Shew – what a week!
Big world events like Brexit give me an opportunity to reflect and put my own beliefs and ideals into practice. For example, not making assumptions and getting all the facts before I form an opinion.
Boy did I fail miserably with this!
As time has worn on I have been exposed to more information and different intelligent discussions around the exit. A must watch is a British European Parliament member, Daniel Hannan, speech at Oxford (see it HERE) on the benefits of leaving. Interesting too was a panel talking about current issues in England like housing that can’t happen without EU approval. Imagine asking the African union permission to build low cost housing for our people?
It’s such a complex decision with far reaching consequences that I don’t think most people can comprehend it right now. It’s going to be interesting to watch this unfold over the next few months and years. What IS interesting is seeing people’s reactions; says a lot about them than the actual discussion at hand. Most fail to see that the aim of any argument or discussion shouldn’t be victory – but progress.
I don’t have enough information to provide an objective opinion about whether this is a good or bad decision; but the reason I brought it up is because of this specific thought.
People make their minds up without hearing all the information.
Even more amazing is how people treat opportunities differently in their personal capacity versus business.
Let’s say someone recommended a restaurant (maybe you even heard it from a renowned critic) and they raved about it; you’d want to check it out and see for yourself yes? Unless absolutely everyone you spoke to had a bad experience, you’d still want to check it out.
Compare this to a business opportunity. I find people choose to focus on the negative rather than the positive information. It’s almost as if we’ve been programmed to believe negativity, and any negativity I might add. Whether it’s true or not.
Why is that? If you really think about it – ANTHING can have a negative aspect.
Are we so scared to take a chance?
Have we become a society drenched in fear?
Petrified to fail?
Are we THAT sceptical?
Don’t get me wrong, a good dose of scepticism is healthy and I believe if it sounds too good to be true – it usually is. However, I think this problem starts with our education system. We aren’t cultivating minds to think outside the box; to be enquiring; to question things.
To arm ourselves to make informed decisions.
There are many business opportunities out there and no not all of them will work for you; but don’t you owe it to yourself to get all the information from credible sources to make that decision? I think so.
What’s sad is that most people who listen to a sliver of negativity to make up their minds are usually quite unhappy. Nothing seems to go right for them and you’ll hear ‘Woe is me – life isn’t treating me fair.’
Life isn’t fair and the sooner we accept that the better.
This reminds me of the story where there’s a flood and a man prays for help and waits on his roof for God to save him. To paraphrase:
A man in a canoe comes past to rescue him and the man replies, ‘NO THANKS – God will save me’
The police arrive in their boat to save him and still, he replies, ‘NO THANKS – God will save me’
The water level continues to rise and a rescue helicopter hovers above but he stands true, ‘NO THANKS – God will save me’
Eventually the flood waters overcame him and he drowned.
As he entered heaven he asked to speak with God and his wish was granted. Perplexed he asked, ‘Why am I in heaven? I prayed to you to save me!’
‘You did, and I’m not sure what more I could’ve done, I sent you a canoe, a boat AND a helicopter, but you never got in’
How many times have people offered us an opportunity in one way or another? Even after we’d probably ASKED for it? Yet we don’t invest time into it and ask the right questions. For instance asking more about the credibility of what the source is (think renowned food critic) and what if it genuinely has the potential to change your life.
Don’t let the opportunity, like a saucer of water in the hot sun for the thirsty traveller; evaporate because we don’t grab it in time.
I think people are afraid to commit because they worry about saying ‘No thanks – this is not for me’. Are we scared to say ‘no’ and worry about hurting the other person’s feelings? The irony is most people ending up behaving in a manner which simply ends up making themselves look rude. Just be honest. If someone gets offended it’s a great sign you made the right decision in the first place! You’ll find the response ties into what your answer was to the question around their credibility.
I empathise with parents trying to explain outcomes to their children who just don’t want to listen because they think they know better. In contrast to what I’ve spoken about, kids actually DO something and then learn lessons the hard way. Whereas adults choose inaction as their path and as such – never know the true potential something may have.
Don’t you deserve to give yourself the best possible chance?
Remember – if you’re worried about failure? Stop right now. If you were a born failure you would’ve given up as a toddler and you wouldn’t be walking right now.
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