Junk in Our Trunk

Recently I had the opportunity to meet Weldon Long. This is a gentleman who raised himself from a very negative early life to become a powerful motivational speaker whose message impacts everyone who hears him. He discussed the need for all of us to deal with the “stuff” which keeps us from achieving the success that we desire and can reach. We must address this “junk in our trunk” and prevent it from holding us back.

This junk in our trunk includes all the negative thoughts that others have placed in our minds during all our life. There are people who, while they appear to be our friends, have no interest at all in our success. They want to make sure that we never rise about their level of achievement, the level that we strive to surpass. They are jealous of anyone who rises to a level that they will never reach.

These people will, while appearing to have our best interests at heart, tell us to never take risks, never try something that may take us to higher levels of success than the one where they are our equal. “You can’t do that. You will fail at that. That will never work. Whoever told you that you could do that was a liar.” These are their words. They cannot tolerate the idea that you will leave them to wallow in their own world and never rise to the level of success that you desire.

You cannot strive to achieve success and rise above the status quo if you don’t take a chance and try something new and different. What if you do something unique? What if you step out of the “normal” expectation that you have and believe that you might achieve something more? What if you move out of your comfort zone and take actions that others might mock?

The definition of insanity is expecting something different to happen when you still do everything the same way that you always have done. “That won’t work here; that isn’t how life is; everyone knows that will never work.” These are the words of those who don’t want you to succeed, because then you will see them for what they are, the doubters who hold you back.

The junk in our trunk includes everything that we have learned from the day we were old enough to understand others. It is ingrained into our brains and our processes of life. It includes the doubts and fears of our lives, the lack of knowledge, and the worry that we will fail and be embarrassed for that failure. That fear of embarrassment is a weight around our neck and holds us back from our ability to succeed.

Who do you know that has taken a chance in life and failed? We all have failed at something. Maybe it was a marriage; maybe it was a business venture. Just because one project fails doesn’t mean that all of our attempts at anything in life will fail. Did the fact that someone turned you down for a date make you never ask anyone else? Did you stop trying to turn prospects into clients when you failed with one possibility?

Of course not; you keep trying, knowing that you will learn from your experiences and will succeed. How does that make you feel; how does that influence your later actions? Wouldn’t you like to share your experiences with others and maybe help someone learn what you have learned? Please leave me your comments here, or email me at Jim@SOC4Now.com, or call me at 360-314-8691. I would love to hear from you.