September 7

Do you have REAL Friends?

There is nothing like money to make you attractive and appealing to others.

dogcatdogsBut, of course, the kind of people who are attracted to you only because of what you can do for them may be acquaintances, not friends. You may have many acquaintances if you become wealthy, but whatever your station in life may be, you will never have true friends unless you are a friend to others. Be very selective in your choice of friends. Choose to associate with positive people who like you for the person you are, who encourage you to be yourself and to be the best you can be.

If you wish “acquaintanceship,” be rich. If you wish friends, be a friend.

When faced with a conflict between others, most of us are more inclined to walk away from the situation than to become involved. If we do allow ourselves to become a participant, it is usually by adopting the position of one at the expense

Shark-circling-islandof the other. Of course, such behavior does little to resolve the dispute and may in fact exacerbate the problem.

But when you make a genuine attempt to help resolve the situation, you should not be surprised if you’re the only one. We are all complex individuals with feelings and emotions we often don’t fully understand. Sometimes the mere involvement of a disinterested party is enough to help resolve the dispute. Make sure, though, if you are the one in the middle that you don’t allow yourself to get into a position where you must choose between the desires of one person over the other. Work toward a compromise that best suits everyone’s interests.

If you must meddle in human relationships, try to be a peacemaker. You will find that you don’t have much competition.

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September 4

Sell lemonades to the complainers!

If life hands you a lemon, don’t complain, but instead make lemonade to sell to those who are thirsty from complaining.

Wally Amos, the man many consider to be the father of the gourmet cookie industry, has turned lemons into lemonade so often in his life that in his official portrait he holds a pitcher in one hand and a glass of lemonade in the other. A perennial optimist, Amos refuses to acknowledge that obstacles are anything other than stepping-stones to success.

In a career that has spanned several decades, he has made it to the pinnacle of success several times, only to lose everything and be forced to start over. But he’s never lost faith. “You have to have the trust and faith to let go and not agonize,” he says. “Don’t waste your time worrying. Worry is not preparation. Analyze the situation and focus on solutions. There is always an answer.” Offer results, not alibis.

There are many people who — perhaps with the best of intentions — make promises they somehow never get around to keeping. These folks have usually developed a number of perfectly plausible explanations for not meeting their commitments; they have become experts at explaining away their failures.

Successful people, though, are those who accept responsibility for their lives. They know that talk is cheap; actions are all that really matter.

The world is waiting for men and women who seek the opportunity to render real service — the kind of service that lightens the burdens of their neighbors, the kind of service that 95 percent of people do not render because they do not understand it.

When you provide a truly useful service, enthusiastically and in a spirit of genuine helpfulness, success will automatically follow. The world seeks out such individuals and rewards them accordingly.

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August 31

How do you define failure?

Edison failed 10,000 times before perfecting the incandescent electric light bulb. Don’t worry if you fail once.

Arguably America’s greatest inventor, Thomas Edison had an extraordinarily positive perception of life that greatly enhanced his ability as an inventor. When others might have been hopelessly discouraged after failing thousands of times in an attempt to develop an electric light, the great Edison simply viewed each unsuccessful experiment as the elimination of a solution that wouldn’t work, thereby moving him that much closer to a successful solution. We could all take a lesson from Edison.

Stories abound about inventors who quit trying and gave up too soon or miners who struck gold just a few feet beyond where someone else quit digging. There are few obstacles in life that will not succumb to consistent, sustained, intelligent, positive action. When you are discouraged after you’ve failed at something, remember Edison’s 10,000 failures before he arrived at the solution that forever changed the world.

We often discover that people we view as “overnight successes” have in fact labored for years in obscurity before they were finally recognized and rewarded for their contributions. Success is a cumulative effort; the journey to the top in any field is usually long and requires careful planning.

If you want to climb the first rung on the ladder of success, you must always take the initiative to get the job done, even when you find it less than challenging or even unpleasant. Eventually, you’ll earn your reward. You will become the boss, the leader, because you have developed the habit of taking the initiative to get the job done. You will get the best jobs because you’ve proven that you are dependable by accepting responsibility for your actions and your future.

