By Remez Sasson
You can make yourself a cup of coffee in a matter of seconds. You can cook dinner in 20-30 minutes. You can learn the words of a song in a few minutes, but can you make big changes in your life within a day or two? Is it realistic to expect becoming wealthy in 15 days or less, doing almost nothing, except if you win the lottery?
Most people expect fast results. They have no patience or staying power, and if something requires time and effort, they quit after a short while. They look for books, workshops or videos that promise immediate results, such as:
- Get powerful concentration with a few minutes of training
- Meditate like an expert in 15 days
- Get anything you want in 30 minutes
- Get the house of your dreams, or a fancy car, quickly and with no effort
- Influence people in 5 minutes
- Write a book in a few days
These are just a few of the many examples you can find if you look at the newspapers, magazines or the Internet.
Look at people, who are rich. Did they get their wealth instantly? No, they worked hard, had strong ambition and motivation, and they believed in what they were doing.
- Did anyone get to the Olympics Games with no training, or with just a few minutes a day of training? No, everyone who participated in the Olympic Games devoted a lot of time training and exercising every day.
- Is there a “language pill”, which you can swallow, and instantly be able to speak foreign languages? You have to study and practice over a period of time, before you can speak fluently a foreign language.
This is true in every area of life. Big results require time and effort. You can make instant coffee in a few seconds, but to make changes in your habits, change your mindset, develop new skills, or become rich and wealthy, much more time is needed.
I understand that you want fast results, with the least of effort. Everyone wants this, but is this possible? Expecting immediate results might often end up in frustration and disappointment. People sometimes spend a fortune on books, training videos and workshops that promise immediate results, but do they get these results?
To get results you need willpower, discipline, motivation and a strong desire, and the willingness to invest the required time and effort.
Unless you are a great magician, you have to act to get results. You cannot make big changes in your life in a few minutes. Do you know of any businessman, who made his fortune following a certain technique for 30 days or less? Do you know of anyone becoming a champion athlete without training over a long period of time?
To get results, real results, you need strong desire and motivation that do not wear out after a few attempts, or evaporate at the first hurdle. You need willpower and self-discipline, so that you have staying power. You need vision, if you want to achieve a big goal. You need an open mind, and the willingness to do whatever it takes to follow through with your decision, program or technique. You also need a positive attitude, and the ability to take positive action.
Dabbling does not lead to success, but investing time and effort do!
It is so easy to be tempted to believe that you can get rich, gain extraordinary powers, improve your concentration and memory, reach far with meditation, and get instantly anything you want, but this is not so. Small, everyday goals can be accomplished fast, but bigger things need more time. If it were not so, you would have become wealthy, successful and happy a long ago.
I know that a lot of people might not like what I am saying, but I know from experience that good things and good results require time and effort. It is absolutely no drudgery. On the contrary, it is fun and pleasure, and the great satisfaction that you are going toward something good.
When working on any project or goal, enjoy the action and the things that happen on the way. It is like traveling in a train. You could feel nervous, and anxious to arrive at your destination. In this state of mind, you won’t enjoy the ride. You can also choose to behave differently, and focus on the present moment, enjoying the scenery, talking with people sitting next to you, reading a book, or even meditating.
When you focus on what you are doing the time passes more quickly and pleasurably, and you do more and get more.
Don’t let the words in this article deter you from doing things. You can achieve success. You can make changes in your life. You can reach far and high. Things can sometimes happen quite fast. However, in most cases and for most goals, you need more than a program or technique that promises you fast results, with almost no effort on your part.
What do you think? What is your experience with programs and techniques that promise instant, or almost instant success? You are welcome to add your comments below.
Remez Sasson is an author and blogger. He is the founder of SuccessConsciousness.com, a website and blog about self improvement and spiritual growth.
Remez Sasson is the author of several life transforming books, containing a wealth of information, advice and guidance.
You did not offend me in the slightest. I agree with you completely. And I say this knowing that I have “dabbled” in projects and, of course, little to no success with them. Terrific post.
Thank you Glynis.
I think all of us, at one time or another, dabble in all kinds of subjects, often, expecting miracles, only to find that if we really want success, we have to be earnest, and invest time and effort.
Beautifull….you have just built my patience..thank you so much.
Thank you for this beautiful article. whenever i get time i come to your blog and read. I also try to apply all the techniques. I believe it works, but many times i feel that there is a conflict going on within myself, while applying this techniques of self improvement. I feel like telling lie to myself. Then i start thinking that this is not possible 4 me. And start looking for something better and thats the reason i am stuck in the same place. this article is like answere to my prayer.
I agree with the basic premise here. Certainly you need to put in a lot of time and effort to achieve anything worthwhile. And that is perhaps one of the biggest reasons there are so many faillures – people give up when they have really only just started on what will be a long and hard road if they want to reach their goal. But we should also not forget that there are SOME instant changes we can make which give instant results. Change of state for example. See the enormous difference in attitude you can make if you sit up straight and smile rather than slouch and frown. So I guess it depends what you mean when you refer to instant results. Not disagreeing with you at all here, just opening up the focus.
Well said! Even “overnight successes” only appear that way to the outside – they almost always have years of quiet hard work behind them. We’ve been chipping away at our startup for 4 years, bit by bit, and just now beginning to get greater traction & visibility.