“Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.”
Arnold H. Glasow
Being great is a choice. Greatness doesn’t happen by chance, occur over night, or randomly or passively transpire. To be great requires a conscious decision and action. I believe each of us has the capacity and talents to be great. The problem is that most of us settle for mediocrity. Perhaps it is because we fear failure, hate to stand out, or shun discipline and hard work. Perhaps it is because we lack confidence and a belief in ourselves that we can do it. Whatever the reason, the truth is, we can decide whether we will be great or not.
Deciding to be great and then truly sticking to it is not an easy task. Greatness requires a high level of discipline, and commitment. It requires effort and confidence. It does not require a special skill set, a certain type of experience, money, circumstances, friends, or good luck. Because of these facts, all of us have the potential to be great.
Now greatness may not be for everyone and that is ok. Greatness does require serious work and diligence. It is not easy to be great and that is why so few are but we make that choice.
And this is the simple message of my very short blog today. We decide if we want to be great or not in life. We decide, that’s it. Each day through our actions we essentially make that decision. We decide to be simply good or middle of the pack mediocre or something more. Each of us can choose to be great!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Luck of Success
Luck. Luck is an interesting concept to contemplate. Why do we have it? Why does it seem to follow some people around more than others? Is there a way to gain more good luck than bad? Is luck the only reason why some people are successful and others are not? These are all very interesting questions that I believe many have pondered throughout time.
To start shedding some light on these questions let’s consider an example of a well-known successful person. Michael Jordan is perhaps the greatest basketball player of all time. He won five NBA MVP awards, six NBA Championships, and led the league in scoring for ten years. Looking at his career we could say he was lucky. After all, he had great teammates, played college ball at a legendary program, and obviously was a gifted athlete. Not everyone is so lucky and these are a few simple examples of some good luck Jordan experienced in his life. Taking these things into consideration at simply face value, perhaps we could conclude Jordan’s achievements were mostly lucky.
On the other hand, how many basketball players are gifted athletes, have played with great teammates, and were a part of a legendary college basketball program? How many people have had the same good luck it seems Jordan experienced? Throughout history, though not tons, quite a few people have had similar luck. Yet, none seem to measure up or match Jordan’s accomplishments. Again, the list of gifted athletes that played college ball at an amazing program and later had wonderful teammates in the NBA is more than a select few yet most come nowhere near Jordan’s illustrious career. Thus, looking at history it seems many people had similar luck yet did not have the same results. Why? Perhaps luck isn’t the reason for Jordan’s success after all.
The fact is, all of us have bad and good luck in life. Luck is just a part of life and many times we will have periods of more bad luck and other times more good luck. Luck will happen and is mostly out of our control however how we react to our bad luck and good luck is completely up to us. We are in complete control of this. Going back to our example, imagine if Jordan had become complacent because of his good luck. Perhaps he could have said, look I did well in college, I made it to the NBA and have good teammates, I may as well relax a little bit and enjoy my good luck. If Jordan had done this, how different would have been his results? Thus, we certainly can’t control truly “luck events” in life but we can choose how we respond to them.
At times it may appear to us that others are just luckier in life. Though I agree luck is not perfectly distributed evenly, I have found that in almost every instance people who have similar luck in life do not have similar results. Those who are most successful seem to take full advantage of both good and bad luck while others do not. Thus again, luck itself does not make the difference in results but rather how we handle and react to our luck.
Finally, some extra bad luck in life is not always a bad thing. Many of those in life who have achieved the greatest results have had their fair share of some really bad luck. In fact overcoming bad luck, rather than good luck, most often helps us to achieve our greatest results.
In the end, I believe luck has very little to do with our success in life. We all have it both good and bad. Rather how we utilize our luck to our advantage is what I believe makes all the difference.