The best job goes to the one who can get it done without passing the buck or coming back with alibis.

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August 30

Do you feel Lucky?

Wendy’s founder, Dave Thomas, says, “A little initiative will improve your luck nine days out of ten.”

catch_lightningOne of the keys to success is Personal Initiative. Most people — including those who will play a key role in the level of success you achieve in your life — will not give you their full assistance and support unless you first take the initiative. If you see something that needs to be done, just do it.

The thoughts you send out to others will have a far greater impact upon you than upon them. Unlike a material possession, when you release a thought or give it to someone else, it also stays with you. It may remain buried in your subconscious long after your conscious mind has forgotten about it. Like chickens that return to the coop at night, such thoughts may flash into your consciousness when you least expect them.

brainWhen your thoughts are positive, you never have to worry about the damage you may do to yourself through negative thinking. Cheerful, productive, happy thoughts that are buried in your subconscious bring positive results when they recur, and by their presence they encourage the maintenance of a positive attitude in all that you do.

Chickens come home to roost, and so do your thoughts. Be careful what sort of thoughts you send out.

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August 28

Do you do the Whole Job?

The man who does his job precisely as he would do it if he owned the business may see the day when he will own that business or a better one.

keeep-it-simpleThe best-managed companies are those in which management creates opportunities for employees to own a piece of the business through various types of stock-ownership programs. Management has found that when individual employees are also owners, they are more loyal, more creative, and more cost-conscious. They also work harder and are more responsive to customers. If you have the opportunity to participate in employee stock programs, do so. If possible, extend the same opportunity to your employees. If such programs are not available to you, conduct yourself as though you were already an owner, and sooner or later you will be. It is inevitable that when you think like an owner, you will eventually become one.

SONY DSCWhen you treat your competitors with the courtesy and respect you would like, most will respond in kind, and the result is a stable, productive, profitable industry. On the other hand, an industry or market that is composed of vicious, unethical competitors will soon destroy itself. When you are asked how your products and services compare with those of your competitors, speak respectfully and politely about your rivals, but use the question to shift the discussion to your company and your products. Acknowledge others’ good points, and then move on. If you complain too much about the competition, prospective customers may wonder what they are missing and refuse to buy until they have compared your products and services with those of others. 

Friendly cooperation will get you far more than unfriendly agitation in any market.

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August 24

Effort Speaks the Loudest!

Some people expend far more energy getting out of work than they would spend doing the job well…..If this is you please ask WHY?

crossroadsWe may think we are fooling the boss, but we are only fooling themselves. An employer may not know all the details of every job or every task an individual performs, but a good manager knows the results of effort. You can be sure that when promotions or plum assignments become available, they won’t be offered to loafers. If you do your job cheerfully and well, not only are you more likely to be recognized and rewarded, but you also learn how to do your job better. As you become more proficient, you become more valuable to your employer. You also acquire the most valuable of all assets — the confidence that comes from knowing you possess skills that will increase your value to any organization.

businessman-with-checkboxesMost people who fail after receiving a promotion do so because they fail to rise to the challenges the new position offers. It is perfectly normal to feel a twinge of insecurity when you assume a new position — after all, you’ve never had this job before — but seldom do promotions come before you are ready for them. Now, it is a fact that the day you are promoted, you are not yet competent in that position. You were promoted into the position because of your potential, not because you were expected to perform flawlessly from the outset. Work to prove that your boss’s faith in you was justified. Make becoming as proficient as possible in your new job — in the shortest possible time — your number one priority. 

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August 23

It’s what YOU Do that counts!

If you depend upon others for your success, you are doomed to a life of failure and despair.

It is a sad fact of life that few people consistently deliver what they promise. Instead of lamenting what someone else should have done to help you, focus on what you can do to help yourself. The best plan of action is one that provides opportunities for others to benefit if they wish to work with you toward the accomplishment of your goals but that does not depend upon these people for success.

