“Even though there are days I wish I could change some things that happened in the past, there’s a reason the rear view mirror is so small and the windshield so big, where you’re headed is much more important than what you’ve left behind.”
On your pursuit of wealth, there will be many opportunities missed, many attempts failed and there will be many learning that will come from those failures. The obstacles that tried to stop you will have gone by and many times you will wonder how a different choice may have impacted the outcome of your life today. The past is the past and the road ahead is all that matters, so learn from your past obstacles and create new opportunities knowing what you know know.
Try to imagine a world where you would have made no mistakes, then you would be in an unfair position against the world. You would have had the answers to everything all the time, and therefore would be able to win and others would never, creating unbalance across the board. The advantage some have over others is their abilities to change themselves for the road ahead and glimpse back at the past to make sure they don’t repeat the same things over and over again without positive results. Success is defined into two categories, luck and experience.
Luck is for those that might earn a big inheritance, or win the lottery or simply attempt something with no experience but due to an unexpected market condition win. There is no calculated risk in their mind, they tried something; it worked and they benefit, but often wont be able to repeat it. There is one factor that stays true despite luck being their key driver, actions led to luck. No matter how you look at the situation, an action created a reaction that created the possibility of the odds being in your favor. if you earned a big inheritance, it is because of the relationship and kindness you shared with that person; if you won the lottery, it is simply because you played. No matter what the reaction, it was driven by an action; luck was on your side but your actions drove the reactions.
On the other hand, comes experience which is much more controllable than luck, it involves working towards a goal and limiting your mistakes by learning from the past. We discussed the “No Excuse” policy around business a few months back, the idea was to never make an excuse but rather look ahead at how to turn the situation around. Experience allows us to do that but we must take a moment to stop and think before we act, as there are many mistakes that are repeated simply because they haven’t occurred in the same context in the past. A clear and simple example of this would be looking at the last when you hanged out with a friend that wasn’t necessarily well known to you, and later found out about their criminal past which may have raised questions by others as to why you were spotted with that person. Most people would simply leave this to their need to educate themselves about their friends before sharing a car, walk or meal. I challenge you to now look at it from a learning experience with these factors:
1.Do not be trustful and disclose so much of yourself to new people.
2. Do not go places or be seen associating with individuals you do not know.
3. Be mindful of who you share information about your meeting with.
4.Educate yourself on the benefits of your interaction
5. Is your judgment really good or clear.
There are now 5 learnings instead of one that should never be repeated or should be considered before jumping into a similar action.
Stay focused on the road ahead, where you need to go and the obstacles that await and do not waste time looking at what you could have changed but rather how you can control the new circumstances you create based on what you now know. Do not make excuses for yourself and understand the real nature of your past, so that you ensure you acquire the right experience and never have to repeat the same mistake twice and can look ahead instead of wondering whats in the rear view mirror.
