8 Things Successful People Do

DECODING THE PATH TO SUCCESS

Nicolas Cole, Inc.   (from INC magazine)  Sep. 24, 2016, 11:00 AM (if you would like to have more detail from this article contact me and I’ll email it to you. Ed)

Success is a game of habits. In itself, “success” is a relative term, and so its “achievement” is fully dependent upon the habits you put into place that move you step by step toward the “end” you define for yourself.

To be “successful,” it becomes a matter of the routine you put into place for yourself. Whenever you are looking outward, for example, it is very clear the difference between those who create positive daily habits for themselves versus the people who let life’s waves dictate their day to day.

Remember: You are the surfer. It’s up to you to ride the waves based on where it is you want to go, versus letting them carry you where they will.

1. Successful people plan ahead. Failure to prepare is the act of preparing to fail.
2. Successful people do the hard stuff first. Lazy people have a knack for getting done all the things that are not true priorities. But when it comes to the hard stuff, they suddenly find every reason why they could not complete the task.
3. Successful people say no. If you want to go your own way, be prepared to piss a lot of people off.
4. Successful people invest in themselves. Both in terms of time and money, successful people see life through a lens of investment.
5. Successful people surround themselves with other successful people. Your network is your net worth. The true value of having a network is not access to “things.” It’s access to habits and thought processes you would otherwise struggle to create on your own.
6. Successful people study their craft. I blame school for this, honestly.
7. Successful people are accountable for their actions. Lazy people point the finger at others and make excuses for why things didn’t happen. Successful people own up to the weight of their actions and take accountability for their own shortcomings.
8. Successful people believe in themselves. Lazy people want others to believe in them before they believe in themselves.

Believe in yourself. That’s where it all starts.

Get More Done with a Great Start

There are a few very simple steps to follow to schedule your time and have a great day. Do them daily, and you’ll have a great week. That’s not what we’ll cover here.

We want to know how to maximize the first hour of the day!(or so) so we get a great start to the day and keep it going. Here goes:

• Alarm goes off. No snooze button. Before your feet hit the floor say this verbatim, “This is going to be a great day for me.” That’s it. That’s all you have to do to set your mind and start the engine correctly. But there’s more. 14 seconds
• Wash your face or whatever you do for the morning wake up ritual. Shake out the cobwebs of the night and get things going. 35 seconds
• No email, no social media. This is ‘me time’ and not they time. Read your goals. Surely you set goals and are working on them. Do email at the office. 2 minutes
• Write 10 things you want to accomplish in the next 30 days. Simple goals. But important. Do this every day. 4 minutes
• Meditate, pray. Connect with a higher power. It’s the only way. Clear your mind. Be with yourself. De-clutter. 10 minutes.
• Eat a small piece of fruit. Apple, banana whatever. On the way to workout.
• Exercise routine. Whatever it is. 1 hour minimum.
• Get your morning nutrition. 30 minutes
• Read something worthwhile with your breakfast: spiritual, news, schedule for the day, but still not emails. Get on those when you begin your day in the office.
• Get to your day. Tackle the one thing that you really don’t want to do. It’s called “Eat the Big Green Frog.”

We have time for all of these actions. Add up the times. This ain’t difficult.

It’s critical in DECODING THE PATH TO SUCCESS.

Please Help

My great friend in life is in emergency surgery. Right now. Scott Hindsley and I go back to our entry into Infantry Officer Basic Course in 1972. He needs your prayers. It’s eye surgery. Probably not life threatening, but very serious. I hope this isn’t the wrong way to use Social Media. My buddy needs you, now. Thank you. Ed

Today is Life, Tomorrow is a Gift

That reminder comes along a little more frequently than I’d like. Yep, it’s a function of time. That’s one way of saying ‘age.’

We can watch relatively young-year-olds retire and within a few years look like they’ve been pulled through a keyhole. Then a 90-year old gets her college degree, climbs Mt. Tall As Hell, learns to play a musical instrument. What’s the difference.

Best I can tell it’s several things and I’m going to give you a list. The great thing is…you can start on the list now, any time, at any age. So, go ahead.

Give yourself an Attitude boost and chose to be a Fountain, not a Drain.

Read, educate yourself, learn something new every day, teach someone.

Eat right, exercise, walk, watch the sunrise and set.

Avoid the negative people, media, events. Just get the heck away from them.

Turn off your TV. See above.

Listen to the birds. You heard right. Watch them. You’ll feel better in about 7 seconds.

Imagine your life as you want it, then go get it.

Forgive. Forget

Enjoy today. Plan for tomorrow. No “regerts” if it doesn’t come.

Now, see if that’s a Great Life for you.

DECODING THE PATH TO SUCCESS

Getting to Yes

Do you need it for internal communications as well as your Marketing programs?

Then start with the answer to: SO WHAT?

Do you have a major reason to “Get to Yes” with a client or prospect? Something like make the sale, or authorize an agreement?

What would it mean to you to have the “ok” from an investor or banker to fund your project? Could it put you on the road to success?

How would it make you feel if you could gather 100% support for your plan from your team?

The answer to these and other questions is apparent when we begin our communication by addressing the audience’s question…”SO WHAT”. What is in it for them? This is where we appeal to their emotions vs. trying to convince them with logic, facts or charts.

 From the book, “So What?” by Mark Magnacca we are reminded that “the people you are trying to communicate with, sell to, or reach don’t really care about you, or what you have to offer, until they know how what you have can benefit them.”   “If you help enough people get what they want, by showing or explaining how what you have can benefit them, you can have anything you want.”

