This week we look at 7 simple steps to
breakthroughs. Before we get to them, let me point out
that "simple" does not mean "easy".
Simple here means, the steps are not
complicated but the achieving the
breakthrough depends on how
committed you are to the steps listed below. Everybody wants some form of
breakthrough in life, career and business
but most times we get stuck because we
do not know how to successfully achieve
breakthroughs. If you would commit to
these 7 steps, I have no doubt that you will achieve any breakthroughs
irrespective of how remotely possible it
seems. Let's look at the steps; 1. Decide Where You Want Breakthrough The first step is to decide in what area of
life career and/or business that you
would like to achieve breakthroughs.
Maybe recently you have discovered that
your career is stalling due to changes in
your organisation or the market. It may be that your business is struggling
due to competition and/or certain market
competition. There may be crisis in your relationship
and you know that if you don't act now, it
may graduate from crisis to a disaster. Since it is your life; you alone know what
you are struggling with right now. So
search and find them as this is the first
step to solving any problem, if not how
can you solve a problem that you do not
even understand? For some, it may be that you are stuck at
a place but you cannot find the reasons
why you are stuck there or the way out. Take some time today and think it
through so you will be fully understand
where you are and the type of change of
you would like to see. Until you do this,
please do not go to step 2. 2. Believe that Breakthrough is Possible All the great thinkers of the past agree on
this simple truth: "As a man thinks so he is" and Henry Ford said "Whether you believe you can do a thing
or not, you are right." So all the battles are won and lost in the
mind's battleground. For breakthrough to
be possible, you must first believe that it
is possible. The key action that creates the best
chance for you to have breakthrough in
business, life, career and relationship is
to ignore all the pre-conceptions you
have about yourself! These are mainly a product of past
misfortunes, failed relationships and
business deals or similar events. Naturally, these past incidents tend to
linger in our minds and stop us from
believing that a breakthrough of any form
is possible. So we struggle to believe that
we have a chance of achieving any
breakthroughs in the future. Whatever has happened in the past is
just an event and does not define you;
leave it in the past and make a decision
today that you are qualified for
breakthroughs in your career, business
and relationships. Believe without any shadow of doubt that
the breakthrough you seek, is totally
possible and you are on track to get it. You have nothing to lose and everything
to gain. If you want examples to believe
this, go back and read about the people
who have had massive breakthroughs in
the past, you will find that they achieved
breakthroughs because of a strong belief in themselves. Thomas Edison said on his failures in the
inventing electric bulbs: "I have not failed 1,000 times. I have
successfully discovered 1,000 ways to
NOT make a light bulb." He did not stop
until he did it because he refused to
believe that it is impossible.! Believe that despite all the failures in the
past, a breakthrough is still possible! 3. Research the Breakthroughs of the
Past Now that you believe that breakthroughs
are possible, it is time to search wherever
possible for ways to achieve
breakthroughs. The truth is that for any breakthrough
there is a process, the only challenge is
that the process is not usually readily
available but if you look for it, you will
surely find it! Brian Tracy, the great motivational
speaker and New York Times Best
Selling Author said: “Life is like a combination lock; your job is
to find the numbers, in the right orders,
so you can have anything you want.” In my experience, most very successful
people in the past are always happy to
share their knowledge and process. Unfortunately, as human beings we
prefer to buy into the usual reference to
luck! So many philosophers in the past
have stated that: "luck is when preparation meets
opportunity!" So if you used to believe that successful
people succeed because they are lucky,
think again! Thomas Jefferson said: I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the
harder I work the more I have of it. Spend some time looking for these
processes (speacial tip: go and read as
many autobiographies of the successful
people and learn from their story). When you find these processes, you are
ready to create a plan of action. 4. Create The Plan and Set Target Dates Create a new plan and design a strategy
to achieve the breakthroughs you desire. Your finished plan must be as described
in the dictionary: "An orderly or step-by-
step conception or proposal for
accomplishing an objective". You must also set target dates for the
execution of every step in your plan. Remember that this is just a plan, so be
don't waste too much time trying to make
it accurate, you can always change it. Also a bad plan is better than no plan! 5. Execute the Plans Armed with a good plan, go to work!
There is no substitute to hard work. It
even makes more sense when you are
working on a well researched plan and
strategy. If the breakthrough means anything to
you, then you will never lack motivation
to keep going however hard it is to
achieve the breakthrough. It's called the
power of "why"! If your why is strong
enough, then the how will become possible even though not easier. Remember, it is your breakthrough, so
you will often be misunderstood by
people who do not understand your plan
but continue working on your plan. Sometimes you will feel like giving up but
from all the stories I have read about
people who had breakthroughs in past,
they always came to many points where
they thought of giving up but persevered.
So your journey will not be different. When you hit those low points, remember
that nothing good comes easy, else so
many people would have achieved it
today. Finally, keep your eyes on the
breakthrough, and you will find that you
will always have a reason to believe that
whatever pain you will go through in the
process is worth it! 6. Celebrate the Victories OR Learn from
the Failures As you work on your breakthrough; you
will have many little victories and failures.
Develop a mindset that whatever the
outcome, there is the profit of some
lesson or lessons to be learnt. If it all goes well, then you know what to
do to get it right BUT if you fail, focus on
any lessons you may be able to learn
from event. But all in all, make the
process a continuous learning and
improvement process. Even in your victories, always look for
ways to better your best as there is no
such thing as perfection! Breakthroughs are definitely possible if
you will follow these steps but it is critical
that you to commit to it. 7. Do it All Over Again and Again.... Yes, doing it once is not good enough!
Perseverance is the keyword here. The
above steps offer you an opportunity to
learn new habits so make it stick and
then use it in all the other areas that you
want breakthrough. Who knows you might do so well that you
will be able teach others to achieve
breakthroughs which is the highest
breakthrough anybody can achieve. This is it, it's over to you (and me) to go
out there and breakthrough those tough
challenges! Abundant blessings to you this week!
