The 3 Secrets To Becoming a Millionaire (and why it is bullshit)
As you read many inspirational articles with titles like “The 3 Secrets To Becoming a Millionaire” do you ever wonder if it is all just bullshit?
The 5 Steps To Being Financially Free
The 3 Steps To Owning a Supercar
The Millionaire Morning Routine
I just made these titles up, but you see them all the time. It’s just not sexy to say, “Grind till your hair falls out to be a millionaire.” Sex sells, and that ain’t sexy. And when you’re in the “thick of it” trying to execute on a venture, we are desparately seeking some sage advice. We desolately want there to be 3 steps to overcoming our obstacles and breaking through. Well I am here to tell you the truth is much more simple.
This is a quote I think about a lot from Steve Jobs.
“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”
For some ironic reason simple is harder to accept than complex. There are no secret 3 steps to success. If it were that easy, we would all be successful. No, the secret to success at whatever you do is so much more simple than three steps.
It comes down one simple thing. And I said simple. I didn’t say easy. Steven Pressfield is one of my favorite authors. I get his weekly emails, and they give me peace of mind. While all the gurus are preaching certain tactics to be successful. He preaches the gospel. The truth. It just makes so much sense, it is impossible to refute.
Steven Pressfield preaches that to become successful you have to overcome resistance.
Resistance is what is standing between you and what you want.
The secret to success is overcoming resistance. Naming it. Understanding it. Truly understanding all of its cunning forms and shapes.
“Resistance is faster than a locomotive, harder to kick than crack cocaine.” — Steven Pressfield
And then doing the work. Resistance is what keeps you from doing the work. It can have many faces such as exhaustion, procrastination, and self-doubt but the root cause is always fear.
It is the enemy within. There is no one else to blame. If there is, it won’t do any good. Resistance has to be bulldozed over. It has to be slayed. Destroyed. We are our own enemy.
“Resistance arises from within. It is self-generated and self-perpetuated. Resistance is the enemy within.” — Steven Pressfield
In the War of Art, Pressfield calls resistance evil. No matter what you believe, if there is evil.. it is resistance.
It is reassuring to know that we are not alone in battling resistance. Everyone that tries to do anything has to overcome it. It is a universal truth. And if you are encountering resistance, it means you are on the right path.
So if you are constantly facing self doubt. Know that you are not alone. It is an indicator that you are on the right path.
“The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death.” — Steven Pressfield
Resistance is what keeps us safe. It keeps us little. It caps our capability. If resistance is telling you that you can’t do it. It is too hard. You don’t have what it takes. Know that this isn’t truth. It is resistance.
“The more important a project is to the evolution of our soul, the more Resistance we will feel to it.”- Steven Pressfield
Overcoming this resistance is mandatory. It is the demand from the universe to be molded, scalded, and morphed into what we truly are. Ripping away unnecessary layers. Ripping off insecurities. Branding us with the scars of struggle.
“If it meant nothing to us, there’d be no resistance.”- Steven Pressfield
Yes if it were easy, it wouldn’t be worth it. Overcoming resistance changes you. The pain of stretching and struggling will forever leave its mark upon you. This is the “work”.
Press on. Rachet down. And get the work done. Overcome resistance. That’s it.
“Our enemy is not lack of preparation; it’s not the difficulty of the project or the state of the marketplace or the emptiness of our bank account. The enemy is our chattering brain, which, if we give it so much as a nanosecond, will start producing excuses, alibis, transparent self-justifications and a million reasons why we can’t/shouldn’t/won’t do what we know we need to do. “- Steven Pressfield
It may be trash at first. Everybody sucks when they first begin. But never beginning is a choice. Succumbing to resistance is a choice.
If you find yourself asking yourself, “Am I really a writer? Am I really an artist?” Chances are, you are. — Steven Pressfield
And perhaps the real end result is not success. It is not the Lambo. The McMansion. The watch. All the reflections of success.
The end result is transformation. Self-actualization. Who are you really?
