Beware of Your Sacred Cows

News of Detroit’s bankruptcy had me thinking about that great city, what they represented for years and how we can each learn from the demise of not just a great American city, but a city once admired by the entire world.

Detroit failed because it was unwilling to confront it’s “sacred cows.” The sacred cows of Detroit were unions, pensions, gas guzzlers, Big 3, and too much spending combined with denial, corruption and an unwillingness of the people to respond for the greatest good of the city.

What is a “sacred cow?” Sacred cows can be a person, institution, custom, or idea which is unreasonably held to be beyond criticism. A person can have an intense attachment to this thing or idea and is unwilling to see how this thing could contribute to the demise of the individual, family, company, city, industry, country, even the planet. Detroit is not the only city that has sacred cows, you have them too and they will bankrupt you.

I have had many sacred cows in my life that at one time may have served me, but later, I realized they were no longer good for me and if not handled, would sink me. Our sacred cows become too expensive to keep and difficult to get rid of because of the emotional connection we have to them. Sacred cows always seem to have emotional connections. It is my belief that ALL emotions are costly in life and in business. Any emotion that keeps you from forward motion will certainly be costly.

Any of these sound familiar? All of these examples of sacred cows result in fixed ideas that limit your options and prevent you from being as great as you can be. Some examples…

  • Gotta be right about something,
  • Gotta go on vacation even though we can’t afford to,
  • Gotta keep the house you live in, can’t leave the city you live or work in,
  • Gotta live close to your parents, no way can I leave them,
  • Gotta buy so and so a present so you put it on credit,
  • Gotta work for that certain company, must sell that one product, can’t let so and so go, they’ve been here for 25 years!

America has its many sacred cows that are clearly holding it back from returning to its greatness. We as individuals have sacred cows but the good news is if we dig deep and take an honest look at what’s holding us back and make some brave decisions, we can break free from them.

Here’s what I suggest you do:

  1. Make a list of all the things in your life that are sacred, things you can’t imagine giving up.
  2. Make a list of the emotions and excuses you have for not giving these things up.
  3. Make a list of the actions you must take for your personal and financial success even if it means getting uncomfortable and sacrificing one of these beasts.

Once you have your lists you will see clearly what needs to be done. But, you’ll need the push to do it. Contact me on @grantcardone via Twitter, use hashtag #SacredCows, call into the Cardone Zone radio show, or grab one of my tools that will help you to gain wealth and train you to think with affluence.

Free yourself from the things that hold you back.

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