Who Is Your No 1 Competitor As A Wealthy Affiliate?
I swam competitively for many years, starting at the age of 7 years. My Dad was also a competitive swimmer and when we moved to England he wasted no time in taking me to the Olympic-sized swimming pool and throwing me in the deep end. I thought my life would end that day as I struggled to gain traction and keep myself afloat.
As I bobbed up and down, I could see him standing at the edge of the pool watching me. I went through a dozen emotions not understanding what he was doing to me and why. After what felt like an eternity, he jumped in, hugged me and took me to safety.
As we sat on the pool's edge looking at the water he explained his method. "I wanted to see how long you would endure before giving up. But, you never did. And that is what being competitive means. Working WITH yourself to find YOUR strength and YOUR way."
Even at such a young age, that was a profound lesson that I now pass on to my daughter.
Do Not Measure Yourself Against Anyone Else
This message was a simple one.
Never use anyone else as your yardstick. Find your passion and your strengths. Know your weaknesses and what you need to do to improve them. Take all that knowledge and seek out who and what you need to construct your support system for success.
It begins with you and your knowing. You are the only one who can determine those things. You may choose to have a Coach and guidance from others but your head, heart instinct will talk to you loudly.
Listen to them, trust them and adjust accordingly.
You Are Your No 1 Competitor
Many of our Wealthy Affiliate Members have been reaching out privately to me for support and assistance. I value that because it means that I am now recognised as someone credibility and with the ability to help.
I always do when asked. If I cannot, I will refer to a source that can.
My biggest take-away from these requests however, is the view that so many Members have of themselves and the fact that you are trying to do things because others have. You see them being successful at something or in some way and you immediately start to measure yourself against their achievements.
- Do you even know if it will work for you?
- Or how long it took them to get there?
- Or how it fits into your strategy or Niche?
- Have you allowed it to take you away from the structured and proven training system her at Wealthy Affiliate (WA)?
Yes, we are flooded with good ideas every day, but if your are running a race and you are constantly looking at what your competitors are doing you will lose your balance and eventually fall over.
And you know what? They will pass you by and leave you where you fall because they are focused on reaching their goal. It may not be intentional and they may want to stop and pull you up, but they know that they have to get to where they are going.
This is how the world works.
"The world is not interested in the storms that you encountered,
but did you bring in the ship?"
Let Go Of The Negative Emotions
Measuring yourself against others will be depressing and demotivating. There will always be people more successful than you - depending on how you define that.
So . . . do not do it.
You and your mind are your competitors. You may not achieve everything that you want to everyday, but let that go at the end of each day, get a good night's rest and come back early in the morning with the strength to do better than you did yesterday.
THAT is your measure!
You have more support and opportunities in this WA world than you can ever begin to imagine. The success that you attain here is only up to YOU.
I wish you much, much success along your journey.
Live Well | Travel Light | Change The Script | Love What You Do
Cassi
Recent Comments
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Such a good point Cass. I think I’m the beginning because it’s all so new and you have access to people on here who have been doing it a long time with success it’s very hard to not want to try and duplicate that. But you’re so right. It gets to a point where you have to just take things in your own direction. That comes with confidence in yourself and your learnings and it makes this whole journey far more fun and exciting. The World suddenly becomes your Oyster!
Alexandra,
This happens with anything new.
But remember that you also have a lot of experience and learning under your belt.
Think about transposing all that YOU have into your new career.
There is a lot that you can teach us, I am sure. 😊
I look forward to supporting you along YOUR journey.
Cassi
Ha! I’m learning everyday and the fun part is utilising those learnings and seeing my website grow.
Cassi, you rock; plain & simple. And...
With each & every one of your rivetingly informative immediately applicable blog posts, you provide your rapidly expanding fan base (including me) with a tad bit more insight into WHY & HOW you have become such an exemplary yet breathtakingly humble human being. Btw...
Contrary to your typical response/reaction, I'm not just being "kind" cuz you really do rock Cassi! You've just got WAY to much humility to admit it. So, I'll toot your horn for you Your Awesomeness!
Take care, continue to be well and I'll most certainly see you @ the pinnacle of success.
Gratefully & Respectfully Yours...
Charles
Charles,
These are the reasons I LOVE our Community at WA. 😊
The encouragement and motivation to get better every day are truly priceless.
Thank you again for your very kind words and for your support.
I wish you much success also.
Cassi
Super post Cassi! And thank you for sharing.
Learning to push yourself and find the way around or over the obstacles in your path by yourself is the "right" way. I learned this from my father as you did and it was how they taught us flying when going to flight school in the air force
From doing martial arts almost all my life there is a saying:
"It's not about being better than someone else, it's about being better than you were the day before"
- Roy-
Perhaps that is why we seem to understand each other well, Roy.
My Dad was in the British Army and taught me many of the valuable lessons he learned there.
They serve me well today and I know, as I pass them on to my daughter, that they will serve her well too.
As soon as you start measuring yourself against another you are creating unseen barriers for yourself.
Those barriers hold you back and keep you in a mental and emotional prison for which only you hold the key.
YOU are your most powerful ally!
Thank you for all your support.
Cassi
Hallo Cassi, thank you for sharing this personal story. I salute your grit & tenacity, and I salute your Dad. As an ex-british soldier, I have been through similar tests. It reminds me of a true story of how in the old land of Tibet, when a child was born, after a certain time, the baby would be tested in cold water (a river) for a certain amount of time. If the baby survived the shock and lived, when pulled out of the water, then it had a right to live. If it did not survive and soon died, then it was proof that it should not live. The reason: the extremes of temperature in Tibet are formidable. If a baby did not survive, it should not live because it would become a burden to the whole community. In this western world, your story is a valuable reminder to us all to keep our focus where it belongs. By the way Cassi, my Dad was also a swimmer and swam across the channel waters from from England to France. I also have a kids swim story with my Dad - but another time. Thanks again. Best wishes, Bruce.
Bruce, this is why I LOVE! WA!!
My Dad was in the British Army and also a competitive swimmer who looked like Mark Spitz. 😊
I worshipped Mark Spitz because of my Dad and still consider him the world's best competitive swimmer (to me).
Ain't that a coincidence?!
I am a practising Lay Tibetan Buddhist and I have heard about that practice.
Charles Darwin calls it "Survival of the Fittest".
Today we say" "Fit to Fight"
There is much that we can learn from the wisdom of these theories and practices.
Thank you for your recognition and motivation.
I appreciate your support.
Cassi
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Well said, Cassi
My grandmother always told me "Never compare yourself to others. Every pot have to sit on its own bottom."( Of course it was said in crucian dialect.)
So, I really don't take on people with their posturing. They want theirs and sometimes leave you holding the bundle.
At any rate, I can only do what I can and certainly leave the rest for another day.
Cool and real vibes, my friend.
Kindly,
Maxine :)
"Never compare yourself to others. Every pot have to sit on its own bottom."
In Trinidad, we say, "Every dog has its day" or "Not everybody like duck".
Stay true to your own path, Maxine. 🙂
Thank you for sharing.
Cassi
You're welcome Cassi.
Keep succeeding because you're an awesome inspiration.
Maxine :)
I appreciate that, Maxine.
Thank you and have a good week.
Cassi
You're most welcome, Cassi.
Maxine :)
🙂
🙂