Inspirational Emails > Key's To Success Series

"It's rewarding for your plans to develop. That's why fools refuse to give them up even when they are wrong." Proverbs 13:19

In other "success keys," we've pointed out that focused attention, discipline, strategic planning and, yes, even perseverance were necessary elements of achieving your goal or your life's ambition.

However, most success formulas overlook the necessity for flexibility. We all need to know when to strategically retreat (two steps forward, one step backward), adjust our timelines, modify or even change our goals. You don't give up, you just decide to "go for it" in a more effective manner. Or, you redefine "it" to reflect both your current desire and ability.

Many ignore "feedback" and the need to continually re-examine, update or totally jettison outmoded tactics at our own risk: In the 18th and 19th centuries, when the world's mightiest empire (Britain) refused to adjust their stodgy military tactics (hey, those guys in America and Afghanistan hid behind rocks and trees when they fired, but not us, we're determined to stand tall in our easy-to-target bright red coats!), they were decimated, humiliated or both.

When parents try use the same discipline techniques they did on pre-adolescents on their teenagers, frustration is inevitable.

Businesses that refuse to adjust their product or marketing campaign to track changes in customer taste don't stay in business very long.

Flexibility in knowing when to alter your course is crucial. It takes wisdom, and sometimes the wisdom of our "advisors," to distinguish between "giving up" or "getting smarter."

One key: The objective may remain the same: buy a house, win the girl, get that job, etc., but our plan to achieve our goals (tactics, timelines, etc.) will often need modifying. That's flexibility.

by C.V. Doner

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