In my years of studying personal development, wealth building and business management, I’ve become a firm believer in Success Teams. What is a “Success Team?” and why is it so important? Why should you build a Success Team rather than going at it on your own? And who are these people?
I think the simplest answer is found in the people in your life. Look around. How many of them truly support your goals and offer unconditional support and encouragement? How many of them push their own limited viewpoints on you? How many of them instill doubt in you? How many of them hold you accountable? How many of them poke fun at your goal or say “you can’t?” How many of them say “you can do anything you want to do” but you intuitively sense the doubt they’re projecting?
It is worthwhile to take note of the level of support you receive from the people in your life, because it will likely make you think about finding people who don’t pass judgment, who don’t preach negativity, who don’t make you feel guilty, who don’t say “you can’t”… As loving and well-meaning as your friends and family may be, you have to understand that your goal is not necessarily something that is important to them. It is not necessarily something they understand. Or approve of! And since our friends and family are important to us, we value their opinions, right? There’s the problem. Are you able to NOT be affected by someone saying “oh, but you can’t make money doing (what you love)”? Do you realize that the speaker is really saying, “I can’t…?” Because that’s what people do, they project their own limitations on YOU. Many of us consciously or unconsciously accept these beliefs and we let our dreams slip away. How sad is that!
So, it’s worthwhile to surround yourself with people who understand that achievement of your goals is not only important to you, but that once you’ve achieved your goal, there will be positive results for people around you! This is because as you reach for a goal, you must grow. You simply cannot be the person you are now, and achieve something greater than yourself. You must become someone greater! Think for a minute about the many ways a “new and improved” you will better the lives of people around you.
In the end, your success benefits more than just you! So it’s time to take the initiative and find a Success Team… as opposed to the “Things Aren’t That Bad, Let’s Not Rock the Boat” team.
Your Success Team is a group of like-minded people. Those who say “I’m going for it!” and won’t take no for an answer. They understand what it’s like to want something, and they are committed to helping you reach your goals just as you are committed to helping them reach theirs. You can call this collaboration “goal-tending” – just like in hockey, it takes more than the goalie to keep the other team from scoring; and it takes more than one player to score on the opposing team. Sure, there is the rare miracle moment when a single player makes that one lucky shot that wins the game. And there are people whose determination and grit alone gets them to their destination. But the reality is, all of our goals rely on the help of others! Think about anything you’ve ever achieved in your life and thank everyone who helped you get there. Even if it felt like you did it all on your own, did you, really? Or did you gain bits of wisdom and advice along the way? Did someone run a household errand for you so you could concentrate on your goal-oriented activity? Did anyone help you by introducing you to just the right person? Even if there are no obvious helpers, dig deep and think of everyone who was there in the right place at precisely the right time… and you will soon see how no goal is a true solo effort.
Finding a supportive atmosphere among like-minded people will greatly speed up your success. It goes beyong encouragement, into accountability. It’s far easier to lie to yourself and tell yourself that you’ll act… tomorrow… (if the stars are aligned, and right after that TV show you just can’t miss…) than it is to face your Success Team and explain why you didn’t do something. As a group, you will see right through each other’s lame excuses. You’ll push each other. You’ll encourage and congratulate each other, motivate each other, brainstorm together. And, you’ll succeed together.