Master Success: Are You Willing to Burn Your Bridges?

You’ve been told not to burn your bridges your whole life, but maybe that’s what’s keeping you from mastering success. Do you like to play it safe and keep your options open? When you play it safe you’re really giving yourself permission to fail. You’re giving yourself permission to quit if the going gets rough, and return to your current state.

What if you refused to give yourself permission to quit? What if you had to make it work one way or another because turning back wasn’t an option? What would happen to your commitment? How about your persistence? Would you be more focused on finding a way to make things work rather than contemplating if you should just give up and accept defeat?

What does it really take to master success? You have to clearly know what you want. You have to have a strong desire to get it. Plus you need to believe that you can achieve it. When you leave your options open you’re really expressing self-doubt. What you’re telling yourself is that you better have a back-up plan, so that if this doesn’t work out you have an escape. But your brain is really processing it as “when” your plan doesn’t work out, not “if” your plan doesn’t work out.

Do you think you could master success if you combined your passion with your undeterred belief? Some of the greatest lessons to be learned in life come from your children. When my youngest son was in the sixth grade he came home from school the afternoon before the last day at school, and told me what he was going to do the next day. Each year the last day of school the elementary students have a track meet. That afternoon my son told me that at the track meet the next day he was going to win every race. As he made that statement there was a look of determination and unwavering faith on his young face. Now as his mother I worried that he might be setting himself up for failure rather than success, and not wanting him to have hurt feelings I looked at him and asked, “every race”? He looked back at me with that same expression of determination and faith and said, “every race”. The next afternoon after school I cautiously waited worried that perhaps his plans were dashed. Instead he raced in the house with a fist full of little ribbons, a big smile on his face, and eyes gleaming to show me his victory ribbons. So I asked, “did you really win every race…no one else won even one”? His innocent reply was, “I told you I’d win every race Mom and I did”.

Do you have the faith in yourself to master success? Sometimes you’ll be motivated by fear and fear alone will drive you forward. Sometimes you’re motivated by setting targets and reaching those targets before confidently taking the next step. And sometimes you have to burn your bridges and obtain your faith from the lack of alternative options.