Preparation – Another Word for Learning2 min read

2022-08-15
Robert Middleton

Article #5 of the 12 Ps Series. Read #4 on How Aware Presence Can Transform Your Life.

“Good luck is when opportunity meets preparation, while bad luck is when lack of preparation meets reality.”

– Eliyahu Goldratt

It’s tough finding profound things to say about preparation. But I did find a number of decent quotes online.

The simple consensus is that preparation is a good thing, something we should all do more of. Preparation, well, prepares us for success.

However, when I start to work with new clients, I often discover the root of their challenges to attract clients is lack of preparation.

They haven’t read any books on marketing.

They haven’t attended any courses on marketing.

They haven’t put together any kind of marketing plan.

They have a mostly negative mindset about marketing.

Then I think of my friend, client, and colleague, Mark Thompson.

Mark is the most knowledgeable person I know about business and marketing his consulting services.

He is always learning, studying, reading books, and taking courses.

And has it ever paid off for him!

Mark understands what it takes to get the attention of prospective clients, how to communicate in a way that engages them, and how to get a meeting with a CEO of a multi-million-dollar company.

And all this preparation and marketing/selling skills land him $100K client engagements!

I first met Mark as a participant in my year-long Marketing Mastery course in 2012. I wasn’t even sure why he took the course as he was already very successful.

Well, Mark, just loves to learn. He’s obsessed with gaining knowledge. I don’t believe he even thinks of himself as someone dedicated to preparation.

When you’re excited about what you do, want to learn everything you can, and love experimenting with new approaches, then preparation is the natural outcome.

We often look at preparation as “Homework.” And who loves to do homework?

Not me, which is why I was not the world’s best student!

But when I discovered marketing more than 40 years ago, studying it wasn’t a chore; it was exciting and engaging.

Over a period of about 10 years, I read close to 500 books on marketing, sales, business, and personal development.

And when you study and learn that much, you discover something else: The number of things you can learn is infinite.

My passion for understanding how marketing works has never faded.

So, I keep learning, experimenting, and applying new ideas.

Look, marketing and selling may never be your passion. That’s OK.

But I do hope you have a passion and purpose in your business that keeps you excited, learning, and growing.

If you do, preparation will never be an issue for you.

But if you don’t, your business will be a dreary slog.

And that would be a tragedy.