Step 3: Accelerating Towards Success:
By this stage, you’ll feel your self-confidence building. You’ll have completed some of the courses you started in step 2, and you’ll have plenty of success to celebrate!
Now’s the time to start stretching yourself. Make the goals a bit bigger, and the challenges a bit tougher. Increase the size of your commitment. And extend the skills you’ve proven into new, but closely related arenas.
Tip:
Keep yourself grounded – this is where people tend to get over-confident and over-stretch themselves. And make sure you don’t start enjoying cleverness for its own sake…
As long as you keep on stretching yourself enough, but not too much, you’ll find your self-confidence building apace. What’s more, you’ll have earned your self-confidence - because you’ll have put in the hard graft necessary to be… successful.
Cheers for Success
Showing posts with label Success. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Success. Show all posts
Monday, October 22, 2007
3 steps to build self-confidence (Step 2)
Here you start, ever so slowly, moving towards your goal. By doing the right things, and starting with small, easy wins, you’ll put yourself on the path to success – and the self-confidence that comes with it.
Build the knowledge you need to succeed:
Looking at your goals, identify the skills you’ll need to achieve them. And then look at how you can acquire these skills confidently and well. Don’t just accept a sketchy, just-good-enough solution – look for a solution, a program or a course that fully equips you to achieve what you want to achieve, and ideally gives you a certificate you can be proud of.
Focus on the basics:
When you’re starting, don’t try to do anything clever or elaborate. And don’t reach for perfection – just enjoy doing simple things successfully and well.
Set small goals, and achieve them:
Starting with the very small goals you identified in step 1, get in the habit of setting goals, achieving them, and celebrating that achievement. Don’t make goals particularly challenging at this stage, just get into the habit of achieving them and celebrating them. And little by little, start piling up the successes!
Keep managing your mind:
Stay on top of that positive thinking, keep celebrating and enjoying success, and keep those mental images strong.
And on the other side, learn to handle failure. Accept that mistakes happen when you’re trying something new. In fact, if you get into the habit of treating mistakes as learning experiences, you can (almost) start to see them in a positive light. After all, there’s a lot to be said for the saying “if it doesn’t kill me, it makes me stronger!”
Cheers for Success
Build the knowledge you need to succeed:
Looking at your goals, identify the skills you’ll need to achieve them. And then look at how you can acquire these skills confidently and well. Don’t just accept a sketchy, just-good-enough solution – look for a solution, a program or a course that fully equips you to achieve what you want to achieve, and ideally gives you a certificate you can be proud of.
Focus on the basics:
When you’re starting, don’t try to do anything clever or elaborate. And don’t reach for perfection – just enjoy doing simple things successfully and well.
Set small goals, and achieve them:
Starting with the very small goals you identified in step 1, get in the habit of setting goals, achieving them, and celebrating that achievement. Don’t make goals particularly challenging at this stage, just get into the habit of achieving them and celebrating them. And little by little, start piling up the successes!
Keep managing your mind:
Stay on top of that positive thinking, keep celebrating and enjoying success, and keep those mental images strong.
And on the other side, learn to handle failure. Accept that mistakes happen when you’re trying something new. In fact, if you get into the habit of treating mistakes as learning experiences, you can (almost) start to see them in a positive light. After all, there’s a lot to be said for the saying “if it doesn’t kill me, it makes me stronger!”
Cheers for Success
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Good Grief, You Taught Me a Lot, Charlie Brown!
For 50 years the daily comic strip 'Peanuts' entertained millions of readers. Every day, the adventures of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus and the whole gang provided many laugh-out-loud moments while at the same time offering a daily inspiration and lessons on life.
With the recent death of 'Peanuts' creator Charles Schulz, I reflect on how much I enjoyed sharing the adventures of the 'Peanuts' gang and I remember the many lessons they taught me...
1. It's okay to be afraid... just don't let your fears control you.
Charlie Brown often sat in bed and spoke of his fears, but no matter how scared he was, he always did the things he wanted to do.
2. Persistence wins out.
Charlie Brown often lost, failed at much, but he never gave up. Even though he knew Lucy was going to pull the football away before he could kick it.... Even though he knew the tree was going to eat his kite... Even though he knew his team would lose the ball game, he kept on trying.
