The secret To achieving massive goals
From the man who cycled 3257km from Musina to Cape Town
Will you take advice from a merciless quitter?
I have failed more than anybody. I recently quit my job. My businesses collapsed. I am not a superhero with a magic bullet that will make you riches. But I learned something in the chaos that might help you achieve massive goals like I did recently. Will you spare me a few minutes to share?
I am about to tell you a true story
If you believe me, you will be well rewarded. If you don’t believe me, I will make it worth your while to change your mind. Let me explain
2021, February. I got a call. “Vusi, what are your plans? I have a project for you.” That was my former boss.
The previous year, I was the Chief Operating Officer, managing 16 companies and reporting to him. When Covid struck, we closed all companies except 4. Then I took a voluntary retrenchment.
Just when I was about to start afresh, I got a call to re-join one of the 4 companies. This turned out to be the biggest mistake in my life. From being a private wealth client with a metal black card at FNB, I found myself with no food in my house, debt collectors constantly calling, the bank threatening to take my car, depressed and not knowing what to do next.
What happened? More importantly. Why am I sharing all this background story? You will learn from this, a powerful lesson about achieving almost any goal no matter how bad things are.
Here’s what happened.
Quick Success
I joined the business. It was a struggling school – never made a profit in 6 years. Its debt was more than R20m. Parents were not paying school fees. Staff were fighting over salaries.
Within three months after I joined, we bought 500 tablets for all learners and gave them free internet. We also gave laptops to the teachers, and trained them on how to use them. Within months, we doubled distinctions in matric, improved maths and science marks, and received an award from Da Vinci Business school (and TT100).
Betrayal Betrayal
While school was doing well, we still had not solved the money problems. So I took out a second credit card and personal loans to pay salaries while figuring out new sources of income for the school. In a meeting with our banker, one of the directors mistakenly shared that they spent over R300,000 on a party.
I resigned an hour later. How could they spend so much money on a party while we could not pay salaries? It was a moral violation, which leads us to the first lesson.
Never compromise on your values. If you cannot stand by a set of values (no matter what), then you cannot be successful in the long term. Rather make an enemy than sell your soul.
But there is a cost to a values-driven life.
A Leap of Faith
After quitting I decided to do what I had always dreamed of. I started jogging everyday and got a bicycle. Seven months later I announced to my wife that I was cycling the length of South Africa – from Musina to Cape Town.
She asked who I was cycling with. I was doing it alone. No support vehicle. No friends. No one to help if something went wrong.
This leads me to the second crucial lesson. If you want to do something, do it when it is hard and seemingly impossible. If you cannot do it when its hard, you will never get an opportunity to do it when its easy.
Take a leap of faith and bet on yourself to succeed.
Crazy People
On the first day of the journey, I was set to sleep at a guest house in Louise Trichard. When I arrived, the owner wanted to introduce me to a neighbour whose son had also cycled from Musina to Cape Town on a bicycle.
He gave me every piece of advice I had never thought about. He also gave me extra equipment, like a tent, special water bottle cages, a dry bag for rainy days – you name it.
Also, a colleague I had worked with called to share his story. He too had cycled from Johannesburg to Cape Town. Again, he shared insights and lessons.
Throughout the journey I met a lot more cyclists and crazy people. One of them had run from Johannesburg to Cape Town – he was also a colleague. However, there was no way I would have known unless I started.
This is the third lesson. Your tribe, your guides, and your mentors are all around you. But unless you take the first step to show commitment you will never see them.
So take the first few steps and your tribe will suddenly appear. Also know that your tribe will not be the people you expect.
THREE CRAZY PEOPLE
Its easy to think you are the only crazy one. But there are many of us.
The Truth about Goals
Two Types of Goals
My first goal was to cycle from Musina to Cape Town. The second goals was to raise funds for 10,000 school shoes. It became clear that these were two types of goals.
The first depended on my willingness to keep going. I was in charge of that goal. If I stopped, the goal failed. Hence, I call this the individual goal.
The second goal of raising funds was different. No matter what I did, the final decision to donate was with the donor. This goal was based on influence and persuasion instead of grit and hard work like the first one. I call these social goals.
I have no idea why I had never learned this at school, or in a book or somewhere. But this is how I assess goals. First, I separate them into individual goals and social goals. Then I approach them differently.
You will not learn this anywhere.
Dramatic Difference
I am not a coach. I am not a motivational speaker. I am probably the one person that has failed and failed and failed more than most people.
I have lost businesses many times. I have lost houses and had to move back home with my wife and children. I make poor decisions often.
But if there is anything I learned – it is this one fact. The difference between successful people and everyone else is that successful people spend extraordinary amounts of time, effort and investment on self-improvement.
Whether it is reading an article like this. Whether it is buying a book and reading it. Whether it is attending a seminar. Whether it is dumping unproductive friends and creating a positive and supportive circle. Whether it is moving to a city with better opportunities. Whether it is watching enriching movies and having empowering conversations.
The list is endless but the fact is one – successful people bet on themselves.
Some investments like going to a course are expensive – I am currently completing a Masters program at Wits in Applied Ethics.
Other investments cost less, but make an equally positive impact like the workbook I created after my cycling journey.
The Achiever
If you are on a journey of personal growth; if you find this article useful so far; if you want to learn from people who have done it before (and failed and succeeded); if you are serious then my workbook will be helpful – it’s called The Achiever Workbook.
The workbook is easy to follow and write on. It includes five chapter, each focusing on an area of life we often get wrong. Plus, every chapter has a short exercise to soak up its lessons.
As with any medicine, the exercise are hard and may be strange and embarrassing to follow. Although easy to understand, some may take you a month to complete with satisfaction. This is the price for personal transformation.
The price is taking action.
Try it for Free
As you know, the internet is full of empty promises and scams. So, I am making the workbook available for a free 7 day trial.
You can download it now using the link below at no cost if you promise to pay in 7 days. The investment is R250-00. If you look through the workbook and find that it does not offer the best and most practical guidelines for achieving your goals, then no worries. No need to pay anything – you can also keep the book as a gift.
But if you find it useful and worthy of your hard-earned money, then send R250 by EFT to an account I will forward to you after you download. No credit card needed.
Also, I will be available to assist and answer questions via email. Plus, I will invite you to private seminars so you can meet fellow achievers – all free of charge.
What is the catch?
You probably know the saying, there is no free lunch. Well, yes. That is true. The book is not free – the book is R250 but you only pay if you like it. I am willing to give it to you to read through, trusting that you will do the right thing if you find it valuable.
How to order.
Press the Downoad Now button below to go to the shopping cart. You will see the book and the total payable R0-00. Click proceed to enter your details and then finally submit the order to instantly download the book.
I sincerely hope you enjoy it. My email address will be attached in your confirmation email, and I will write you an email in a few days to check-in and see if the book is effective.
Chat soon, Vusi.
DOWNLOAD THEACHIEVER WORKBOOK
From The Guy Man Who Cycled 3257km From Musina To Cape Town
Download theAchiever Workbook and pay in 7 days if you like it. No card needed. Only your contact details to stay in touch.
Copyright: Vusi Sindane, 2024