Successful people are ordinary people with a success orientation. — Wayne Nalls
I was looking at a calendar on the wall of my office and realized that in 14 days I would be saying goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012. Wow! Time flies. It was only three and one-half years ago that I penned the first Hawblawg and now here is article No. 81.
If you missed any of the previous postings, you can quickly and easily find them at: www.thehawgblawg.blogspot.com
During the past three and one-half years I have been pleasantly surprised to see the communication reach of this blog. In that time frame we have hits from 52 International counties representing 95 international cities. In addition we recorded 209 cities and towns in 40 states in the US.
We live in an increasingly globalized market. The universal law of success is that people everywhere realize that they must continually invest in themselves or be left behind.
In this last posting for 2011, I made a decision to dispense with a topical approach for the article and instead provide a list of what I consider 22 salient self-improvement doables—one for each workday in January. These are presented for your consideration.
On January 31st, you will have an overview of what it takes to be a success. I don't expect you to master or even highly value each of the doables. But, among the list is at least one idea that you can use for the rest of your life to change the rest of your life.
Week One
1. Daily bring out the best in others.
2. Because you choose your attitude, choose wisely.
3. Be a Problem Solver.
4. Accept yourself for who you are. Be comfortable with yourself but never complacent. Everyone has room for growth.
5. Think! Think! Think! Everything we do begins with a thought.
Week Two
6. Never get mad at someone for being more successful than you, it’s not his fault.
7. Expect to excel and assume the responsibility for your own success.
8. Keep your eyes and ears open and learn from others. Everyone has something unique
to offer.
9. Keep your knowledge current and your skills marketable.
10. Concentrate on giving and not getting, it puts you in the best position to achieve success.
Week Three
11. Always look for ways to change, to improve every single thing you do.
12. Never lose sight of the goal.
13. 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
14. Render a greater service than your competitor.
15. First you have to conquer the day before you conquer the week, the month, the year.
Week Four
16. Listen for what isn’t being said. As management guru Peter Drucker wrote, “The
most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.”
17. Be a person of action. Focus on the task at hand and don’t get distracted by tasks with fringe benefits.
18. Believe you can do it, plan to do it, and do it! In the end, it is always belief, planning, and execution that determine success.
19. Celebrate your uniqueness. For the next 30 days let your first thought each morning be one of thankfulness for who you are. Like fingerprints and snowflakes, you are one of a kind.
20. 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.
Week Five
21. Don't settle for mediocrity, commit to being the best you can be.
22. Live in the moment. Focus your energy on the present.
Of the above 22 success action steps, which one is a priority for you for the New Year?
As we exit 2011, I end this article with this candid thought: The achievement is not in winning. It is in the struggle that we achieve. And like all successful people before us, we must hold on until we succeed.
I wish you personal growth and success—as defined by you— in 2012.
Wayne Nalls
wn-Tampa@att.net
Showing posts with label listening skills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label listening skills. Show all posts
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Sunday, November 30, 2008
It’s December and Almost Time to Say, “Happy New Year”
“Start your new year today. And remember, anyone can make a resolution. Very few people keep one.” — Harvey Mackay
Often tomorrow arrives all too soon. But for me the upcoming New Year can’t come quick enough.
I want to stop thinking about 2008. I want to forget about the weak economy, the elimination of jobs, wondering if gas prices will shoot up again, the two foreign wars America is fighting and the year-long bickering between the two major political parties. Most of all, I want to forget that I forgot to keep my 2008 New Year’s Resolutions: one was to lose weight a second was to be better off financially at the end of 2008 than I was at the beginning of the year. I kept neither.
Most people make New Year’s Resolutions. Few of us keep them. We start the New Year with resolutions and end the year with mostly regrets. Then, we make more resolutions for the up-coming year. Resolutions are good because they make us confront reality. But resolutions without resoluteness are like nouns without verbs. The American College Dictionary defines “resolute” as, “firmly resolved or determined as in action.” Values that will affect success in the new year include: commitment, flexibility, creativity, attitude, steadfastness, and a sense of humor.
In discussing the history of New Year’s Resolutions, Gary Ryan Blair (www.GoalGuy.com) says that the tradition of the New Year's Resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar. With two faces, Janus could look back at the old year and forward to the new.
