Outstanding performance is one of the keys to success that I discuss in Straight Talk for Success. If you want to become an outstanding performer, you need to do three things. 1) Stay on top of things in your business and industry by becoming a lifelong learner. 2) Set and achieve high goals. 3) Get organized. Manage your time, life and stress well.
I am a charter subscriber to Self Improvement Magazine. I received issue 2 in the mail the other day. I like this magazine. If you’re not a subscriber, I suggest you log on to www.SelfImprovementMag.com and get yourself a subscription. Tristan Loo is the publisher. He’s a common sense guy too. I like what he has to say…
“Common sense does not equal common practice. You have to know it. You have to believe it. Then you have to get up off your butt and actually do it.”
Rock on Tristan. I love what you have to say and I love your mag.
I bring up Self Improvement Magazine in this post on outstanding performance because of an article by Tricia Molloy called “Crave Your Goals.” That’s a great title. I suggest setting and achieving high goals. Tricia suggests craving them. People who crave their goals are very likely to meet them. Tricia takes a page out of The Secrets and the Law of Attraction when she says…
“When we truly commit to our goals and crave them with our heart and soul, we engage the energy of the universe and receive what we need to make our dreams come true.”
She offers five steps to help you CRAVE your goals:
C -- Clean out the clutter.
R -- Raise your vibrations.
A -- Affirm success.
V -- Visualize.
E -- Express thanks.
Getting organized is one of my tips for becoming an outstanding performer. Clutter is a sure sign of disorganization. It is distracting and confusing and an energy drain. Tricia says that when we clear away our physical, emotional and technical clutter we make room to focus on what’s really important. I agree. The less cluttered your world is, the more you can focus on your goals.
Tricia describes vibration as “just another word for feelings and emotions.” She suggests by vibrating at a high level, we attract like-minded people who will help us achieve our goals. She says that you can raise your vibration by taking care of yourself – eat healthy, exercise, enjoy a hobby, play, laugh, forgive, give thanks.
I’m a big believer in affirmations. One of my affirmations is “Bud Bilanich is a star.” I’ve gone so far as to register a star in my name so that when I say to myself “Bud Bilanich is a star,” I believe it in my heart because I know that “Bud Bilanich is a star” is a completely true statement. Tricia suggests writing your affirmations and saying them out loud throughout the day. I agree. Affirmations are powerful. They will help you succeed.
I’m also a big believer in visualization. When I was writing Straight Talk for Success I visualized a bright yellow cover with bold red lettering. It kept me going through the writing and editing. And I ended up with a book with a bright yellow dust jacket that has bold red lettering. I also visualized myself sitting at a table signing copies of it. That happened too. A few weeks ago I did a talk. Several people purchased copies of Straight Talk after the talk, and there I was – sitting at a table autographing the bright yellow book I visualized when I was writing it. Visualization helps you make things happen.
Finally, it’s important to express thanks. I am thankful for every day I am given, for the food I eat, my friends and colleagues and most especially Cathy, my wife. There are so many things for which you can be thankful. Just look around and you’ll see that life is good and that you are blessed. Tricia suggests creating a gratitude journal, in which you list all of the things for which you’re thankful. This is a great idea. Once you realize the many blessings you have, you’ll find that it is easier to get over the bumps and bruises on your way to personal and professional success.
The common sense point here is simple. Successful people are outstanding performers. Outstanding performers crave their goals. They clean out the clutter in their lives to make room for success. The raise their vibration by taking care of themselves. They affirm success by visualizing what they want and creating and repeating affirmations that help them accomplish it. Finally, they express thanks for all of the good things in their life. In this way, they focus on what’s good, right and working – not on life’s little problems.
That’s my take on outstanding performance and craving your goals. What’s yours? Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us. As always, I want express my great thanks and deepest appreciation for you taking the time to read this post.
Positive personal impact is one of the keys to success that I discuss in Straight Talk for Success. If you want to create positive personal impact, you need to do three things well. 1) Develop and nurture your unique personal brand. 2) Be impeccable in your presentation of self – in person and on line. 3) Know and follow the basic rules of etiquette.
