Nearsightedness: The leading cause of failure
Did you know that nearsightedness is currently the leading cause of failure? That’s right, people who are able only to focus on what is up close right in front of them are exponentially more inclined to fail in business and in life. Of course I’m not talking about nearsightedness as it relates to your physical vision but rather as it relates to your mental vision.
Success is about sacrifice. Success in anything typically means we have to give up something somewhere else. In a recent blog post we discussed that two of the most common things we have to give up to be successful are Convenience and Comfort. In other words being successful is about learning to deal with the inconveniences of greater pursuits and getting involved with activities that are uncomfortable compared to what we’re used to.
With great certainty I can say that whatever success looks like to you, it is going to require a substantial amount of sacrifice, discomfort, and inconvenience; which is exactly why nearsightedness causes failure. Most of us are emotional beings and, unless we are intentional about our own self-control, we are governed by our natural impulses.
Therefore most of us tend to naturally gravitate – either consciously or unconsciously – toward immediate gratification.
If you are mentally nearsighted, you’ll find yourself consistently making one of the most common mistakes of average people:
Trading what you want most for what you want right now
When we are mentally nearsighted our focus shifts from our long term goals and truly meaningful ambitions to focusing only on the less meaningful but more intense feelings of what is right here and now. And if things are tough – such as they are in this economy for many people – we typically default to doing whatever brings us the most immediate pleasure, which is usually some form of indulgence. We indulge by allowing ourselves to wallow in the growing pity party that there is just no business or opportunity out there; we tell the people around us about how bad we have it and we slip into the escalator mentality of if things are broken, it’s not my fault and there’s nothing I can do to fix it.
However, a disciplined approach – a take the stairs attitude – rejects the temptation of indulging in our short term problems. A take the stairs attitude means having the mental toughness to trade the nearsightedness of the problems we have now for the intense focus of just getting to the top in the long run. We are committed to getting to the next level and the focus on the top overpowers the obstacles we run into along the way. In fact, if our focus is strong enough, we will barely even notice the obstacles in our path; we just find a way to get around them. I’m not saying it’s easy; but it is simple.
What are you doing to be mentally far-sighted today? Please share a comment with the rest of us who are trying to climb up the stairwell.
See you in the stairwell,
Rory Vaden
Tags: business speakers, motivational speaker rory vaden, performance expert, raising your performance, sales performance, Take The Stairs, world tour
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March 13, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Rory!
Have you ever exercised on an inclined treadmill? Or, a stair-stepper? Sometimes energy can be expended in the repetition of effort. I believe that there is occasion to take pause and examine what is in the mind, allow focus to come to you, and then head in that direction. Although that is somewhat akin to being “near-sighted” in the present, because to look at what is in your life “right now” is the product of everything that you’ve been thinking along the way. The greatest effort may be – as you said – to maintain a “self-control” in one’s mind – to remain focused on a certain path without allowing distraction to move one far from the path.
Maybe what I am saying is that there needs to be some landings on the stairs, lol! We’ve all been on the treadmill way too long!
Thanks for sharing this piece – great analogy!
March 15, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Brian, good to hear from you. Thank you for your compliments about my speech at the 2007 World Championships of Public Speaking. I also love what you are saying about “landings” in the stairwell. A very important part of self-discipline is learning to be balanced and to still make time for self-reflection and evaluation. In fact if you watch the videos of my climbs in these giant buildings you’ll see that I go pretty slow and that the resting time is crucial. Glad you like the analogy and thanks for being a part of helping me spread the Take The Stairs mentality around the world. See you in the stairwell, Rory
March 13, 2009 at 6:26 pm
I could not agree with you more. Being in the job search mode right now I look for and embrace those situations where I might feel a bit uncomfortable and use them to grow personally. The job seeker of today that stays in their comfort zone will be a job seeker longer than I or those that step across the line will be. Networking is the key to reemployment and many can’t get past the fear [uncomfortable] of face to face meeting with strangers to use that networking tool. Well written and I will pass this URL on to fellow job seekers.
March 15, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Thanks Robert. I really like what you said about how learning to deal with discomfort will be an important skillset for everyone seeking out new careers with the changing economy.
March 13, 2009 at 7:22 pm
What an inspirational blog to remind us not to take shortcuts – to do the work in order to get what we really, really, really want. Thanks, Rory!
March 20, 2009 at 9:36 am
Rory, I too agree with the article posted on this discussion. If you can dedicate yourself to the long-term goal, achievement will be within your grasp. It may not be immediate, and the sacrifice could be very uncomfortable, but the end result is worth the effort. -L.G.
March 20, 2009 at 9:58 am
Rory Thanks for the blog I agree 1000%! -Shawn, Motivation Nation
http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/1693527/
March 20, 2009 at 10:00 am
I generally agree. However, I think it is important to realize that if someone is experiencing difficulty in employment or finance right now, we shouldn’t say, “Oh, it’s all your fault because you are so nearsighted about your goals.” (I realize that the author didn’t say this, but some people might make that leap.) This economy is a major calamity, and while I agree that we need to be disciplined, motivated, and farsighted in how we weather this storm, let’s be careful not to write off those who are struggling as less worthwhile than those who triumph. In other words, it’s great to pursue one’s goals in a smart, dogged fashion, but have some compassion for those who are trying to figure out what to do. For what it’s worth, it’s hard to find jobs now, but jobs are like spouses. They’re hard to find, but you only need one good one, and one good one makes up for any number of bad ones. -L.S.
