THE PENDULUM OF LIFE AND SUCCESS

Life is a lot like a pendulum. On the one side of the pendulum is the potential for happiness, fulfillment, excitement, variety, interest; and on the other side is the potential for failure, risk, disappointment, and criticism.

If the pendulum stands still and doesn’t swing then nothing happens. Sure you don’t have failure, you don’t have any risk, you don’t have any disappointment, and no one says anything bad about you, in fact nothing bad ever really happens to you, you are insulated from disappointment; however, nothing really good happens to you either, you miss out on all the excitement of life, the fulfillment, the variety, the interest and the happiness.

YOU CANNOT SWING A PENDULUM ONLY ONE WAY.

Think about this for all aspects of your life. In every relationship there is a risk that your heart can be broken, but that doesn’t stop you from entering the relationship.

When you raise a family there is a risk that your child will make bad choices that bring pain to themselves and others, that shouldn’t stop you from starting a family.

When you start a business there is the risk that you will fail (in business this is a very real risk).  But we can’t run from risk forever.  We can’t avoid the POTENTIAL for pain for so long that we miss out on the other side.  Whenever we take a risk it is because we want what is on the other side of the pendulum, and we are willing to deal with what comes our way.

Now think about your business and your career. On the one side is financial freedom, excitement, fulfillment, success, but on the other side is the POTENTIAL for rejection, criticism, failure and disappointment.  I know many people who stay at careers they hate for too long, or don’t embrace their true desire for (again I repeat) the “Potential” of rejection, criticism, failure and disappointment.

Unfortunately in business I see many people who let the pendulum stand still. They don’t want the failure, the rejection or the disappointment, so they don’t take massive action where risk is present (which risk is generally just emotional, such as rejection). However, what they fail to recognize is that by making this choice they are also missing out on the other side of the pendulum – financial freedom, fulfillment, variety and excitement.

My advice – swing that pendulum high!!!!

The less you are scared of the “bad side” of the pendulum and are willing to charge ahead (who cares if you fail anyway, failure is never permanent unless you accept it as such) then the pendulum will eventually swing to the good side.

I believe this to be a universal law – if you are willing to push the pendulum to the “scary side” then it will inevitably swing the other way!

Written by RYAN CLEMENTS