A couple of days ago, I came across some transcripts of internet radio shows I did a few years ago. One of them was with William Arruda, coauthor of Career Distinction and a personal branding expert. As I reread the transcript, I was really impressed by a lot of what William had to say. Here are some selected excerpts from our conversation.
Bud: What’s the difference between a personal brand and a brand for a product, like Nike or Reebok?
William: In fact, there’s not a lot of difference. A personal brand is based on authenticity, just as true brands are. Branding is all about differentiation, what makes Reebok stand out from Nike? What makes someone go to Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts? It’s not the coffee, they both sell coffee, right? But what you’re buying into is the brand. It’s the same for us and our personal brands. What is going to make you choose one marketing account executive over another? It’s something that’s unique and authentic and valuable that they have to contribute.
Bud: You said a brand needs to be unique, authentic and valuable. Can you talk a little bit about each of those in turn?
William: Absolutely. If you’re not unique, you’re a commodity. If every accountant in the world were the same, then a hiring manager who was looking for an account would just choose the person who would accept the least pay, right? But if you have something unique to contribute, something of value, then you’re going to be able to command a higher compensation for what you do. And so that’s unique and valuable. Authentic is really all about being yourself. We don’t get away with being fake for too long. We pretty much get found out. Remember Milly Vanilly? When people learned they couldn’t sing actually, they went away really quick and you never heard from them again. Branding is all about unearthing those things about you that make you unique and valuable to the people who will make you successful.
Bud: It’s really interesting that you bring up Milly Vanilly because I overheard a conversation the other day. One guy described one of their colleagues by saying, “He’s a real Milly Vanilly.” Another guy said “What do you mean?” The first guy said “He’s fake”. So Milly Vanilly has become an anti-brand. (Milly Vanilly was a singing group in the mid ‘90s, who actually had won few Grammys. As it turned out, they were lip-syncing, not only when the were on stage, but they even had other people singing their songs, so they never sang even in the studio.)
William: Absolutely. Ann Morrow Lindberg once said “the most exhausting thing you can be is inauthentic”. And it’s true, I think that when we’re being our authentic self when we’re communicating this incredible promise of value we have that is true to who we are, we’re really energized and powerful. But when we’re walking around faking it, we eventually get caught, just like Milly Vanilly.
Bud: How do you set yourself up as being unique, if you are not in a very creative field?
William: Anyone can set themselves up as unique regardless of their job title. It depends on the individual. For example, an accountant who is incredibly ethical might be amazingly valuable right now simply because of everything that’s happening with the corporate finance scandals and so forth, so ethical might be a brand attribute that would be highly emotional and would get somebody, a hiring manager, really interested in someone. Or an accountant, and you might not think of accountants as being really gregarious and funny, but an accountant who really gets people excited in the company about accounting and can make jokes about it and can get people talking about it – maybe that’s a brand attribute that would be valuable, relevant and differentiating.
So again, it comes down to the individual. I think what we all need to do is take inventory of those things make us powerful. We can all look back in our careers and think of the time when we were amazingly successful, when we were just shining and were walking two inches off the ground. If we did an inventory of what personality attributes and what skills we were using at those times we would find our individual uniqueness.
Bud: So it comes back to the notion of authenticity, like Polonius’ advice to Hamlet, “to thine own self be true, and it must follow as the day the night, thou can be false to no man.” I think you’re saying is that you, first of all, need to understand who you are and then look for what’s unique about you within that authentic core of yourself.
William: Absolutely. It’s all about how knowing what about you is really valuable to the people who make you successful. So you might have an accountant who is gregarious and ethical and hard working, but maybe the ethics piece is the piece that’s really valuable and that’s the part that you’re going to want to play up. So you need to do that inventory to understand who you are and what makes you unique and valuable.
