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Simon says, “Once you step up to the plate, you are the batter.”

It does not matter who thinks you should not be the batter, are not the right person for the job, are not qualified, are not worthy. Your success is on the line; and it is time for you to add another line to your success mantra:

•Focus, Focus, Focus!

Do not let fear of failure, opinions of others, unsolicited criticism, or childish ridicule get in the way of your success. You are at the plate; your success is riding on this swing of the bat. This is your current best chance to get it right and you may not get another chance. Even if you do, this is the only opportunity you will have to get it right, the first time, on time.

It does not make any difference whether anyone else understands this is the most important thing you have ever done or if they can see why you think it is such a big deal. They do not get it. This is your success work and demands your personal best. You cannot afford to fail with what you are doing right now. Maybe you are talking with one person or a thousand, doing something you have done a hundred times before or something you are doing for the very first time, something requiring all of your knowledge and skills or something simple and uncomplicated. Whatever your immediate challenge, it is time for you to do it, and do it you do, no exceptions, no excuses. What’s more, you do not expect people to wait around until you get it right, until you succeed. You expect to get it right the first time, on time, and simply assume others expect you to get it right too.

Simon has some advice for you, though, as you consider your swing. This comes straight from your personal success coach and you will do well to listen and learn. To be forewarned is to be prepared.

•Have a healthy skepticism for what can go wrong.

You plan to succeed. You always believe you are going to get a hit; but in the best of times, you cannot connect 100% of the time. There are just too many variables for you to completely control or always predict exactly how they are all going to play out; and since you cannot,

•Know in advance what you will do if it does not work out.

Just as you swing, knowing what can happen and feeling prepared, you cross the invisible line preventing most people from reaching their goals, from stepping up to the plate and taking their swing at success. You know exactly what they know; but in situations where you confidently swing for the center field fence, they sit down and watch someone else succeed.

What is the source of their misgiving? What keeps them from crossing the invisible success line?

•They do not want to proceed until circumstances are more ideal.

•They wait until conditions are more favorable.

•They sit this one out and hope for better weather next time.

Good for them, if that is their orientation to their success. For you, though, succeeding means accepting some risk. You are certainly not going to step up to the plate in a hurricane or hang in there with a hundred miles per hour fast ball with your eyes closed; but you are not going to wait for a sunny day in July either. What you know others may not is,

•You never experience the exact conditions you think you need to succeed.

Although conditions are never ideal, you have done your success groundwork and are prepared to bat. You trust your intuition and believe you are able to handle most anything. You are as ready as you will ever be. The moment is at hand and you most assuredly swing the bat, take your turn at success.

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