Therefore, it is critical, if not an outright demand, that the guidance you employ is precise and well-placed. Within that realm of understanding, there are six very distinct factors that can greatly aide in a viable, exciting, and rewarding journey through life.
The first factor is CIRCUMSTANCES. Like it or not, each of us is impacted daily by the circumstances we find ourselves facing. Good, bad, or indifferent, those circumstances will most often determine the outcome of our various endeavors, personal actions, or thoughts. What you do, how you think or what you say as a result of the circumstances you face can forever change the course of your life as well as the lives of others who may be associated directly or indirectly with you.
You find yourself with a financial circumstance, as an example. The mortgage has to be paid but your bank account does not reflect the dollars necessary to address that payment. What will you do? Will you dig into potential savings or possibly retirement accounts if those exist? Could you ask for an extension? Will you contact family to seek help? Will you sell possessions to meet the need? How about seeking a second job or an advance on any salary? Would criminal actions be considered? There are a multitude of ways your life can advance based upon how you confront the circumstances you face.
Circumstances will not be extinguished in your life. There will be challenges, decisions and other varied demands that will confront you. It is easy to react but more difficult to respond. Reaction only requires emotional action on your part, whereas response demands you set aside the emotional aspect and utilize sound reasoning and full exploration of options prior to engaging in any action. Thus, when we control our daily actions based upon what faces us and do so in a positive-goal oriented manner, we can find a “win” for our lives.
Guidance in life is important if you are to create a pathway that leads to true happiness. The circumstances we encounter provide us the educational platform that enables the guidance we need to better direct our efforts in an anabolic or positive manner not a catabolic or negative-focused mode. Face your daily circumstances with a mindset of solutions, not an outlook of problems. In doing so, you will find a brighter pathway lies ahead.
The second factor is COUNSEL. Having a qualified voice to provide an opinion regarding an action to take or decision to reach is a valuable asset. The realization that those who fail to explore all options and gain diverse insight most often fall short in their quests is a lesson worth following.
Every successful leader has strong counsel. This counsel is not necessarily an end all. Quite frankly, this counsel does not provide the true answer. What this counsel does is to provide a vision which demands that the inquirer think through the encounter with a desire to reach an acceptable conclusion or at least varied options. As Johann von Goethe noted, “To accept good advice is but to increase one’s own ability.” Most often the answer lies within the person, and the strong counsel of that trusted advisor helps pull it out.
William Seward was perhaps President Abraham Lincoln’s most trusted counsel. He spent more time with Seward, particularly during his first year in office, than he did with his family. This action even prompted Mrs. Lincoln to hold high resentment for Seward as a result. However, Seward proved to provide the president with a great deal of valuable alternatives. One early bit of counsel was provided on Lincoln’s first inaugural’s address. His counsel enabled Lincoln to provide a very softened and admirable message for the country, even in the midst of challenging circumstances. That counsel carried forth as Lincoln nominated and had him confirmed as Secretary of State shortly afterwards. Not a bad result for an individual who at one time was the chief rival of Lincoln for the Republican nomination for president.
It has been said that the words of wise counsel far exceed the shouts of foolish emotion from ill-informed leaders. Thus, it is crucial that inspiring leaders secure strong counsel to guide their pathway toward the specific outcomes they seek. While the words of others in positions of similar responsibility may be of value, too often those words come from a personal perspective. This perspective may or may not hold the same intensity and overall value to the inquirer. It may, in fact, be an emotional delivery versus an impactful presentation of valued insight. This is why strong counsel is so valuable. It sets aside those distractions and enables the individual seeking assistance to focus solely on key concepts that are presented so that the most effective and most common-sense action or decision can be taken.
Find strong counsel and then put that counsel to work so that the pathway you have chosen to follow may be maintained. In doing so, you will unleash a powerful force that will challenge your mind to think, your body to take action, and your mouth to voice the vital words that bring forth success as well as encouragement to those who surround your sphere of authority. As Napoleon Hill proclaimed, “There is one quality which one must possess to win and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.” Strong counsel can open the doors to that end. Find it and employ it to better direct your life.
