Persistence,Instant Gratification,Priorities,Risks,Looking For Shortcuts

REASONS FOR FAILURE WHY WE DON'T ACHIEVE
EXCELLENCE
Life is like a ten speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.--Charles Schultz

1. Unwillingness to Take Risks

Success involves taking calculated risks. Risk taking does not mean gambling foolishly and behaving irresponsibly.

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People sometimes mistake irresponsible and rash behavior as risk-taking. They end up with negative results and blame it on bad luck.Risk-taking is relative. The concept of risk varies from person to person and can be a result of training. To both a trained mountain climber and a novice, mountain climbing is risky, but to the trained person it is not irresponsible risktaking.Responsible risk-taking is based on knowledge,training, careful study, confidence and competence which give a person the courage to act while facing fear. The person who never does anything makes no mistakes. However, he doesn't realize that not doing anything is his biggest mistake. Many opportunities are lost because of indecision. It is habit-forming and contagious. Take risks but don't gamble. Risk-takers go with their eyes open. Gamblers shoot in the dark.Once someone asked a farmer if he had planted wheat for the season. The farmer replied, "No. I was afraid it wouldn't rain." Then the man asked, "Did you plant corn?" The farmer said, "No. I was afraid of insects eating one corn. Then the man asked , " What did you plant ? " The farmer said, "Nothing. I played it safe."

RISKS

• To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
• To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
• To reach outfox another is to risk involvement.
• To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
• To place your ideas, your dreams, before a crowd is to risk their loss.
• To love is to risk not being loved in return.

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• To live is to risk dying.
• To hope is to risk despair.
• To try is to risk failure.

But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, and is nothing.They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, or live. Chained by their attitudes, they are slaves, they have forfeited their freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.

2. Lack of persistence

When problems seem insurmountable, quitting seems to be the easiest way out. It is true for every marriage, job and relationship. Winners are struck but not destroyed. We all have had setbacks in life. Failing does not mean we are failures. More people fail not because they lack knowledge or talent but because they quit. The total secret of success lies in two words, persistence and resistance. Persist in what must be done and resist what ought not be done. A man is a hero not because he is braver than anyone else, but because he is brave for ten minutes longer.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

3. Instant Gratification

We think short term, not long term. That is limited vision. We are living in an age of instant gratification. There is a

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pill for everything, from waking you up to putting you to sleep. People want to take a pill to get rid of their problems. When people want to be instant millionaires, they take shortcuts and compromise on their integrity.The desire to make a million overnight has made the lottery a flourishing business. Remember that instant gratification never thinks of consequences, only of momentary pleasures. Today's generation defines the ideal diet as one that will take off five pounds for good intentions. These are people who don't want any more birthdays but want all the presents.

4. Lack of Priorities

People make substitutes where they ought not to. For example, in relationships, they trade money and gifts for
affection and time. Some people find it easier to buy things for their children and spouse to compensate for their absence. When we don't have our priorities right, we waste time, not realizing that time wasted is life wasted. Prioritizing requires discipline to do what needs to be done rather than going by our moods and fancies. Too much emphasis is placed on success and failure rather than doing one's best.How do you cope with defeat and problems? Your response to this question says a lot about your character. One of the keys to solving this mystery to success is understanding. Some people have their mind set on money, power, fame or possessions. We have to understand our priorities.

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Success does not come by reading or memorizing the principles that lead to success, but by understanding and applying them.

5. Looking for Shortcuts
No Free Lunch

There is a story about a king who called his advisers and asked them to write down the wisdom of the ages so that he could pass it on to future generations. After a lot of work, the advisers came up with several volumes of wisdom and presented them to the king. The king called his advisers and said that it was too long, people would not read it. They had to condense it. The advisers went back to work and came back with one volume. The king said the same thing. They came back again with one chapter and then one page, and the king said the same thing still until they came up with one sentence that satisfied the king. He said that if there was one piece of wisdom that he wanted to pass on to future generations, it is this one sentence: "There is no free lunch." In every organization or society, there are freeloaders. They are people who want to get a benefit without paying for it. They are looking for freebies. By and large, sometime or the other, most of us have been guilty of being a freeloader. This is typically seen in associations and organizations. Most members are inactive. They want and get the full benefit of the effort of the active ones.