Richard Dreyfuss as Irv Gordon tells Nia Vardalos as Georgia Habchi in My Life In Ruins to ... "stop looking for obstacles!"

Georgia was listing reason upon reason why she couldn't do certain things. Why she couldn't achieve certain goals. Why she couldn't change her approach to make her dream a reality. Irv Gordon finally interrupted her with this one simple line..."Stop looking for obstacles!"

The line stopped Georgia in her tracks. It was the turning point or tipping point that made her change her life around so that she achieves what she really wanted out of life. It was when Georgia stopped looking for reasons why something couldn't happen or why she couldn't do something different that her life found meaning and she actually achieved what she wanted out of life.

We as technologists are so focused on solving problems (or obstacles) that we look for them first. We listen for reasons why something won't work. We list reasons why something can not be achieved. We are...looking for obstacles.

Many times these obstacles become excuses why NOT to do something. They cover up our fears (false evidence appearing real). They stop us from hoping, from dreaming, from acting on something that will lead us to successful and fulfilling lives.

Time after time, I hear one person talking to another about obstacles that may never occur thereby stopping them from taking a chance. He or she lets the possibility of an obstacle get in his/her way of success.

• I can't write a book because my grammar isn't that good.
• I can't become a professional speaker because I have a family to tend to.
• I can't find the time to read these books because of my workload.
• I won't get published because I don't have connections.
• I won't get promoted because Julia has a better relationship with manager Pete.
• I won't get that job because I don't have the laundry list the recruiter says are needed.

To quote President John F Kennedy: "Once you say you're going to settle for second, that's what happens to you in life." Or to paraphrase: Once you allow an obstacle to prevent action, you stop the possibility of success. You waste time.

The people that succeed in this world:

1. Have a positive attitude on achievability
2. Are focused on a single objective
3. Are persistent on achieving an/one's objective
4. Obstacles are dealt with when presented and not as the end of the road.

So...what can you do about it?

Keep A Positive Attitude In All Circumstances

I was so touched by the documentary White Light / Black Rain: The Destruction Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki. Featuring interviews with fourteen atomic bomb survivors, many of whom have never spoken publicly before, and four Americans intimately involved in the bombings, White Light/Black Rain provides a detailed exploration of the bombings and their aftermath. As Sakue Shimohira, ten years old at the time, says of the moment she considered killing herself after losing the last member of her family: I realized there are two kinds of courage: the courage to die and the courage to live.

The documentary was not easy to watch. The horror that the survivors live through even today is intense. To my surprise were the couple of people that, despite the handicaps induced by the radiation, they had a positive attitude to make the most of it. They had the courage to live and make the most out of the life they had. Each of these positive individuals would NOT let deformed bodies become obstacles.

The positive attitude didn't come out of words. The positive attitude towards life came out through their actions. Sure, they were angry but the ones that made the most out of their lives didn't let the anger consume them. Sure, the worry that the radiation they had endured would be passed on to grandchildren and great- grandchildren was of real concern. They did not let it consume their thoughts on making the most out of the hands they were dealt.

If these individuals, surviving such a horrible event and the aftermath, wouldn't let it deter them from achieving as much as possible out of life...why should you and me? All of these individuals had real obstacles that they needed to acknowledge, accept, and work through. Each one would not allow it to end the road to achieving success.

Positive Attitude is a major factor in one's ability to succeed. The Yes You Can attitude will find ways around obstacles.

What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts. George Bernard Shaw

How is your attitude towards achievement? Positive?

Focus On One Goal

Have no goals and you won't achieve any. Without goals you have no direction and will wander from one idea to another, never reaching anything significant. Real successful people had the goal to be something or achieve something specific. The clearer the definition of the goal, the easier it is to plan and work towards the goal.

Other people have had multiple of successes. He or she has had smaller goals and worked steadily towards them. These include: learning how to play golf, learning how to speak a foreign language and getting married and having a family. All are important to the individual. While achieving the goal, he or she is clearly focused.

Vague goals are obstacles in themselves. I know different people that change what they want to achieve with the wind. It isn't that he or she takes a different or circuitous path to get to a goal...they don't stick to a goal and work towards it at all. As a result, he or she isn't committed to anything and achieves very little.

Without a single, clearly defined goal, you can not have a plan. Without a plan, you can not see possibilities beyond any obstacles that come your way. Instead, obstacles will blur your ability to focus and achieve anything.

Can you clearly define a single goal that you are working to achieve?

Persistence

It takes years to be a success. It takes 10,000 hours, according to Malcolm Gladwell, to excel in a skill. To work at something takes persistence despite the curve balls and bumps that come your way.

Your dream may not be feasible immediately. You may need to keep your day job to build on what my friend calls "Capital Fusion..." working other jobs to make money for what you really want.

Scott Adams, author of the Dilbert Comic Strip, got up early every day to work for two hours on Dilbert before going to work. Once he arrived home from Pacific Bell Labs, he worked for another two hours. He did this for years. At first, for no pay. He wanted to have a comic strip. He kept his day job for six years after first launching Dilbert. Even now, Scott does one cartoon per morning including weekends and holidays. If he knew he wouldn't be able to develop one because of travel...he planned ahead and developed two (or three). Talk about persistent!

Obstacles? Read this from Wikipedia:

In recent years, Adams has had a series of debilitating health problems. Since late 2004, he has suffered from a reemergence of his focal dystonia which has affected his drawing,[2] though he can work around the problem by drawing using a graphics tablet. He also suffers from spasmodic dysphonia, a condition that causes the vocal cords to behave in an abnormal manner. He recovered from this condition temporarily but in July 2008 underwent surgery to rewire the nerve connections to his vocal cord. As of October 2008, Adams reports he has regained the ability to speak, though not yet to shout.[3] His condition is expected to continue improving over time as the nerve pathways regenerate.

Scott Adams was persistent from the moment he decided he wanted to create a comic strip that would be in lots of papers and have merchandise associated with it. Dilbert Comic Strips are still being produced because Scott Adams is persistent! Obstacles were dealt with when they occurred. Even when faced with obstacles, he stayed focused and persistent.

How persistent are you when obstacles appear?

Why Not You?

Ever question what you are doing with your life? Do you have a life plan that seems to have more bumps and curves than Lombard Street in San Francisco, CA, USA? Are you disappointed with your progress? Why is it that you see others succeeding and you don't.

Everyone questions themselves several times during life's journey. It is the right of passage as we grow older and learn more about life. One needs to learn how to ease his or her way by working with obstacles instead of allowing them to stop you in your progress. Said another way via George Bernard Shaw: Some look at things that are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were and ask why not?

OK. I admit that, like President John F Kennedy, I'm an idealist without illusions. I have a single goal that I work steadily on with focus and persistence. I'm positive I will achieve my goal. I know that with a positive attitude I will be able to work around any obstacle. I know it will take time...sometimes more time than I anticipated. Yet...to quote John F Kennedy again: We must use time as a tool, not as a couch. I use time to learn or practice my skills to enhance my ability to work with obstacles and not let obstacles stop me in my tracks.

If your life is in ruins...stop looking for obstacles!

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