The third factor is CONSEQUENCES. For every action we take or fail to take, there will surely be consequences. It is very important that you be fully prepared to deal with any such consequence that may arise as a result of your actions. Whether good or bad in content, taking responsibility for what you do is vital to any future endeavors. Therefore, it is so very important to choose wisely in your decisions.
Bonnie was an insurance representative. Not just an insurance representative per se, but an excellent insurance representative. She had worked hard at building a viable business from starting at ground zero as far as accounts. She studied to further her knowledge and value to clients and achieved several key insurance designations. The future looked bright for Bonnie in her profession.
One day, after almost one year of effort, she was able to secure business from a very influential business executive. This success led to more clients being directed to her by this individual. Bonnie was so excited and proud of her accomplishment.
As often happens, the influential client suffered a casualty loss. It was not very extensive, but it was a loss that was among the excluded perils under the policy provisions. Bonnie was fearful that she might lose all she had gained if she told this client the loss was not covered. She faced very tough circumstances. What must she do? Paying the claim in some manner was a violation and could subject her to grave consequences. Denying the claim could place her in a very crucial dilemma with her new client and also have her face another set of grave consequences. What must she do?
How you respond to situations is crucial to life guidance. Facing and understanding the consequences of your actions is certainly a daunting task. It is especially daunting when you are placed in a financial or other related dilemma unless your inner guidance system is strong. Luckily for Bonnie, as she faced the grave task of making a decision and evaluating the consequences, she made the right decision and alerted her new client with the correct news. Though the client was not happy, the client was pleased that Bonnie had been forthright in her efforts. In doing so, this executive eventually directed even more business to Bonnie as a result.
Often our fears dominate our response to events. We too often can fail to thoroughly evaluate the consequences of our actions and thus propel ourselves into deep trouble. In failing to face the reality of the moment, we cascade past the truth. As has been said, “We have a responsibility to do what’s right, come what may.” Always evaluate the consequences of your actions. Be thorough in your analysis, and you will surely find that the values of your inner truth will provide the guidelines that should always help you make the tough decisions.
The fourth factor is COMMON SENSE. One of the great challenges in today’s environment is simply the failure of so many to utilize common sense in any decision making. It seems that society always wants to take the most rigid and, at times, most unconventional approach to addressing virtually every action of every encounter known to mankind. Appearance over substance has apparently taken control. If it isn’t so complex that it demands not only a so-called expert but also an additional team of “relative experts” to decipher the content, it will not be absorbed or followed. This is a position that many would consider absurd.
It was once said, “Fine sense and exalted sense are not half so useful as common sense; and he who would carry about him nothing but gold will be every day at a loss for small change.” Just as you do not blindly stick your hand into the mouth of an alligator, you must be able to understand what you see and then do what’s right in return. In its simplest terms, common sense is thus nothing short of unflappable wisdom. Knowing what to do, at what time, and in what manner is the crucible of living life to the fullest as well as in harmony with others.
During the pinnacle of the space race in the 1960’s, NASA quickly discovered that ballpoint pens would not work in the zero gravity confines of its space capsules. After a great deal of research and development, NASA created the “Astronaut Pen.” Its development cost was $1 million. The pen worked in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and also had some success as a novelty item back here on earth. The main competitor to the US, the Soviet Union, when faced with the same problem, simply used a pencil. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing.”
If we would only better utilize our common sense as we decide matters and as we interact with others, how much better might the outcomes be of all the decisions that are reached as well as our dealings with others? It boils down to the old adage, “God gave us two ends, one to think with and one to sit on. Success comes in which you choose. Heads you win, and tails you lose.”
The fifth factor is COMPULSION. By definition, compulsion is the act of forcing or being made to do something. It is also an irresistible urge to behave in a certain way, especially against one’s conscious wishes. People quite often are accused of having a “compulsive nature.” In other words, they have such a strong urge to do something that they must act. This can be a good thing when it comes to perhaps saving someone or something from a dangerous circumstance or in getting a critical need finalized. It can be damaging in a sense when an individual is constantly having to clean or tidy up or if an individual must be certain that books on a shelf are aligned in a specific order. Therefore, compulsion is a dynamic influence when it comes to being focused on the road toward success and achievement. As Plato reminds us, “Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.”
