Book review of "It's not too Late to be Great"

by Kekeli Fortune

This week's post is a book review of one of John Mason's books titled "It's not too late to be great". Reading this book will give you this new perspective of missed opportunities: that there's no need to be remorseful about them. I hope that after reading my article, you gain a new and better understanding of all the things you can do, moving forward, to redeem lost prospects and opportunities. Stay with me, and discover something new.

Let's start with your thoughts

Before anybody tries anything new, they must first envision the journey in their mind's eye. Being able to picture your goals and the plan of action puts you a ready position to execute them. Moreover, what you think to yourself about who you are, and what you are capable of doing (lies or not), sets a precedent for what you actually say, and hence, what you might ever be.

Decide

Making the choice determines what you are most likely going to do or achieve. Without making the decision to do something or to become something, you cannot commit, and without commitment, your chances of succeeding are almost non-existent; this is because it is so easy to give in to roadblocks such as laziness, procrastination, or maybe the lack of funds. Indecision is a choice: it is a choice to fail. Making the final decision to pursue a goal engages your mind in such a way that you are able to see all the windows of opportunities that are present to help you achieve your goals.

Overcome the fear and the doubt.

Fact is, everybody has some degree of fear and doubt when it comes to trying out new things, especially when it comes to things that seem risky. Sometimes, we are afraid of losing, and other times, we are afraid of embarrassing ourselves. But it's important to note that people who go on to succeed are people who pushed past the fear and doubt. Successful people appreciate the importance of losing every once in a while; losing inspires them to win. Also, once fear is acknowledged and appreciated, it ensures carefulness. Successful people always use the fear to their advantage.

Aside being afraid, we have doubts about our capabilities (which is the worst form of doubt), we also have doubts about the authenticity of this new activity, and whether it is the ideal choice for us. In addition to our personal doubts, our friends and loved ones tend to project their own doubts unto us. Although they are genuine, those projected doubts have the potential to hold us back from achieving what might have been our big break.

It is very important to be courageous enough to pursue your aspirations despite the fear and the doubt. Having a clear mental picture of what the final destination is, whiles concentrating on this next step gives some reassurance that you are on the right path.

Be prepared to change

Starting out on any new journey will definitely require that you make changes. You might be required to change your work ethic, or your attitude towards failure, or you might have to make drastic changes in your personality that need you to obtain skills. Change is also an inevitable part of being successful, so you must be prepared to adjust when it's needed.

Do the needful, don't be lazy

Having the biggest dreams, the greatest aspirations is not going to make you successful if you won't put in the work that is needed. Oftentimes, we get so busy carrying out all other activities except those that are useful to our goals. We make up all sorts of excuses explaining why we couldn't meet our set targets. Sometimes we don’t even bother making excuses when it comes to fulfilling our own goals and aspirations not because they are not important, but because the repercussions seem so inconsequential. Get over the laziness; make it a habit to be persistent when it comes to your goals. Visit my article on "persistence and consistency" for some additional insight.

"Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you have not planted." _David Bly

Laser focus on your ambitions

William Matthew “one well cultivated talent, deepened and enlarged, is worth 100 shallow faculties.

We all try to be as effective as possible; trying to get so many things done in the shortest time possible. Sometimes it's simply because we have run out of time, or opportunities are passing us by. Other times, we are interested in so many things at the same time, and they all seem really important in helping us achieve our goals. However, we can all agree that taking things one goal at a time allows us to be meticulous and intentional. This prevent us from making unwarranted mistakes that only cause confusions and set-backs.

My final thoughts...

Even though you have failed in past, or let several opportunities pass you by, it's not an entirely hopeless situation. Learning from your past mistakes, and identifying where you previously faltered is what you need to do to make sure you are making the best of all future opportunities. Nothing I have said in today's post is entirely new; we all know about the above mentioned nuggets, but for some reason, we fail to practice them.

My goal is to encourage you to consciously decide to do the things that are needed to make you successful.