Bob was a normal sort of guy. One day, he set the goal of making a million dollars. He took a job in sales because he figured that was the quickest way to get there. And, after a few years of hard and determined work, he did.

Bob’s a success, right? Bob’s the guy we all want to be – whether we’re in sales, or in a big company, or working for ourselves.

But – here’s the rest of Bob’s story.

During his time on the road, he barely saw his wife and kids. He missed them, sure, but he thought there’d be plenty of time for them after he’d got that money safely in the bank. Bob didn’t pay any attention to what he ate. He didn’t have time to exercise. He barely had time to eat.

He made that million, but in the process, he severely compromised his health – and lost his family.

Bob is not the guy we want to be.

Are you risking losing everything that really matters, in pursuit of your goals? What’s most important to you in your life? Here are a couple of big areas:

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I never thought it would be such a relief to be wrong but I’m starting to love it. Ahhhh!

Does that statement surprise you when there are so many success texts on how to be, or do things, ‘right’?

Good!

Do you know the pressure of feeling you have to be right? Do you know what it’s like to not be able to stand being wrong? It’s not pleasant!

Maybe YOU don’t but I bet you know someone like that. Someone who has to have the last word!

It might be funny for a few minutes but ultimately it’s annoying. And destructive.

Being unable to admit you are wrong is what I call a ‘psychological knot’. Creating greater openness and being welcome to ‘get it wrong’ can untie you for greater success!

A pastor I know said: “I’m scared of a man who can’t admit he’s wrong.”  Hitler, for example, was that man at one point. Even when everything was going wrong at the end of the Second World War, the films portray his lieutenants saying: “He hasn’t led us wrong before. We should trust him.” Yeah, that worked out. Confidence does not equal correctness!

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Many people go through life acting like trained circus animals.  They repeat the same antics they observed their neighbors, parents and family performing.  What they often don’t realize is that they are wrecking their lives.

Do you know someone that performs these tricks?

Understanding that these tricks change good lives into a zoo is the first step to freedom.  So, let’s take a look at the most common traps people fall into.

10 Very Common Stupid Tricks That Wreck A Good Life

I’d bet we’ve all witnessed at least some of these stupid tricks.  Unfortunately, they plague many people and are incredibly common.  Read over the list and let me know which one you think is the worst or most prevalent.

1.  Performing the starring role in a never-ending drama

It seems that some people want the days of their lives to mirror a soap opera.  They constantly behave badly and then wonder why their lives are so freaking crazy.  It is almost as if they are addicted to chaos!  These folks usually fail to see that they are their own worst enemy!  Do you know someone that is the big star in their own perpetual drama?

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Do you feel as though you’d accomplish so much more in your life if it wasn’t for all the obstacles in your way? Perhaps you’ve started on the journey towards numerous goals over the past few years … only to get knocked off course by all sorts of things.

If you’ve ever been on a diet, you might have faced obstacles like a vacation, Thanksgiving dinner, a box of chocolates, a busy or draining week…

If you’ve tried to write a book, your obstacles might have been social obligations, a lack of time or space to sit down and concentrate, no feedback or support…

If you’ve never managed to save up as much money as you’d like, you may have come up against obstacles like your car breaking down, invitations to pricy events, the irresistible impulse buy, or the expenses of Christmas…

Perhaps you feel as though you did your best. You had good intentions, you made plans – and then all sorts of things came up to derail these. Deep down, though, you know that people do succeed in dieting, writing books or saving up money … and that they sometimes hurdle seemingly insurmountable obstacles in order to do so.

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Every moment of every day is a new beginning for your life through the words you choose to use.

Words make up your thoughts and ideas. They shape the images in your mind, coloring what you perceive and believe.

In the world around you, words make up text messages, tweets, and on your Facebook page they explain your pictures, your past and your plans. They make up the laws that rule much of your experience.

Yet all this being true, we seldom stop to think about the ongoing power of the words we use and string together, the empowerment of words at our disposal when used effectively, or the power unleashed against us at our peril when words are used without awareness.

Our mind is the light we shine second by second on the words we choose from the infinite lexicon before us. It is critically important that we be alertly aware: The words we choose to shine the light of our mind on, shape our very life and its quality.