To start shedding some light on these questions let’s consider an example of a well-known successful person. Michael Jordan is perhaps the greatest basketball player of all time. He won five NBA MVP awards, six NBA Championships, and led the league in scoring for ten years. Looking at his career we could say he was lucky. After all, he had great teammates, played college ball at a legendary program, and obviously was a gifted athlete. Not everyone is so lucky and these are a few simple examples of some good luck Jordan experienced in his life. Taking these things into consideration at simply face value, perhaps we could conclude Jordan’s achievements were mostly lucky.
On the other hand, how many basketball players are gifted athletes, have played with great teammates, and were a part of a legendary college basketball program? How many people have had the same good luck it seems Jordan experienced? Throughout history, though not tons, quite a few people have had similar luck. Yet, none seem to measure up or match Jordan’s accomplishments. Again, the list of gifted athletes that played college ball at an amazing program and later had wonderful teammates in the NBA is more than a select few yet most come nowhere near Jordan’s illustrious career. Thus, looking at history it seems many people had similar luck yet did not have the same results. Why? Perhaps luck isn’t the reason for Jordan’s success after all.
The fact is, all of us have bad and good luck in life. Luck is just a part of life and many times we will have periods of more bad luck and other times more good luck. Luck will happen and is mostly out of our control however how we react to our bad luck and good luck is completely up to us. We are in complete control of this. Going back to our example, imagine if Jordan had become complacent because of his good luck. Perhaps he could have said, look I did well in college, I made it to the NBA and have good teammates, I may as well relax a little bit and enjoy my good luck. If Jordan had done this, how different would have been his results? Thus, we certainly can’t control truly “luck events” in life but we can choose how we respond to them.
At times it may appear to us that others are just luckier in life. Though I agree luck is not perfectly distributed evenly, I have found that in almost every instance people who have similar luck in life do not have similar results. Those who are most successful seem to take full advantage of both good and bad luck while others do not. Thus again, luck itself does not make the difference in results but rather how we handle and react to our luck.
Finally, some extra bad luck in life is not always a bad thing. Many of those in life who have achieved the greatest results have had their fair share of some really bad luck. In fact overcoming bad luck, rather than good luck, most often helps us to achieve our greatest results.
In the end, I believe luck has very little to do with our success in life. We all have it both good and bad. Rather how we utilize our luck to our advantage is what I believe makes all the difference.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
5 Steps to Master Failure
“The worst thing that happens to you may be the best thing for you if you don’t let it get the best of you.”
Will Rogers
Sooner or later each of us will experience failure in our life. Failure is inevitable and the disappointment that follows can either make us or break us. Failure is never fun, is rarely welcome, and nearly always leads to some form of regret. Nevertheless, how we respond to failure and how we handle it will be critical to our success in life. Indeed, failure can actually be a good thing though we may not see it or believe it in the moment. Below are 5 suggestions to help us use failure to our advantage.
# 1 It Happens
We must all realize that each of us will fail. At some point and time it happens to us all. Accepting this fact and knowing failure will come to everyone regardless of talents, money, experience, education, backgrounds, etc. will help us cope and overcome. Admitting that failure is for everyone at some point in time will give us strength to push ahead. For some it comes early in life and for others later. Embracing this fact will help us take advantage of it when it comes knocking on our door.
# 2 Own it
Not only must we accept the fact that we are not perfect, we must also admit we failed. Blaming, searching for unexplainable reasons or answers, or pointing fingers will rarely help. Instead, when we accept the fact that we failed and believe at least a good part of the blame belongs to us, we can begin to heal quicker. This doesn’t mean this won’t hurt, but it will allow us to move on more quickly and effectively. Owning our failures and accepting them for what they are will begin a successful recovery process leading us to success.
# 3 Look to Learn
I find myself saying a lot, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” and for the most part it is true. The failure can hurt, and is extremely difficult to deal with at times, but it can make us a better person. I’ve learned overcoming difficulties builds character. We can learn a lot about ourselves and the world we live in through failure. And because of this, we can turn something that seems like a huge disaster in to something wonderful. So just because we’ve failed doesn’t mean we won’t learn something very valuable that will one day lead us to success. Have a good attitude and take advantage of failure by deciding now to let it push you to greater heights! Looking for opportunities to learn in failure will make overcoming it that much easier.
