Every single seminar will tell you the same thing. Every self-help, money management, business, and entrepreneurship book says the same thing. Every stress management, law-of-attraction, manifestation, and chant will do the same thing for you. The thing you are missing is the truth.

No one wants to talk about the cold hard truth of the journey of success. Success isn’t the end-all-be-all…it’s a choice. Entrepreneurship isn’t a destination, it’s a journey. Being a person of influence isn’t a celebrity title, it’s a task. Being “rich” won’t solve your problems, only you can do that.

There are so many topics around success, so many topics about how to be and how not to be. There a lot of important things which need to happen within you before you will see real success, such as forgiveness, gratitude, grit, purpose, self-control, and so much more. Every topic and every step to growth starts with one word, but I won’t sugar coat this. It takes choice.

“Every choice you make has an end result.” – Zig Ziglar

I know, I know, yes people talk about choice all the time, I just needed a catchy title! I’m just kidding. I want to talk with you about the choices you have to make that you won’t want to make and why you aren’t successful yet.

The choices you have to make

If you have been doing this “entre-porn” thing for a while now and not seen many results, I will tell you why. You don’t want it. You don’t want to go through the “what-if’s” or the uncertainty that comes from jumping head first into the freezing waters of success. And yes, the water is freezing.

If you have been working your tail off but you haven’t seen success, you haven’t given it that last bit that you know you need to give in order to become successful. You are holding onto that piece that you hold dear and cannot give up.

If you truly wanted to be successful as bad you say you do, you would have it. Success isn’t just a “result” it’s a feeling. It is defined by society as rich but success looks different to every person on this planet.

Success is different to everyone

To a single mother in Africa whose husband died from famine, success might be that her children make it into school and make it out of poverty themselves. To a young man in the Philippines success might be moving to America and starting a business. To an elderly man suffering from depression success might be spending an entire day without shedding a tear.

What does success mean to you? And what are you willing to give up to reach it?  Are you ready to work 4 jobs to have the money to pay off that loan? Are you willing to sleep 2 hours a night for 6 months straight to get things in order before launching a product? Are you prepared to face the people who only want to leech off of you once you start to make money? What are you willing to give up? Your sleep, your tv, your coffee, your booze, your friends, and even your sanity?

We all know the story from Eric Thomas about the boy being held under water… “When you want success as bad as you want air, then you will be successful.” Do you want success as much as you want to breathe?

“If you don’t sacrifice for what you want, what you want becomes the sacrifice.”

The only way you will find that is to look in the mirror. Face the cold hard truth that the journey to success, which you may hit and then have to fight to get back to again and again, is in freezing water. The only person who can keep you from getting hypothermia is yourself. You have to face yourself.

Figure out what is holding you back and that ultimately comes down to asking yourself – “What am I waiting for?” Have a conversation in the mirror. Once you do that, you will see that the journey through freezing water to that beautiful place that is success for you is very tangible. You just have to choose.

What choice are you going to make today to lead you towards success? Leave your thoughts below!