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A Wave of Change
The Shark told the Goldfish, “Your problem is that you are a goldfish. You are waiting to be fed. That’s fine during the fat times when all sorts of people are feeding you. But you’re in the ocean now. You have to work a little harder. You need to be a little smarter. You need to change your thinking. You need to become a shark. Goldfish wait to be fed. Sharks go out and find food. Now let me show you how to be a shark and we’ll go to find food together.”
Step One: Embrace the Wave of Change
Every day you have to choose whether you are going to be a shark or a goldfish—whether you are going to wait to be fed or whether you are going to find food. Each day you make this choice with your beliefs, thoughts, and actions.
You have more control than you think you do.
As a goldfish, there is little within your control. You swim around in your little safe world waiting to be fed. As a shark in training you believe you can influence your situation and your outcome by your positive thoughts, beliefs, and actions.
You can’t control the fact that you were hit hard by a wave of change. You can’t control the fact that the free food has dried up. You can’t control the actions of others. But you can control your positive thoughts and your positive responses to these events and challenges, and in turn this will determine the outcome. This principle is summed up by the Positive Shark Formula:
Events (E) + Positive Response (P) = Outcome (O)
Too many fish allow the waves of life to crush them. Instead they must learn to ride them. The fact is, bad events happen to everyone. Everyone is tested in the ocean. Life is going to deal everyone waves of adversity and change, but what matters most is how you respond.
Researchers were surprised to learn that even highly successful sharks all had bad things happen to them, just like all the other fish in the ocean. But the successful ones did something different. They all used the bad event and turned it into good. While they were in the midst of their challenge, they looked for the opportunity. As a result, they turned their misfortune into fortune.
You can make a wave of change your enemy by resisting it, which is like trying to swim against it. Or you can embrace the change, make it your friend, learn from it, and ride the wave.
Step Two: Ride the Waves of Change
To thrive, you must embrace and ride the waves of change.
You trust that adversity is not the end, but the beginning of something better and greater.
Ask the right questions:
- What can I learn from this experience?
- How can I grow wiser, stronger and better because of it?
- What opportunities does it present?
- What do I want?
- What positive actions do I need to take?
It’s almost as if the wave of change gives us the opportunity to start over.
Adversity is not the end, but the beginning of something better.
If you think your best days are behind you, they are.
If you think your best days are ahead of you, they are.
Step Three: Stay Positive During Change
Knowing how to think and act must become what you really think and do.
Finding food is about more than embracing change and responding to negative events with a positive perspective. It is also about staying positive in the face of the “chorus of negativity”— the naysayers you interact with every day, the doubters who say you can’t do.
Your belief must be greater than all the negativity and doubt.
Positive beliefs lead to powerful actions.
Positive fish find more food.
You can choose to listen to the cynics and doubters and believe that success is impossible or you can tune them out, strengthen your belief, and know that with faith and an optimistic attitude all things are possible. You can listen to all the negative voices or focus on your positive choices.
Choose faith over fear.
What fear and faith have in common is a future that hasn’t happened yet. Fear believes in a negative future. Faith believes in a positive future.
No one said living in the ocean was easy. That’s why now more than ever, choosing faith is so important. Faith helps you overcome the fear that sabotages your joy and success. It helps you get through tough times when you just want to give up. Faith gives you energy and hope and inspiration.
Your faith and belief in a positive future leads to powerful actions today.
The ocean is huge and full of resources and opportunity. When you expect to find food, you do.
You need to think big and expect there is enough for everyone, especially you.
Expect success, and you will find it.
The only one who can limit your possibilities is you.
Don’t let your past determine your future.
Instead of being disappointed about where you are, be optimistic about where you are going.
Step Four: Thrive Because of Change
Being positive is essential and it’s where all success starts. But to thrive you must work harder than everyone in the ocean. There’s no substitute for hard work.
Focus on finding food. Tune out distractions.
It’s not just about working hard, but also focusing on what you want.
Consider, “What are the three most important things I need to do today that will help me find the food.”
Tune out all the distractions that try to sabotage your success, and focus on taking action. Don’t let all the irrelevant time and energy zappers get in the way of accomplishing your goal. Be more focused than the other fish.
Focus is something that can be learned and applied. It is a skill. You just need to practice and commit to it. Everyone can learn to focus and when they do they’ll start to thrive instead of merely survive.
Don’t settle.
If you incrementally improve each day, each week, each month, and each year, you’ll become one of the top food finders in the entire ocean. You can’t settle for being average. You can’t be satisfied with merely surviving. You have to work hard and focus on thriving. Every day that you choose to work hard and not settle is a day that leads to the life that you want.
You won’t find food sleeping under a rock.
Know what you want, work hard, and focus on getting it.
Learn from others and model their success.
A Shark School for Goldfish
- Ride the waves of change.
- You have more control than you think you do.
- Focus on the opportunity, not the challenge.
- You are not a victim but a hero in your own inspirational story.
- Your belief must be greater than the chorus of negativity.
- Positive fish find more food.
- Trust in the ocean of abundance and expect success.
- Faith in a positive future leads to powerful actions today.
- There’s no substitute for hard work.
- Be humble and hungry.
