Shortcuts, Secrets, Tricks, Magic Bullets, and Shiny Objects

Shortcuts: There isn’t any way to produce the results you need without doing the work that producing those results requires of you. If someone is selling that there is a shortcut that is made up of you not having to do the work, then it isn’t a shortcut; it’s a recipe for failure. The only real shortcut to producing results is to learn and execute proven strategies, i.e. training, coaching, modeling successful people, etc.

Secrets: Anything that is commonly called a secret is nothing more than common knowledge and the collective wisdom of the ages. Most common knowledge can safely be called secrets because most salespeople don’t execute on the fundamentals. There are no secrets; it’s just that most people aren’t willing to do what is required to produce the result they want, so it might as well be a secret.

Tricks: Tricks are usually the same thing as secrets. But when they’re not, they’re usually bad ideas. They’re ideas that step just over the line when it comes to honesty, integrity, professionalism, and craftsmanship. Like when someone says, “Here is a trick to get someone to call you back.” Tricks are never a good idea.

Magic Bullets: Magic bullets are the single answer to all of your problems, issues, and challenges. The idea is that if you buy the magic bullet, your sales will skyrocket. You know these because they come with the warning that if you don’t buy the magic bullet, your doomed to fail. You know in your heart that is no magic bullet. Nothing worthwhile comes easy, and nothing good is free.

Shiny Objects: It’s brand new and exciting. Everybody says it’s hot. It produces breakthrough results like nothing you’ve ever seen. And then the next “next” big thing comes along. But if the last shiny object was the answer to all of your prayers, why do you continually need a new shiny object? The truth is that shiny objects are fads. They are a reframing of an old truth. Chasing shiny objects only wastes your time, time that would be invested elsewhere.

The Fundamentals: There isn’t anything sexy about the fundamentals. In fact, they’re kind of boring. You know a great deal about what you need to know and what you need to do, but you don’t do what is necessary because it’s difficult to execute the fundamentals well. So you look for easy answers, like shortcuts, secrets, tricks, magic bullets, and shiny objects. But fast is slow, and slow is fast.

But the path to long term success and high performance runs straight through the fundamentals. There isn’t a straighter or faster method to get where you want to go. You just have to do the work.

Questions

Why are easy answers so seductive?

What hooks you? Secrets? Tricks? Magic bullets?

What is the latest shiny object that’s caught your attention? Is it really the answer or is it another fad in a long line of fads that have hooked you?

Why do we avoid the fundamentals when we know, intellectually anyway, that they’re what works?