Top Three Distractions of Success
You want to be successful? Who doesn’t? Not a day goes by that I don’t feel the urge to day dream about the day I’ll consider myself a success. When traveling down your road to success, they’re many distractions that can permanently derail your plans.
Here are the top three distractions that you want to avoid in order to a achieve your definition of success:
DEBT
“If you want something you’ve never had, you’ll have to do something you’ve never done.”
— Dave Ramsey
There are plenty of statistics on how debt can cripple your ability to build wealth. There are zero statistics on how debt can keep you from your definition of success.
It’s important to understand that once you know your definition of success, you will have to journey outside your comfort zone by acquiring little to no debt. Yes you may feel like you need that car, house, or prestigious education, but financing it will tie you down to paying off that item rather than paying your dues towards success.
Before moving forward with any large debt commitments, make sure you think about the dreams you may have to give up. For example, if you’re in the market for a car, you may justify your purchase saying you NEED one that’s new and reliable. The reality is, reliability is a necessity but new is a luxury. Commit to only what you need and get rid of the luxury you can’t afford.
BILLS
“Your biggest enemies are your bills.”
— Mark Cuban
Bills have always been an inconvenience but a necessary part of life. Bills, however, don’t have to run your life. Everyone’s bills are different but if you’re bills are more on the personal side of your life and not the success side you may need to readjust.
To give you an example: if you have a cable bill $50/month and watch only five channels out of 200, you have a personal bill that could go towards building your path to success. Don’t forget about other services such as Hulu, Netflix, and Prime are all personal bills where the money could be spent elsewhere.
DOUBT
“You measure the size of the accomplishment by the obstacles you had to overcome to reach your goals.”
— Booker T. Washington
There is nothing money can do to erase doubt. With doubt you can do everything right and still fall short on believing in yourself. This lack of belief usually becomes the biggest distraction of becoming successful.
So how do you navigate doubt? With momentum. Strange as it may sounds, you don’t have to believe in yourself completely at first. You just have to blindly take the first step. For example, you may never believe you can accomplish the dream of home ownership. But if you take the first step and walk into a bank you will find each step moving forward starts to get easier.
Your road to success will always be a winding journey. If you maintain focus, minimize debt, reduce spending, and conquer your doubts your journey won’t be as bad as you think.