You Have to Want to Be Successful
Denny 07 Apr 2008 | : Parenting Tips, Self-Improvement
It seems odd to think that someone doesn’t want to be successful in life, but I see it time and time again. Some people unconsciously sabotage themselves into failing again and again at every task they work on and then sit back and wonder what happened. The same thing can happen to parents. You have to WANT to be a great parent. Day after day, I talk to parents who are sabotaging their family and what makes it worse is now the children suffer too. You can give people every tool they need to be successful and they will still fail if they don’t WANT it!
I was watching a show on BBC called Kitchen Nightmares and this episode is a perfect example of what I am talking about. The plot of the show is chef Gordon Ramsey, one of the premier chefs in the world, goes to a struggling restaurant and teaches them how to run their restaurant better. In this episode, he was working with a women who owned a small vegetarian restaurant in France. She had not paid rent or many of the bills for 6 months and was ready to close. Gordon came in, and within 5 days had the restaurant making more money per day than it was earning per week before his arrival. He gave the owner a new menu, new staff, and several ideas on how to make the restaurant grow. He saved this women and her restaurant.
Guess what? He came back 6 weeks later to see the restaurant closed and a for sale sign in the window. Gordon Ramsey sat in disbelief as he gave this women every tool she needed to be successful. He tracked down the owner to hear what happened and the disbelief just grew. She didn’t “feel” like following his suggestions and she was too “tired” and “stressed” trying to make it work so she walked away. The fear of success kept this woman from making a great living.
Parents fall into the same trap. You come home and are tired and stressed about your day and you end up venting on your family. Remember, parenting is a skill and it needs to be practiced until it becomes an art. Teach your children, and yourself, to WANT to be successful because without that desire you are doomed to a mediocre and unhappy life.