# 4 Define You
Don’t let failure define who you are. What this means is how you feel about yourself should not be based on whether you succeed or not. Rather we should place our self-esteem in the type of person we become in life. Measuring ourselves by our contributions to others rather than by our personal achievements will help us overcome setbacks more quickly. No matter how hard it is for us to believe it at times, becoming a good person is so much more important and satisfying than being #1 at everything we do or in other words, never failing. Hollywood and Professional Athletes come to mind as some pretty obvious examples of those who achieve seemingly a lot yet never seem happy. Basing our self-esteem on our ability to always succeed one day without fail will disappoint.
# 5 Never Give Up
Just because we fail doesn’t mean we can’t accomplish our dreams or live a wonderful life full of success and satisfaction. Rebounding from a tough failure is not easy but very possible. The beauty of life is that we almost always have another chance, another day to try again. History is full of people who experienced tons of failure and disappointments before accomplishing great achievements. In fact, in most cases failure becomes a catalyst to success. As the old adage goes, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Doing so will help us overcome failure and reach our full potential.
Failure is an inevitable part of life that each of us will one day experience and deal with. Realizing that is happens to us all, taking ownership for it, learning from it, not allowing it to define us as a person and never giving up will help us take full advantage of it. Preparing now and following these five suggestions will help us come out on top when failure comes our way.
Sooner or later each of us will experience failure in our life. Failure is inevitable and the disappointment that follows can either make us or break us. Failure is never fun, is rarely welcome, and nearly always leads to some form of regret. Nevertheless, how we respond to failure and how we handle it will be critical to our success in life. Indeed, failure can actually be a good thing though we may not see it or believe it in the moment. Below are 5 suggestions to help us use failure to our advantage.
# 1 It Happens
We must all realize that each of us will fail. At some point and time it happens to us all. Accepting this fact and knowing failure will come to everyone regardless of talents, money, experience, education, backgrounds, etc. will help us cope and overcome. Admitting that failure is for everyone at some point in time will give us strength to push ahead. For some it comes early in life and for others later. Embracing this fact will help us take advantage of it when it comes knocking on our door.
# 2 Own it
Not only must we accept the fact that we are not perfect, we must also admit we failed. Blaming, searching for unexplainable reasons or answers, or pointing fingers will rarely help. Instead, when we accept the fact that we failed and believe at least a good part of the blame belongs to us, we can begin to heal quicker. This doesn’t mean this won’t hurt, but it will allow us to move on more quickly and effectively. Owning our failures and accepting them for what they are will begin a successful recovery process leading us to success.
# 3 Look to Learn
I find myself saying a lot, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” and for the most part it is true. The failure can hurt, and is extremely difficult to deal with at times, but it can make us a better person. I’ve learned overcoming difficulties builds character. We can learn a lot about ourselves and the world we live in through failure. And because of this, we can turn something that seems like a huge disaster in to something wonderful. So just because we’ve failed doesn’t mean we won’t learn something very valuable that will one day lead us to success. Have a good attitude and take advantage of failure by deciding now to let it push you to greater heights! Looking for opportunities to learn in failure will make overcoming it that much easier.
# 4 Define You
Don’t let failure define who you are. What this means is how you feel about yourself should not be based on whether you succeed or not. Rather we should place our self-esteem in the type of person we become in life. Measuring ourselves by our contributions to others rather than by our personal achievements will help us overcome setbacks more quickly. No matter how hard it is for us to believe it at times, becoming a good person is so much more important and satisfying than being #1 at everything we do or in other words, never failing. Hollywood and Professional Athletes come to mind as some pretty obvious examples of those who achieve seemingly a lot yet never seem happy. Basing our self-esteem on our ability to always succeed one day without fail will disappoint.
