Commitment to taking personal responsibility for your success is one of the keys to career and life success that is part of my Common Sense Success System. I discuss it in detail in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success, Your Success GPS, and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success.
If you want to succeed, you must commit to three things. First, you must take personal responsibility for your success. Only you can make you a success. You need to be willing to do the things necessary to succeed. Second, you must set high goals — and then do whatever it takes to achieve them. Third, stuff happens; as you go through life you will encounter many problems and setbacks. You need to react positively to the negative stuff and move forward toward your goals.
The other day I received an email from Kim Clausen of Ready 2 Go Marketing Solutions (www.Ready2GoMarketingSolutions.com). Kim shared her “15 Takeaways from 2009.” I think these 15 takeaways demonstrate some great insight. They also can be helpful when it comes to takig personal responsibility for your success in 2010. Kim was gracious enough to allow me to pass it on to my subscribers. Here they are…
Make people feel special – Make a personal connection where ever possible. They’ll feel good and you’ll feel great.
Be a person of high integrity – If you don’t, it will bite you in the butt some day in some way. Guaranteed.
Over deliver. – The more you give, the more you will receive. Go the extra mile and give more than what is expected. Be strategic and purposeful with your giving, but give with an open heart and an attitude of abundance.
Deliver quality or don’t deliver at all – Deliver quality, and stand behind your products and your word. This is what your customers will remember.
Value yourself – This will hold you back and show up in more areas of your life and business than anything else. Embrace who you are. Acknowledge that you have value to offer. Step into it even if you are afraid. When you step into it, you will act it, then you will believe it, and finally you will claim it.
Always make time for you – Take time personally for yourself because that’s what matters most. At the end of the day, your health, well being and the people you love are what is most important.
Make learning a priority – In today’s busy internet world where people are selling and consuming more knowledge and information than ever before, if you aren’t learning and passing on your knowledge, you will QUICKLY be left behind.
A little sacrifice is a good thing – Building a business is hard work. You have to be prepared to make short term sacrifices for the long term gain.
Support your colleagues – Encourage your colleagues in their journey. Refer them, speak well of them, support them, and use their services. Zig Ziglar said it best when he said, “You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.”
Collaborate – Don’t try to do it alone. It’s harder and lonelier. The more you can collaborate, the more you will grow. And you will have more fun too.
You have no competitors – Always adopt an abundance mentality. There’s more business than there are people to provide it. If you approach your business with this perspective, you will never go hungry.
Always be growing your list – The more people you have to talk to, the more people you can serve. With no one to talk to, you have no one to serve.
Don’t wait for perfect – Perfection can be the enemy. Don’t wait for perfect or you will never take action.
Action is the enemy of fear – Fear of Failure/Success/Criticism/Responsibility/Power (you name it) is the biggest paralyzer of all. If you take action, your fear will minimize and it will become peripheral instead of primary. Just do it.
Failure isn’t fatal – This is a biggie. The more risks you take the more successes you will have – and the more failures too. Fail some so that you can see that you won’t die and the world won’t come to an end when you fail. Whew! O.K. failures, I’m ready for you now.
I hope you’ve found Kim Clausen’s 15 Takeaways from 2009 helpful. I also hope that you will stay with me in 2010. I’ll do my best to provide you with interesting, thought provoking information on creating the successful life and career you want and deserve.
I hope your 2010 rocks!
Bud
Thanks for sharing and a useful reflective post as we begin a new decade. I wrote something similar several months ago http://www.conorneill.com/2009/10/17-daily-personal-habits-for-fulfilling.html based on my experiences teaching MBAs and as a start-up entrepreneur (on my 4th business). All the best.