3. It's what you think of yourself that counts.
Linus carried a security blanket for years and his friends laughed at him. They also laughed at him because he believed in the "Great Pumpkin." Pigpen was a walking cloud of dust and dirt and was often regarded unkindly. Both characters, however, were always proud of themselves and believed they were as good as anybody else -- and they were right.
4. Sometimes you need to talk.
One thing the 'Peanuts' gang understood was the importance of talking things out. Whether leaning up against Schroeder's piano or atop the brick wall, they always had someplace to discuss what was of concern to them.
5. Sometimes you need to listen.
Even crabby, self-indulged Lucy knew the importance of listening. She started the famous 'Psychiatry Booth' where any and all could come and be heard.
6. Do what you love to do.
Through all their adventures, Schroeder remained constant in his appreciation of Beethoven and his love of playing the piano. He loved to play piano and that's what he did, regardless of the circumstances. Charlie Brown flew his kite, played baseball and football, not just to win (he knew he wouldn't), but because he loved to do those things.
7. It's important to have friends that care.
The 'Peanuts' gang was made up of individual characters, each with their own foibles and talents, but through it all they were always there for each other.
8. Big dreams lead to big things.
Snoopy was the biggest dreamer of them all, but his wild imagination often led to even wilder, more fantastic adventures in real life. Snoopy knew that you must have a big dream if you are going to lead a big life.
9. Action creates reality.
As Charlie Brown was reminded time and again after prodding from Linus: it takes action to bring about change. Though he often failed, Chuck took action quite regularly... and every now and again things would go his way.
10. Laugh every day! While the kids themselves may not have seen the humor in the things they did, Schulz made sure that we did. Life is only as serious or as humorous as YOU make it.
Cheers for Success
With the recent death of 'Peanuts' creator Charles Schulz, I reflect on how much I enjoyed sharing the adventures of the 'Peanuts' gang and I remember the many lessons they taught me...
1. It's okay to be afraid... just don't let your fears control you.
Charlie Brown often sat in bed and spoke of his fears, but no matter how scared he was, he always did the things he wanted to do.
2. Persistence wins out.
Charlie Brown often lost, failed at much, but he never gave up. Even though he knew Lucy was going to pull the football away before he could kick it.... Even though he knew the tree was going to eat his kite... Even though he knew his team would lose the ball game, he kept on trying.
3. It's what you think of yourself that counts.
Linus carried a security blanket for years and his friends laughed at him. They also laughed at him because he believed in the "Great Pumpkin." Pigpen was a walking cloud of dust and dirt and was often regarded unkindly. Both characters, however, were always proud of themselves and believed they were as good as anybody else -- and they were right.
4. Sometimes you need to talk.
One thing the 'Peanuts' gang understood was the importance of talking things out. Whether leaning up against Schroeder's piano or atop the brick wall, they always had someplace to discuss what was of concern to them.
5. Sometimes you need to listen.
Even crabby, self-indulged Lucy knew the importance of listening. She started the famous 'Psychiatry Booth' where any and all could come and be heard.
6. Do what you love to do.
Through all their adventures, Schroeder remained constant in his appreciation of Beethoven and his love of playing the piano. He loved to play piano and that's what he did, regardless of the circumstances. Charlie Brown flew his kite, played baseball and football, not just to win (he knew he wouldn't), but because he loved to do those things.
7. It's important to have friends that care.
The 'Peanuts' gang was made up of individual characters, each with their own foibles and talents, but through it all they were always there for each other.
8. Big dreams lead to big things.
Snoopy was the biggest dreamer of them all, but his wild imagination often led to even wilder, more fantastic adventures in real life. Snoopy knew that you must have a big dream if you are going to lead a big life.
9. Action creates reality.
As Charlie Brown was reminded time and again after prodding from Linus: it takes action to bring about change. Though he often failed, Chuck took action quite regularly... and every now and again things would go his way.
10. Laugh every day! While the kids themselves may not have seen the humor in the things they did, Schulz made sure that we did. Life is only as serious or as humorous as YOU make it.
Cheers for Success
Friday, October 19, 2007
Three Things You Must Know to Attract Success
Everyone wants success.
Some people spend their every waking moment pursuing it, to the detriment of all else.
