January 31, 2019 by Dymphna

WARNING: Fail this, and everything fails

I was surprised to find this overlap between Zen and the New Age

I’ve been thinking a bit lately about that saying “Excellence is an attitude.”

It’s not something I’ve fully resonated with before – like it seemed a bit wishy-washy – like it came from that school of new age thinking where all you have to do is think it, wish it, dream it and it will happen, regardless of whether you actually put in any work towards it or not.

I don’t believe in that. I’m action-orientated. I’m thinking of putting out my own line of action figurines. (NEW! Townhouse Development Dymphna. Collect the whole set.)

But then I came across this Zen saying the other day that made me rethink it:

“The way a person does one thing is the way they do everything.”

This I resonated with. Having worked with thousands of students over the years I really know this to be true.

There are some students who come to us intent on half-arseing the study. They skip the tax and asset protection modules all together. They skim read renovations because they’re pretty sure they know all about that. They only bother to get themselves partially across finance because they figure they’ll get their mortgage broker to sort that stuff out.

They cut corners, they duck and weave the things that demand real work and effort, and the bed-spread of their knowledge is full of holes.

And when if comes to doing deals, they invite into these gaps an element of luck. So maybe they get lucky and the mortgage brokers knows what he’s doing. Maybe they get lucky and they never need asset protection. Maybe they get lucky and they buy in at the perfect time in the market.

Maybe they get lucky… once… or twice…

But you can’t build a career on luck.

And I get why they do it. The world is a busy place. Who has time to spare? And if you can pick up an hour or two here and there by cutting corners, why wouldn’t you?

Trouble is, how do you know when the right time to cut corners is? You don’t have enough information to know.

Worse still, you start building habits – holding yourself back, never fully committing, giving in to your laziness.

No. We’ve got to be all-in all the time. If you’re going to do it, give all of your power to it. In every area of your life, in everything you touch, open up all of your guns at once, every time.

From this approach to life, from this attitude, outstanding, mould-breaking outcomes become possible. Excellence is attainable.

So excellence really is an attitude. It is a way of life. A practice.

Because if it’s true that they way you do one thing is the way you do everything, then if you want to do anything well, then you must do everything well.

This road takes commitment. It demands full application all the time.

But ask yourself this: Are you here on this earth to hold anything back?

DB