Never mind what others didn’t do. It’s what you do that counts.

It’s called a “self-fulfilling prophecy” when something occurs because we believe it will. The mind is constructed so that it constantly seeks to bring into physical reality the things it thinks about most. Most of us will never realize the tremendous potential we possess — because we are unwilling to believe that we can accomplish things that others believe are impossible.

“Impossible” jobs require more effort and greater concentration, but when they are completed, the rewards — both financial and psychic — are commensurate with the effort required. You may not be able to achieve everything you’d like, but you won’t accomplish anything unless you believe you can.

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August 21

Courage or Conviction – Both!

If you have sound character, your decisions will be sound and you will generally not have worry about your reputation.

convictionThomas Jefferson once said that a majority is one man with the courage of his convictions. If you have the courage that comes from the sincere conviction that you are a person of sound character, an honest, dependable, kind, and caring person, you will never have to worry about what others think of you.

If you know in your own heart that you are a good and decent person, you can meet life’s challenges head-on and without fear of what others think.

High wages and the capacity to assume responsibility are two things that belong together.

honestyIt’s been said that a leader’s job is to inspire others to high levels of achievement, while a manager’s job is to protect the assets of investors. The most successful people are those who recognize the similarities and differences between leadership and management responsibilities, fulfilling both with equal skill and aplomb. When they do, they realize the rewards that are commensurate with their efforts.

When you cheerfully accept responsibility for your own actions and do your job in a way that protects the interests of your employer, you will soon be entrusted with more and more responsibilities. And those who have the capacity to assume responsibility — for the success of the project or organization — will always be paid the highest salaries.

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August 20

Monday-morning quarterback?

The greatest of all success rules is this: do unto others as you would if you were the others.

How often do you look at those around you and say, “I could do any of their jobs better than they can if I only had the opportunity,” never realizing the price they have paid and the knowledge they have accumulated to earn the right to hold that position?

It’s easy to be a Monday-morning quarterback and second-guess the actions of others. But it’s far more productive to recognize the contributions of others and give them the credit for a job well done. If you aspire to a higher level of recognition, demonstrate to others — your peers as well as your superiors — that you can be counted upon. The world’s greatest rewards accrue to those who always deliver on their promises.

The moral is – Don’t covet the other fellow’s job if you are not prepared to accept the responsibility that goes with it.

By using the Golden Rule as a principle of ethical behavior; we have a dynamic force that can work good into our lives. When you make it a practice to treat others as though you were the others, you spread goodwill among people who, in turn, may be moved to do the same. By their actions, they influence still more people, who generate goodwill among even more people.

This force for goodwill increases exponentially and will return to you from totally new sources. The benefit you receive from a good deed performed today by a total stranger may have been a chain reaction from long ago when you observed the Golden Rule in your own dealings with another.

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August 18

Success is found on the journey!

It’s true: money can’t buy happiness. Happiness is found in doing — not merely in possessing.

Most of us are motivated by aspirations of the lifestyle we desire for ourselves and our families, not by the physical possessions — homes, vacations, automobiles, etc. When you recognize this fact, you will know that you must constantly “raise the bar” to encourage yourself to reach higher goals.

Your goals should include the possessions that you desire, but as former Apple Computer chairman and CEO John Sculley said, “Success is a journey, not a destination. Make sure you enjoy the trip.”

Have you ever felt that sometimes you are your own worst enemy? No one can keep you down but yourself.

We all have moments when, no matter how hard we try, things just don’t seem to work out right, when everything goes wrong, and we have no one to blame but ourselves. But, just as you may sometimes be your own worst enemy, you can also be your own best friend. The transition usually occurs when you realize that the only person on earth who can determine your failure or success is you yourself.

You may discover your best friend when you develop the maturity and strength of character to accept yourself for the person you are and to take the actions necessary to become the person you wish to be. When you analyze yourself objectively, you can begin to build upon your strengths and compensate for your weaknesses. When you do, you will realize that the only person who stands in the way of your success is you.

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