Looking back I want to forget 2008. My accomplishments and failures belong to the year that will soon be history. Looking forward to the New Year, I see change. While no one can predict the future, we know that 2009 will not be like 2008.
While many people will fail to keep their New Year resolutions, I am determined to do the few most important resolutions that I make and thereby change the results I have been getting. I will heed Yoda’s advice to Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back, “Luke, there is no try; there is either do or not do.” I choose do! I commit to fulfilling my New Years Resolutions.
Here are a few resolutions that you may want to consider for the New Year
• I will recognize how important my role is to the success of my company. To help my company achieve its goals, I will achieve my goals.
• I will focus my attention on the two or three most important priorities that will affect my success. I will take actions each day to bring me closer to achieving what really matters to me.
• I will recognize obstacles and look for alternative pathways to my goals. I will keep in mind the comic strip character, Pogo’s famous quote, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” On our journey to success the biggest obstacle we often encounter is ourselves. Lao-Tzu stated it well, “He who knows much about others may be learned, but he who understands himself is more intelligent. He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.”
• I will improve my listening and communications skills. By keeping my eyes and ears open I will learn from others.
• I will improve and expand my education. Knowing that education is the single best investment and individual or organization can make. I will search out material and people that introduce me to new ideas, new ways of thinking, and new ways of doing things. I will look at learning as a continuous process. I will learn all day, every day.
• I will set reasonable but challenging goals that stretch me beyond my current abilities.
• I will have a short term goals and long term goals. Because I know that I am constantly doing two jobs: selling profitable today and putting myself in position to be successful tomorrow.
• I will watch and imitate others who are successful and respected. Studying the strengths and weaknesses of successful people allows me to incorporate the best practice of those who are successful.
• At the end of each work day I will ask my self, “What did I learn today that will make me more effective tomorrow? Then, I will apply the principle immediately.
• I will take ownership of my job and the results I get.
• I will put myself in the position of my customers, clients or residents and address their needs and interests, not my own.
• I will make my planned sales calls every day knowing that only one sales call is important to each customer.
• I will create competitive advantages and gain my customer’s loyalty.
• I will make the most of every day by being canceling out negative thoughts when they arise and replace them with positive affirmations.
• I will remember that, “On the day of victory no one is tired.”
• I will form a support chain with two or three of my co-workers. I will choose people I respect and not just people who I feel comfortable with. We will share experiences and helpful tips with one another to encourage and motivate us.
• I will “fake-it-till-I make-it.” I know old habits are hard to break and I won’t change overnight, but I will keep on acting as though I have achieved success. I believe the words of The Good Book: “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” (Proverbs 23:7)
• I will control my stress. I know that stress comes not from any event but for my response to it. Therefore, I will respond to any event in a positive way and look for the good in everyone.
• I will do more than is required of me and I will do it with enthusiasm.
• I will be resilient. There is no pathway to success without obstacles. The ultimate test is whether I overcome them.
• I will develop my success plan and having developed it, I will execute it
• I will have pride in myself and my organization.
• Each day I will do my best and, having done that, I will sleep soundly.
• I will celebrate victories, both small and large. Success isn’t just about hard work and achieving goals—it’s also about having fun at the same time.
HOG QUOTE: “Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly in the distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.” —Thomas Carlyle
HOG THOUGHT: To become a better salesperson, you first have to want to be one, believe you can be one, and commit to being one. You have to work on it all day, everyday. Becoming a professional in any field is not a sometime job. It is an all time job fueled by passion and commitment to achieving your own personal best.
HOG ACTION: Determine your New Year’s Resolutions, have faith that you will accomplish them, and then work with passion to achieve them.
Often tomorrow arrives all too soon. But for me the upcoming New Year can’t come quick enough.
I want to stop thinking about 2008. I want to forget about the weak economy, the elimination of jobs, wondering if gas prices will shoot up again, the two foreign wars America is fighting and the year-long bickering between the two major political parties. Most of all, I want to forget that I forgot to keep my 2008 New Year’s Resolutions: one was to lose weight a second was to be better off financially at the end of 2008 than I was at the beginning of the year. I kept neither.
