My old dad always said to me, "Insanity is doing the same thing every day and expecting to get different results. You've got to change what you do to get a different result. Don't try to change everything at once. Concentrate on one thing at a time and when you get it squared away, then go on to the next thing." Great fatherly advice! The other day I was out in my front yard and a friend came by. He stopped to talk. After we had exchanged pleasantries, he shuffled from one foot to the other, stuck his hands in his pockets and then said, "I hear that you write motivational articles to help people better themselves." I replied, "Yes I do, Bob, but how did you hear about that?" He grinned sheepishly and said, "You know small towns, everybody knows everybody else's business. " He then asked me what I considered to be the 10 most important steps to success. I told him that there were a lot of things that you had to do to become more successful, however, that the 10 that would get him well on his way were the 10 listed below. 1. Find a mentor or coach that will help you determine your gift or reason for being here. Pick someone you respect. Use this person as a sounding board for your ideas and to motivate you when you need a little push. 2. Discover your gift in life; pursue it with passion and make it your life's work. If you are passionate about your job, you will excel at it. It will be a pleasure to perform and there will be little stress involved. (Your gift in life is something that you are good at and enjoy doing.) 3. Set goals and write down your goals and the steps needed to reach them. Read your goals at least three times a day. Use the steps as guides, but focus on the goals. 4. Take action on your goals. If you don't act, no matter how great your goals are or how many times you read them, you will never reach them. You can read all the self-help books you want and make hundreds of goals, but until you finally put your knowledge into action, nothing happens! 5. Work consistently and persistently towards your goals. Do not let doubts, procrastination or impatience hold you back. 6. Become a good listener. If you practice your listening skills, you will become very good at learning everything available from every conversation you have. You will remember names, events and places, and people will enjoy having you around. 7. Learn to use your time wisely. Don't waste a second! Don't spend time on frivolous things. Use your time to get the best out of life and to accomplish the things that will move you towards your goals. 8. Take 100% responsibility for your life. Control how you perceive and react to the events of life. How you respond to these events determines YOUR outcome. 9 Your thoughts control all aspects of your life. Keep your thoughts positive and focussed on your goals and your life will be more positive and successful. 10. Become your own advertising agency. You don't have to become a braggart, but let your boss or customers know what you can do by both your words and your actions. If you don't tell people about yourself, they will never get to know the real you. As I told Bob, there are many steps to becoming a successful person, but in my view, the above 10 are the most important and should be pursued in order. When you master these 10 steps I guarantee that you will be much more successful than you were before you started practising them. |