At the same time, you need to think about who are the people who are going to make me successful and what’s important to them. Right? We don’t do this in a vacuum where we say I think this is something that’s great about me, but it may not be relevant or compelling to the people who will make you successful.
Bud: So in other words, if you decide you’re the world’s funniest accountant, but the people around you really don’t value humor in accountants, that’s probably something that is part of your authentic self and makes you somewhat unique, but it may not be real helpful to you as far as your brand goes.
William: Exactly. Because unique is great, but it’s got to be relevant and compelling to your target audience, to those people who’ll make you successful.
The common sense point that comes from this part of my conversation with William Arruda is clear. A good personal brand has to be unique, authentic and valuable. When you’re developing your personal brand think about what makes you unique in your field – different from everyone else who does what you do. Make sure that this uniqueness is authentic, that it’s really part of who you are at the core of your being. Finally, make sure that your authentic uniqueness is valuable to people in your target audience. I’m a pretty good rugby prop forward. That’s something that is unique and authentic about me. However, being a good rugby prop forward is of no value to anyone except the other 14 guys on my rugby side. Therefore, it’s not something I want to emphasize in my personal brand. To summarize, when you’re building your brand focus on those things about you that are unique, authentic and valuable to your target audience.
That’s my take – and William Arruda’s take – on creating and nurturing your personal brand. What do you think? Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us. As always, thanks for reading.
Interpersonal competence is one of the keys to success that I discuss in Straight Talk for Success. If you want to become interpersonally competent, you need to do three things. 1) Get to know yourself. Use this self knowledge to better understand others. 2) Build and nurture, strong, lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with the important people in your life. 3) Learn how to resolve conflict in a positive manner.
Conflict can kill relationships, or it can enhance them. Conflict can have positive results. Creative solutions to complex problems come from working through conflict in a constructive manner. I have one simple, common sense rule for resolving conflict positively. Focus on where you agree – not where you disagree.
When you focus on points of agreement – however small – you put yourself in a position to build a creative solution to the problem or disagreement, and an opportunity to create a win/win situation for all parties. When you focus on where you disagree, you wind up defending your position. This creates a win/lose situation, one in which one party’s gain is seen as another party’s loss.
On Tuesday, President Obama addressed Congress and the nation. His speech was both sobering and optimistic. At the end of the speech, he provided a great example of what I mean by focusing on where you agree, not disagree…
“I know that we haven't agreed on every issue thus far, and there are surely times in the future when we will part ways. But I also know that every American who is sitting here tonight loves this country and wants it to succeed. That must be the starting point for every debate we have in the coming months, and where we return after those debates are done. That is the foundation on which the American people expect us to build common ground.
“And if we do — if we come together and lift this nation from the depths of this crisis, if we put our people back to work and restart the engine of our prosperity, if we confront without fear the challenges of our time and summon that enduring spirit of an America that does not quit, then someday years from now our children can tell their children that this was the time when we performed, in the words that are carved into this very chamber, ‘something worthy to be remembered.’ Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.”
The words, “But I also know that every American who is sitting here tonight loves this country and wants it to succeed. That must be the starting point for every debate we have in the coming months, and where we return after those debates are done;” capture the essence of resolving conflict by focusing on points of agreement.
By acknowledging the fact that all members of Congress love our country and want it to succeed, President Obama opened the door for discussion on how to resolve the economic, energy, health care and education problems we face as a nation. He indicated that he is willing to listen to and discuss points of view that differ from his own. If he and his advisors follow through on this promise, I believe that we will find better solutions to the problems we face as a nation than if he and his advisors go it alone.
President Obama’s speech demonstrates the idea I want to get across in this post – when you are in a conflict focus on where you and the other person agree – not where you disagree. By focusing on a point of agreement – that all member of Congress love the USA, President Obama opened up the door to building creative solutions to the problems we face as a society.
