How to Get the Attention of those that Matter

Some years ago, when I was as yet a new disciple to the concept of intentional living, I was intrigued by the words of Jim Rohn even as he rapidly became my mentor. The words "success is not something you pursue; it is something you attract." had me thinking.  I was intrigued for two reasons: Obviously the idea was profound at the time....different from the opinions I had formed about how people achieve success. But, more importantly, I was drawn by the thought of becoming so masterful at whatever I did, as to attract the kind of success I wanted.

But mastery is not something that comes upon us by happenstance. Malcolm Gladwell's ten thousand hours has been a lot spoken of. Hard work, focus and goal-setting are a given. I found that achieving more becomes an exercise in becoming more....more informed, more confident, more articulate, more  grateful, more accomplished, more open to the opinions of others, more willing to dare...and dare greatly. But I also found it was an exercise in becoming less....less fearful of failure, less concerned about things that once made you feel vulnerable, less willing to pass up growth opportunities...and it's easy to see that in situations like this, less is indeed more.

But I think the greatest benefit to me of this ideology that  significantly changed my approach to living is the fact that I never have to chase opportunities. I often sit in forums and read articles where writers and speakers admonish their audience to chase opportunities. I prefer the position taken by the immensely successful Richard Branson, said to have declared "opportunities are like the buses.....there's always another one coming."  The biggest issue on being able to seal the deal on an opportunity is being prepared to handle it. The only trouble is opportunities many times come knocking and find us woefully unfit/unprepared to answer the door. 

Being able to answer the door of opportunity is entirely up to us, It is truly a matter of deliberately making ourselves attractive to the prospective buyer. Sometimes that looks like developing particular skills; sometimes it looks like improving our attitudes, (tell me about it)... changing our philosophies, creating a network, exploring our passions, writing a book, starting a business. The point is, deliberately working to improve self is the bigger part of the equation. It's what guarantees that we not only net the opportunity, but that we keep it, guaranteeing repeat buyers of our services.

I'm not sure where you are in the experience of chasing your dream. Maybe you are at the point of frustration, maybe you've written more application letters than you want to remember....whatever project you are involved in right now, I invite you to pause a while and consider the words of the sage business philosopher, Jim Rohn, " success is not something we pursue; it's something we attract." 

Today as I contemplated the words of Brendon Burchard, author and performance coach, I knew I was/am in the right place. He said, 'do not seek to be the center of attention, In humility and service, you will draw the attention of those who matter" Indeed the formula for achieving more, attracting attention is, simply, becoming more. So today I encourage you....before you make a plan to pursue a dream....create a plan for becoming more....