9 Beliefs of Remarkably
Successful People
By Jeff Haden | Inc – Fri, Sep 20, 2013
I'm fortunate enough to
know a number of remarkably successful people. Regardless of industry or
profession, they all share the same perspectives and beliefs.
And they act on those beliefs:
1. Time doesn't fill me.
I fill time.
Deadlines and time frames establish parameters,
but typically not in a good way. The average person who is given two weeks to
complete a task will instinctively adjust his effort so it actually takes two
weeks.
Forget deadlines, at least as a way to manage
your activity. Tasks should only take as long as they need to take. Do
everything as quickly and effectively as you can. Then use your
"free" time to get other things done just as quickly and effectively.
Average people allow time to impose its will on
them; remarkable people impose their will on their time.
2. The people around me
are the people I chose.
Some of your employees drive you nuts. Some of
your customers are obnoxious. Some of your friends are selfish, all-about-me
jerks.
You chose them. If the people around you make
you unhappy it's not their fault. It's your fault. They're in your professional
or personal life because you drew them to you--and you let them remain.
Think about the type of people you want to work
with. Think about the types of customers you would enjoy serving. Think about
the friends you want to have.
Then change what you do so you can start
attracting those people. Hardworking people want to work with hardworking
people. Kind people like to associate with kind people. Remarkable
employees want to work for remarkable
bosses.
Successful people are naturally drawn to
successful people.
3. I have never paid my
dues.
Dues aren't paid, past tense. Dues get paid,
each and every day. The only real measure of your value is the tangible
contribution you make on a daily basis.
No matter what you've done or accomplished in
the past, you're never too good to roll up your sleeves, get dirty, and do the
grunt work. No job is ever too menial, no task ever too unskilled or
boring.
Remarkably successful people never feel
entitled--except to the fruits of their labor.
4. Experience is
irrelevant. Accomplishments are everything.
You have "10 years in the Web design
business." Whoopee. I don't care how long you've been doing what you do.
Years of service indicate nothing; you could be the worst 10-year programmer in
the world.
I care about what you've done: how many sites you've created, how many
back-end systems you've installed, how many customer-specific applications
you've developed (and what kind)... all that matters is what you've done.
Successful people don't
need to describe themselves using hyperbolic adjectives like
passionate, innovative, driven, etc. They can just describe, hopefully in a
humble way, what they've done.
5. Failure is something
I accomplish; it doesn't just happen to me.
Ask people why they have been successful. Their
answers will be filled with personal pronouns: I, me, and the sometimes too
occasional we.
Ask them why they failed. Most will revert to
childhood and instinctively distance themselves, like the kid who says,
"My toy got broken..." instead of, "I broke my toy."
They'll say the economy tanked. They'll say the
market wasn't ready. They'll say their suppliers couldn't keep up.
They'll say it was someone or something else.
And by distancing themselves, they don't learn
from their failures.
Occasionally something completely outside your control
will cause you to fail. Most of the time, though, it's you. And that's okay.
Every successful person has failed. Numerous times. Most of them have failed a
lot more often than you. That's why they're successful now.
Embrace every failure: Own it, learn from it,
and take full responsibility for making sure that next time, things will turn
out differently.
6. Volunteers always
win.
Whenever you raise your hand you wind up being
asked to do more.
That's great. Doing more is an opportunity: to
learn, to impress, to gain skills, to build new relationships--to do something
more than you would otherwise been able to do.
Success is based on action. The more
you volunteer, the more you get to act. Successful people step
forward to create opportunities.
Remarkably successful people sprint forward.
7. As long as I'm paid
well, it's all good.
Specialization is good. Focus is good. Finding a
niche is good.
Generating revenue is great.
Anything a customer will pay you a reasonable
price to do--as long as it isn't unethical, immoral, or illegal--is something
you should do. Your customers want you to deliver outside your normal
territory? If they'll pay you for it, fine. They want you to add services you
don't normally include? If they'll pay you for it, fine. The customer wants you
to perform some relatively manual labor and you're a high-tech shop? Shut up,
roll 'em up, do the work, and get paid.
Only do what you want to do and you might build an okay business.
Be willing to do what customers want you to do and you can build a successful
business.
Be willing to do even more and you can build a
remarkable business.
And speaking of customers...
8. People who pay me
always have the right to tell me what to do.
Get over your cocky, pretentious,
I-must-be-free-to-express-my-individuality self. Be that way on your own time.
The people who pay you, whether customers or
employers, earn the right to dictate what you do and how you do it--sometimes
down to the last detail.
Instead of complaining, work to align what you
like to do with what the people who pay you want you to do.
Then you turn issues like control and
micro-management into non-issues.
9. The extra mile is a
vast, unpopulated wasteland.
Everyone says they go the extra mile. Almost no
one actually does. Most people who go there think, "Wait... no one else is
here... why am I doing this?" and leave, never to return.
That's why the extra mile is such a lonely
place.
That's also why the extra mile is a place filled
with opportunities.
Be early. Stay late. Make the extra phone call.
Send the extra email. Do the extra research. Help a customer unload or unpack a
shipment. Don't wait to be asked; offer. Don't just tell employees what to
do--show them what to do and work beside them.
Every time you do something, think of one extra
thing you can do--especially if other people aren't doing that one thing. Sure,
it's hard.
But that's what will make you different.
And over time, that's what will make you
incredibly successful.
Hakuna maoni:
Chapisha Maoni