The common sense point here is simple. Successful people are interpersonally competent. Interpersonally competent people build strong relationships with the important people in their lives. If you want to become interpersonally competent, use conflict as an opportunity to strengthen, not weaken, your relationships. You can do this by focusing on the points on which you and the other person agree, not where you disagree. If you take this approach, you will not only strengthen you relationships, you will put yourself in the position where you can jointly come up with creative solutions to the issue at hand.
That’s my take on resolving conflict in a positive manner. What’s yours? Please leave a comment sharing any experiences you’ve had where focusing on points of agreement, not disagreement, helped you successfully and positively resolve conflict. As always, thanks for reading.
Dynamic communication skills are one of the keys to success that I discuss in Straight Talk for Success. If you want to become a dynamic communicator, you need to develop three basic communication skills: 1) conversation; 2) writing; 3) presenting.
Listening is the key to becoming a great conversationalist. Dr. Joyce Brothers makes an interesting point about listening.
“Listening, not imitation, may be the sincerest form of flattery.”
She’s right!
When you really listen to someone, really listen, giving him or her you complete and undivided attention, you are showing that you care about him or her as a human being. What could be more flattering?
I have a worked out a listening to speaking ratio for effective conversations. Listen two thirds of the time. Speak one third of the time. In this way, you are giving the other person more time to share his or her thoughts and ideas with you. You will be flattering him or her by your willingness to listen.
Listening is more than just not talking. To listen well, you need to mentally engage with the other person. You need to focus on what he or she is saying, and you need to respond in a manner that indicates that you are paying attention.
You should listen the most diligently when you find yourself disagreeing with what the other person is saying. It’s easy to tune out someone with whom you disagree. When you really listen to what he or she has to say, you are not only demonstrating respect for his or her as a person, you put yourself in a position to learn something new.
The people who host many of the television political talk shows are terrible listeners. They invite people who hold opposing views to be on their show. They ask provocative questions. And then begin to argue with their guest as soon as he or she begins speaking. This may be good TV, but it is a poor example of how to truly listen and engage with another person.
The common sense point here is simple. Successful people have well developed communication skills. They are good conversationalists. They write clearly and succinctly. They present well. If you want to become a good conversationalist, you need to learn to listen well. Focus your attention on the other person, pay attention to what he or she says. Respond appropriately. Listen more than you speak. Show people that you value them and what they have to say.
That’s my take on the importance of listening. What’s yours? Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us. As always, thanks for reading.
Outstanding performance is one of the keys to success that I discuss in Straight Talk for Success. If you want to become an outstanding performer, you need to do three things. 1) Stay on top of things in your field by becoming a lifelong learner. 2) Set and achieve high goals. 3) Get organized. Manage your time, life and stress well.
If you are going to set and achieve high goals, you need to develop positive habits. I saw a great quote from Samuel Johnson about habits the other day…
“The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.”
This is true for both positive and negative habits. At first, you hardly feel either of them. However, over time they can become your master. This blog is a good example. When I first started writing it, I decided to post five days a week. At first, I had to consciously work at finding a topic and writing 500 or 600 words every day – this one is very long at 1,000 words. Gradually, posting to this blog became ingrained in me to the point where I began noticing things in my everyday life and thinking “that would make for a great blog post.” Now, the habit is so strong that I make time to write and post every day. I wouldn’t feel a work day would be complete without writing a blog post.
Unfortunately, this phenomenon works the other way too. I like to bicycle. I ride almost every day in warm weather. However, I don’t ride very often in the winter months. And, as the old cycling saying goes, “the first crank is the hardest.” In other words, I find it hard to get back on my bike after a three or four month layoff. Once I get out of the habit of riding, I find it hard to get back into it. Ever had a similar experience? How did you reverse the negative habit?
