have become successful while others have lived hard lives. What separates us in our varying degrees of successes & failures are the choices we’ve made throughout our lives. The same applies for you and the people in your sphere of experience.

Again, there is no success guaranteed to those who “try.” There is no commitment in trying. You have no true stake in what you are “trying” to do. If you want to excel and become better and successful then you are going to have to commit yourself to it. This is non-negotiable. The number one price you must pay in order to succeed is that you must commit.

“Nothing beats a failure but a try,” but without commitment you are more inclined to fail than succeed. There is no room to “try” when your mindset is committed to do or die.

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