Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Are You Wasting Your Hard Earned Money Chasing After These 13 Things That Don’t Really Exist?

10:04 AM , , , , , , , , , 8 comments

Have you ever found yourself arguing about whether or not something (really) existed?

I don’t mean existential ideas like God or space or reality.

I’m talking about simple, basic things we encounter every day. Do they (really) exist, or has the steady stream of illusions veiled the truth from us?

GOOD NEWS: I’m here to set the record straight.

Below is a list of things that don’t exist, why they don’t exist, and what exists in their place. Read them at your own peril…

1. “A quick question” doesn’t exist. An example of a quick question is, “Are you gonna finish that rocky mountain oyster omelet?” Other than that, this phrase is a disguise used by people who want to pick you brain, suck your blood and steal your time. Charge them or walk away. What is this person REALLY asking you?

2. Accidents don’t exist. Everything that’s ever happened, everything that’s currently happening and everything that will happen, is exactly what’s supposed to happen. Even if it wasn’t part of your nice little plan. Accept what is and move on. Is this something that might happen whether you worry about it or not?

3. Behavior modification doesn’t exist. You can’t make anybody change. No matter how many books you read. No matter how hard you try, the other person has to WANT to change. And even then, you can only do so much. Whom are you trying to make just like you?

4. Business Ethics doesn’t exist. In John Maxwell’s There’s No Such Thing As Business Ethics, he explains that there’s only one rule when making decisions. The singular idea agreed upon by every major religion in the world. “Do unto others as you’d have them to do you.” I agree with John. Ethics of life and ethics of business are the same. How will you translate your personal values into your professional world?

5. Cinderella doesn’t exist. There’s no Prince Charming. There’s no Glass Slipper. Unjust oppression doesn’t always receive triumphant rewards. That’s not the way it works in real life. That’s why they call it a fairy tale. Are you willing to work harder than ever before and watch 90% of that work go unnoticed and underappreciated?

6. Competition doesn’t exist. It’s merely a projection of your scarcity mentality. The pie is enormous. You just need the right fork. Change your silverware or change your career. Are you making war on the competition or making love to the customer?

7. Flawless execution doesn’t exist. Flawless execution doesn’t exist. Exquisite, yes; flawless, no. And without approaching failure this way, you’ll get swept away in the undertow of personal drama. Which accomplishes nothing but granting your emotions an all-day pass for disturbing your ability to execute. Will you fail like you mean it?

8. Good or bad days exist. As Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Everything is neutral until painted with the meaning you ascribe to it. Are you having a bad day or a bad attitude?

9. Gurus don’t exist. If you meet a guru who calls himself a guru, run back down the mountain. He’s not a guru. If you have to tell people you are, you probably aren’t. Who’s teaching you?

10. "It just happened" doesn’t exist. No, it didn’t. Nothing just happens. Things happen because a series of decisions were made by somebody, and that’s what caused things to happen. Do you take responsibility for the consequences of your choices?

11. Limits don’t exist. For example, when people complain that they’re “not creative.” I don't buy that. Everyone is creative. The difference is, not everyone knows how to explode the barriers set in place by a lifetime of conditioning to express that creativity. Here’s the reality: As long as you don’t violate the scientific laws of thermodynamics, pretty much anything is possible. Probable, maybe not. But possible, absolutely. Are you bound and limited by the thoughts that other have formulated for you?

12. Luck doesn’t exist. Serendipity is, in fact, a strategy. It’s not an accident. It’s not luck. It’s working your ass off. It’s putting yourself in the way of success. It’s making the world say yes to you by engaging your Yes Muscle and becoming a more yessable person. It’s increasing the probability of success by making yourself more successable. It’s creating an ongoing, market-wide hunger for you. It’s victory through unwavering vigilance to your vision. It’s being at the right place at the right time by being in a lot of place. How could you become the luckiest person you know?

13. Mistakes don’t exist. In Steven Mitchell’s Second Book of the Tao, he explains, “There are no mistakes in the universe. What happened is what should have happened; there’s no other possibility. And anyone who understands that everything happens as exactly the right time will be untouched by sorrow and joy.” How would you career be different if you viewed nothing as a mistake?

FINAL NOTE: This is only half of the list. Stay tuned tomorrow for the continuation of things that don’t exist.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What’s on your list of things that don’t exist?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Leave a comment on this blog with your list of things that don’t exist, why they don’t exist, and what exists in their place.

Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
scott@hellomynameisscott.com

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

8 comments:

Here Are MY Things That Don't Exist:

1) The Happy Ending -- It never happens. Because it never ends!

2) Tara -- Rhett Butler sacrifices everything to get "his best or perfect customer", and finally has to walk away from all of it -- including his business -- because it doesn't work out. (These days, Rhett Butler can be male or female -- we're saying any sex can be that impossible to please customer).

3) The Magic Kiss that undoes the Wicked Witch's bite of the Poisoned Apple -- sometimes things go so wrong for so far or for so long (or both) it just doesn't seem that "the patient" can be resuscitated.

-----

I would be interested to hear if you have any suggested solutions to these 3 things, and how you would implement them -- or, just if you would agree. :)

Cool list. Highly philosophical I'd have to say. Here's some I've discovered.

1. Magic Bullets - No they don't exist, not software, not a specific person working for you. Business takes experimenting, then focusing on the 20 that's propelling the the 80%.

2. Waiting for a the big payday- Everyone wants an exit plan, but you have to create systems which will bring cashflow. It's more important than hanging your hat on some big payoff that may never happen.

I guess this is similar to your point about limits not existing, but I don't believe in black and white thinking. I don't believe pure good exists and that evil is its exact opposite. I don't believe the answer is yes or no, right or wrong, either/or. I would boil it down to: "Easy choices don't exist." Whenever you think there are only two options, you're wrong. There are always more but your ability to see them may be limited by your preconceived notions. The more you think there is only a "this way" or a "that way" the less likely you are to see the completely different--and multiple--"other ways".

I see this so much in the world with how people view one another. They believe you should either agree with them or disagree; they believe you are either one thing or another. No one thinks you can be both one thing AND another. And no one thinks you could possibly be neither. I don't think anything or anyone is so simple. We are all full of conflict. Everything is multi-dimensional. And we fool ourselves when we try to make things "easy" by painting them in black and white.

Shared with Twitteratti - good list (I always knew Gurus didn't exist)

"I can't" doesn't exist: The reality is more a case of ""I can't be bothered" or "I won't".

Perhaps it's negative conditioning from the past which is demotivating you, or maybe a fear of failure preventing you from trying.

Anything is possible given the right conditions: If it appears that the conditions are currently insufficient for your project to become successful then it's your job to rectify the situation and prepare the environment beforehand, so that the conditions are right within the project's working environment in order to assist and secure a successful result.

Impossible doesn't exist. Napoleon was attributed to aaying "Impossible is only found in the dictionary of fools"

What a marvelous list ! -- a "Wake Up Call" really. Scott, I'm particularly enamored with #6.

In our work helping Consultants Solve The Sales Problem, we contend, "Serve Your Competitors . . . And You Won't Have Any." As you might imagine, the idea is rarely embraced immediately, but once they "get" it, it's amazing how their world opens up.

I look forward to sharing your list with our clients.

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