Instructor Certification Program
Weekly Thought Vol. 36 - Stick With It
When you look at super-achievers who have made it to the top of their profession, it seems easy to see why they're so successful - they appear powerful, talented, well-respected, intelligent and often adored by many. What's easy to forget is that many of them started with a dream and very little else.
Luck, talent, inherited wealth and/or the right connections don't hurt, but it takes a much rarer quality to ensure success - perseverance. The next time you're tempted to throw in the towel, remember these principles:
1) Recall and internalize previous successes. Remind yourself that you've got what it takes to win by keeping old victories fresh in your mind. Write down a brief account of the two or three most satisfying successes you've ever made. When you begin to doubt yourself, savor the memory of those past successes and remind yourself that your glory days are still ahead of you. The knowledge and experience you've gained since those old successes helps makes future ones even more likely.
2) Don't believe in failure. Instead of letting failures de-motivate you, learn to view them objectively and analyze what might have gone wrong that you can prevent next time. If you read up on some of the most successful athletes, political figures and authors in history, you'll find that many of them had to face failure over and over again before they became successful. In many cases they had what it took to succeed all along, they just had to be willing to keep starting over until their efforts finally paid off. There's not a person in business who can't relate to failure in some form. The key is to stay positive and confident.
3) Recognize that attitude is 80 percent of the success effort. To overcome rejection, depressed economies and hostile prospects time after time, remember the importance of attitude. You don't expect your skills or knowledge to take care of themselves, and you shouldn't expect your attitude to either. Make motivation as important a part of your education as skills training and product knowledge. Choose a well-known positive thinker as your motivational mentor and make his or her philosophy part of your success formula. Zig Ziglar remains one of my personal favorite motivators through his books and CD’s.
4) Focus on the future. The best is yet to come, but to find it you have to look where you're going. Forgive yourself for past mistakes and set goals that give you a reason to keep looking and moving forward. We all become what we think about, so instead of dwelling on the past, develop a vision of the future. Where would you like to be living in three years? How will you have grown professionally? Start thinking of yourself not as you were or even as you are, but as you want to - and someday will - be.
When the going gets tough it's always easier to give in than to keep going, but as the saying goes, quitters never win and winners never quit. Before you decide to quit, ask yourself if you're really ready to give up on your dreams and goals, ready to disappoint the people who believe in you and ready to stop growing and achieving. If the answer is no, make yourself a promise to try even harder to put your setbacks behind you and forge ahead to the success you deserve.
On and UP...
Luck, talent, inherited wealth and/or the right connections don't hurt, but it takes a much rarer quality to ensure success - perseverance. The next time you're tempted to throw in the towel, remember these principles:
1) Recall and internalize previous successes. Remind yourself that you've got what it takes to win by keeping old victories fresh in your mind. Write down a brief account of the two or three most satisfying successes you've ever made. When you begin to doubt yourself, savor the memory of those past successes and remind yourself that your glory days are still ahead of you. The knowledge and experience you've gained since those old successes helps makes future ones even more likely.
2) Don't believe in failure. Instead of letting failures de-motivate you, learn to view them objectively and analyze what might have gone wrong that you can prevent next time. If you read up on some of the most successful athletes, political figures and authors in history, you'll find that many of them had to face failure over and over again before they became successful. In many cases they had what it took to succeed all along, they just had to be willing to keep starting over until their efforts finally paid off. There's not a person in business who can't relate to failure in some form. The key is to stay positive and confident.
"Attitude is 80 percent of the success effort."
3) Recognize that attitude is 80 percent of the success effort. To overcome rejection, depressed economies and hostile prospects time after time, remember the importance of attitude. You don't expect your skills or knowledge to take care of themselves, and you shouldn't expect your attitude to either. Make motivation as important a part of your education as skills training and product knowledge. Choose a well-known positive thinker as your motivational mentor and make his or her philosophy part of your success formula. Zig Ziglar remains one of my personal favorite motivators through his books and CD’s.
4) Focus on the future. The best is yet to come, but to find it you have to look where you're going. Forgive yourself for past mistakes and set goals that give you a reason to keep looking and moving forward. We all become what we think about, so instead of dwelling on the past, develop a vision of the future. Where would you like to be living in three years? How will you have grown professionally? Start thinking of yourself not as you were or even as you are, but as you want to - and someday will - be.
When the going gets tough it's always easier to give in than to keep going, but as the saying goes, quitters never win and winners never quit. Before you decide to quit, ask yourself if you're really ready to give up on your dreams and goals, ready to disappoint the people who believe in you and ready to stop growing and achieving. If the answer is no, make yourself a promise to try even harder to put your setbacks behind you and forge ahead to the success you deserve.
On and UP...
