ABSOLUTE ASCENDANCY

Commencing operation . . .

Overview

On September 21st to 22nd, I had the great pleasure to attend the final Breakthrough Success Summit weekend. It is hosted by a highly successful entrepreneur, Ed J C Smith and the Champion Academy. The event gave me an opportunity to invest in myself, the best kind of investment one can make. There were various speakers throughout the event covering topics such as investing into stock markets and real estate. Most importantly, though, the event was ultimately about investing in yourself, the best investment you can ever make (repeated for emphasis). I learned so much from that weekend that I want to pass on, so read on as I disclose the top ten things I want to share from the Breakthrough Success Summit weekend!

1) First, serve with value, the rest will follow

This was taken in a business context, but I believe this concept is expanded to cover human relations in general. People and businesses that focus on giving and serving more are likely to gain greater returns than otherwise. This is the universal law known as the law of reciprocity, which essentially says that the more you give, the more you get back. 

2) The Power of Inversion

Inversion is a concept of changing the perspective within the mind. For example, when your mind complains that it is too tired, instead ask your body for more energy! Moaning will not change the circumstance but making a request can! You can also apply this concept to your life circumstances. Many people may not know exactly what their ideal life is, but with inversion, they more than likely know what they do NOT want in their life. In Mathematics, this type of deduction is known as a proof by contradiction.

If you cannot figure out what you desire, then work out what you do not want.

Once you have a list of things you do not want, you can aim towards eliminating these to better align yourself with your desired lifestyle!

3) Successful People Make Decisions Quickly

The big boys know that time is a precious commodity which can never be reclaimed once spent. It is a universally finite resource for all individuals. Therefore successful people tend to make all decisions, regardless of scale or impact, quickly and decisively. This is not a hard and fast rule, but it is a standard to aim towards. Indecision is a great lethal killer of aspirations, so be mindful not to fall into the trap of inaction.

4) The opposite of Depression is Expression

Intuitively, I think I have known this for a long time, but when I heard the words, it became crystal clear on a conscious level. I express my soul through my writing, my martial arts, and my music. All of these things keep depression at bay. Find a way to express yourself, and sorrow will crumble before you. The greatest joy in life lies in what you create and not what you consume, so less Netflix and more self-expression.

5) Find People to help you and Imitate Successful People

Get stuck? Get help! Growth and ego do not coexist well together, if at all. I have no shame admitting that there are many things in this world that I lack knowledge in. Fortunately, I know people who can assist me and bridge the gaps in areas that I need a bit more support with. Sometimes an external push from people (perhaps a mentor), can provide a greater motivating force to move forward, than internal will power. I suggest surrounding yourself with supportive people and work towards formulating your will power. This way, you have the support when you need it, but you are also self-reliant. You do not want to lean on others too much; otherwise, you could become a liability to others.

A great way to shortcut yourself to success is to find successful people and copy what they do. If you emulate precisely what they do, then there is no reason that successful results won’t roll in. It may take a bit of time because you may not have the influential reach that successful people have but follow their processes, and in time, you will receive their successes.

6) Think in Terms of Value not Cost

This is why I am a big fan of knowledge-based books. You can check out my recommended reading list here and click here to check out my own books. A well-written book will provide tremendous value for the cost of purchase. If there is even a remote chance of learning at least one useful bit of information from a book, buy it. A single, key idea alone is easily worth the often modest cost of a book.

7) Do not Fight every Battle but Commit Fully to the ones you do

Do not spread yourself too thin and try to cover all of your bases. This approach often leads to widespread mediocrity in all you do. Instead, focus on a few key areas you wish to master and allow yourself to have chinks in your armour; areas you are not so good at, then get people to support you in those fields. There is more value in specialised ability than a jack of all trades approach. This also follows the 80/20 principle, known as Pareto’s Law. Focus your efforts on the 20% of things which produce 80% of your results. Discard the 20% of things which cause 80% of your problems.

8) Overwhelm is a Sure Sign of Growth

If you are comfortable, then you are not growing. The feeling of fear, the sense of overwhelm, these are indicators of growth. Sure, they are initially discomforting, but no emotion is of a permanent nature. If you learn to sit with these feelings, they pass. Become comfortable swimming with the sharks, and you can pervade any ocean. Learn to listen within fear, and you will become an unstoppable force. All things either grow or die.

Growth and death are mutually exclusive.

What this means is that if you are not growing and improving yourself, then you are dying. Make growth a commonality for if you do not, you may end up becoming one of the living dead. Make your mission more significant than your fear, and you will conquer.

9) Information for Free, Implementation for Fee

We live in the age of digital information, where everything is easily accessible and available everywhere. No longer do people need to pay for information; they can simply search for whatever they want to know online and find what they need. It is no longer feasible to just sell information unless it is packaged with methods to apply the knowledge.

10) I must start before I am ready, that is how I get ready

Seldom is the person who is truly prepared when diving into a new venture. Take action, big or small and figure it out as you go along, because the longer you wait to jump in, the tougher it becomes. When you have no choice but to make it happen, you will find a way to do so.

11) Give up External Validation

External validation can be fleeting at best. Better to fight for a cause you believe in and have internal approval, than bend yourself backward to fit in with society. No matter what you do; there will be people who will stand in opposition so might as well do what you approve of, regardless of the opinions of others. Trust in what you do, and you will find that others will too.

12) Time is the one constant among us all

All other factors in life will vary, but all humans from the mightiest to the slackers, share the same 24 hours each day. Let us not ruin the quote by breaking into quantum physics and claiming that time is relatively perceived by each individual. It’s not that you do not have enough time; it’s that you have not prioritised yourself effectively.

13) Every Master was once a Disaster, and every Winner was once a Beginner

No one starts at an expert level; we all begin near enough at the bottom and have to grind our way up through to become accomplished at any particular skill. Even the talented will eventually hit walls which can only be surmounted through constant effort. A pro is someone who has more or less made all the blunders within their field of expertise.

Conclusion

There were thirteen points, not ten!

Yeah, you got me! I gave an extra three as a special bonus. How’s that for going above and beyond? Anyway, I hope at least some of those pointers are as eye-opening for you as they were for me. Finally, thank you so much Ed J C Smith for hosting an intensive and incredible weekend!

Mission complete – Overlord Drakow signing out.