Note. This is an update and rewrite of a former shorter posting titled, "Hogzilla Grunt Tip #8, posted March 15, 2008.
Among your resolutions, (New Year's or otherwise), you should make a commitment to be the best salesperson, store clerk, accountant, business owner, nurse, pilot or student you can be. You need not be the best person in your occupation or even your organization; just be the best you can be.
Success is not a measurement of how well you perform compared to someone else's performance. True success is the measurement of how well you perform with the talent and abilities you possess. If at the end of the day you have given it your best and you are riding on "empty", you have done your job.
Some years ago, while reading a business magazine, I saw the following short story. I think it describes how we should look at life if we want to be successful and contented.
"Every day in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows that it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you'd better be running." —anon
I believe there is little that you cannot accomplish as a person if, in addition to fully utilizing your strengths, you manage and effectively make use of your time. To fully utilize this precious and limited commodity, you will need to be running when the sun comes up. U.S. Army Gen. George Patton was quoted as saying, "If you are on time, you're already too late."
Many people lived stressed lives as a result of what they perceive as a the shortage of time. They have too many projects and too little time. But clocks and calendars are not partial. Everyone has the same 24 hours and 30 days a month. Or, do they?
Here is a way to add time to your life. Simple math shows how you benefit from having an extra month each year. Why not have a 13 month calendar instead of the traditional 12? Here's how. Simply get up one hour earlier each day during the work week to plan and prioritize your day. That will give you 5 hours per week, or 250 hours per year (based on a 50 week work year) . Divide those 250 hours by 8 and you get 31 days—a free month!
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to believe you don't have enough time to be successful. Make a commitment to being the best you can be and fulfill that commitment for 13 months this year. The extra month is yours. What will you do with it?
HOG THOUGHT: Like the lion and gazelle, it doesn't matter whether you are a rookie or a vet. with one extra hour each day you will be up and running before the competition awakes.
HOG QUOTE: “One can never be content to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.” — Helen Keller
HOG ACTION: Start the day tomorrow and every work day going forward by getting up one hour earlier than normal. Use this time to plan, prioritize and commit to actions for the day that bring you closer to your goal.
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