If the last century taught us anything, it is that change and growth are the keys to developing and maintaining success in everything that you do. Those who don’t learn to press on towards whatever it takes to get them to the next level, will eventually find themselves in the comfort zone and watch their growth come to a halt and eventually diminish. No matter how much we were able to achieve in the past, it is important to keep in mind that tomorrow can be even greater if we are willing to do what it takes to make it so.
Albert Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same things over and over and expecting different results.” That certainly applies to anyone in an ever changing industry like retail automotive sales. Today’s customers want more and expect more, not only from the products themselves, but from those who provide the services that bring those products to the marketplace. Let’s face it, if you aren’t growing in your knowledge and abilities, you will eventually fall behind those who are willing to make the investment to do so. That is what success and competition is all about and those who understand it, are always willing to do what it takes to stay in the game.
Success isn’t something that just happens naturally. It is created by those who have goals and aspirations and are willing to do what it takes to achieve them. The higher the goal, the harder it is to achieve it. Champions know what they want to accomplish and they do whatever is necessary to reach their goals in life. They do it and they keep doing it until they get where they want to go. Only then are they satisfied that they have fulfilled their purpose and done their best.
You may think of your job as something that just pays the bills and feeds your family. Have you ever thought about the great potential there is to make your life one of profound happiness and professional fulfillment? Anyone can make a mark in life regardless of what business they are in. You are no different from the people you most admire if you learn to appreciate your own potential and build it in a way that drives you onward to success. It is not what you do that makes you successful, but how you do it. Unless you are willing to make the necessary improvements and change that success demands, you will never reach your true potential and know your ultimate success.
Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi once said, “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.” You have to set the right goals for yourself and then meet whatever challenges that stand in your way with the courage and conviction that you can, and you will reach those goals no matter what it takes to get you there. It all starts with an honest assessment of who you are and where you are right now. Don’t let anyone tell you that you are stuck in the life you now have because of your background, your natural abilities or from where you came. Your life is a launch pad for your future regardless of whatever natural limitations you may feel you have. You are the one that decides whether or not your life will be one of success or failure and when you make the choice to succeed at all costs the universe will get behind you and push you forward in your quest. You may not know this, but you are a unique individual that is different from everyone and anyone else. You have unique potentials and powers that will lie dormant in you unless you release them through your will and thoughts and actions you take. Everyone you know and everything you allow to come into your mind and heart will influence you in either a positive or negative way. It is up to you to manage your life in such a way that your actions are in harmony with the goals you want to achieve. That won’t happen all at once, but you will grow into it as you practice the disciplines, thoughts and actions that lead to success. If you have bad habits you must change them. Bad relationships must go if they hinder your ability to move into the mindset and life that you want for yourself and your future. This is not selfishness, this is self-preservation. Your life is a gift, but it is a gift that you must manage and protect if you want it to be one that fulfills the potential with which you were born. If you have unconstructive thinking you must do what it takes to change the way you think, and be willing to put new ideas and concepts in place that will move you in the direction you want to go. Everything about you must align itself with what your goals are if you truly want to make the changes that will lead to your success in life. If you keep doing things the way you always have done, you can expect to continue being the person you are and having the things that you have right now. A car dealership can be a place where people pass around bad ideas and bad habits that can create an environment of negativity. Some people who have been in this business for a while can convince you that it is a career with limited potential where the only way to get ahead is to take advantage of the customers and get what you can at all cost. You are the one who decides whether you will buy into that mentality or create your own success and be an example to those around you. Those who do what they have always done can expect nothing more than what they have now. But you can change that by aspiring to be successful and what you do to achieve it. Someone once said this about how change really happens in life and affects others. It is known as “The Bombshell Theory.” I cannot change anyone by direct action, I can only change myself. And others, seeing me change, have a tendency to change in response to my change.” That is a powerhouse concept for making your life not only personally successful, but for becoming a change agent for those around you. Everyone wants to be successful, but some just don’t know how to get there and they are waiting for someone around them to point the way. Nothing happens until someone decides to take the first step and starts doing things differently from the way they have always done it. You have the power to be that person and change your life and the life of those around you for the better. It takes courage and commitment, but so does anything that is worth doing. As the old saying goes, “You will either spend your life making yourself successful or you will spend it on the success of someone else.” Start today and don’t let another minute go by doing things the way you always have. Make the investments in yourself that can change your life forever and once you have set your feet on the path of success, don’t look back. Do things in a new and better way and you can expect new and better doors to open up before you. This is the key to winning in life and you have as much right to open the door to success as anyone else does. If it is going to happen, it’s up to you to see that it does. Dream big and prove your dreams by the way you live your daily life. If you do this, success will find you and nothing can stop it from coming your way.