# 5 Never Give Up
Just because we fail doesn’t mean we can’t accomplish our dreams or live a wonderful life full of success and satisfaction. Rebounding from a tough failure is not easy but very possible. The beauty of life is that we almost always have another chance, another day to try again. History is full of people who experienced tons of failure and disappointments before accomplishing great achievements. In fact, in most cases failure becomes a catalyst to success. As the old adage goes, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Doing so will help us overcome failure and reach our full potential.
Failure is an inevitable part of life that each of us will one day experience and deal with. Realizing that is happens to us all, taking ownership for it, learning from it, not allowing it to define us as a person and never giving up will help us take full advantage of it. Preparing now and following these five suggestions will help us come out on top when failure comes our way.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
The ABCs of an Abundant Life
Not too long ago I read an (religious) article on the ABCs of living an abundant life (http://www.lds.org/liahona/2012/01/living-the-abundant-life?lang=eng&query=abundant+life). I thoroughly enjoyed these ABCs and agree that applying them in our life can lead to success, fulfillment, and satisfaction. For this reason I wish to share them now with my own thoughts on how they can help us achieve great results in life.
Attitude
A is for Attitude. Our attitude is so important to our success. Attitude is the way we choose to see our world around us and how we respond to it. I am reminded of a story where a new family moves into a neighborhood and asks their new neighbors about the area, schools, and little town. The two neighbors who live in the same place have two totally different opinions. One family loves the neighborhood and would never dream of leaving while the other is miserable and can’t wait to leave. The difference in opinion was noted to be mostly based on attitude. Likewise, we can choose to love or hate our situation and circumstance in life. We can choose to be happy with all of the blessings we do have or we can choose to only see the bad in life. Our attitude is completely our own and is totally up to us to control. Thus, to live the abundant life, we must ensure we have a good attitude no matter what comes our way.
Believe
B is for believe. Too often we belittle or undermine our own abilities. We choose to believe the critics rather than defy them. A belief in self brings a peace of mind and confidence that cannot be broken by the changing winds of life. Indeed, we can achieve anything we desire if we would only believe. We must believe in ourselves in order to live the abundant life.
Courage
C is for courage. It takes courage to follow our dreams and believe in ourselves. It takes courage to stand up for what we believe to be right. It takes courage to get up after being knocked down. All of us will experience difficulties and challenges in life but how we respond to them will make all the difference. Having courage in our most difficult situations will help us to live an abundant life.
When life seems to get us down, or we are not as satisfied with life as we should be, we need to remember our ABCs of an abundant life. With attitude, belief, and courage, we can all enjoy the satisfaction of an abundant life.
Attitude
A is for Attitude. Our attitude is so important to our success. Attitude is the way we choose to see our world around us and how we respond to it. I am reminded of a story where a new family moves into a neighborhood and asks their new neighbors about the area, schools, and little town. The two neighbors who live in the same place have two totally different opinions. One family loves the neighborhood and would never dream of leaving while the other is miserable and can’t wait to leave. The difference in opinion was noted to be mostly based on attitude. Likewise, we can choose to love or hate our situation and circumstance in life. We can choose to be happy with all of the blessings we do have or we can choose to only see the bad in life. Our attitude is completely our own and is totally up to us to control. Thus, to live the abundant life, we must ensure we have a good attitude no matter what comes our way.
Believe
B is for believe. Too often we belittle or undermine our own abilities. We choose to believe the critics rather than defy them. A belief in self brings a peace of mind and confidence that cannot be broken by the changing winds of life. Indeed, we can achieve anything we desire if we would only believe. We must believe in ourselves in order to live the abundant life.
Courage
C is for courage. It takes courage to follow our dreams and believe in ourselves. It takes courage to stand up for what we believe to be right. It takes courage to get up after being knocked down. All of us will experience difficulties and challenges in life but how we respond to them will make all the difference. Having courage in our most difficult situations will help us to live an abundant life.
When life seems to get us down, or we are not as satisfied with life as we should be, we need to remember our ABCs of an abundant life. With attitude, belief, and courage, we can all enjoy the satisfaction of an abundant life.
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