I have a great partnership with the folks at The Walk the Talk Company. They have published three of my books: Leading With Values; Solving Performance Problems and Your Success GPS. Later this year, they will be releasing a new book I’ve written: Common Sense Ideas for Building a Dream Team. I’m on their mailing list. Yesterday, this quote from Gail McMeekin, a Walk the Talk author, showed up in my in box.
“What are your personal anchors — people, things, places, or rituals — that keep you connected to yourself, your sense of well-being, and your feelings? What makes you feel secure in the world? Who or what can you count on for support? Make a list of these anchors so you can access them when you feel stranded and unsure.”
As a career success coach, I suggest surrounding yourself with positive people as a way to building your self confidence and career success. Gail’s quote above comes from her Walk the Talk book The Power of Positive Choices. And she’s right. Positive people — as well as things, places and rituals – are there for you when things get a little tough or a little crazy. Earlier this week, I did a post on the importance of having positive people in your life.
Today, I’d like to focus on the importance of positive things, places and rituals.
My home, whether it was a room in a house that I shared with eight other people when I was a student at Penn State, a 400 square foot studio apartment in Greenwich Village, or a house I owned when I was single has always been my refuge. When I was single, my dates were always impressed with where I lived. Most of them would say something like “This is the nicest guy’s apartment I’ve ever seen.” That’s because I wanted my living quarters to be special, some place where I would feel comfortable and relaxed. This wasn’t too difficult for me – as long as I had my books, my music and some art I liked on the walls, I was comfortable and relaxed.
I’ve been lucky. Cathy and I have a very comfortable home that is decorated very nicely. We share the same tastes, and she really has an eye. I love being in our house. It is warm and inviting – a very positive place. My refuge however, is my office. It has a wall of books, two computers and a really comfortable mission style easy chair. I have great artwork – a couple of bicycling posters, several rugby posters, two mystery novel posters, The Optimist Creed and Paul Meyer’s career success quote hanging on the walls. The art work reminds me of the things I love to do – bicycle, read and play rugby and think and write about career success. I also have a collection of name badges and lanyards from conferences where I was a speaker or facilitator hanging on the door knob. These badges remind me of past successes.
My office is a very positive place for me. I like being there. I feel as if I am surrounded by things I love. Take it from a career success coach. It’s really easy to work hard and be productive when you’re surrounded by the things you love. It’s a little messy – but that’s OK. I kind of like the mess. It makes me feel as if I am busy doing lots of interesting things. Cathy hates the mess by the way; but that’s a different story.
Books are positive things for me. I love books and have an extensive library; work books, novels and history. They are a visible reminder that I have an inquisitive mind and am always learning. I am probably going to have to weed out some of my collection to make way for new ones as the four floor to ceiling book shelves we have in our house are full, overflowing even.
What do you love? What are your positive things? Cathy has a great collection of hand painted Herend figurines from Hungary. I think everybody’s home should have some things – not necessarily expensive – that give you great joy when you look at them.
Finally, there are rituals. Blogging is one of my biggest rituals. No matter where I am, I begin my day by blogging. I do this because I want to stay on top of my game as a career success coach. My blogging ritual has helped me gain an ever deepening understanding of what it takes to become a career success. The more I know and understand about career success, the better a career success coach I become.
The other day I traveled to New York. I arrive at my hotel around 1:00 in the morning. Still, I set my alarm for 6:00 so I could post my blog before I showered, dressed and went off to an 8:00 meeting. I usually write my posts a day or two in advance, but I post every morning. This gives me an opportunity to review and edit the post. More important, I get a feeling of satisfaction from beginning my day by reading the positive message I’ve written and then sharing it with the world.
The common sense point here is simple. Successful people are self confident. Self confident people surround themselves with positive people. In The Power of Positive Choices, Gail McMeekin suggests that surrounding yourself with positive people is not enough. She suggests that you also create a refuge for yourself, a positive place with things you love and in which you engage in rituals that help you develop more fully and put you on the road to career success. I agree. What is your special place? What are your special things? They can be as simple as my collection of name badges from conferences where I’ve spoken. What are the rituals that add meaning to your life and provide a refuge when things get tough. If you don’t have a special place, things or rituals in your life, take it from a career success coach and get some. You’ll be glad you did.
That’s my take on special places, things and rituals and career success. What’s yours? Please take a few minutes to leave a comment sharing your special places, things and rituals with us. As always, thanks for reading.
Bud
Thank you very much. I worked a lot of work