The ONE thing you need to know (that the experts won’t tell you) to be Successful

Most personal development experts stick to the tried and tested route when it comes to explaining how to be successful. They'll give you the version you want to hear. The one that tells you to work hard, visualize yourself succeeding and manifest success through the law of attraction. While I don't deny that all of the above are useful, it only paints half the picture. For the other half, you have to go into murky waters and deal with an issue most experts would rather avoid. You see they don't want to scare or put you off. However, I give Pick the Brain readers more credit than that. We don't flinch at the truth. We'll do whatever it takes to break free from mediocrity and live the life we want. So with that in mind, here is the key to becoming super successful in any endeavor. GET OBSESSED. The thought of what you want to do or become has to dominate your mind. Learn everything you can about your subject. Practice relentlessly. And most importantly of all, think about it non-stop. Only this level of focus will bring you the answers needed to advance. Why obsession works In the U.K, we have a £50 note as a means of currency exchange. On the back of this note is a picture of James Watt, the 18th century Scottish inventor, whose improvements to the steam engine helped bring about The Industrial Revolution. Underneath his picture is a quote which reads, ‘I can think of nothing else but this machine’. This is what I mean when I say get obsessed. He was so engrossed with the thought of improving the steam engine that his mind couldn’t comprehend anything else. You can imagine him thinking about it morning, noon and night, visualizing it over and over in his head and talking about nothing else to his colleagues and friends. In short, his work came alive in his mind. Why is this important? Because the super-conscious mind, infinite intelligence, God or whatever you want to call the energy that animates you, responds to your habitual thinking. Keep your mind focused on what you want to achieve and it will respond with answers, innovations, a direction and the so called chance encounters that will advance your cause. This is why having an obsession is so important. Most people drift through life on auto pilot. They read the newspapers, watch TV, endlessly surf the internet and gossip with friends about what other people are doing. They have distracted minds. You, however, with your obsession about creating or doing something amazing, have a focused mind. The difference in results this brings about is astounding. Ever wondered how some of the worlds super achievers got to that position without reading a personal development book or attending a Tony Robbins seminar? They did so because they were obsessed by what they were creating. They spent endless hours working on it and when they weren’t working on it, they were thinking about it. Ways to improve their product, ways to spread their message, ways to improve their communication skills, how great it would feel to enjoy success and every tiny detail you can conceive. This is how you must now approach your passion. Think about it on the journey to work, think about it while you are getting ready or bathing, think about it while you are working out and the rate at which you advance will amaze you. How will I apply this to my life?

The obsession factor requires 2 key ingredients to be effective. 

1. Passion

It's difficult to focus your mind to obsessional levels without being passionate about the goal you want to achieve. Therefore, the object of your obsession has to spark easily accessible feelings of enjoyment and inspiration.

Even when you're truly inspired by the thought of what you want to do, it takes a great deal of discipline to keep returning your thoughts to its realization. Don't be disappointed by this. We love the idealized version of success, where we're carried all the way to the top on a wave of inspiration, but, more often than not, it doesn’t work that way. Instead, remember the Edison quote,

'Genius is 99% perspiration, 1% inspiration.'

So expect the mental discipline of constantly returning your thoughts to what you want to achieve to be tough. However, it DOES work. Allowing your dream to become the dominant thought in your mind ensures something very important – YOU FIND ANSWERS.

2. Thick Skin

It's impossible to talk about the obsession factor without mentioning the criticism, or even ridicule, you might encounter as a result of focusing your mind to this level. Most people won't understand why you're so consumed by the idea of what you want to achieve. They'll view it as dangerous and even the route to insanity.

You must not listen to them. They're conditioned to view this kind of behavior as abnormal. It’s what society tells them. Obsessional people equal ‘weird’. You should be hanging out with friends, getting drunk, going to nightclubs. This is fun. Or, you should be working your ass off in a job you don’t enjoy to support your family. It’s your duty.

Plus, the chances for success are so slim that it’s pointless even trying. What’s going to happen to your state of mind and well-being when you fail?

I call this negative voice The System’s voice and you must be prepared for it. Allow any criticism or ridicule to wash over you. The people who express such opinions can't stop you, and their negativity will soon turn to praise when you do accomplish the object of your obsession.

And have no doubt; success is inevitable when you allow your mind to become obsessed. Two further examples demonstrate its power.

1. Jonny Wilkinson.

Arguably England's greatest ever Rugby player, Wilkinson was notoriously obsessional about perfecting his skills. Phil Larder, England's defense coach, recalls a training session where the team had to practice a tackling drill. Jonny only made eight tackles out of ten and was dissatisfied with his performance. Even though they were flying out to the Rugby World Cup the next day, he made Phil Larder wake up 10 of the other players at 5.30am, 4 hours before the flight, so that he could perfect his tackling. They repeated the drill and this time he scored ten out of ten.*

2. Rene Redzepi. 

The head chef of Noma, a restaurant voted the best in the world by Restaurant magazine; Rene was so obsessed with culinary perfection that he worked 10,000 hours in just 3 years! By his own admission, he is consumed by his work, 'I work all the time. I don't even count the hours now but it's somewhere around 98 a week. For the first 5 years of my career, I was so submerged in my work that I couldn't think of anything else. I had no clue what was going on in the news.' **

Final Thought

The evidence is overwhelming. An obsessed mind virtually guarantees success.

But are you willing to go to that level?

Will you face the ridicule of others, the possibility of failure and the hard work that it entails?

If so, allow your mind to fixate on what it is you want to achieve or become. It's a case of giving yourself permission to go to these levels rather than forcing anything.

In fact, a true obsession is something you are in love with. Remove that system voice; telling you it's dangerous, and the natural affinity for what you're doing will carry you to success.

Sources:

* The Times Thursday 22nd May 2014

* *The Sunday Times Magazine. What I've Learned: Rene Redzepi. 24th May 2014

Want to learn more success tips that will enable you to live an extraordinary life?

Then head over to my website Screw the System and get your FREE copy of 50 Reality Changing Insights. Also check out my critically acclaimed book Escape the System Now. I work as a writer, hypnotherapist and tennis coach and have a passion for helping people Succeed on their own Terms.

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