Dan Robey is a friend of mine and the author of a great book, The Power of Positive Habits. I subscribe to his ezine. On Monday he sent a killer e mail about “going for it.” Dan talked about your “IT” goal. The goal that is most important to you. Dan is a sharing guy. He has given me permission to excerpt any of his e mails any time I think his thoughts will benefit the readers of this blog. Dan’s thoughts on an “IT” goal are certainly worth sharing. See for yourself…
"IT" can be any worthwhile goal:
• You want a career change
• You want to make more money
• You want to start your own company
• You want to retire early
• You want to get over a health problem
• You want to be a better father
• You want to be a better mother
• You want to break a record in sports
• You want to lose weight
These are just a few examples. Your "IT" could be something completely different. However, I have no doubt that you have an "IT" goal and that your life will change for the better when you reach it.
I challenge you right now, as you read these words to take the plunge, to make the decision right now, TO GO FOR IT!
Because “IT” matters. Because "IT" can change your life. Because success is always more difficult than mediocrity but the rewards are HUGE! Because you CAN do it.
Do this right now.
• Write your “IT” goal and look at it every day.
• Read it aloud and visualize yourself as already reaching it.
• Play this visualization back in your mind every night as you go to sleep.
• Create an incredible movie in your mind, picture your life after reaching your "IT" goal.
• Determine what you will need to learn to reach your “IT” goal, who you will need to enlist to help you? This is important.
• Make a list of steps you must take to reach your "IT" goal.
• Make a list of people who can help you and resources you will need to help you reach your "IT" goal.
• Go to bookstores or libraries. Read the books that will teach you how to reach your "IT" goal.
• Keep track of what is working and what is failing...remember you will learn from your failures.
• Find a mentor....someone who has been successful at reaching your "IT" goal. Model yourself after that person, learn how that person became successful and copy their model. Do not reinvent the wheel.
• If you want to quickly reach your "IT" goal, find someone who has already done it...follow their lead, they already made many mistakes which you can learn from.
• Focus on your "IT" goal every day until it becomes a part of who you are.
Dan’s last point brings us back to Samuel Johnson. You become your habits. Habits are self reinforcing. Positive habits will lead to personal and professional success. Negative habits will add roadblocks to your success.
The common sense point here is clear. Successful people are outstanding performers. Outstanding performers consciously develop positive habits – in their work, their home life, and in their health and well being. These positive habits become indistinguishable from who they are. If you want to become an outstanding performer, you need to consciously choose positive habits. On the other hand, if you want to become an outstanding performer and a personal and professional success, you need to break any negative habits you have developed over the years. The longer you put up with your bad habits, the more difficult they are to break.
That’s my take on outstanding performance and habits – positive and negative. What’s yours? How do you reinforce your positive habits? How have you successfully broken negative habits that were inhibiting your personal and professional success? Please leave a comment sharing your stories with us. As always, thanks for reading.
I haven’t posted here for a while. I’ve had a hectic travel schedule. However, I continued to post to my www.SuccessCommonSense.com blog. You can find all my posts there. Also, if you are not already subscribed to my free weekly ezine “Common Sense,” you can do so at my website www.BudBilanich.com.
Positive personal impact is one of the keys to success that I discuss in Straight Talk for Success. If you want to create positive personal impact, you need to do three things well. 1) Create and nurture your unique personal brand. 2) Be impeccable in your presentation of self – in person and on line. 3) Know and follow the basic rules of etiquette.
People who create positive personal impact are good at turning contacts into relationships. I saw an article by Barry Farber (www.BarryFarber.com) called “Good Connections” in the January issue of Entrepreneur Magazine (www.entrepreneur.com.) Barry began the article by asking two very good questions…
“How do you make the most of every contact you make?”
“How can you gain the trust of your contacts so they’ll start connecting you to all the people in their network?”
He goes on to say, “The greatest networkers have a simple, practical system for making a lasting impression and building a strong foundation for future success.”
Barry Farber and I are on the same page when it comes to building your personal network. Here is a summary of the common sense points for making connections and creating positive personal impact on which we both agree.
Start off strong. Give new contacts a firm handshake and look them in the eye. If you display an upbeat attitude and a sincere eagerness to meet another person, he or she is likely to reciprocate.
Listen more than you talk. Find out what makes another person tick. I always suggest listening about two thirds of the time and speaking only one third of the time when you first meet someone. This ratio works well for me.
