4 Dream Killers for Potential Leaders and Winners

4 Dream Killers for Potential Leaders and Winners

With so many people content to live inside the box of Averagedom, it must be comfortable and appealing, right? Yet, studies show that more than 47% of people are discontent with their life and personal achievements. If so many people are unhappy with who they are and what they have achieved, why don’t they do something about it? Is the box so rewarding that people settle for second best for their lives? Or are the obstacles that prevent people from getting out the box so powerful?

 It is true; many people choose to remain average throughout their lives. Although there are many reasons for people to stay inside, this article explores 4 difficulties people have trying to get out of the box. These are not the only reasons people struggle to break free from mediocrity, but they offer an insight to the most common barriers to success for potential leaders and winners.

       1.       The Pull of the Past: This barrier to success refers to the comfort zones in which people place themselves. Routine and minimal effort makes people lethargic and comfortable.  The fact is – success takes hard work. If it didn’t, more people would be enjoying its benefits. Although there are many people capable of hard work, they want to work hard within comfort zones, comfortable living within known walls of security and stability. Please understand, I am not implying security and stability are evil, but when these outweigh the ambition for success and the desire for growth, you open the door to be influenced to stay within the box of Averagedom.  Countless potential ‘great lives’ allow their past experiences of comfort and stability to pull them back into the box and they surrender to a mediocre existence.

One scourge that consistently destroys the hope and confidence more frequently than the Pull of the Past is: The Pull of Friends and Family. Ambitious ideas and dreams should not be shared freely and openly with too many of your friends and family. Because of their love for you and their concern for your well being, friends and family are openly critical of ‘big ideas’ and ‘lofty aspirations. Friends and family will criticise for two reasons: firstly, they think they have your best interests at heart and secondly, they have their own best interests at heart. They neither want to pick up the pieces after your dreams are shattered, nor do they want to be booted out the rut in which they find themselves. If you become successful it could take you out of their comfort zone –and no one likes change. So, be selective about who you share your hopes and dreams with, otherwise you could find yourself living in Averagedom with well meaning, but misguided friends and family.

2.       The Fear of the Unknown:  Nobody is certain of the future and nobody likes to be faced with the unknown. This uncertainty in life is easily offset and managed through proper planning and preparation. Each day brings with it the element of the unknown. Each day brings a new opportunity, a refreshed chance to do or re-do things right. The secret to getting out of Averagedom is proper dreaming. You can plan all you want, but if the dream you are planning for is not worth the risk – you will not leave the box. Don’t just dream while you sleep, make the dream as tangible and delicious as possible while you are awake. Your dream must evoke reactions from all five of your physical senses. This tricks the brain into believing that your dream is known, sort of a reality, in existence somewhere. With that mindset, your brain will do everything in its power to make your dream a reality. Conquer the unknown with your dream and passion for life, or live forever in Averagedom.

3.       The Lack of Instant Feedback: Living in this modern age of digital information and instant data, people are lulled into believing that the results of their efforts will be delivered instantly. Having instant contact with all their friends and family has convinced people that success is like instant pudding – just add water and bang! Pudding is ready. Sometimes success takes a little longer than instant pudding. This lack of instant feedback concerning their efforts scares people into believing that they are not capable, therefore they give up! They often give up just before success starts sprouting and they return to Averagedom convinced success will forever elude them.

Not only does success take hard work, it also requires sustained effort. If it was easy and instant, more people would be living the high life that success brings with it. It is only those that have patient endurance, that place faith and continued energy into their plans, who will enjoy the sweet taste of victory. Giving up prematurely will not only rob you of the greatness you deserve, but will keep you as a resident of Averagedom forever.

4.       The Fear of Failure: The fear of failure is the most efficient barrier to launching great leaders. There are two options of failure that paralyse people into accepting their life in Averagedom: Personalised Failure and Action Failure. Personalised Failure occurs when we make a mistake and turn it into our identity. Once the fault or error is discovered, we react by saying “I AM a failure.” This is a debilitating habit that destroys confidence and motivation. Seeing a mistake for what it really is helps us be creative and dream up magnificent solutions. Refuse to make failure an identity! Refuse to become the mistake. Look at failure through eyes that see it for what it really is – Action Failure!

Action failure recognises failure for what it is – a mistake in the process, caused by an action, somewhere along the line. Seeing failure as an action will allow you to realise you made a bad choice, or took the wrong action and IT CAN BE CHANGED. It can be corrected by making a better choice, or by taking the right action! Once you realise failure is not a reflection of your identity, but rather just an action that can be changed in order to produce better results – the fear of failure will lose its grip and you will be able to move out of Averagedom – permanently!

Continued living in Averagedom not only robs you from success, but it robs the world of a potentially great leader. Breaking free of the box requires you to identify which of the barriers forces you to be a resident in Averagedom. Then you need to plan your exit strategy. Consult with a life coach or a third party that can offer an objective opinion on your barrier to success and your plan to achieve greatness. The purpose of your life is not to have complacency force you to frequent the halls of mediocrity, but through planning, effort and wisdom; have your legacy live on the walls of greatness.