Most people make New Year’s Resolutions. Few of us keep them. We start the New Year with resolutions and end the year with mostly regrets. Then, we make more resolutions for the up-coming year. Resolutions are good because they make us confront reality. But resolutions without resoluteness are like nouns without verbs. The American College Dictionary defines “resolute” as, “firmly resolved or determined as in action.” Values that will affect success in the new year include: commitment, flexibility, creativity, attitude, steadfastness, and a sense of humor.
In discussing the history of New Year’s Resolutions, Gary Ryan Blair (www.GoalGuy.com) says that the tradition of the New Year's Resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar. With two faces, Janus could look back at the old year and forward to the new.
Looking back I want to forget 2008. My accomplishments and failures belong to the year that will soon be history. Looking forward to the New Year, I see change. While no one can predict the future, we know that 2009 will not be like 2008.
While many people will fail to keep their New Year resolutions, I am determined to do the few most important resolutions that I make and thereby change the results I have been getting. I will heed Yoda’s advice to Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back, “Luke, there is no try; there is either do or not do.” I choose do! I commit to fulfilling my New Years Resolutions.
Here are a few resolutions that you may want to consider for the New Year
• I will recognize how important my role is to the success of my company. To help my company achieve its goals, I will achieve my goals.
• I will focus my attention on the two or three most important priorities that will affect my success. I will take actions each day to bring me closer to achieving what really matters to me.
• I will recognize obstacles and look for alternative pathways to my goals. I will keep in mind the comic strip character, Pogo’s famous quote, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” On our journey to success the biggest obstacle we often encounter is ourselves. Lao-Tzu stated it well, “He who knows much about others may be learned, but he who understands himself is more intelligent. He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.”
• I will improve my listening and communications skills. By keeping my eyes and ears open I will learn from others.
• I will improve and expand my education. Knowing that education is the single best investment and individual or organization can make. I will search out material and people that introduce me to new ideas, new ways of thinking, and new ways of doing things. I will look at learning as a continuous process. I will learn all day, every day.
• I will set reasonable but challenging goals that stretch me beyond my current abilities.
• I will have a short term goals and long term goals. Because I know that I am constantly doing two jobs: selling profitable today and putting myself in position to be successful tomorrow.
• I will watch and imitate others who are successful and respected. Studying the strengths and weaknesses of successful people allows me to incorporate the best practice of those who are successful.
• At the end of each work day I will ask my self, “What did I learn today that will make me more effective tomorrow? Then, I will apply the principle immediately.
• I will take ownership of my job and the results I get.
• I will put myself in the position of my customers, clients or residents and address their needs and interests, not my own.
• I will make my planned sales calls every day knowing that only one sales call is important to each customer.
• I will create competitive advantages and gain my customer’s loyalty.
• I will make the most of every day by being canceling out negative thoughts when they arise and replace them with positive affirmations.
• I will remember that, “On the day of victory no one is tired.”
• I will form a support chain with two or three of my co-workers. I will choose people I respect and not just people who I feel comfortable with. We will share experiences and helpful tips with one another to encourage and motivate us.
• I will “fake-it-till-I make-it.” I know old habits are hard to break and I won’t change overnight, but I will keep on acting as though I have achieved success. I believe the words of The Good Book: “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” (Proverbs 23:7)
• I will control my stress. I know that stress comes not from any event but for my response to it. Therefore, I will respond to any event in a positive way and look for the good in everyone.
• I will do more than is required of me and I will do it with enthusiasm.
• I will be resilient. There is no pathway to success without obstacles. The ultimate test is whether I overcome them.
• I will develop my success plan and having developed it, I will execute it
• I will have pride in myself and my organization.
• Each day I will do my best and, having done that, I will sleep soundly.
• I will celebrate victories, both small and large. Success isn’t just about hard work and achieving goals—it’s also about having fun at the same time.
HOG QUOTE: “Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly in the distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.” —Thomas Carlyle
HOG THOUGHT: To become a better salesperson, you first have to want to be one, believe you can be one, and commit to being one. You have to work on it all day, everyday. Becoming a professional in any field is not a sometime job. It is an all time job fueled by passion and commitment to achieving your own personal best.
HOG ACTION: Determine your New Year’s Resolutions, have faith that you will accomplish them, and then work with passion to achieve them.
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