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A quote by Wayne Dyer has me confused..

by danye
5 replies
Hi hows things? Im a newbie

My aim in life is to be as succesful as I can be and I know that to be succesful you must work hard at whatever it is you deem will make you succesful, take chances and basically make things happen for yourself.

But just the other day I picked up a book by Dr.Wayne W Dyer "Everyday Wisdom for Success" and on the first page he says "Chasing success is like trying to squeeze a handful of water. The tighter you squeeze, the less water you get. When you chase it, your life becomes the chase, and you become a victim of always wanting more"
Now this statement has me confused. I know some people, especially the followers of The Secret believe you just ask,believe and recieve but I believe that you have to take action aswell, it just wont magically manifest without any action, but this statement seems to contradict in what I believe in.

What do you guys/gals think of the statement? Do you think Wayne Dyer is right and if so, what exactly does he mean? If I want to be succesful do I not chase it???

Thanks
#confused #dyer #wayne
  • Profile picture of the author Geenius
    I believe action is absolutely CRITICAL towards achieving your dream.

    Watch this video on youtube

    Tavis Smiley interviews Will Smith on his views about the Law Of Attraction.

    Will Smith emphasizes that action is so important its not even funny.

    Take a look its very inspirational.
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  • Profile picture of the author Geenius
    oh and by the way, welcome to Warriorforum, this is the place that'll help you reach your goals.

    Wishing you all the best Dayne.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark Bradley
    Hi Danye,
    Here's my take on it:
    'chasing success' - buying every 'magic bullet' system that comes along,not doing anything with them,and ending up in a vicious cycle of debt and frustration.If you keep on repeating these patterns then you will always be 'chasing success' and not CREATING it.

    Kind regards,

    Mark.
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    ...INSTANT ACCESS...
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    • Profile picture of the author billMarket
      I understand your confusion.

      I will say this: This quote has a Buddhist influence.

      Essentially this is what it means: If you dedicate your life to achieving some given thing (i.e. a million dollars in the bank) and you do everything in your power, and make all sorts of sacrifices to get it, and believe you wont be truly happy until you reach stated goal, you may run into a problem.

      Here is the problem: You are deferring all happiness in a sense to a point where you believe you can finally enjoy the fruits of your labour (you get caught up in a chase).

      In pursuit of any given goal or objective there are two things: The pursuit and the goal.

      One should not treat them differently with respect to one's happiness. The journey can, and most likely should, be as rewarding as the end goal.

      This way you are content now and later, and not basing fulfillment solely on an abstract vision of what it may feel like when everything is accomplished.

      This doesn't reduce your chances to reaching your goal. On the contrary. By seeking contentment and balance now (while on the journey), you are in a much better mental state and I would argue more likely to reach said objective.

      It does reach a bit of a paradox, I understand this. The paradox is that you are not where you want to be (at your goal) therefore you are not content. And one way to maybe see it is that you should use this discontentment to fuel your journey.

      However, often this wears people out and they ignore the fact that the journey can be equally, if not more rewarding, then the stated objective.

      This is what is meant by:
      "Chasing success is like trying to squeeze a handful of water. The tighter you squeeze, the less water you get. When you chase it, your life becomes the chase, and you become a victim of always wanting more"

      Because, as I described above, the proper way is to not chase anything but the journey itself (this is the fruit in itself). When this is so, happiness occurs in the present, and your life becomes balanced. Success is a natural byproduct, and achievement of great things actually becomes easier (because the journey is so fruitful).

      This is why Jim Rohn said "After you become a millionaire, you can give all of your money away because what's important is not the million dollars; what's important is the person you have become in the process of becoming a millionaire."

      Hope this helps,

      Bill.
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  • Profile picture of the author JustinP
    Wayne Dyer also used this quote in his book "You'll See if When you Believe it"... a book that I credit to giving me enough self belief and understanding to leave a high paying corporate position and pursue my dream of entrepreneurship!

    I have interpreted the quote as being all about detachment. Detaching from the outcome so-to-speak. Similar to what Bill is saying, it is really a paradox of life.

    Its like the more you want something, the further away it appears from your reality. When you detach from the outcome and just accept that everything is perfect in this moment as it is, the easier it becomes to attain the thing you desire.

    OK yeah that's pretty fluffy. Here is how I have applied it in a practical fashion...

    When I was first starting out in business for myself, I was hungry for deals. I was trained as a corporate sales person and my programming said I had to hunt each deal down with aggressive force. While I did make sales, I probably deterred more people than I attracted. I WANTED that deal way too much.

    I then got some mentoring from more successful people and they suggested that I become more confident and not appear to NEED the deals. I started treating my prospects like I was picking and choosing clients. I came across as though I totally did not need the deal and would be equally happy whether you hired me or not. Miraculously, people started hiring me WAY more often than before. Just the fact that I didn't "need" their business (at least form their perspective) was enough to get me the deal. Kinda weird sales psychology example but I draw a parallel to your quote with this one.
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