Do we really want what we want?

“Want to have a luxury car in two months?” This is the seductive question for participants of various seminars about making people rich.

“Want to be rich?” This is the enticing attraction of books about making people wealthy.

The promise of success and winning has a mass appeal. Many assume that more things equate to success.

Here are the common wants:

I want to have more money.

I want to have a big house in an upscale subdivision.

I want to have a luxury car.

Other wants are reasonable.

I want a healthy marriage.

I want good, responsible and successful kids.

I want a promotion.

I want to be healthy.

I want to live longer.

I want to retire but remain comfortable.

I would like us to think about this; what we want are words, desires and wishes.

This is what I constantly tell young people every time I am invited to speak in schools; we are the summaries of the choices we make every day. My life today is exactly the way I want it, I am where I am because of the choices I have made.

We have what we want.

The choices I made led to the actions I took. The actions and decisions I took resulted to what I am and what I have today.

I run a children science education franchise from Canada, and the staff are extremely creative and fun loving young people. Why so? Because ever since the start, I have chosen ‘Fun and Cleverness’ as company cultures, and this is exactly what we have now.

I give talks almost everyday. I do trainings in leadership, excellence and soft skills topics. I have chosen to do all these many years ago. I have chosen it because I wanted it, not because economy, people or some circumstances forced me to do it.

If we look at this concept of success, then it becomes simple to understand.

Our lives today are the results of the actions we have taken because of the choices we have made. Our lives today aren’t the result of the words we have said or the desires we have kept, they are the fruit of our actions. We do not think of our way to success. This is a fallacy. We cannot imagine or visualize ourselves to success. This concept is not even intelligent. What we did before led to where we currently are and to what we currently have.

Some people said to me, “Francis, my life is all messed up. My wife left me, my kids hate me and my business is going down the drain. I made a mistake.”

Did this person make a mistake or did he make a choice?

The same principle happens to business organizations. Take a look at the following examples:

• There are irresolvable conflicts among executives in your organization. You chose to ignore it when it was still solvable. This is what you have today.

• Your people are not doing their best. They are clock-watchers and their performance is mediocre. You never gave importance to training. This is why they are what they are today.

• You are losing customers. They are moving to your competitors. Don’t blame them. You never improved your level of service and product offerings.

• Your people aren’t very honest. They falsify reports, exaggerate the facts, cover up the problems and pretty soon, might steal database. This means the company culture is bad. There’s no effort to live up to the corporate values, or even efforts on its reiteration so everybody in the organization would behave ethically.

Repair work has to be done. Culture change should be initiated. Like in Alcoholics Anonymous, a person has to admit first that the fact that ‘he or she doesn’t have a problem’ is the problem itself. And this admission will start the change.

I have met people who repented and accepted Christ. God’s power changed them.

I have also seen changed and improved organizations.

A change that starts from the leaders that trickles down to everyone in the organization involves time and entails initiative.

Somebody says, “It’s not too late to change. You are not a tree.”

Well, even trees change, too. The choice to change and act on it should begin immediately. Remember, you get what you want based on your choices.

(You can connect with Francis Kong through Facebook at www.facebook.com/franciskong2 or listen to his program called “Business Matters” from Monday to Friday at 8 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. in 98.7 dzFE-FM ‘The Master’s Touch’, the classical music station.)