Sometimes, people set goals for themselves and then find reasons
to keep themselves from making any meaningful progress toward those goals.
Perhaps you’ve met people who set deserve levels for themselves—levels
of income, happiness, or career satisfaction—that they never go much above
or below, despite the many opportunities to do so.
Think about your financial goals. Even if you have work that allows
for wide disparities in monthly income, you somehow manage to keep yourself from
moving much outside of your comfort level. Although you may say that you want
to increase your income, you often find some way to link the attainment of that
goal to someone or something other than yourself, and your small steps don’t
match up with the big goals you set. The distance between where you are and where
you want to be is measured in excuses: “If only I had the energy.”
There are far too many unfortunate souls who think that, once they
figure out what life is all about, they’ll be able to press the rewind button
and turn themselves back to, say, age 21—or to a time when things were better.
Sad to say, none of us has access to such a rewind button. For these poor folks,
life slips by, day by day, as they wait for someone or something to show them
the way. What they are waiting for, when you get right down to it, is the guy
on the white horse—the person who will tackle all the mysteries, solve all
the problems and ride in to rescue them. As they wait for this person to rescue
them, they disengage.
Let me share some good news—a secret: You have instant access
to the man or woman on the white horse—the person on whom your safety and
success depends—at any time. All you have to do is look down, and you’ll
see that you’re sitting astride that white horse. You are the guy on the
white horse! You are the only person who is qualified to change your present and,
thereby, change your future. Don’t wait for great occasions to step forward
as your own hero; don’t assume that someone else is blocking your way. Seize
common occasions for positive change. Follow J. Paul Getty’s formula: “Rise
early. Work hard. Strike oil.”
The time to commit yourself to developing the most efficient plan
possible to achieve your goals is right now. And the person who must carry out
that plan is you. As someone once said, “If it is to be, it is up to me.” PE