When a task is undertaken, it is vital to that task’s success for all parties designated for its conclusion possess a high level of commitment. This commitment, in general terms, should be of free-will if a plateau of total success is realized. However, that is not always the case, and such undertaking will not guarantee overall success or outright failure either. While forcing someone to perform a task against their better judgment may be prudent in complying with job demands, it will normally not produce a total commitment to a task’s potential outcome. It is much like the individual who cannot stand aside, despite the energy remaining in their being or the hour of the day, until the walls have been fully painted in the room. Even though the work might be done perhaps better the next day, they continue onward in the effort. Success, in their mind, only comes if and when the work is complete. Its final appearance is of little value. It is the completion of the painting that matters.
Learning to channel compulsion is crucial in navigating the pathway of life both personally and professionally. Compulsion can lead you to make poor decisions at crucial times. It can also enable you to finish tasks in record time and potentially best the competition. How you direct the compulsion impulse to produce an anabolic or positive outcome versus a catabolic or negative outcome will best determine whether or not you gain the ultimate success you seek. In great terms, you must make compulsion an asset not a liability. This will demand vast control of your inner drive and an undeniable focus on the need that is being met. Anything less than this full commitment will surely end with a disappointing outcome. You must learn to accept the reality that taking a break does not doom the effort. Backing away to clear your mind and re-channel thoughts will not subject you to loss. As Denis Villeneuve pointed out, “Sometimes you have compulsions that you can’t control coming from the subconscious. They are the dictator inside ourselves.” Overthrow that dictator and control your compulsions so that you will achieve the directive that best addresses your needs.
The sixth and final factor is CONTENTMENT. Happiness and satisfaction with self and one’s work has long been a life goal for most. Balguy said, “Contentment is a pearl of great price, and whoever procures it at the expense of ten thousand desires makes a wise and a happy purchase.” Plautus also said, “If you are content, you have enough to live comfortably.” The challenge to this “utopia” of focus comes in your understanding of when enough is enough and how you view happiness.
Many people struggle with defining happiness and contentment when confronted. To some it is maximizing earnings and elimination of debt. To others, it is having good health, a strong, loving family and a clear sense of purpose. Still others find that their definition lies in holding power and being the center hub of control. Thus, the paradox of a definitive end becomes well debated. It is a certain challenge that has long perplexed mankind.
If one were to look at this issue and be truly honest with oneself; one might reach a conclusion that, for any level of contentment, happiness, etc., there must be a certain aim which is being sought. Now it is a fact that this search can change over time. If we were to think about the dreams of youth and what brought about happiness versus what we have discovered as we mature, it is most obvious that many of the things we once considered simply do not fall into the prism of today’s reality. That is not necessarily a bad thing. It simply means that as we age and gain experience, we find that our reality shifts. The sad part to this awakening is that we often do not take the time to fully explore what truly makes us content or drives happiness to our doorstep.
We must also understand as we explore this very crucial area that contentment can also become an “Achilles’ heel” in our efforts. How does this occur? It is simply that contentment can also bring about complacency. Complacency can be a true enemy of achievement and life success because it has a tendency to suck the achievement out of effort. It can render us neutered to striving toward true goals and satisfaction. So, it is important to also remember that when we sidetrack our desire to remain relevant; we sidestep our responsibility to continue to be a viable part of a functioning society. As Dave Stutman stated, “Complacency is the enemy of progress.”
It is important that we always understand the relevance of our quest toward happiness and lasting contentment with ourselves, our life, and various achievements. We must never allow ourselves to be persuaded by complacency to be less than what we are capable of being. We must find our understanding of contentment that leads to happiness and hold onto that understanding until it becomes engrained in our being. We owe ourselves nothing less.
From dealing with circumstances to discovering the true meaning of contentment, we have an ultimate responsibility to master these six areas so that our focus in life will be best directed. It is important that we are quick to identify problems, and that we turn those problems into opportunities. We must excel in all activities not creating value and concentrate on those activities with a high payoff for our life situations. In doing so, we will display a depth of understanding that will better help us distinguish our perceptions from reality. When we set high standards of personal performance, we can be certain that we will maximize our strengths, project energy and enthusiasm, and, in the end, uncover our true purpose in life.
