“Let every man feel that he is the architect and builder of his own life, and that he proposes to make a success of it by working.” – Heber J. Grant, Born Nov. 22, 1856.
Really, though.
The key part here is “let every man feel” – whether they really are or not.
Let people feel that way – CAUSE them to feel that way, and they will let YOU be the actual architect while they do all the construction work.
People want to feel like they are progressing, and advancing, and getting through, and getting by.
Who doesn’t? What’s the alternative? Agonizing confusion? Unbearable stagnation?
But people also suck at planning. They don't think long term, or far in advance.
I'm not saying this is their own fault – often week-to-week survival can require everything an individual might have to give.
They simply don’t have two brain cells left to rub together after a day in the salt mines and it’s a miracle they can even have enough foresight to set the alarm clock to wake up and do it again tomorrow.
But that is where you and I and other people like us can come in. We make and sell the plans.
We find the cracks and gaps in their lives where they can make time to BUILD and GROW and IMPROVE.
We find the shortcuts and secrets that will help maximize the small efforts they can manage to muster and cover more ground than they could on their own.
We provide the overall master blueprint so a multitude of small actions and accomplishments can accumulate and combine and compound so that BIG rewards and results can bloom from the minuscule seeds they had to plant and nurture.
YOU be the architect. Tell them what goes where and what it should be made of.
They want to be the builder. They want to swing the hammer, turn the screws, and cut the ribbon when it’s all done.
Sell them the plans for their dream life/business/body/relationship/whatever.
Or not.
Regardless – make people feel like they are in charge of the design and construction of their own destinies, and you can get them to endeavor to fulfill YOUR designs, too.