[From the Introduction to The Achievement Code]
I’ve always been curious as to why more people aren’t a lot more successful than they are.
At no time in the history of the world has there been more access to more information on how to get more of what you want than there is right now.
I believe a great deal of someone’s happiness comes from being in the process of achieving what’s important to them. Without a goal, there can be no accomplishment. Without accomplishment, there isn’t much meaning—and very little satisfaction.
I believe human beings are designed for accomplishment and for achieving great things in the world.
And yet, people don’t feel any more successful today than a hundred years ago, a thousand years ago—or even five thousand years ago. A slight majority of people purport to be happy, but only a small minority describe themselves as successful.
We have more tools, more comforts, more knowledge and more options than ever before. Millions of books have been written and published on how to achieve what you want to achieve, so why should there be one more? Good question.
Here’s why this book is different—and why I think it’s important that you read it and apply its principles.
I’ve been studying the “Science of Achievement” for over 40 years. And for the past 16, I’ve been actively assisting people from all walks of life in teaching, incorporating and implementing what I’ve learned from my research and experience through our success-oriented personal growth website, SuccessNet.org.
Over the years, hundreds of thousands of people have subscribed to SuccessNet. We’ve done our best to provide good, solid ideas and trusted resources, while recommending the best books, tapes and videos available to help them operate at their personal and professional best.
And yet after millions of books, courses and seminars on how to accomplish more of what you want, only a small percentage of people have confidence they can—and will—achieve their most important goals.
It seems logical that those who do know how—and actually do it—know something and/or do something in a different way than all the others.
Clearly, having knowledge—or having access to knowledge—is insufficient to achieving success.
So where’s the breakdown? What are the differences between those who achieve on a consistent basis and those who don’t?
It’s not intelligence. We all know people who aren’t as smart as we are who have achieved significantly more success than we have.
And with only a little study, one must come to the conclusion that being saddled with environmental, physical or even mental disadvantages doesn’t mean you can’t reach your goals. Stories abound of people who have overcome challenges most others would see as insurmountable.
And so it is a bit surprising that most smart people, with access and/or ownership of vast quantities of knowledge, with freedoms rarely attained by most of the people who have ever lived on the planet, in a free and capitalistic society, don’t often—if ever—get what they truly want.
Do you wonder why?
Do you think they’re just lucky?
It’s possible. But I doubt it.
Surely luck plays a role in almost any endeavor. Sometimes it seems to work for you and sometimes it looks like it works against you. I don’t think anyone has either good luck or bad luck all the time.
I was convinced there had to be something else. There had to be some identifiable common denominators between the winners, the also-rans and the never-did-runs.
I was committed to learn what worked and what didn’t in order to take the next steps.
My vision was to positively impact over a million people before I died. And I wanted to be absolutely confident that when I taught and coached people about how to achieve anything they wanted, that they really, really could do just that.
It was out of this curiosity about success and failure and because of my commitment—and frustration—that I discovered the 3C Formula.
All highly successful people have used this 3C Formula, but most were unaware of it. All Three Cs are evident to a large degree in the lives of the successful.
And when these three critical pieces are in place for you, the picture of your life puzzle comes together quite nicely.
In knowing what these pieces are and being able to see which ones need work, I know that you can achieve what you truly want.
Join me. I invite you to take a journey in discovering Clarity, Concentration and Consistency and to begin achieving virtually anything you want.
And achievement is only a small part of it.
You may not be able to fully appreciate this just now, but it’s not what you get, it’s what you get to become that’s the really big payoff.
Can I guarantee everyone’s success? Of course not. No one can.
It’s been said you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink. In human terms, you can lead a person to knowledge, but you can’t make them think—or act.
You can provide the tools and systems to motivate and inspire, but you can’t make anyone do anything.
The intention of this book is to provide you with a system that can be like your personal GPS for navigating the path to your full and unique potential. By intimately knowing and practicing the 3Cs of Clarity, Concentration and Consistency, you can always find your way.
Because without Clarity, Concentration and Consistency, achieving your goals will always be hit and miss.
The Achievement Code is available in Kindle and paperback format from Amazon.
This article was originally published on SuccessNet.org in 2011.
