Don’t you hate it when you get stereotyped?
Allow me to stereotype once again to add some simplicity and hopefully clarity to the illustration.
There are three types of people:
1) Those who want success
2) Those who want to help others
3) Those who want to make just enough money for themselves.
No matter what type you are, the simple things are often the most profound. In order to be successful, you must be willing to take risks. Most people don’t take risks because they are afraid of failure which usually stems from low self esteem. Low self esteem is a self defeating prophecy. Our self doubt or feeling that others don’t value us or believe in our abilities, takes us out of the game at a very early stage; before we can prove them wrong and prove ourselves right.
The reality is that the only opinion of you that matters, is your own. You must expand your self esteem and confidence through the following stages: from thinking, to knowing, to believing. Everything in life is a choice. If you choose to be successful, you will look for signs that you are right and you will fight like heck if you are doubted. If you walk around with a defeatist attitude, you will get what you seek out. There is a famous Chinese saying that goes, “I have seen the enemy, the enemy is within.”
Putting It Into Action:
Once you have worked on your own self esteem, try to assess which category people around you fall into. Assessment allows for reflection and often a deeper understanding of their motivation and perhaps fears. Deeper understanding of those around us provides us with insight on how to help them achieve greater self esteem. Their greater self esteem will hopefully lead to empowerment and improvement, which will give you a sense of satisfaction. Now that is a nice win-win that we can all use!
With you along the path towards success,
Joseph