The Next Three Feet

Did you know that the secret to success could be summed up in one word? No? Well, read on.

For over 45 years, we have been studying success. Some of the most successful people in the world were Lou Tice’s students, and in return, we learned a great deal from them. We have also spent a lot of time in the company of some of the world’s most respected research psychologists, talking about what makes some people succeed and others collapse – the difference, in short, between the can’s and the can-nots, and the do’s and the do-nots.

So, after all these years of studying and researching, we can say this with the utmost confidence: The secret of success is “attitude.” That’s it – Attitude. And let’s face it. It isn’t really a secret.

People who succeed do not have fewer problems than other people. They do not start out with greater brainpower, or better parents, or more money, either. As a matter of fact, sometimes they start out working against incredible odds. But they have a way of looking at things, a way of seeing obstacles as possibilities, and a way of hanging in there and making the most of every opportunity, that almost guarantees success.

As celebrated climber Royal Robbins once reported, “When it’s been a long day of climbing, and I feel like I can’t go any farther, I concentrate on the next three feet. And then the next three feet; and then the next three feet. Pretty soon, I’m at the top.”

Successful people are flexible, optimistic and hard working. If you want to sum it up in a word, it is not difficult to do: Success, more than anything else and without a doubt, is a question of attitude. The good news about attitudes is that they can be changed, and we are in charge of our own attitudes.

So, what is your attitude about your “next three feet?”