VN June 2023

Vetnuus | June 2023 34 I hope this article finds you and your families well and safe!!! Last month we discussed the importance of belief in pursuing one’s goals, the significance of action versus talking about your goals, as well as the very much-needed elements of repetition and courage. One of the most common questions I get as a life coach revolves around how to succeed. What is the “secret” to success? I have had clients who have worked with kind-hearted friends and colleagues, family members, mentors, inspirational acquaintances, life coaches, people trying to do the same thing, people who have already achieved what they are pursuing, their spouses for support and loyalty, optimists, and many other forms of support. The fundamental secret to success will be demonstrated in a short story below: A young man living on a farm once asked the next-door neighbour, a well- known and very successful farmer in his own right, the secret to success. The farmer patiently listened to the youngster’s question and suggested theymeet near the river the following day for the answer. Their properties met at the bottom of the hill, and a river flowed through the land not too far away. The young man spent most of the night awake in anticipation of the meeting the next day, running a myriad of scenarios through his mind and wondering whether he could guess what was to be shared with him. There was an element of apprehension, too, as the successful farmer seemed all toowilling to help, and he was not expecting that. In fact, on a fewprevious occasions when he approached successful farmers in the past, they all seemed very reluctant to share the details of their activities for fear of creating competition for themselves and losing subsequent business opportunities and/or income. The next day finally arrived, the two farmers met at the predetermined location, and the friendly neighbouring farmer asked the young man to walk with him towards the river. The conversation was rather basic and non- specific, with basic greetings and general conversation but nothing revealing the secret to the success of the well-known farmer next door. Upon reaching the river, the young man asked why they had to walk down to the river. His neighbour said he was about to reveal the secret to success. He took off his boots, socks and heavy clothing and entered the river’s water. He, the young man, was standing motionless and confused for a while. The farmer wading through the water that was now reaching up to his waist beckoned to the youngster, saying, “In a very short period of time, you will know the secret to success – come and join me!!!” The young man did as he was told and joined his neighbour, now covered up to his chest with water. The young man did not care too much for his clothes getting wet and the temperature of the water but remained sceptic about how the secret to success would be shared under these circumstances and not in a more conventional teaching scenario, sitting at a table with pen and paper and taking notes as the farmer shared his knowledge. Before he could form any more questions in his mind, the farmer surprisingly pushed the youngster’s head underwater and held him there. The young man struggled to reach the surface, but the farmer was strong and kept him there until he turned blue. Finally, the farmer pulled the young man’s head out of the water. The young man gasped and took a deep breath of air. The farmer asked, “What did you want themost when your headwas in the water?” The youngman replied, “AIR.” The farmer then said, “That is the secret to success. When you want success as badly as you wanted the air while you were in the water, then you will get it. There is no other secret.” A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishments. Just like a small fire cannot give much heat, a weak desire cannot produce great results. Often, I speak to clients who struggle to achieve their goals, yet they miss out on appointments, do not do what they need to do to progress, blame others for their failure and justify their poor results with stories and excuses. However, once they take responsibility for their actions and work hard to get the “AIR” they need to breathe, they find the way to succeed and continue their quest. In sports, commentators often say, “Winning depends on who wants it the most”. Next month, we will continue looking at other concepts and ideas and improving our quality of life and overall performance both at work and at home. v Influential Life Coaching THE“SECRET” TO SUCCESS Dr Mats Abatzidis B.Sc. B.V.Sc. New Insights Certified VIP Life Coach mats.abatzidis@yahoo.co.za Founder of Influential Life Coaching http://www.matsaba.wix.com/drmatscoach Author of the published book“Life outside your comfort zone. Better and beyond all expectations”. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref =nb_sb_noss?url=search- alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Abatzidis http://www.life-coach-directory.co.za/mats-abatzidis Vet's Health I Life Coaching