Ask questions. Listen to the answers. Respond appropriately. Most people like to speak about themselves. Your questions will give them the opportunity to do so.
Look for common interests. Family, sports and hobbies are a great place to look for common interests. Once you find a common interest, you can really begin to make a conversation flow.
Offer to help. Do what you can to help the other person. Recommend a book or web site. Surround yourself with interesting people that others might want to meet. Offer to connect the new people you meet with your contacts. Offer to provide a reference to someone you know who might need his or her expertise.
To thine own self be true. Be yourself when you meet new people. Don’t try to be what you think others want you to be. Barry Farber says, “Be honest about what you do, who you are and what you believe.
Follow up. You can make a great first impression, but if you don’t follow up with the people you meet, your first impression is of no value. Follow up is the glue that helps turn contacts into relationships.
Barry concludes his article in Entrepreneur with these words…
“Nothing really new here – it’s common sense. And guess what? Common sense isn’t so common anymore.”
Maybe common sense has never been very common. About 100 years ago, Will Rogers, a famous American humorist said, “Common sense ain’t all that common.” That’s why I have designated his birthday, November 4 as “Use Your Common Sense Day.” More on this in future posts.
Speaking of common sense, the common sense point here is simple. Successful people create positive personal impact. Positive personal impact is key to building a network of solid connections. You can create a strong connections – and build positive personal impact – by doing simple things like looking people in the eye, offering a firm handshake, listening to what they have to say and responding appropriately, introducing others to the people in your network and following up with the people you meet.
That’s my take on common sense, networking and creating positive personal impact. What’s yours? Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us. As always, you have my deepest and most sincere thanks for reading.
Interpersonal competence is one of the keys to success that I discuss in Straight Talk for Success. If you want to become interpersonally competent you need to do three things. 1) Get to know yourself. Use this self knowledge to better understand and relate to others. 2) Build solid, lasting mutually beneficial relationships with the important people in your life. 3) Learn how to resolve conflict with a minimal disruption to your relationships.
Dale Carnegie wrote the book on how to build relationships. How to Win Friends and Influence People has sold over 15 million copies since it was published in 1936. Mr. Carnegie believed that only about 15% of your success is due to your technical knowledge, while 85% is due to your ability to build relationships. His philosophy can be summed up in a few words…
Act enthusiastically, smile, become genuinely interested in other people. Don’t criticize, condemn or complain.
The March issue of SUCCESS Magazine has a great article about Dale Carnegie. Are you a SUCCESS subscriber? If not, I suggest you log on to www.success.com and do so. Every month, SUCCESS has a great collection of inspirational and how to articles that will help you grow and succeed. A sidebar to the article on Dale Carnegie lists several points about relationship building…
Avoid arguments.
Respect differing viewpoints.
When you are wrong, admit it emphatically and move on.
You will get more in business and life with honey than with vinegar. Be friendly and gentle.
When you begin a conversation – even an opponent – focus on things on which you both agree.
Let other people talk more than you. Listen fully.
See things from others’ point of view.
Believe that people are inherently good and honest.
Talk about your own mistakes before pointing out someone else’s.
Use questions to lead people in the direction you want them to go.
Always help people maintain their pride.
Lavish praise on others every time you see an improvement.
See the best in people and they will rise to your expectations.
Be supportive. Help people see that mistakes can be corrected.
When you want people to do things the way you suggest, point out the benefits of doing it your way.
The common sense point here is simple. Successful people are interpersonally competent. Interpersonally competent people build and maintain strong, lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with the people in their lives. Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People is a great book for learning how to become interpersonally competent and to build strong relationships. Mr. Carnegie’s advice can be boiled down into one simple point that he – and my grandmother – often said, “you get more flies with honey than vinegar.” Try it, you’ll be surprised at how much being nice pays off in your life and career. It can make you a personal and professional success.
That’s my take on interpersonal competence, relationship building, Dale Carnegie and the power of being nice. What’s yours? Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us. As always, thanks for reading.