For others, attaining success seems impossible. They conclude that it is destined for a select few. The rest of us are to remain “content with such things as we have”. Having it all is not “in our stars”.
However, the above assumptions couldn’t be further from the truth. When you strive for success with the wrong assumptions, you will never reach it.
It’s like travelling somewhere with the wrong map.
Zig Ziglar says that, “Success is a process, not an event,” “a journey, not a destination.”
Jim Rohn describes it as “…a condition that must be attracted not pursued.”
Do you see the pattern?
“…a process, not an event.”
“…a journey, not a destination.”
“…a condition that must be attracted not pursued.”
You can’t hurry success, catch it, or find it by chance. You can’t inherit it, gate-crash on it, or take it from some one else.
Success is something you must work hard and long to earn, for yourself. It has a price, sometimes a very high one. And most people aren’t really and truly ready to pay that price, to do what success demands.
If success has eluded you so far, perhaps you should try changing your assumptions.
You need to accept that:
(1) You must go through a growing process, which will require time and patience, in order to achieve success. There are no short cuts. Anything else is a temporary illusion.
Success that will remain with you, and bring you joy rather than sorrow, requires a learning process, a time to grow out of old habits and into new ones, a time to learn what works and what doesn’t.
And you must pay your dues, in full, in advance!
So don’t be in a hurry.
(2) You will need to acquire traits and skills that attract it.
What does success mean to you? Identify, in specific terms, what you regard as success. What traits or skills will you need to achieve this goal? Set clear, written goals.
Devise plans to acquire the needed traits and skills. Learn to do what you need to do, to get where you want to go.
What kinds of people have what you want? What do they do, or not do, that helps them get and keep it?
If you do what they do and avoid what they avoid, there’s a good chance that you will end up with what they have.
Find 2 or 3 people who have what you want. Write down the habits that have made them successful and resolve to copy them.
Starting now!
This is called mentoring, learning from others who have arrived where you want to go.
Mentoring can cut out the heart-aches of trial and error. A mentor can keep you focused and on track.
Once you learn to do what it takes, you qualify. And when you qualify, success comes looking for you. You just can’t be denied!
What a relief from the days when you ran after it! You fulfill the requirements and attract success to yourself. Opportunities open up to you, and when they do, they find you ready to grasp them.
(3) You must be ready to travel the road to success, oftentimes alone. It’s been said that, “At some point in time, the pursuit of your goals becomes secondary and what you have become in the process…..is what is most important. It’s not the distance you go…so much as the going itself” (Les Brown).
Parents, remember when you tried to teach your children to crawl? You put their favourite toy in front of them and teased them forward, inch by inch. They were after the toy, which kept them motivated.
But you wanted to strengthen their muscles and teach them a new skill. When they became good at reaching the toy, they had learned to crawl. After that, they could reach any destination they wanted, without you and the toy!
The DESTINATION was less important. They became champion crawlers in the PROCESS!
That’s what the journey to success does to you. It causes you to learn habits and skills that make you “full of success”, or “successful”.
Because you have now mastered the skills and the process, you can keep on reproducing success. You now have what it takes. But if you try to “gate-crash”, you don’t get to learn the process and the skills.
You cannot reproduce success, in the same or different scenarios. You do not have the tools for acquiring it; you only have a mirage. In other words, you have not become successful.
Should calamity strike, you are back to square one, and you’ll quite likely be there a long time.
Anyone can identify what success means to them and go after it. If you don’t mind the hard work and waiting, success can be yours. You can become the kind of person who attracts what he or she wants rather than running after it.
Funny enough, when you are ready for success you attract it, with little effort.
When you are not, it runs from you, no matter how hard you chase. In other words, you repel it!
Most likely, this is the reason that success eludes people.
Now that you know how to attract success, why not get started on the journey or process that will take you where you want to go? Any one can succeed, but unfortunately not every one will. It’s your decision to choose. Fate does not foist it upon you. You can have anything you want in life, if you’re ready to pay the price. But if you consider the process too hard, too slow, or the distance too long and lonely, you have qualified your self as a looser; painful but true.
So don’t short-change yourself with short-cuts and counterfeits. You can have the real thing.
Go out there today and start attracting success.
It’s literally yours for the taking!
Cheers for Success
Some people spend their every waking moment pursuing it, to the detriment of all else.
