It sometimes seems to me that focussing too much on the “end game” actually hinders people from getting there.
Success is a by-product of so many different ingredients and circumstances that its pursuit can sometimes seem hopeless if you lose your focus on what really matters. We all know the feeling of “I’ll never get there” but actually you should banish those very words from your vocabulary. The moment you focus on the goal is the moment you lose focus on the journey.
Truly “successful” people understand that they need to focus on these ingredients rather than dreaming about reaching a mythical land with yachts, sun-kissed beaches and fast cars. There are all sorts of ingredients that go into making someone successful, but for me, the biggest one is trust.
Earning the trust of those around you is a lifelong pursuit, and for me, it is the cornerstone of success. If people believe in you, if you do what you say and if they rely on you to be part of their lives, you have laid a solid foundation for the future.
The most worthwhile things in life have to be earned, they have to be worked at. If something doesn’t come easily, it makes the quality all the rarer. Think about all the people in your life that you trust implicitly. I’d suggest that most people have let you down at one point or another. Can you learn to trust them again? Maybe, but it takes a real leap of faith.
Trust is not only hard to earn initially, you actually never stop earning it. Life gives you opportunities to strengthen bonds and it gives you opportunities to weaken them. In my view, it is these at these crossroads that eventual success comes that little bit nearer or stretches that little bit further into the distance.
Let me give you an example from my recruitment career.
I deal with lots of candidates every day. We correspond by email and I spend a lot of time talking over the phone. If I promise to call someone back or give them feedback, I always make sure that it is my top priority. It doesn’t matter what else I have to do, I always strive to keep my promises. These actions might not have any benefit for me in the short-term, but in the long run I believe that this will contribute to eventual success. I suppose that you could call it respect.
My best clients behave in the same way with me. When two people know that they will do their utmost to deliver on their promises, success is not far away.
So, next time you are thinking about your plan for world domination, take a minute to pause and consider how trust might help you along that journey. Then take a step back every now and again and make sure that you are giving that trust enough room in your life.
Success won’t be far away. Trust me.
Written by Alex Turner, Edited by Paul Drury