Dynamic communication is one of the keys to success that I discuss in Straight Talk for Success. If you want to become a dynamic communicator, you need to master three skills. 1) Become an excellent conversationalist. 2) Learn to write clearly and succinctly. 3) Become an excellent presenter – to groups two or two hundred.
Good writing will set you apart and put you on the road to personal and professional success. Most people are poor writers. They are unclear. They ramble. Their e mails, letters and reports are a series of long sentences filled with big words that don’t really say anything. You can’t catch people’s attention by writing this way. You need to write in a clear, crisp, concise manner.
I try to write like a journalist. I use short sentences with a simple subject – verb – object structure. My writing may read a little staccato like, but it communicates. People tell me that they can understand my points and the reasoning behind them. And that’s why I want when I write.
Your objective in writing at work is to communicate – not to impress others with your vocabulary. When I was speaking with my niece about my book “Straight Talk for Success” at her college graduation party, I said that I tried for an “avuncular hip” writing style. She said, “What does that mean?” I replied, “Avuncular means uncle-like. I wanted to sound like a hip uncle to people reading the book.” She came back with a great question, “Why didn’t you just say so?”
She was right. Everybody knows what “uncle-like” means. A lot of people, including cum laude graduates like my niece, don’t know the word “avuncular.” I was just showing off my vocabulary by using that word. As a result, I didn’t communicate effectively.
Write with your reader in mind. Sometimes it’s a good idea to read aloud what you’ve written to get a feel for how it will sound to your reader. Write in short, simple sentences. Use the simplest words you can to get across your point, while still being accurate. Write fast. Get your thoughts on paper or the computer screen as quickly as you can. Then edit and rewrite until you’ve said exactly what you want to say. One of my first bosses always told me that rewriting is the secret to good writing.
The common sense point here is simple. Successful people are dynamic communicators. If you want to become a dynamic communicator, you need to develop your writing skills. Writing is not difficult if you write in a manner that communicates well. In general, this means, being clear, concise and easily readable. Use short sentences and the smallest word that communicated exactly what you want to say. Write with your reader in mind. Read your writing aloud before sending it. This will help you get a feel for what your reader will experience.
That’s my take on how to write for success. What’s yours? Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us. As always, thanks for reading.
Outstanding performance is one of the keys to success that I discuss in Straight Talk for Success. If you want to become an outstanding performer, you need to do three things. 1) Stay current in your field by becoming a lifelong learner. 2) Set and achieve high goals. 3) Get organized. Manage your time, life and stress well.
If you read this blog, you know that I love SUCCESS Magazine. Every month, the articles inspire and educate me. If you’re not already a subscriber, I suggest you go to www.success.com and do so.
SUCCESS is a great print mag, but it also publishes some great articles on line as well. This month SUCCESS featured an on line article called “13 Key Habits to Help You Seize the Day” by Paul J. Meyer. I have one of Mr. Meyer’s quotes hanging just inside my office door. I read it every time I enter or leave my office. It reads:
Whatever you can vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe and enthusiastically act upon…must inevitably come to pass!
I love this quote. It is the Law of Attraction on steroids. Lots of people vividly imagine, ardently desire, and sincerely believe they will become a personal and professional success. Too many forget about the “enthusiastically act upon” part though.
And that brings us to the point of today’s post. Outstanding performers work hard. They put in the time and effort they need to succeed. They do it under the best of circumstances and the worst of circumstance. Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers may not be the prettiest quarterback to watch, but he is willing to do the work it takes to perform and succeed. He played the entire Super Bowl with two broken ribs. That’s commitment to performing and succeeding.
