The Success Manual

Sometimes no matter how bleak it may look, the best alternative is to stay the course.   One must evaluate the alternatives and make the best decision based on the facts.  Yet, one must also keep in mind that the greatest successes, the biggest wins, do NOT come easy.  There must be sacrifice, and the more ambitious the goal, the greater the sacrifice.  That is why most people quit along the way.  That is why not everyone is incredibly wealthy – it simply takes too much commitment and sacrifice to achieve that level of Success.

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Success Key 28: Bob Proctor's First Speaking Engagement - Don't QUIT! (Even when you have EVERY right and reason to give up)

quit: verb: 1) give up or retire from a position; (2) turn away from; give up; (3) go away or leave; (4) put an end to a state or an activity (“Quit teasing your little brother”); (5) give up in the face of defeat or lacking hope; admit defeat.

Any way you slice it, the definition of the word “quit” conveys misery.  Especially the fifth part in the above definition: “give up in the face of defeat or lacking hope; admit defeat.”  Ouch.  That one actually inflicts physical pain.

But, does it not sometimes make sense to quit?  Isn’t quitting sometimes the reasonable, right thing to do?

Er . . . . no.

Sometimes we need to stop, reflect and change game plans.  And, perhaps in certain instances, the game plan may so dramatically change – based on a thorough, logical evaluation of the facts and circumstances – that it may appear to the uninformed as though the one has “quit.”  For example, if your business was burning a million a day in cash, with no decent revenue in site in the foreseeable future, perhaps it might make sense to close operations to stop the hemorrhaging and refocus efforts.  I don’t see that as “quitting;” it would be absurd to continue under those circumstances IF there was no turnaround in site.

God gave us a brain.  Let’s use it to the best of our abilities.

The old adage is true: A Winner never quits, and a quitter never Wins.

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But, sometimes no matter how bleak it may look, the best alternative is to stay the course.  In those situations, closing operations doesn’t make sense, and to follow that course would be to abandon the cause, to quit.  One must evaluate the alternatives and make the best business decision.  Yet, one must also keep in mind that the greatest successes, the biggest wins, do NOT come easy.  There must be sacrifice, and the more ambitious the goal, the greater the sacrifice.  That is why most people quit along the way.  That is why not everyone is incredibly wealthy – it simply takes too much commitment and sacrifice to achieve that level of success.

When I am in doubt, I refer back to a great story that Paul Martinelli tells about Bob Proctor’s first speaking engagement.  Sometimes it takes a story – a parable, if you will – to help us comprehend the distinction.  Parables are so effective, that is why the Great Master told them so often to his followers.

Just in case you have never heard of Bob Proctor, he is perhaps one of the greatest success speakers of our time.  These days, he commands audiences in the tens of thousands around the world (albeit, he has been recovering from heart surgery earlier this year).  And, he commands just as much for his speaking fees.

It wasn’t always that way.  Like everyone, Bob, too, had to start at the bottom.  And, his first speaking engagement could not have been more of a disaster.

When Bob was ready to make the giant leap from studying Success materials to speaking on the subject, he rented an auditorium in Toronto, Canada for his first gig.  He used his own personal funds and did his own marketing.

On the night of the event, a grand total of FIVE people showed up to hear him speak.  FIVE.  The auditorium held about 2,000 seats and only FIVE of those seats had a warm body sitting in it.

To make matters worse, those five people did not come together – they didn’t even know each other.  Obviously, then, they did not sit all together.  One sat up in this section, another back there in that section, one over on the side in that section . . . . I am sure you can picture it.

What did Bob do?  He gave his speech as though the theater was filled.  That was his goal and he was not about to quit before he started.

But here is where it gets really interesting.  As Paul relates the story, in light of the outcome of that first speaking engagement, Bob had every right and every reason to quit.  Friends and family urged it: “You gave it your best, Bob.  You tried, you really did.  It’s okay, it just wasn’t meant to be.  It’s all right, it’s okay to walk away.”

Bob would have none of that.  He continued working towards his goal, despite circumstances that probably would have stopped about 99% of the population.  He had nothing to lose – nothing, that is, unless he quit.  Bob refused to let the circumstances of that first speaking engagement dictate his passion and goal to be a Successful Success Speaker.

I think we can all agree that Bob DID have every right and reason to quit after that first speaking engagement.  He really did.  But, successful people don’t quit – they simply find another way.  And, that is exactly what Bob Proctor did.

Bob went back to the drawing board, worked on his material, changed his approach, did a million other things.  But the one thing that Bob didn’t do was QUIT: “give up in the face of defeat or lacking hope; admit defeat.”

Next time you feel like quitting, especially when you think that you have every right and every reason to do so, stop and think about Bob’s first speech.

You’ll know what to do.

Until next time, my Friends, many Blessings, Peace - and Namaste!

To your Health, Wealth, Prosperity and Success,

The Success Manual Team

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