“The difference between easy success and difficult failure – having the right tools.” ~Paulette Cunningham
When I first moved back into my house a few years ago, I repainted the interior, put in all new-to-me furniture and rearranged the rooms to suit my current tastes.
I converted one of the bedrooms to a study/library/lounge. In it, I placed a futon, bookcase, shelving, pictures and a small tv. The tv had been bought second-hand and, unfortunately, had not come with a remote control. Being as how I owned an extra remote, I attempted to use it with the tv. The only problem was that particular brand of tv was not listed in the remote’s manual but I was determined to make it work. My reasoning: I had a tv and I had a remote. I was going to “use what I had to get what I wanted.”
However, what I “had” was NOT getting me what I wanted. Over the next several weeks, I spent an hour here and an hour there trying to get this remote to operate the television – to no avail.
Finally I broke down, went to Walmart and bought a remote that was compatible with the tv – and, VOILA, I was able to operate the television! It was now functional! No longer just some hunk of plastic and metal uselessly taking up space in my study/library/lounge.
The joy in this was akin to having power restored after hours of the lights being out. It was night and day…and, amazingly, EASY!
All I’d needed the whole time was the right tool. I had failed miserably over and over for weeks and now I won in a matter of minutes!
The same is true for much, if not all things, in our lives – from succeeding professionally to thriving personally. The ins and outs, details of winning can be managed by simply “tooling up” with the proper resources to ensure success.
The first, and most important, steps are:
- Determine your goal.
- Is it being able to operate a tv, getting a promotion at work, running a successful business, getting healthy & fit, increasing your vocabulary, traveling abroad, buying a home, running a marathon or learning to play an instrument? What do you want?
- Identify the proper tools for the job.
- What resources are needed? Are there people who can help? HOW has this goal been accomplished before – what tools were relied upon?
After that, it’s fairly straight-forward:
- Obtain the tools you need and
- Use them.
Yes, you will have to put in work (like I had to program the remote) but the great part is that after the work, you are pretty much guaranteed success – unlike exerting effort just to land at frustrating failure.
So if you’re currently experiencing difficulties, you may need to assess your tools. Are you employing the right strategies for the accomplishment of the specific goals you desire? Are you connected to the right people…those who can pull you closer to winning?
Or are you using mismatched resources – strategies and people – that will never yield the results you want?
Don’t feel ashamed if you realize that you are using the wrong tools…I’ve been through this experience a few times:
- Spending numerous hours trying to assemble a desk only to have a friend come by and laugh at me for using a screwdriver much too small for the job.
- Employing a labor intensive method of cleaning the bathroom for YEARS only to recently discover “Scrubbing Bubbles”. Do you know how SIMPLE it is to clean a tub with “Scrubbing Bubbles”? Spray, wait, wipe, done.
So, tool up…and accomplish the goals you have for yourself. Don’t be a hard head just to end up with a soft behind…and a bucketful of unfulfilled desires.