I’m not suggesting that you work when you’re injured. I am suggesting however, that you need to enthusiastically act on what you imagine and desire. That means you need to seize each day and get the most out of it. Here is what Paul Meyer has to say about seizing the day…
1. Be an inverted paranoid: I believe the whole world is conspiring to do only good things to me. 2. Be a quick forgiver: I don’t have time to waste in unforgiveness. 3. Be optimistic: Believing the best of people and circumstances is a sure way to find the best. 4. Be thankful: I always give thanks, keep my eyes on God as my provider, and keep a smile on my face. 5. Be an encourager: Encouragers make me feel better, stronger, and more capable of accomplishing my dreams. I want to do the same for others. 6. Be spontaneous: I have a sense of urgency and a do-it-now attitude. 7. Be a giver: My greatest joy is giving! 8. Be positive: Being positive has the potential of turning the worst situations into victories. 9. Smile a lot and laugh at life: Adversity is a steppingstone, not a roadblock. Why not laugh in the midst of the challenges? 10. Live life with enthusiasm: I will only live once, so why not give it my all? 11. Enjoy life: I truly enjoy life. 12. Find a hobby you enjoy: No matter where I am, I have something I like to do. 13. Look for people to help: I get up every morning excited about the person I might help that day.
At first, this list may seem a little surprising. It doesn’t say things like “get up early,” “create a to do list and cross off everything before you quit for the day” or “handle each piece of paper only once.” These are good ideas, but I like the way Mr. Meyer approaches seizing the day – being human.
The common sense point here is simple. Successful people are outstanding performers. Outstanding performers seize the day. Paul Meyer offers some great advice for seizing each day: be positive, be a giver, look for people you can help, smile, be spontaneous, encourage others. If you do these six things and the other seven that Mr. Meyer suggests, you’ll be on your way to making the most of each day and to becoming an outstanding performer.
That’s my take on outstanding performance and seizing the day. What’s yours? Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us. As always, I appreciate you taking the time to read this post.
Creating positive personal impact is one of the keys to success that I discuss in Straight Talk for Success. If you want to create positive personal impact you need to do three things. 1) Create, nurture and build your personal brand. 2) Be impeccable in your presentation of self – in person and on line. 3) Know and follow the basic rules of etiquette.
Handwritten thank you notes are a great way to demonstrate your knowledge of the basic rules of etiquette, and to create positive personal impact.
On January 30, I was the keynote speaker at a conference at the University of Denver called “Backpacks to Briefcases.” Among other things, I covered creating positive personal impact. The topic of handwritten thank you notes came up several times during the day. I agreed with the rest of the presenters that handwritten thank you notes are a great way to create positive personal impact.
Now comes the interesting part. I was away for most of last week attending my mother’s funeral. When I returned to my office, I found that I had received a handwritten thank you note from one of the students who was in the audience for my presentation. Katlyn Boches, a student at the Johnson and Wales University campus here in Denver, sent me a handwritten note that said…
“Dear Dr. Bilanich, Thank you for the book and for speaking at the MPI conference. I greatly enjoyed your presentation and look forward to reading your book. I look forward to future correspondence. Sincerely, Katlyn Boches”
Katlyn was one of about 50 people who heard me speak that day. Several won copies of Straight Talk for Success. Katlyn was the only one who took the time to write me a thank you note. That made her one in 50. In other words, when it comes to creating positive personal impact, she is in the top 2% of people who heard me speak on January 30.
Wouldn’t you like to be in the top 2% when it comes to creating positive personal impact? I know I would. In this case, all it took was taking about five minutes to write and address a simple handwritten thank you note of 36 words.
If Katlyn chooses to get in touch with me in the future to ask for assistance with her job search, resume preparation or networking, I’ll be sure to respond and respond quickly. After all, she is in the top 2%. Why wouldn’t I respond to her?
The common sense point here is simple. Successful people create positive personal impact. Handwritten thank you notes are one of the easiest and quickest ways to create positive personal impact. Take the time to hand write a quick thank you note the next time and every time someone does something nice for you. If you do, you’ll quickly gain a reputation as someone who creates positive personal impact.
That’s my take on handwritten notes and creating positive personal impact. What’s yours? Please take a few minutes to share your experiences with writing and receiving thank you notes. As always, thanks for reading.
