| Why Some
People Fail and Others Succeed
By Jim Rohn
Why some people fail
and others succeed can be baffling. Sometimes it may even seem unfair.
We all know people who have a good education, the right attitude and a
sincere desire to make something of themselves. They are good parents,
honest employees and loyal friends. Yet despite their knowledge,
feelings and desires, they continue to lead lives of quiet desperation.
They should have so much more than they do, but they seem to receive so
little.
What if we converted
our dreams into plans and our plans into refined activities that would
lead toward the achievement of our goals?
If we have a sincere
desire for progress, then we are compelled to find every possible means
to implement all that we know and feel. We must find ways to demonstrate
on the outside all of the value that we possess on the inside.
Otherwise, our values will remain unappreciated and our talents
unrewarded.
Why some people fail and others succeed can be baffling. Sometimes it
may even seem unfair. We all know people who have a good education, the
right attitude and a sincere desire to make something of themselves.
They are good parents, honest employees and loyal friends. Yet despite
their knowledge, feelings and desires, they continue to lead lives of
quiet desperation. They should have so much more than they do, but they
seem to receive so little.
Then there are those who always seem to receive so much and yet merit so
little. They have no education. They have a poor attitude about
themselves and other people, and are often dishonest and unethical. The
only thing they seem to share in common with those who should do well
but do so poorly is a sincere desire to get ahead. Despite their lack of
virtues, knowledge and appreciation, these people often seem to come out
on top.
Why is it that some good people seem to have so little while the
dishonest seem to have so much? Why is it that the drug dealers and the
mob members and the criminal element in our society are driving
Rolls-Royces while many are struggling to make the payments on their
inexpensive compacts? If our desire to succeed is as strong as theirs,
and if we have the added virtues of philosophical refinement and
emotional sophistication, why are we not all doing better than they are?
The answer might well
be that we do not work at achieving our goals, and they do. We do not
take all that we are to the marketplace and put it to work. They do. We
do not stay up late at night developing new plans to achieve our dreams
and work hard day after day to make those dreams a reality. They do. We
do not learn all that we possibly can about our industry and our
markets. They do. We do not make every effort to get around the right
sources of influence, to associate with those people who can help us to
achieve our goals. They do. While we are dreaming about the promise of
the future, they are doing something about it. Granted, they might be
doing the wrong things, but they are doing consistently and with an
intensity and a level of commitment that would put many of us to shame.
Evil always rushes in to fill the void created by the absence of good.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to
do nothing, and unfortunately, that is what too many good people choose
to do.6 It is our lack of intense, disciplined activity that has allowed
evil to flourish and good men to flounder. If life does not seem fair
sometimes, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
Imagine how different our world would be if we made a commitment right
now to put into action all that we currently are, wherever we currently
are, and with whatever we currently have. What if we all gave 100
percent to our jobs, families and com6munities? What if, starting right
now, we began to read the books, replace errors with disciplines and
associate with people who have stimulating ideas? What if, starting
right now, we converted our dreams into plans and our plans into refined
activities that would lead toward the achievement of our goals? What an
incredible different we could make! In no time at all we would have evil
on the run and good would be rushing in to recapture its rightful place.
What a life we could then share with our families—a life filled with
challenge, excitement and achievement. And what an inheritance we could
leave to the next generation—a wealth of virtue, integrity and substance
with which to build a whole new world, and all because we cared enough
to do something with our lives and to put our skills and talents to
work. |
Curt Overman ('59) of
VA
AND
Lola Babb Hallman ('63) of NC;
My
Oldest Grandson, Andrew Harty (Collinsville HS, IL - '10) of IL;
Mary Anne Mays Davis
('58) of VA;
Don Wilson (John Marshall HS -
'64) of VA AND
Jerry Allen ('65) of VA;
The
late Tommy
Scott ('61)
(deceased 01/05/10);
Judy McCall Nesbitt ('65) of NC!
