The more we want the more it will cost us.

In the writings of one of the great sales books, actually called “The Great Sales Book”, the author Jack Collis states that success is limited by the price we are willing to pay. He goes on to say that the price is not necessarily paid in money. It is paid in knowledge, activity, creative thinking, innovation, identification, preparation, commitment, compromise, and a willingness to change. A willingness to change? That’s an interesting concept. There is a formula for change…[D x V] + F > R.

Well that’s it. If you consistently applied that formula you would probably have all that you wanted in life. I suppose I should explain it. D stands for Dissatisfaction, V is for Vision, F means First Steps and R is for your Resistance to change. Are you dissatisfied with where you and your business or career are today? What about your life? Do you have a vision for where it could be? Are you willing to take the first steps to move your business or career or life in that direction, or is the resistance that you can anticipate to making changes going to be too great?

Let’s spend a few moments on each of these thoughts. A person’s Dissatisfaction levels may be great, but if they are without a vision of where they want to be, then there is little chance to move forward in the direction they want (in fact there’s a high chance they’ll end up going in the direction someone else wants). A person may have a great Vision for where they would like to be but if their dissatisfaction levels with their current situation are not great, then the chance for change to get any closer to their vision is not great either. So the idea is, if you see the need for change, but nothing’s happening, try increasing both your levels of Dissatisfaction and Vision.

Then, to change, to move on from where we are right now, we need to know what are the First Steps that will take us in the right direction. Sometimes, we don’t move forward just because our vision seems so far removed from where we are that the distance looks unachievable. So if we chunk it down to manageable small first steps, we are more able to start the journey (…“a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”). And if we don’t start with that First Step, then again we remain where we are. Resistance is an interesting one. The resistance can be external or internal. But the greatest resistance we will encounter is in fact internal…what we say to ourselves.

That little voice inside that will either make us or break us. It comes down to that cliché we all have probably heard, attributed to Henry Ford… “If you think that you can, or if you think that you can’t, you are probably right!” So, go ahead… surface and really feel your Dissatisfaction, create a strong Vision, take that First Step of action toward realizing your Vision, then overcome all the internal & external Resistance you have to change.