subject: Someone Has To Be The Best-why Not You? [print this page] My wife and daughter just had to go thereMy wife and daughter just had to go there. Of course, I couldn't care less, so I hang and write. Now that does suite me! Hmmm... A topic...
Then I went walking, and I came upon a fountain with a wishing well, and there were lots of coins in it.
When I saw that, I was struck by the difference between the people who wish and the people who do. Everybody wishes for success, everybody wishes for more money, everybody wishes they will make a million dollars, everybody wishes they could get to Disney Land in Orlando. And I'm not saying that getting to Disney Land or Orlando is a big thing.
Well it is, if you're from Panama, right? It is a big thing. It's the end of the rainbow; it's where dreams come true.
But in a larger sense, you have to do more. You have to take your desires from the wishing stage, into the stage where you start making plans-then to executing on those plans.
More people have beat themselves out of the good that they could have through lack of self confidence than any other thing.
Now, does that mean that if you have self confidence, you should go recklessly forward? I'm reminded about the old joke from where I grew up, Texas. Do you know what the final words of a redneck are? I mean, the final words? Well, they're these: "Hey guys, watch me!"
That's funny if you're a redneck or from Redneckville, but no, we're not talking about stupid self confidence-we're not talking about reckless self confidence.
What we're talking about is knowing that you have the power, ability, and even the responsibility to decide on your specific goals, as they relate to not only which career you're in, but what you do in your career.
What makes the achievers stand out?
I'm reminded of the words of Marshall Sylver, the greatest hypnotist of all time. Now, that's a pretty audacious statement. It's a step beyond "the greatest living hypnotist," or "the greatest hypnotist in America"-and by the way, who do you think gave him that little moniker, that little phrase, that little USP? Why of course, it was him!
But you know what? He didn't just set out to be a hypnotist-no, he realized that someone has to be the greatest, so why not him? By saying it, he pulled himself up to perform at a higher level than the ordinaries... At a level of excellence.
Now, do you think it's an easy task, to be the greatest?! Well, man, whenever they've got your mug plastered on the buses and signs all over Las Vegas, you've got to know you're at the top of your game, and that's what they've got with him.
But you know, it started years and years ago, when he would get involved in one of these shows where they'd have a dozen different hypnotists doing different things-I don't know whether it was Disney, or Six Flags Over Texas, or Universal Studios.
But here's what he shared with me once. He was saying, "Yeah, we'd have three shows an evening. And all the others would laugh at me because I would take my suit off and iron it between shows. And they would say, 'Ha, Marshall, why bother? We're not getting paid enough for this kind of extreme behavior.'"
And of course, Marshall wasn't seeing the payday at the end of the week. Marshall was seeing where he had set his sights: to be a superior magician, a superior hypnotist. And to earn the superior income that comes with that high level of performance.
Now, I'm not sure if at that time he was thinking of being the greatest in the world-that may have happened later on. But he said, "Guys, you're still gonna be here when I'm playing Las Vegas." And that's exactly how it played out.
So we want to get specific. We want to take our stuff from the realms of dreams, because all those other guys with him wanted success and more money, too. But he put his plans in action. He followed through methodically. He did the study work. He did the rehearsals. If you've seen his act, it's now so choreographed you wouldn't believe it.
It's so slick, so humorous. He's got music, and effects that hit at just the precise moment. None of this came about by accident. It came about by trial, error, study, application, planning, intention, and moving into action.
That's what I wish for you. Sure, throw your quarter in the wishing well, express the desire for your next goal, and then go to making it happen. Therein is the difference between the multitudes and the exceptional, those who really do receive the rewards that are freely available for those who bring themselves into alignment with what it takes to achieve them.
From central Florida, that's the way it looks from here.
