Just about everyone is looking for a shortcut or quicker way to get something done. People want to instantly lose weight, get to their destination, meet their forever partner (or just a non-scary potential partner), or have business success all in the blink of an eye. Because of that some people try to lie, steal and cheat to make it happen without considering the consequences, or deciding that the consequences are rather inconsequential to getting what they want. And people do pay for their actions: we’ve seen lots of companies brought up on their dishonesty as well as the lapses in health or strings of failed relationships.
Before we go too much farther I should mention that I’m all for finding ways to do things quicker. I don’t need to waste my time on things any more than you do and I love finding things that make my life easier. But some things can’t or shouldn’t be rushed. It’s simply better to take your time and do it right even if it takes longer. For example it’s statistically more likely that you will keep off the weight if you do it right (which is consistent weight loss over time).
So when it comes to personal and professional growth and improvement I’m all for checking out what other people are doing, as well as creating partnerships that are beneficial to all involved so that you can skip making some of the mistakes and start helping people sooner. However, when you go out there and just copy what someone else is doing there’s a good chance it won’t work for you. Why? Because no two people are exactly the same. What works to help one person lose weight could cause another to gain weight. What brings one person success will not help another find success. What one person builds their business on will not work for someone else. Why? Because we’re each different and those differences have to be expressed and taken into account for things to work for us.
The secret to applying what you learn from other people is that you have to adjust it to make it work for you. I can’t take your business and make it successful in the way that you have because it’s not my business with my passions and purposes. I can’t take your body and lose weight or get well for you because it’s not my body. While I can advise on how you can fix your relationship, I can’t fix it for you, only you two can, because your needs are not my needs. So keep your eyes open for the lessons you can learn from others, and then take the time to figure out if and how they can be applied to your life to benefit you.
“I had to create an equivalent for what I felt about what I was looking at – not copy it.” Georgia O’Keeffe