11 posts tagged “success”
Always worth another read!
For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals.
Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination.
We learned to talk.
And we learned to listen.
Speech has allowed the communication of ideas, enabling human beings to work together.
To build the impossible.
Mankind's greatest achievements have come about by talking.
And it's greatest failures by NOT talking.
It doesn't have to be like this!
Our greatest hopes could become reality in the future.
With the technology at our disposal, the possibilities are unbounded.
All we need to do
is make sure
we keep talking.
-Stephen W. Hawking
What single trait, more than any other, determines our success or failure?
Countless books have been written on the subject, endless infomercials, and limitless words of sage advice whispered to us, as if it were a closely-held Secret.
If you buy into that line, my own belief is that you'll be setting yourself up for disappointment, or worse yet, disillusionment--because hope is not a method...at least not a very good one.
Here's the real secret: It's no secret.
Whether it's in business, career, your family, or just life-in-general, it all comes down to Attitude.
Your attitude. No one else's.
It means embracing change and innovation, and not accepting defeat. Or the status quo.
The enemy of innovation is complacency. Complacency, to be clear, is accepting the status quo.
The status quo? That's where you are now. Progressing beyond that point requires energy and change.
Change requires a positive attitude and a die-hard unwillingness to take "no" for an answer. It means continuing to work toward your goals and dreams when everyone seems to be erecting obstacles in your path. An image that comes quickly to mind is the toy car that keeps bouncing off walls until it finds an opening....
So, what are you? The wall? ...Or the toy car?
Seth Godin has something to say along much the same line: Thrill Seekers and Fear Avoiders
1. The value of time.
2. The success of perseverence.
3. The pleasure of working.
4. The dignity of simplicity.
5. The worth of character.
6. The power of kindness.
7. The influence of example.
8. The obligation of duty.
9. The wisdom of economy.
10. The virtue of patience.
11. The improvement of talent.
12. The joy of originating.
-Anonymous
If you are looking for some good New Year's Resolutions, here are some web sites that are a good place to start mapping out your 2007....
Money Magazine Articles
Wikipedia
Overcoming Procrastination/Eliminating Procrastination
BBC
WebMD
8 Secrets for Healthier New Year's Resolutions
Online Educational Database
Hacking Knowledge: 77 Ways to Learn Faster, Deeper, and Better
Eight Principles
The Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun
Lifehack.org
9 Top Secrets of Naturally Born Organizers
ririanproject
Ten Commandments for a Stress-Free Life
Dale and Dorothy Carnegie Summaries
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Read/Write Web
Photo Credit (Bill Emory)
One of the theorists studied at the National War College is Alexander George--a leading professor of strategy and policymaking who popularized an innovative concept to explain how presidential decisions were often very problematic, contentious and, at the time of their occurence--seemingly unresolveable. The term he coined to describe this phenomena is value complexity. George defined value complexity as the "presence of of multiple, competing values and interests." Value complexity means, among other things, that most strategic problems cannot be resolved through objective analysis, management, a simple phone call, outsourcing, cost-benefit tables or mathematical "solutions;" rather, he says, now, more than ever, they tend to be resolved through subjectivity, human instinct, relationships, interdependence, leadership, personal intervention, and deliberative value judgments and tradeoffs. Today, as in war, politics, business or in our personal lives, and in this era of globalism, it seems that value complexity is the order of the day. Strategists who deal effectively with value complexity in these arenas will ultimately prevail.
Source: National War College, Core Course 6100 Syllabus
Failed in business in 1831.
Defeated for Legislature in 1832.
Second failure in business in 1833.
Suffered nervous breakdown in 1836.
Defeated for Speaker in 1838.
Defeated for Elector in 1840.
Defeated for Congress in 1843.
Defeated for Congress in 1848.
Defeated for Senate in 1855.
Defeated for Vice President in 1856.
Defeated for Senate in 1858.
Elected President in 1860.
President Abraham Lincoln delivering his inaugural address on the east portico of the U.S. Capitol, March 4, 1865
O Lord,
Thou givest us everything,
At the price
Of an effort
- Leonardo da Vinci
