Tag Archives: Success

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Book Review – 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven R Covey

to learn and not to do is really not to learn. To know and not to do is really not to know. ~ Stephen R. Covey

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is recognised as one of the most influential books ever written. This book has sold more than 25 million copies in 38 languages world wide. It must have more influence on me than I realised because I have a print and an audio copy.

So whats so special about the 7 habits?

Your habits will determine your future

You can live your life by design or default. To design the future you want, you need to be aware of the habits that take you towards and the habits that pull you away from your desired future.

Successful people have successful habits and unsuccessful people don’t ~Jack Canfield

In the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey starts by introducing the concept of a paradigm. Using the analogy of a map, having a wrong paradigm is like trying to find you way around the city of London with a map of Manchester labelled London. You will experience a great deal of frustration and hardship because you have an incorrectly labelled map. We see things based not on reality but on our own version of reality.

The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.~ Albert Einstein

Steven Covey proposes a new and deeper level of thinking that will lead to the creation of 7 habits that can and will change your life. My top three are:

  1. Be Proactive – Principle of Personal Vision. – Take responsibility for your future. You have the ability to change many things about your life and future by proactively making newer and better choices that will lead you down your desired path. Proactive people according to Covey have the freedom to choose their response to external stimulus. There are lots of illustrations in the book about how you can take control of your life and influence the outcome.
  1. Synergize – Principle of Creative Cooperation. – Simply put, one plus one is greater than two (1+1>2). Synergy is more than working together. It is thinking TEAM (Together Each Achieves More). When we work together as a team, we must value our differences and combine our strengths to achieve much more than each individual can. This is about collaboration with an abundance mindset.
  1. Sharpen the Saw – Principle of Balanced Self-Renewal. Steven Covey identifies four dimensions of renewal
    • The body needs physical renewal though exercise, healthy eating and stress management
    • The mind needs a mental renewal via reading, writing, visualising and planning
    • The spiritual dimension is renewed by our continuous value clarification and commitment to study and meditation
    • Our relationships will benefit from a social and emotional balance through our own internal security, service to others and empathy.

This book is a classic that is worth reading or re-reading to reinforce your good habit of sharpening the saw and perhaps pick up one or two new habits.

The world we live in today may have changed from the time Covey wrote this book, but the principles contained in the seven habits are timeless in its application and they will certainly change your life if you make them habits.

Why not leave a comment if you have read this book or read the book and then leave a comment.

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Success Awaits Those Who Dare

To dare is to be audacious, to be bold and to step up to the challenge. Success at the next level awaits you only if you dare to step up to the plate and play.

Success Awaits Those Who Dare

This requires new sets of action. A change from our old ways of thinking and an application of these seven steps.

  1. Dare To Desire A New Level Of Success 

You will become as large as your controlling desire; or as great as your dominant aspiration ~ James Allen

You have to be intentional about success. It is not automatic. It has to be desired, planned for and worked towards.

The only thing that is guaranteed in the world we live is death and taxes. We will all die and we will all pay taxes directly or indirectly to our respective governments. But we will not all succeed in our endeavours.

What are you willing to sacrifice for success? At what cost? Relationships, your health or your emotional well being. Desire success but not at any cost.

  1. Dare To Pick Yourself Up From Failure

Every new venture is a risk and an adventure into the future. There is always the possibility that your next venture will not succeed. Perhaps your last venture was a failure. Dare to pick yourself up from this unsuccessful attempt and get back into the game.

To succeed, you have to learn from your mistakes. Such learning will only happen if you pause to evaluate and reflect on your decisions.

What went well? What can you do different next time? Make some notes, learn and move on.

  1. Dare To Embrace Excellence

Good enough is not good enough for the person who seeks to excel ~ Dana LaMon

It can always be done better the next time. According to my friend Marc, you need to find out what best looks like in your job and then proceed to exceed it.

Excellence has nothing to do with the resources available to you. It is an attitude that says I will exceed the expectations of my customers, my employees and my shareholders.

Todays consumers are time poor and choice rich. You will need to take some time to think through what additional benefits you can add that will improve the user experience of your product.

  1. Dare To Say No

The only thing that stands between you and what you want from life is often merely the will to try and the faith to believe that it is possible ~ Richard M DeVos

We all have self limiting beliefs and self sabotaging behaviour that kicks in when we reach our self imposed limits. Its also called the ‘Law of the Lid’.

A few years ago I had my name put forward as a substitute keynote speaker. My first inclination was to say no simply because I did not believe I was right for that role. However, I dared to say no to the thought, I stepped out of my comfort zone and spoke at the conference. I wish I could say that I was brilliant with that speech. I was not.

I have since spoken at larger events because I pushed through my self limiting beliefs and stepped into a whole new world with lots of opportunity to learn and grow.

  1. Dare To Take Action On Your Dreams

I am a great believer in the practice of having an ideas vault. This is the habit of  writing down or keeping some form of record of your ideas as they occur. But an ideas vault or bank serves no purpose if you continually make deposits without making withdrawals.

Become a person who regularly reviews his or her ideas and takes action on them. Think of it. Everything we have in the world today from the internet to key hole surgery on babies in the womb is just an idea acted upon.

Be a game changer and regularly act on your ideas

  1. Dare To Value Honesty And Integrity

According to Machiavelli, one could fight as a man doing the right thing or as a beast using force and being deceitful as the circumstance dictates. Leadership and personal integrity are not mutually exclusive.

Being honest and having integrity is one of the core elements of being credible. Credibility is believability which is based on trust. To have influence, a leader must be believable. Unless of course you have coercive powers.

