And that is why most people simply do not have it.
It's fine to learn from successful people, follow their principles, and try and emulate their example, a process called modeling, but there is always a gap between what we perceive and what we experience.
What we don't grasp or perhaps can't grasp after reading the success literature and visiting seminars is what others have really done to achieve their level of success.
You see, it is the invisible element that defines success.
You don't see the late hours, the bouts of self-questioning, the dark night of the soul that everybody who quests for greatness has to experience.
You don't see the intuitions, the inspirations, the insights.
You don't see the failures, one after another, piling on top of each other that strengthens the successful person.
What you see is the finished product, the easy lifestyle, the flawless charm, and the eloquent expression of success principles.
You see the charisma, but not the struggle that brought it out of darkness and obscurity into the light.
You see the displays of wealth and power, but you don't see the pain the person once went through to overcome poverty, inertia, and utter confusion.
You aren't privy to the struggle and while you may hear about it your awareness can't fully engage it.
Success is a challenge because it is not easy.
If it were easy most people would have attained it by now.
Instead only a few do.
When you strive to rise from one level to another, your greatest enemy is yourself.
Everything inside you craves the comfort of the old, useless, life-force robbing ways. It craves the companionship of those who entertain stagnant energy and fixed ideas.
Your mind quickly tires from too much study, and your body from too much labor, and your heart from too much isolation.
Yet study, labor, and doing things on your own are part of the price that you have to pay for success.
Success is not easy.
It's not easy at all.
There is a huge price to pay for it.
Yet it is the most rewarding thing of all. What can be better than looking at yourself in the mirror one day and saying, ?I am the now the person that I always wanted to be.?
Preparation and anticipation work hand in hand to produce superior results. The flip side is also relevant ? without these two components, failure is a very real possibility.
Failure is generally the result of not accurately anticipating the future. This is true both at an individual level and at an organization level. Human psychology is to assume things will remain the same when in fact they never do. Change is inevitable, especially at this time in history, and highly effective people are those who prepare for the change.
A big part of being prepared is learning to anticipate the future. The antithesis of anticipation is reaction, and reaction sounds like this, "I'll deal with it when it comes." It often sounds like, "Oops!" Suffice it to say, you want to experience the power of preparation, not the pain of reaction. You must anticipate change versus being struck by it.
A proactive seller or leader anticipates and is constantly "out there" interacting with the environment, looking for signals and signs of change and preparing themselves to capitalize.
Perhaps we should call anticipating the gift of foresight. After all, it is like seeing into the future. Once you learn how to prepare for the changes and anticipate the trends in the marketplace, you are in a position to anticipate opportunities and get there before your competitors. Likewise, you can anticipate a problem and solve it before it happens. This will provide you with a huge competitive advantage.
Focusing on your client's or prospect's current needs is no longer enough. Anticipating their needs before they demand it is a great way to enhance your results.
Why? John Narver of the University of Washington Business School describes it this way, "Customers' expressed needs and benefits can be known readily by all competitors ? a situation that leads typically to competitors offering the same benefits to a given set of customers and then having to engage in aggressive price competition in the attempt to create superior value for the subject customers." (18)
In brief, knowledge of the client's "expressed" current needs is readily available to anyone, and it's easy for your competitors to propose the same solutions. However, if you can anticipate the client's needs before he does, you will position yourself to be the solution of the future. You will leap frog over the competition.
(18. Successful Development of New Products Requires Anticipating Customers Needs, UWnews, October 2004)
S.E.E. The Future
Anticipate change and embrace it; change can affect the entire picture. Recognize new developments that you can capitalize on, profit from and use to open new doors.
Donald Trump
How can you know what customers will want even before they see it themselves? How can you anticipate future problems and help customers avoid pain and achieve gain? Simple. Employ the S.E.E. method to see or anticipate the future.
S.E.E. is the process of S.tudying the market (segment, industry or niche) of your prospect to anticipate the E.ffects on business and E.ffects personally. It's a line of sight that leads to insight into your client's mindset.
First, you must S.tudy the news reports and newspapers to identify the current and urgent trends or changes that are taking place in your client's market. It's intelligence gathering that requires you to look for really good news or really bad news. I'm not just talking about the obvious trends and changes. Look for those that are strategically insightful, but perhaps not detected by the client's radar. This will prepare you to intrigue your prospect with such comments as: "Are you aware that the emerging trends in your market could be eroding your bottom line? I've observed this with my other key clients. Would you be interested in meeting to discuss the implications on your organization?"
Second, your must translate the E.ffects these market trends will have on your clients' business. Here's what I mean. Market trends trickle down and Effect the business (your client). These effects cause new pain or gain for the client's business. You must understand and antici- pate this pain or gain before your competition.
Finally, you must anticipate the effects these business trends are having on the client personally. Clients take action not just because it's the right thing to do for the business, but because of how it personally affects them or their careers as well.
Summary:
You've studied the industry and its current trends. You have translated its Effects on business. You anticipated how these business impacts are affecting the individual. Now you can more accurately understand the present and anticipate the future. You can S.E.E.
(Reprinted with permission from Step Up! by Daniel Grissom)
Article Source :
About Author
Both Saleem Rana & Daniel Grissom are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Saleem Rana has sinced written about articles on various topics from Parenting, Travel and Leisure and Careers and Job Hunting. Saleem Rana would love to share his inspiring ideas with you. Hunting everywhere for a life worth living? Discover the life of your dreams. His book, Never Ever Give Up is offered at no cost to stimulate your success.. Saleem Rana's top article generates over 1220000 views. to your Favourites.
Daniel Grissom has sinced written about articles on various topics from Careers and Job Hunting, Organizational. Daniel Grissom works with executives at blue chip companies including Google, IBM and Eli Lilly. He developed the STEP UP! system - a simple, logical and exceedingly effective methodology created from experience inside the guts of world-class corporations. Daniel Grissom's top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.