By: Martins Itua
The society often creates and imposes limitations that hinder us from reaching for the heights. Many people have lived all through their lives believing these lies and they have either stopped trying or never tried. In order to attain success, you will have to deliberately extricate yourself from these lies and move on to achieve your life’s aims. In the end, there is absolutely nothing that can hold you back or prevent you from reaching your goal, except you. You only need to make up your mind and chase your life’s purpose. Listed below are some of the lies we are often told.
- You have to be Born Rich
People often think that they stand at a disadvantage because of the circumstances of their birth. There is no such thing. The fact is, you weren’t given the opportunity to determine how, where or to whom you were born. Another fact is that there is absolutely nothing you do that can change the facts and circumstances of your birth. The third and most important fact is that what you do with your life is entirely your choice and making. You only need to look around you to see that some of the wealthiest and most successful people in the world weren’t born into wealth. As a matter of fact, for most of them, it was their terribly bitter experiences with childhood poverty and deprivation that drove them in search of life and meaning.
- You shouldn’t have Disability
David Blunkett, a British politician was born blind but became the first blind person to hold a ministerial position in Great Britain. He was not only born blind but was raised in poverty. Young David lost his father at age 12 and was raised by his poor mother. He attended University of Sheffield and earned a degree in Political Theory and Institutions. David Blunkett rose to the position of Home Secretary in Britain. He did not allow his blindness to become a disability to him.
The story is told of a young man who was born deaf and dumb. Despite that, he has trained himself as a photographer is able to take care of himself and his family.
There is practically no field of human endeavour where there are no people who have disability. The fact that someone was born blind, deaf or dumb does not mean they were born stupid. Karen Darke puts it the best way that “disability is a state of mind, not a state of body”. Karen, a graduate of University of Aberdeen fell from a cliff and was paralysed from the chest down. Despite being confined to a wheelchair, Karen has literally travelled round the world doing some of the most incredible things.
- You need a good Education
A good education is good but it does not guarantee you a good life. In fact, for many people, their university degrees are the chains that have held them bound. The fact is that a lot of the things that are taught in school can be learnt for free in the course of life. Why does anyone need to attend the university to study computer science when the person who invented the personal computer did not attend one? If your life’s goals require you to attend the university, you should definitely go there. But you should never be under the illusion that a good education entitles you to a good life. The most successful people are not the most educated.
- Don’t be a single mum
Being a single mum does not reduce your chance in becoming what you want in life. There are millions of women all over the world who are truly successful and are single mothers. Life may be difficult at first when you need to cater to your kids and yourself without help. But so is everything else in life. Nothing good comes easy and there is no gain without pain.
- You must be born with a high IQ
When it comes to earning a decent income on your job, having a good IQ may be important. But when it comes to creating and multiplying wealth, your IQ may not play much role. There are people who are incredibly rich but have below average IQs and there are some others who live in poverty but have high IQs. Having a good IQ is desirable but it does not guarantee that you will be successful.
- You’ve to be Beautiful and Attractive
There are millions of people who are very successful who do not look so beautiful or attractive. It is a good thing to be attractive but you will need more than that to be successful.
- Mistakes are bad
Mistakes and failures are not bad. They teach you to do it better next time. Have you ever seen a child who is learning to walk or ride a bicycle who did not fall?
- Success Depends on Luck
There is no such thing as luck. What we call luck is when an opportunity is met with preparation.
- Hard-work makes you successful
Hard-work is good but you may be working hard doing the wrong thing. It is more rewarding to work smarter instead of harder. If the output you receive is so much less than the input, maybe you are doing the wrong thing and need to change your course. If you are on a wrong direction, it will not matter how much you accelerate your car, you will not get to your destination.
- You need a perfect plan to start
No matter how perfect your plan is, there are certain things that cannot be anticipated. So if you are waiting until your plans are rock solid, you may never start. That said, always remember that an imperfect plan is better than no plan. Some people spend eternity planning and never enter execution stage because they live in fear that their plan will fail.
- You must be Original
Being original is certainly a good idea. But usually, all you need to do is improve on what is already done. Unless you must, you should never reinvent the wheel.
- Good grades are a must
Good grades are good but they are usually only useful while in school. In reality, nobody really cares what grades you make in school. What is important is the value you can bring to the table. People who graduated with average GPAs are more likely to do better in the real world. The reason is probably because they are more in touch with the real world. Book sense alone will not do much good.
- You must get a Good Job
A good job may make you a good income, after many years of labour. And that is for very few people because majority of people never make much money on a job. You need to check the billionaires’ list to see that there is no single billionaire who just wants a good job. They create solutions, products and services to make money.
- It is impossible
Impossible is nothing. Many things that seemed impossible in the past now have solutions. The fact that what you are thinking has not been done does not mean it is not possible. People attempt and solve problems that seem impossible every day.
- You’ve to be Realistic
People who want to be realistic do not achieve much. Ask people who are wealthy and they will tell you how totally unrealistic and unreasonable some of their plans and actions were.
