The saying goes, if you want to be successful, imitate successful people. At least, that’s the way Dave heard it.
Dave was starting to get lonely. He was in his 30’s, single and looking to settle down and start a family. But he wasn’t any good with women. He’d go to the bars every weekend any try to talk to them, but they’d blow him off… sometimes in a spectacularly embarrassing fashion.
There was another man who frequented the same bars as Dave. This guy was a real pro when it came to picking up women. He wasn’t particularly good looking, he didn’t wear expensive clothing, but he always managed to get the prettiest girl to leave with him night after night.
Dave was determined to learn his secret. If he couldn’t even talk to girls, he’d never be able to find the love and stability he was looking for. He followed this man for weeks to learn the secret.
Every Friday night, before heading to the bar, the man would stop at the church. He’d kneel at the altar, bow his head for a minute, then get up and leave.
Every time he did this he’d leave the bar with a girl. The next morning, he’d go back to the church, kneel at the altar for a moment, then stand up and go home.
It’s prayer Dave thought. He just prays for what he wants and he gets it. But what exactly does he pray for?
One day Dave just couldn’t take it anymore. He caught the man leaving the church and confessed that he’d been following him because he wanted to learn the secrets of how to meet women as effectively as him.
“I just have one question,” Dave said to the man. “What is it that you’re praying for?”
“Praying?” the man said. “I’m not praying. I’m hiding my wedding ring under the altar…”
Imitate Bigger and Better
Dave wanted to get married and create a loving relationship but he imitated someone doing almost the exact opposite. The problem was that Dave was only looking one step ahead. There was a barrier in front of him and he assumed that once he was over that, his worries were gone.
What if Dave had begun to follow a happy couple that had been married for 30 years? A couple that had not only gotten beyond that first barrier, but the hundreds that follow. Would that have made a difference?
I guarantee it would.
The same applies in the business world. If you’re only focusing on the barrier that’s in front of you, and begin imitating people that are good at getting past that, you’ll never really learn the skills that it takes to get ahead. In fact, you’ll likely end up jumping back and forth over the same barrier.
But if you imitate a person or business that has real long term success, and you can successfully mimic their attitudes and actions, your business will be able to grow much faster. The barriers will become steps that you can easily, or at least successfully, deal with.
It’s not enough to imitate one successful action. You have to imitate the action that leads to your ultimate goal.
How do you imitate? Leave a comment and be heard. Then follow me on Twitter and join the conversation.
