In my twenties, a mentor of mine taught me about something called the Slingshot Principle. I must admit I hadn’t heard of it but listening to him explain it made me realize the importance of one very important thing.
For some… they never let go. They just keep studying, never taking action, but in life, action is where the magic happens.
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What is the Slingshot Principle? It is simply the idea that the further we want to go, the stronger pull we need. The pull, as my mentor explained to me, is education. The more we learn, the more power we have. For some though, they never let go. They just keep studying, never taking action, but in life, action is where the magic happens.
Imagine you want to grow a garden. Some people just get right to it. This approach is fraught with errors. It’s the hope-and-pray approach, they have no idea if things will work out, but they want to give it a go. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t but if they stick with it, eventually they’ll likely figure things out. This the approach most people use in life because it’s the easiest, no pull necessary.
The education-is-king approach is just the opposite. These people decide to do something then set about to learn everything they can about a topic. They keep reading and studying about which plants grow the fastest, which are the hardest to take care of, which plants grow better in direct sunlight and which need more shade. These are the academics of life. They study and study. They become experts on plants and gardens. They can tell you detailed information about how to make the perfect garden, and yet, they don’t have a garden themselves. They have all this built up power, but never put it into action. These people often become educators.
The sweet spot lies somewhere in-between. They want a garden, but don’t just jump right in. They do some research, then take what they have learned and put it into action. Then they review the results and go learn some more to figure out how to improve things.
The Slingshot Principle states that you have a target you need to hit, but in order to reach it, you’ll need a lot of power. During the pull stage, people around you will move ahead. They will have a head start. You’ll seem to many as if you’re not doing anything, but you’re using the most powerful tool you have at your disposal – your mind. Once you have enough pull, you release and sail on by all those people who were far ahead of you. Study, patience, and finally release are the three components of the Slingshot Principle.
It’s also related to the concept of delayed gratification. Jim Rohn put it this way, “The rewards of a disciplined life are great, but they’re often delayed until sometime in the future. The rewards for a lack of discipline, on the other hand, are immediate.”
You’ll seem to many as if you’re not doing anything, but you’re using the most powerful tool you have at your disposal – your mind.
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I clearly remember a friend buying new car after new car. Over the last 18 years, I’ve had two cars. He’s had nine. While he’s been living high on the hog, for the last 10 years I’ve devoted myself to learning, to prepare for my future. I had a vision of becoming a sought-after speaker, so I got to work. I invested more and more money into my own education. I offered my services for free to a mentor of mine, working for months without payment.
Today, I’m a best-selling author, a time management expert, and joint venture broker. I’m also the creator of the One-Bite Time Management System endorsed by Brian Tracy, Jim Stovall and Sohail Khan. None of that happened by accident. 12 years ago, I was an English teacher and owner of a small school in Japan. I sacrificed nice vacations and nice cars because of what my mentor taught me in my 20s. Now I’ve positioned myself for the second half of my life, and here’s the best part – you can, too. Anyone can, if they understand, and apply the three concepts of the Slingshot Principle.
Photo by Awais Jamil on Unsplash