March 20, 2009 at 10:17 am
Rory, I think you make some good points about taking responsibility for your situation and your achievements. A point may also be made that the value of any achievement is directly proportional to the effort required to achieve it. Many people achieve at little or no cost, and thus, the achievement has little or no value. Jeff
March 20, 2009 at 10:19 am
Jeff, I love your insight here. I agree that the measure of an achievement has less to do with the way the outside world views it and has more to do with what sacrifices and commitments were made by the achiever. Almost to say that success is in the eye of the beholder. Thanks for sharing. See you in the stairwell, Rory
March 20, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Some people call this nearsightedness “Mission Mentality”. The goal is to get done quick and efficiently and move on to the next mission. The results are often sloppy and inefficient, but a checkmark is placed in the “win” column. Knowing the problem is only half the solution. Individuals who recognize the problem need to stand firm and practice the solution. The idea is for each of us to inspire others by example. We need to always remember, the world is self correcting. Living well, positive contributions, and being thoughtful speeds the process. -B.P.
March 20, 2009 at 12:33 pm
B.P., I appreciate this comment. If you get a chance, read the blog on Living a 5 Star Life as I touch on what you’re talking about. Much of our focus is determined by our perspective. Certainly approaching life with an eternal perspective changes the scope of our actions directly in front of us. Keep the faith brother. See you in the stairwell, Rory
March 20, 2009 at 12:26 pm
I recommend swinging by the library on the way home and picking Walden. Then sit down and read it. Talk about far-sightedness? Just do it! -T.C.
March 20, 2009 at 12:27 pm
My mental far-sightedness is strenghthened by an increasing faith in Jesus. I believe that when we, the United States, as a whole declared God dead after Martin Luther King and the Kennedy’s deaths, we cursed ourselves and left the door wide open for numerous attacks. As a whole we are greedy, selfish, and desensitized by our media in television, movies and magazines. Our ethics, values and responsibilities are gone. We are due for another faith revitalization in the country. -M.B.
March 20, 2009 at 12:28 pm
yeah, but it’s preaching to the choir. Our country, government and big business has suffered from nearsightedness for way too long. Hopefully this economic re adjustment will re align our priories -M.D.
March 20, 2009 at 1:01 pm
I love it! It is one of the first lessons I learned in sales…to keep your eye on your goals. If you are running the 100 meter hurdles, you never look at the hurdles, you only look at the finish line. Of course you know you have to jump them but the focus remains on the finish line. Rory, did the idea for “Take the stairs” come from the Zig story? Just curious. – James
March 20, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Hey James,
Thanks for the analogy; I like it! Actually the take the stairs idea started as a joke when one of my accompanying friends in an airport made fun of me for being the “self-discipline and performance expert” but I was taking the escalator. Later – after I smacked him – I recognized the ubiquitous metaphor of the stairs vs. the escalator and it became the centerpiece of my brand as an author and motivational speaker. “Take The Stairs” will most likely be the title of my next book which should hit the stands early next year. Jam on. See you in the stairwell, Rory
March 25, 2009 at 9:59 am
Great analogy. I like that your concepts to not try to sell the idea of having it all. Rather you stress that you can have what you really want if you are willing to give up, at least for a period of time, other less satisfying endeavors. -Bill
March 25, 2009 at 10:18 am
You got it Bill! It’s all about sacrifice. I’m glad that you like it. Little known fact about me but one of my undergrad studies was in accounting. Seeing that you’re a CPA I know you understand the concept of sacrificing and “Harvest Time”. In fact I’d say that about now through April 15th is one of those times for you isn’t it? See you in the stairwell, Rory
April 2, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Rory, great stuff. Action trumps all else. My favorite saying along those lines is; “Preach the Gospel daily. Use words only when needed.” The insight on sacrifice is absolutely on the money. While the sacrifice is happening it helps to have a strong support group that offers encouragement on a regular basis. I focus on gratitude, when I show gratitude to others, they become stronger in the pursuit of their goals and I too have added to my life. – Ken
April 2, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Ken, thanks for that quote. It’s magnificent! There is no scarier form of accountability than knowing that people make judgments about who we truly are and whether or not we really believe what we’re preaching by watching our actions. Having actions that live up to the standard of Gospel is pretty tough but very motivating. See you in the stairwell, Rory
April 5, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Great site this takethestairs.wordpress.com and I am really pleased to see you have what I am actually looking for here and this this post is exactly what I am interested in. I shall be pleased to become a regular visitor
April 9, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Great to hear! Yes, we’re just scratching the surface of many of the techniques and trends of leveraging self-discipline to create extraordinary results in your life. I look forward to getting to know you better. Please leave comments and let me know as you have questions or if there are topics you would like me to write on. See you in the stairwell, Rory