At the start of a new year, folks are always in search of a “new” happiness. It’s a topic, amongst others—I addressed years ago, with fellow author and speaker, Brian Tracy, on my TV talk-show INSIGHT.
Here are brief excerpts:
Jeff Blackman: What is foremost on the minds of people you meet?
Brian Tracy: The common denominator, is we want to be happy. Happiness is largely defined as good relationships, good health, meaningful work and financial independence. We all want all four of these. You can measure how healthy and how happy you are, by how well you’re doing in each of these areas. If you have a deficiency in one, then you feel unhappy. Therefore, happiness is when your deficient needs are satisfied.
JB: Why are people so unwilling to take a risk or to make an enhancement, that can unequivocally improve their life?
BT: Fear and doubt have been the greatest enemies of mankind throughout history and still are. If a person was absolutely guaranteed that if you use this, you will experience marked improvement, if they were absolutely assured of it, they would act on it. But people sabotage themselves with their own doubts.
JB: Success is evolutionary, but everyone is looking for that quick fix. Is there one?
BT: We have two mental illnesses. A mental illness is a way of looking at the world that is incorrect with regard to reality. It isn’t what a person knows that hurts them, it’s what they know that isn’t true.
One of the things people are taught is that it’s possible to be successful quickly. There are no quick successes. To be successful, you’ve got to be willing to put in years of hard work.
The second mental illness we have, is called something for nothing. It’s impossible to get more out then you put in, unless somebody gets less out, then what they put in. You cannot have more unless you are stealing from somebody else. Our society is based on this idea that you can get something for nothing and you can get rich quick. The fact is, you have to pay full price in advance for any success you want.
JB: Do we spend too much time focused on victory vs. the behavior required to attain that victory?
BT: My friend, Denis Waitley, says we spend too much time on activities that are tension relieving, rather than activities that are goal achieving. The question is, “How badly do you want to be successful?” If you want to be successful, study other successful people. They have certain characteristics in common:
- They accept complete responsibility for their lives and don’t make excuses. They don’t expect something for nothing. They don’t expect anyone else to do it for them.
- They have very clear goals and written plans.
- They are continuous learners. They recognize that whatever they know is already becoming obsolete or is being eliminated by their competition.
- They are very persistent. They are tenacious. They keep at it. They just keep working and working.
Anybody who will do these four, is going to have a wonderful life.