For others, attaining success seems impossible. They conclude that it is destined for a select few. The rest of us are to remain “content with such things as we have”. Having it all is not “in our stars”.
However, the above assumptions couldn’t be further from the truth. When you strive for success with the wrong assumptions, you will never reach it.
It’s like travelling somewhere with the wrong map.
Zig Ziglar says that, “Success is a process, not an event,” “a journey, not a destination.”
Jim Rohn describes it as “…a condition that must be attracted not pursued.”
Do you see the pattern?
“…a process, not an event.”
“…a journey, not a destination.”
“…a condition that must be attracted not pursued.”
You can’t hurry success, catch it, or find it by chance. You can’t inherit it, gate-crash on it, or take it from some one else.
Success is something you must work hard and long to earn, for yourself. It has a price, sometimes a very high one. And most people aren’t really and truly ready to pay that price, to do what success demands.
If success has eluded you so far, perhaps you should try changing your assumptions.
You need to accept that:
(1) You must go through a growing process, which will require time and patience, in order to achieve success. There are no short cuts. Anything else is a temporary illusion.
Success that will remain with you, and bring you joy rather than sorrow, requires a learning process, a time to grow out of old habits and into new ones, a time to learn what works and what doesn’t.
And you must pay your dues, in full, in advance!
So don’t be in a hurry.
(2) You will need to acquire traits and skills that attract it.
What does success mean to you? Identify, in specific terms, what you regard as success. What traits or skills will you need to achieve this goal? Set clear, written goals.
Devise plans to acquire the needed traits and skills. Learn to do what you need to do, to get where you want to go.
What kinds of people have what you want? What do they do, or not do, that helps them get and keep it?
If you do what they do and avoid what they avoid, there’s a good chance that you will end up with what they have.
Find 2 or 3 people who have what you want. Write down the habits that have made them successful and resolve to copy them.
Starting now!
This is called mentoring, learning from others who have arrived where you want to go.
Mentoring can cut out the heart-aches of trial and error. A mentor can keep you focused and on track.
Once you learn to do what it takes, you qualify. And when you qualify, success comes looking for you. You just can’t be denied!
What a relief from the days when you ran after it! You fulfill the requirements and attract success to yourself. Opportunities open up to you, and when they do, they find you ready to grasp them.
(3) You must be ready to travel the road to success, oftentimes alone. It’s been said that, “At some point in time, the pursuit of your goals becomes secondary and what you have become in the process…..is what is most important. It’s not the distance you go…so much as the going itself” (Les Brown).
Parents, remember when you tried to teach your children to crawl? You put their favourite toy in front of them and teased them forward, inch by inch. They were after the toy, which kept them motivated.
But you wanted to strengthen their muscles and teach them a new skill. When they became good at reaching the toy, they had learned to crawl. After that, they could reach any destination they wanted, without you and the toy!
The DESTINATION was less important. They became champion crawlers in the PROCESS!
That’s what the journey to success does to you. It causes you to learn habits and skills that make you “full of success”, or “successful”.
Because you have now mastered the skills and the process, you can keep on reproducing success. You now have what it takes. But if you try to “gate-crash”, you don’t get to learn the process and the skills.
You cannot reproduce success, in the same or different scenarios. You do not have the tools for acquiring it; you only have a mirage. In other words, you have not become successful.
Should calamity strike, you are back to square one, and you’ll quite likely be there a long time.
Anyone can identify what success means to them and go after it. If you don’t mind the hard work and waiting, success can be yours. You can become the kind of person who attracts what he or she wants rather than running after it.
Funny enough, when you are ready for success you attract it, with little effort.
When you are not, it runs from you, no matter how hard you chase. In other words, you repel it!
Most likely, this is the reason that success eludes people.
Now that you know how to attract success, why not get started on the journey or process that will take you where you want to go? Any one can succeed, but unfortunately not every one will. It’s your decision to choose. Fate does not foist it upon you. You can have anything you want in life, if you’re ready to pay the price. But if you consider the process too hard, too slow, or the distance too long and lonely, you have qualified your self as a looser; painful but true.
So don’t short-change yourself with short-cuts and counterfeits. You can have the real thing.
Go out there today and start attracting success.
It’s literally yours for the taking!
Cheers for Success
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