Mike Tyson once said, “Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the mouth.” Everyone has a great idea, or grand plans made. Then life comes along and hits them in the mouth and… BOOM, it all falls apart.
The moment you get knocked down is a critical point in determining what will happen next. You can either give up and think, “Well I guess that wasn’t meant for me,” or you can decide to succeed and do everything in your power to make that happen. If you want to be a winner and accomplish everything you’ve planned for, then you must have the mindset that nothing is going to hold you back from succeeding.
There cannot be a Plan B. If you want to take the island, then you must burn the boats. Think about that. If your goal is to take the island, destroy the boats so there is no going back at the first sign of resistance, challenge, or failure. Too often, if something negative happens, you immediately retreat to the boat; that’s Plan B. If you give your mind an opportunity to escape, it will default to that.
The moment something tough happens in your life, determine that you will not retreat. There can only be one plan: succeeding at all costs! It may not be easy; it might be extremely difficult. During WWII, the allied soldiers invaded the beaches of Normandy to take back the countries that the Nazis had overtaken. It was a terrible bloody battle, but those soldiers kept pushing forward. They did not have a Plan B. Their plan was to take the beach, and they did so at all costs.
You need to do the same in your own life. Take the beach. Burn the boat. No Plan B. No going back, only pushing forward. If you can ingrain that in yourself and your persona, nothing is going to hold you back from succeeding.
Second place is first place for the losers. Don’t settle for second place. You weren’t put on this earth to be second place; you were meant to be first! You are meant to succeed, so quit settling for less. Many people settle for less because they think that success and greatness were meant for a few.
The power of God is given to all men, not to just a few men, not just the talented or gifted, but to all men. All men and women can be successful. The reason only a few ever achieve success is because those few understand what is required and are willing to put forth the work. Skill is learned by beating on your craft day in and day out. Some are born with great talents, but skill is learned.
When we see great athletes in a World Series or any other professional game, we might think, “Wow, they’re so talented, that’s so wonderful how lucky they are.” What we don’t see are the early morning practices, the miles and miles of running, the sacrifices they make when they miss out on time with friends and family to hone their skills. We don’t see the hours and hours of blood, sweat, and tears that help them develop into the athletes or the superstars that they are.
We think how fortunate they are to have been born with a certain set of skills. In contrast, these skills were developed and refined through countless years of practice. However, they were born with something that is crucial to their achievements: a driving desire to be successful! They do not let anything hold them back.
Many of the great people in our lives that we put up on pedestals as role models and successes are those who possess a tremendous work ethic. Do your actions reflect a champion or do your actions reflect a second-place winner? Stop talking about your goals and desires and start doing. Let your actions speak volumes of your character.
Remember, your success is never an accident.
