“No man is great enough or wise enough for any of us to surrender our destiny to. The only way in which anyone can lead us is to restore to us the belief in our own guidance.”
No matter who we are, where we came from and how far we are hoping to get – we constantly seek guidance. However, when it comes to being an entrepreneur – guidance quest has a much greater gravity then under any other conditions.
As an entrepreneur – you are supposed to guide people, you’re supposed to be a true leader and a mentor. But how can you accomplish that if you’re still clueless about what happens around and beneath you.
The majority of internet marketers who are trying to teach people how to make money online have never actually made money online. Ironic, isn’t it? The majority of those who claim to provide the guidance you’re looking for are as much in need of it as you are.
Where do we seek guidance, then? How do we know that the person standing behind the sales page is in fact the one he claims to be? Are ClickBank commission report screenshots enough to convince us in his authentication? Hardly…
Where do we find a real guide? A real mentor? A real teacher?
Do we turn to books? Most of us do… I fell in love with books ever since I have first read “How To Win Friends and Influence People” for the first time in my life. I have actually ordered a paperback copy from Amazon earlier this morning, just to have it in my library (which is getting bigger each week).
Books have actually contributed to my life more than any person I’ve ever met. Being able to attain great wisdom from the greatest people that stepped on planet Earth is one of the single biggest things I am thankful for in my life (the other two are my wife and her mom’s homemade cookies).
Books present us with an opportunity to have an intimate connection with people like Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie, Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy, Bob Proctor, Earl Nightingale and many other phenomenal individuals.
But the question still remains whether the REAL guidance can be found in relying on other people’s words… I have given this idea a substantial thought and came to a conclusion that YES, it is possible – real guidance can be found in words of another person, but there’s a catch 22 which most of us never consider.
Books, advice, blogs, journals, articles and any other kind of self-help media is only a part of the REAL guidance. The only way to get a TRUE insight about anything is via EXPERIENCE. Often, what we consider to be guidance can only be valid with the exact same precision of a GPS.
The Global Positioning System’s (GPS) horizontal positioning fixes are typically accurate to fifty feet. It means that, in general, the direction it points you on the highway is right, but it can’t guarantee the concrete location of your destination.
Self-Help material works the same way. By reading and learning new and exciting insights – you are able to determine the general direction of where you should be going, but there is no such book which you can rely on with your eyes closed. You need to have the courage of being able to face the challenges on your own.
Just like the GPS’s inability to warn you against the bumps on the road, books simply can’t guide you through every single obstacle in life. Often, you’ll have to find the way on your own. There will be twists and turns, but as long as you’re armed with an unstoppable attitude – even if the road is closed, you’ll find a way.
I guess what I am trying to say is this: don’t make the mistake of relying solely on books, self-help material and other people’s observations. Get out to the REAL world and get some real EXPERIENCE. Only then you will be in the position to fully grasp what the author wanted you to know in the first place.
The EXPERIENCE is the REAL teacher, however the best part is that you get to choose when to ring the bell!
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Are you a professional journalist? You write very well.
You’re right. There’s no substitute for experience. But I believe that books can compensate for the lack of time to experience all there is to know.
I love books, it has taken me to a place and time that I will never be. And it has changed my life a lot.
True, books are awesome. Whenever I read, I am in a different place, state and time.
It is amazing how reading makes you feel as a person and as entrepreneur.
Igor