Knowing and doing
An article by Jim Connolly
Have you ever wondered why so few people take the action required to turn their life or business around? Seriously, even though the majority of people already know what to do in order to make more money, quit a bad habit or enjoy a longer and healthier life, very, very few actually DO what’s required.
Because of my chosen profession; as a writer and speaker on professional and business development, I am fascinated as to why two people can attend the same seminar, for example, and achieve such different results. One uses the information and achieves massively more than ever before; whilst the other person goes away and elects to do nothing with this life-changing information.
Knowledge is not power!
Knowledge only acquires power when it is acted upon. If, for example, you learn how to speak fluent Japanese, that knowledge will be worthless if you decide not to speak or read the language. The knowledge only acquires value or power when it is used in some way.
It reminds me of a story I heard about 20 years ago. . .
Bob is sat at home in front of the fire on a cold winter’s morning. Suddenly, there is a very loud knock at his door – lots of knocks in fact! Bob opens the door and sees Jeff, his friend and next door neighbour. Jeff says; “Bob, grab a bucket and come quick! I’ve just discovered thousands of gold coins in an old well on that land I bought opposite our house - It’s the chance of a lifetime to make yourself a millionaire in minutes – come on!!!
With that, Bob slowly closes the door and sits back down in front of his warm fire again, as if nothing had happened! Jeff knocks at the door again; “Bob, come on man – grab your bucket and get going!” Bob replies; “But I don’t have a bucket!” Jeff looks at him and says; “well go and buy a bucket then!
Bob replies; “Have you seen how much they charge for buckets these days?”
Versions of that story have been knocking around for decades; because it explains so clearly the differing attitudes that people have. Some will act on information and make a million. Others will receive that same information and do nothing with it.
He KNEW - but refused to DO!
I interviewed a businessperson whilst developing my Motivation Master Class audio programme. This man went broke after 8 years in business; amassing over £150,000 of personal debt along the way. His consultancy offered a superb service and his knowledge of his industry was outstanding, however, his business slowly died through lack of sales. The feedback I gained from that day was of great value to me. Not because of what this chap said; he blamed his lack of success, as usual, on everyone but himself! No, the REAL value here was on what I saw on this chap’s bookshelves!
This intelligent man, who went broke due to a lack of sales, owned; books, tapes, videos and CD’s on selling and marketing from just about all of the world’s leading experts! His collection must have cost him many thousands. Had he implemented just a fraction of the marketing information he owned, he could have enjoyed stunning sales success. This man knew what to do, but like the chap in the earlier story, he just refused to act on the information. He knew – but refused to do.
Conrad Hilton once famously said; “Success seems to be connected with action.” How very, very true! The most successful careers and businesses belong to people of action.
Our future success will always be linked to our ability to not only make good decisions – but to back them up with action.
The REALLY sad thing is that self-motivation – the ability to take action, is actually a skill that anyone can learn! I learnt how to motivate myself to get things done, even things I hate, dread or fear and it changed my whole life. My income increased by 6500% (six and a half thousand percent) within a few months and every area of my life was transformed.
Self-motivation is the magic that turns a thought into a fortune. ‘Knowing’ is not enough without ‘doing’.
I have developed a very powerful audio programme called The Motivation Master Class, which will show you how to develop instant self-motivation as well as the ability to motivate others too. You can find out more by clicking here http://www.jimconnolly.com/The-Motivation-Master-Class-p-16136.html
To your success,
Jim Connolly
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