Most of us believe that “I” have to communicate “my” message because it is “important.” It’s all about us. When, in fact, it’s all about them.

We are told it’s all about what we say, how we look, the quality of our collateral materials, how smart we are……

So, we tell people about “my product, my service, my idea…..” And that worked well for a long time. Now, we can ask Mr. Google anything we want to know about your product, who else sells it, where I can get it on-line, and more. We have to give people the SO WHAT answer first.

 Learn to identify the emotion that will move your audience. We have to get away from what we think our words, facts, logic and pictures should say or show someone.

We have to ask ourselves “what is the purpose of my presentation or message?”

“Why should they care?”

“What benefits will they receive?”

We may have to grind down and down and down to be sure we are answering the WHY at the most basic and desired level of our audience.

 Focus on what your audience needs to hear vs. what you want to say. “People don’t go to the hardware store to buy a quarter-inch drill. They go because they want to make quarter-inch holes.” (Harvard professor, Ted Levitt) Deliver the end result.

 The ability to communicate what we need and want is critical to our business survival …and survival in our other forms of existence. Understanding the So What factor for all of our messages Gets Us to Yes. Then we complete the cycle of What We Want to What We Get.

Radio Interview

If you’d like to listen to my radio interview about Decoding the Path to Success please see the connection information below. I would enjoy hearing your feedback. Here’s  the info. To listen to the show today at 3pm EST go to http://www.voiceamerica.com/channel/247/voiceamerica-business and just click on The Business Edge graphic and you’ll hear the life broadcast. Afterwards, it will be posted on The Business Edge host page. Click on http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/93583/decoding-the-path-to-success

The great thing about internet radio is that it can be listened to 24/7.

My Old Friend, Now Gone

In the morning it will be Veterans Day and I will wish my fellow Veterans a good day. We will remember family and friends. My Dad and uncles fought World War II and Korea. Part of the Great Generation. Friends too many to count fought in Vietnam. And, of course, our current Iraq/Afgan Veterans.

It will also be a great honor to remember an old friend, now gone. Nelson Greene. We lost him last year. He was 90+ years old, WWII veteran, tail gunner on bombers over Germany. He told stories and jokes all day long. Loved to hunt. That’s where I first met him, on a hunting trip. He loved bird dogs. His Brittany Spaniel was of course named…Nellie. Both loved to hunt ruffed grouse, especially in his native West Virginia. He really enjoyed being with people.

I truly don’t think I ever heard him say a negative thing about another person. He might cuss the weather for messing up his bird hunt. He didn’t have material wealth, but man was he deep in people that loved him.

It would take considerable more space to list the lessons I learned from him from a few hunting trips. Too few.  Lessons in caring for others, humility, humanity and so much more. He was a gentle man and a gentleman. He was short in stature, but he looms large in my life and always will. Take good care Nelson Greene. The hunting grounds are a lesser place for your absence. My heart aches tonight. In your honor I will go out soon and walk a long time. And think of you and thank you and look around the corner for a bird dog on point, or a cover that looks ‘birdy’. Thanks Nelson.

It’s not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years.  A. Lincoln

(I wrote most of this a year ago (March 2014)when Nelson passed away and wanted to remember him again today.)

Skinny, Smart & Rich?

If information could change people, then everyone would be skinny, smart and rich. Books have been out there for multiple decades, but people don’t go to the information. If you want to move people you have to be strategic and experiential.Tell a story.

Aim for the mind, but go through the heart. People change minds and actions when you touch their heart vs. just give them information.

This was sent to me and I do not know the source or I would give them credit. More executives are steering away from ponderous powerpoint logic and lists of numerical performance data. The story attached to other information is getting their message across.

A Little Help

I find that the more I know about Change, the more chances I have for Success.

And I find that the more Chances I take to have Success, the more I have to know about Change……..

Motivate Your Employees, Peers, Board, Investors, Audiences

This is adapted from a blog by Gary Genard, July 2013. The message to you as a leader is inescapable. When we address our team we are giving a speech, motivating people. Improve your message with a story that connects to the emotion you seek to move.

Most managers/leaders feel that when they address their employees their job is “to convey facts and figures.” That’s not it. More accurately their job is meeting the needs of the listeners and achieving a lasting influence. This applies if you are delivering a speech to a general audience or delivering a message to your employees.

Employees and audiences will remember their emotional response to you long after the information you deliver has faded from memory. The retention skills of audiences are notoriously shaky, and within a week, listeners will remember as little as 10% of the “critical” data you presented to them. Yet if you touched them emotionally, they may remember you for a lifetime. Consider these examples:

• JFK’s inauguration speech
• MLK’s “I have a dream speech”
• FDR’s address to congress to declare war on Japan… “A day which will live in infamy”

Don’t just educate; move your audience. Don’t inform listeners; inspire them. To do so means creating an emotional connection. Even CFOs must put financial information into context for the C-suite, to help these executives process the information in terms of company goals and initiatives.

No leader succeeds merely by possessing the best information. True leaders use that information to motivate and activate employees and followers.

There is only one tool that allows you as speaker to accomplish this task: It is you—physically, emotionally, and in the ways you demonstrate leadership when you speak. In tough times or good times, you are the message. It’s a formula for succeeding as a speaker that goes far beyond “conveying facts and figures.”

Give your audiences the emotional connection and leadership they crave, and you’ll be delivering a powerful message indeed.