Brian Tracy writes that the best way to know something can be accomplished is to see that someone has done it. Success leaves clues and we can use those example to reach our goals faster. We don’t need to reinvent everything to reach our goals, but instead just need to find the combination of tools, strategies, and habits that work best for us. We can find examples to follow for all of those from ones who have come before us and succeeded.
Progress is the goal: we may model another’s behaviors or strategies and find they work great for us or not at all, but either way, we’re making progress. Sampling these different models will speed your advancement and learning far more than trying to think up new strategies from scratch. There is no shortage of success models so find the ones that most resonate with you.
For example, if you want to write a novel, you can turn to the many successful authors like Stephen King and Steven Pressfield who have written about the process of writing. They lay out their models for when and how much to write each day, how they interact with editors, what tools they’ve used to produce their best work, and how they manage the emotional challenges in producing successful titles. You may not be able to emulate all that they do, but you’ll find your successful model much faster than if you tried to reinvent writing habits on your own.
This strategy also works in small ways too. I have a friend who makes new friends so effortlessly and has a natural way of helping those new friends make connections over shared interests. He’s a master connector. I want to be better at making friends and putting people at ease so I’ve been observing him a little more closely to see how he talks to people, what they respond to, and why they are so grateful to become friends. His style is different than mine, but watching him has helped me create my own toolkit that fits with my personality and communication style.
Finally, you may be thinking that you don’t personally know enough people successful in the ways you want to be, but there are no shortage of amazing biographies and autobiographies you can read to see the way that both modern and historical figures have reached their goals, built businesses, developed life-saving treatments, wrote amazing works, and just lived lives of positive impact in the world. Read and then put what you learn into action in your own life.