I wanted to take a few minutes to expand upon why I chose today’s Walt Disney’s quote for Daily Positive Points. I realize that a lot of people struggle when they go off on a new quest and end up giving up. That is why today’s quote is so special to me. Here’s the quote again: “The difference in winning and losing is most often… not quitting.”
It was one year ago that I was about ready to call it quits and shut down my work with the site and Daily Positive Points. I had tried unsuccessfully to launch my book, STINKIN’ THINKIN’ STINKS on three previous occasions. It was as if I was pushing a rope trying to get it ready to launch. I felt I was doing all the right things, practicing all the right mental techniques and staying focused on my goals but it wasn’t working.
I woke up and was in a lousy mood. Something happened with my Daily Positive Points email where I believe I had a few un-subscribers. I logged into the database to see there wasn’t a whole lot of positive movement with the list size for the previous 3-4 months. It was also time to start on the next month’s Daily Positive Points messages and I started asking a few very self-defeating questions. They were, “Why am I even doing this?”; “Why can’t I catch a break?”; and “Why me? I’ve given up so much to help others and now this?”
Yea, I know, pity party for sure. Those kinds of questions and thought patterns will get you nowhere and nowhere fast! I then realized that those questions will result in nothing. Asking lousy questions returns lousy answer. I changed my thoughts and I then asked, “What message am I missing?”
The next day I got the answer. I realized what I was missing. It was fear. Yep, my old lost buddy, fear. I was afraid that I would fail in my book launch dooming me to mediocrity. If any of you know me at all, you know that I do not take defeat very well. Whether it was in sports or business. I have always excelled at both but somehow doubt had crept in and was fogging up my mind. Having awareness and accepting that I wasn’t quitting based upon a fear, I then asked, “How may I serve?” and “What can I do to help reach a bigger audience?”
And then, out of nowhere, Tony Robbins retweeted one of my tweets that day! Really? Within an hour, I had picked up about 100 new followers. I got close to 500 retweets and over 300 favorites. This small thing helped me realize that things can change in a single instant. About a few weeks later, Tony retweeted another one of my tweets and I got similar results.
I am now not only a bestselling author, but an international bestselling author. I maintained #1 rankings in 5 categories on Amazon and went all the way to #317 on Barnes and Nobel’s overall book ranking! Just think what would have happened if I quit?
This was a great reminder to never give up. You may need to change strategies but never give up. Ask better questions and you will get better answers.
With gratitude,
Bill
Here was today’s Daily Positive Points for reference:
Today’s Message
Sometimes when everything seems to be falling apart, just sticking with it a little longer is the perfect solution. That goal that seems out of reach right now will be tomorrow’s headlines if you just hang in there.
Today’s Quote
“The difference in winning and losing is most often… not quitting.” ~ Walt Disney