Now if we stop for a moment and think of the avalanche of words we are inundated with from without, never mind from the running dialogue within, it is easy to see the confusion this can lead to. Which words to choose and will they lead to an effective direction in our life?

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Right now, how many goals do you have? How many big projects and ventures are you involved with? Whether they’re related to your career, your family, your community activities or your personal life, have a quick think through them.

If you’re like most people, chances are you have too many goals – and you’re not going to see as much success as you’d like. In general, the fewer goals you have at any one time, the more likely you are to succeed in meeting them all.

Limit Your Goals – Don’t Limit Your Potential

Most of us have been through times when we’ve tried to do it all at once. Sometimes, this actually works: a health scare encourages us to turn our life around – everything from our eating habits to our career. (Jonathan Fields shares his story in Career Renegade about how a dramatic wake-up call from his heart got him to ditch his high-paying law career to start up a yoga studio.)

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Whether it happens to be fame, money, glory, or joy; we all live for one thing – moments. Everybody has goals in life, whether it happens to be losing more weight, building better relationships with other people, finding an amazing girlfriend of boyfriend, or making enough money to buy a house and support family.

What happens, though, is that most people find themselves stuck in the same, daily pace or routine that feels something like a plateau. Everyday looks the same and feels the same. Even when we dream of something that we want, we get frustrated because we see no advances or improvement towards what we are aiming for in life, and the only option that makes us feel good is just an escape from it all – also known as giving up.

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There’s one crucial relationship in your life that I’m pretty sure you’re neglecting. And if you’re one of those people who gives a lot of themselves to others and always drops everything to give a friend a hand, you’re definitely neglecting it. Nope, it’s not your relationship with your partner, your mom, or even your kids. Important as those are, this is even more crucial. It’s a relationship I can guarantee you’ll have from the day you’re born till the day you die.

It’s your relationship with yourself.

So often, the one person in life who we criticise, judge, condemn and ignore is ourself. We decide that our needs don’t matter. If everyone else in our life walked out, this one relationship would be all we had left. And when we disregard our relationship with ourself, all other aspects of our life suffer: however hard we strive for success, things will always feel empty.

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Everyday is either a success or a failure, and if everyday is a success, you cannot fail to get rich. - Wallace D. Wattles

Your days are like elevators; they either take you closer to or further away from your goals.

If you’re constantly moving in the direction of your goal with momentum, it is self-evident that the goal will eventually be achieved; it’s only a matter of time.

An Example

Currently, I’ve been training with weights; my goal is to reach have what I consider to be my “best-beach-body-ever” when I take my annual trip to Hawaii.

This process has not been easy, and neither is it over, but I’m getting closer.  The road has seemed long, and I have not made progress everyday.  Fortunately, I have had many more days taking me closer to my goal, than further from my goal.  The momentum has been a positive one (because as the saying goes, you can’t stroll to a goal).

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A “factory manager” at a local factory called-in an “outside emergency maintenance guy” because one of his machines had “broken.”  The maintenance guy arrived at the factory shortly after receiving the call.  The “factory manager” then explained the problem he was experiencing to the “maintenance guy.”  The maintenance guy responded, “I know exactly what the problem is,” then he quickly replaced a screw in the machine, and the machine began to work like new.

The maintenance guy then said, “That’ll be $300.00!”  The factory manager responded, “$300! You just replaced one screw; that screw cost $1.00; I could have easily done that!”

The maintenance guy responded, “Yes, the screw did cost $1.00, but the knowledge of how to fix your machine cost $299, …and by the way, I only accept cash.”

What’s the point?  When you don’t know, you will pay the higher price!

This is why it’s critical to remain a student of life.  I’m always looking to learn and expand my mind, I’m always looking for leaders who’ve done what I’m trying to do, so that I can learn what they know.

Leaders are people with the knowledge you need, because they’ve been where you’re trying to go.  Hear me out, leaders aren’t necessarily “special,” they don’t “glow in the dark,” or wear a “halo,” leaders are just people who’ve experienced what you’re trying to experience.  They’re people who are a little further along the path that you’re traveling, and they have the knowledge to make your trip easier.

You follow leaders because they have knowledge.  There’s no need to worship them, or sing praises to their name.  You follow leaders because: “When you don’t know what they know, you will pay a higher price!”

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