Producing positive results and growing in personal
relationships
“The toughest thing about success is that
you’ve got to keep on being a success.” —Irving Berlin
Success is an easy word to pronounce; it is often difficult
to define. What defines success by one person may be viewed as a failure by
someone else. Success and the “good” life are not synonyms. Many successful
people — by which I mean those that have worldly wealth, power, and prestige —
are not necessarily the most satisfied people.
I suppose it won’t happen, but I think the world would be a
far better place if everyone in it defined success as producing positive
results in their field of endeavor and growing their personal relationships.
A couple of years ago, I wrote a book—“The Mentor In The
Mirror”—about my thoughts on personal success that I accumulated over my
52-year work career. One strategy was to encourage people to read. An education
doesn’t end with graduation. So far, the book I wrote for people who don’t read
has proven to be just that, an unread book. Maybe 196 pages are too lengthy.
Every author has a vision of their book appearing on The
N.Y. Times Best Seller List. The verdict on my book? If you don’t care to know,
I don’t care to share my abysmal sales result.
If you don’t read books, I can save you time and the $5.99
cost of the book on Amazon by listing 18 key action success steps from my
non-bestseller.
1. Accept yourself for who you are. Be comfortable with
yourself but never complacent.
2. Daily bring out the best in others.
3. Because you choose your attitude, choose wisely.
4. Be a Problem Solver.
5. Never get mad at someone for being more successful than
you, it’s not his or her fault.
6. Expect to excel and assume the responsibility for your
success.
7. Keep your eyes and ears open and learn from others.
Everyone has something unique to offer.
8. Keep your knowledge current and your skills marketable.
9. Concentrate on giving and not getting; it puts you in the
best position to achieve success.
10. Always look for ways to change, to improve every single
thing you do.
11. Never lose sight of the goal.
12. Devour books. Read every day. “If you spend one extra
hour each day in the study of your chosen field…you’ll be a national expert in
five years or less.” —Earl Nightingale
13. Listen for what isn’t said. As management guru, Peter
Drucker wrote, “The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t
being said.”
14. Be a person of action. Focus on the task at hand and
don’t get distracted by tasks with fringe benefits.
15. Believe you can do it, plan to do it, and do it! In the
end, it is always belief, planning, and execution that determines success.
16. Celebrate your uniqueness. Like fingerprints and
snowflakes, you are one of a kind.
17. Uncover and understand what you’re here to do. Then pursue that purpose with passion and
enthusiasm. If you don’t know your purpose read, “The Seed” by Jon Gordon.
18. Don't settle for mediocrity, commit to being the best
you can be.
I believe the failure of my book to sell is people don’t
read today like they once did. Unfortunately, like so many communications
today, the idea has to be said in 140 characters or less. So now I'm ending
this article with a 91 character suggestion: Having read this far, look back at
the 18 ideas listed above and find one idea you can use.
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