Success is Rented, Rent is Due Daily

Few things in life are more clearly defined than what it takes to be successful. So often we think it is based on luck, family support, money in hand, or some other unreachable or tangible thing that appears unattainable. 

It’s not—far from it. 

It takes a clear and concise path to a goal and a lot of hard work mixed with tenacity. It takes an unrelenting pursuit of personal excellence with growth, and the willingness to understand that you must adapt and overcome every scenario you face in the journey of life. 

Success is rented and that rent is due daily. If you don’t bring that attitude when you wake up no matter what day of the week it is, you will never hit your full potential and achieve what you want for yourself. You don’t deserve anything from anyone, but you owe the world around you that relentless pursuit. 

I used to tell my teams and clients that I was like Motel 6, I always leave the light on for you. That meant that no matter what day, what time, or what I was doing. If my people needed me, they could reach me. Can you say the same for yourself?

To find success, you first have to define what that means to you. Is it to see your business grow to new heights, finding a new career and achieving goals within, maintaining growth in your current relationship, or is it losing 30 pounds before the holidays? All goals are equal in what it takes to earn the success you desire. 

Getting more money doesn’t define your success path or position. Some of the most successful people I know have plenty of means in the cash department, but it didn’t come by accident. As well, rarely was creating more wealth their goal. The most successful people focus on the overall growth of themselves and everything they are involved with. Once that becomes a perfect circle, the rest falls into place. 

Zig Ziglar was an amazing speaker, writer, and salesman. Born in Alabama in 1926 he was raised in Mississippi on a farm outside of Yazoo City. His father passed away at an early age shortly after the move from Alabama with the family, and he went on to drop out of college years later after participating in a U.S. Navy sanctioned training program for officer candidates during World War II. 

Despite those adversities, Ziglar went on to become one of the best salesmen and motivational speakers in the past century. His courses are still in use today and during my nearly two decades in sales his instruction played a pivotal role in my success and the companies I worked with. 

As I said before, success isn’t defined by just monetary gain—it has so much more to it. 

The cornerstone of his training is his “Wheel of Life” concept that defines how we can build a life of fulfillment and undeniable success. 

Of the seven spokes that he speaks about, only two are based on monetary gain. Career and Financial are two. To round out the wheel the remaining five are as follows: Mental, Spiritual, Physical, Family, and Personal. Career and Financial may round out the seven, but they are not the center focus of his training.

What is the center of focus is how each “spoke” in the wheel represents a core area of life and needs to be equally balanced. We don’t just bake a pie for one slice, we bake it for the entire offering. To that end, the life pie you are baking isn’t just for you, it is to share with those around you. 

Many things go into this balance and the seeking of said balance. When one spoke is removed your wheel of life will begin to wobble, and until you set the course for correction it will never fully reach the potential that your life has for you to reach. 

How you define your spokes in life is always up to you, but the rent due on the success to get there is due every single day. 

I am not going to give a crash course in Ziglar any further, but pay attention to those seven areas of your life and focus on creating positive change every day. Fuel your engine properly to get the kinks out of the performance. 

Do you want to lose weight? Get up early and run to start your day. Start slow, build long. Want to be better at your career? Read more and dive into what education tools are around you to make you a more well rounded employee or employer. Is it family? Then take time every day to listen intently and learn the needs and wants of those you love—I promise it will matter and they will care. 

It is very easy to get stuck in the rut of life, the daily activities that we all have and ignore the true needs for yourself and those around that bring success. Seek fulfillment, seek growth. 

By now you should be getting the drift of the message. It takes daily inputs to get the outputs you want to portray from yourself. You won’t be able to fix every single spoke on day one, but without movement in some direction nothing will change and you will feel stuck.

Jim Rohn said it best when he said “We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.”

Get yourself out of the stuck by embracing the suck of change. The end result will be much better than the position of atrophy that comes with inaction.