Todays society demands openness, transparency and accountability from its leaders. Value honesty and integrity and you will be rewarded with trust which will ultimately decrease your transaction cost and time. These are great savings that lead to success.

  1. Dare To Be Different

To be different is to be true to yourself. To speak out when other people keep quiet and to keep quiet when others speak out. Go alone if you have to because you believe in yourself and you believe in your dream.

Learn to listen and trust your instincts. If your heart is not for it, let it go. There is always a better deal the next time. Patiently wait for it.

Do not succumb to the pressure of conforming. Success awaits you as you dare to be different.

The Next Level Awaits Those Who Dare

Think for a moment about what you have read. Wherever you are on your journey, be intentional about your success, learn from your failures, exceed expectations, say no to self imposed limits, take action on your ideas, be credible and dare to be different.

What will you dare to do to take you to the next level? Leave a comment.

 

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Applied Knowledge is Key to Success

 Knowledge isn’t power until it is applied ~ Dale Carnegie

Applied Knowledge is Key to Success

To wish you success,

At this stage,

Would be an understatement,

By now,

You have earned your progress in life,

By your creative and resilient efforts.

 

Among the many members of the class,

Some will be surprised at the eventual result,

Some will love what they’ve got,

And others already know their result.

 

Whatever, group you fall into,

It’s the application,

You put the certificate into

That’s of utmost importance.

 

It takes some effort,

To master an art,

Some skill to communicate,

The result of the effort.

 

But a work of genius,

Is divine,

The expression of natural talent,

And the results can be reproduced,

By a determined mind applying such specialist knowledge.

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Your Road to Success

Road to success

No one ever attains very eminent success by simply doing what is required of him; it is the amount and excellence of what is over and above the required that determines the greatness of ultimate distinction. ~ Charles Kendall Adams
 
What is Success?
Success is what you get when you go over and above what is required in your chosen field. To attain success as an entrepreneur, you need to make the effort to exceed the expectations of all stakeholders. Exceed the expectations of your customers, your employees, your shareholders and your bank.
 
As part of bringing you the best to help you on your road to success, I interview leaders in business and the community who have exceeded the limitations and achieved success. During this interviews I tease out the leadership lesson, insights and stories that they have learnt on their journey and share these with you leaders and aspiring leaders.
So let me introduce you to Marc
Marc started his journey as a school teacher. Today Marc is an assistant head teacher in one of the top grammar schools in the United Kingdom.

Hear what Marc has to say about his road to success.
 

Three keys on the road to success.

1. The first key is to learn and to keep learning; You will need to make yourself a life long learner. I have said it many times and will repeat it again, your learning does not stop after you leave school.
Knowledge accumulated over several years by successful people are captured in books, webinars, podcast and in many more places.
More than ever is much knowledge available to the avid reader and learner. If you are a reader, then keep at it. The more you read, the more things you know. The more you know the more people you will influence. The more people you influence the more places you will go.
 
2. The second key: discover what excellence means in your job and then to exceed it. The pursuit of excellence is a decision you make. It has nothing to do with resources. It has everything to do with your desire to succeed and your urge to reach your full potential (Confucius). To excel is to go beyond your best and challenge yourself to do better the next time than you did the last time. Do not allow yourself any excuses. Admit your shortcomings. Make the required effort the next time to do better than the last time.
 
3. Lastly, follow your passion and discover your niche. Take a moment and think about the compounding effect of sticking to your niche. Add life long learning plus an attitude of excellence. With time, you can become the best at what you do best. You enjoy the rewards of success in your business, your career and your life.
 
 
Remember, its your road to success and you are the leading influence in your life. Stay on the road to success and keep on leadinglikeachampion.
 
Why not tell me one key on your road to success?
 
 
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Lessons from the Pickle’s Puncture

The Pickle's Puncture
Or could it be that,
We’ve become so conditioned to our current pleasure,
We so much enjoy our daily leisure,
The toil a constant life feature,
That the thirst for a new challenge is nothing to treasure.

 

Ever so often, our minds face the challenge of a re-capture,
Suddenly expectations suffer the pickle of a puncture,
Again a circumstance has pressured us into growth and to mature.

 

It is more about the lessons we learn,
From the challenges we are faced with and the good fortune from the achievements.
Remaining number one, is more challenging than gaining the coveted spot.
Defending a championship is often tougher than attaining the championship crown.

 

Even in our daily lives, at work, in academics, in business, as professionals, how often do we maintain focus on the benchmark against the competition, how do we measure against the chart of self improvement or at the basic level where are we in February against those self-proclaimed New Year standards.

 

The lesson from the pickle’s puncture may be a stimulating experience which we actively desire to re-live, but it may also be a jolt back to reality from a painful experience which we would prefer if it had not happened.

 

Nature serves us doses of both stimulating and painful experiences through life. It is easier to imagine that those held by society as successful in any endeavour had it all easy and rosy, a close encounter with the same people would soon challenge you to higher heights; you learn that investors lose on some investments within their portfolio, though the star investments make-up for the loses. Not all movies by today’s Oscar winning producer or famous actor was received with the wide public acclaim reserved for block busters. The Olympic golden athlete lost in some competitions, the high flying CEO was not the chosen candidate for some lesser roles in the past.

 

The empowering lessons learnt through life’s journey from the pickle’s puncture  makes the difference to the future if we apply ourselves to the inherent lessons.

 

So rather than focus on the circumstance, whether stimulating or painful, gain strength from the lessons learnt.