Choose to be a forever stamp or a holiday stamp. Before you wrinkle your nose, squint your eyes or furrow your brow deciding that I’ve lost my mind, consider the function of a postage stamp. Unless you are a philatelist, the only function of a postage stamp is to stick to the envelope or package. This requires endurance.
This tiny piece of adhesive backed paper must remain so solidly affixed that it survives the shuffling and friction against other pieces of mail in the postman’s bag or truck, close encounters in various mail rooms as it gets sorted and rerouted and back out for delivery. Consider the obstacles and near brushes with death encountered by this tiny little rectangle of paper.
Forever stamps retain their usefulness even after postage rates increase. Holiday stamps have a fixed value and are most frequently used only for Christmas cards and other holiday mail.
Relate your decisions and resolutions to the sticking power of a postage stamp. How determined are you to stick to your goals and resolutions until you reach your destination? The persistence of a holiday stamp means that you give up before the holiday ends. A holiday stamp looks festive, appealing and appropriate for a few weeks before it starts resembling stale cut out sugar cookies.
Whether your new goal was to lose weight, launch a physical fitness program or establish a new business, it absolutely requires more than a casual effort for a few weeks. What are you willing to do to achieve your goal?
Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players to grace a court, was cut from his high school team. Practice, hours of practice, transformed him from that temporary defeat to an ace of the courts.
Bart Starr, most valuable player in the first two super bowls, sat the bench until his senior year in college. Bart was drafted into the NFL in the very last round of the draft. Not only that but he was given jersey 44, not even a quarterback number because he was not expected to make the team.
Norman Vincent Peale’s book, The Power of Positive Thinking, received rejections from publishers, his peers, and the public.
Andy Andrews published a book of 52 letters of now famous people who persisted through multiple failures to achieve their fame. “Storms of Perfection” became Andy’s own battle of persistence. He received 600 rejections before he received the 52 letters in the first book. Publishers refused to publish it. "Storms of Perfection" is the only book I know about which sold 100,000 copies before it ever graced the shelves of a book store.
Common denominator among all of these examples and hundreds of others was persistence. Each one of them possessed a dream which was more powerful than the obstacles and rejections received.
Persistence, consistent forward motion and sticking to the goal until it became a reality. Success does not always go to the swiftest, the strongest, the richest or someone from the lucky gene pool. Success is awarded to the last man standing. Hang in there long enough with forward motion and determination; success will yield to you.
The next time you hit a speed bump on your success path just remember the postage stamp. Choose to be a holiday stamp or a forever stamp. Success is rarely if ever an accident or a lucky break. Success is a decision followed by consistent and persistent action.
For the complete article and more fun and inspirational stories, join me at www.Elaine4Success.com
Showing posts with label persistence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label persistence. Show all posts
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Monday, December 21, 2009
Education Opens Doors
Throughout my youth, I always heard ‘get a good education, get a good job and work hard.” In my case, the inference was a good high school education. My father believed there was no point educating a female beyond high school because she would not amount to anything anyway. He insisted his son attend college.
Fortunately for me, I had other ideas. Long story, short version, I not only graduated from college with honors but proceeded to earn masters degrees. No blame or “feel sorry for me” inferred. He passed along what he learned from the old country and from his parents. Even though I was a bit miffed at the time, I quickly devised a solution. The point of impact is that just because something was true several generations ago does not mean it remains valid today. Women hold prominent positions in industry and all professions in the 21st century.
Education served to change my life in numerous ways. My degrees opened doors for me which might have remained closed without those pieces of paper. Like education, talent also opens doors. Celine Dion’s talent captivated producer David Foster’s attention enough for David to invite Celine to sign a record contract. Talent opened the door.
I lived in Steamboat Springs ski resort for 29 years. In that period of time I became acquainted with scores of talented and highly educated individuals who were working as lift operators and restaurant or bar employees. Neither education nor talent alone propels anyone through life’s hoops and hurdles. Education proves to be a valuable asset. Talent attracts attention. Both of these elements assist a person; however, neither or both are enough to achieve the pinnacle of success.
Getting the door open with a degree or talent constitutes step one. Once that door opens even a small crack, persistence and passion must take the reins and drive. An impressive resume may entice a prospective employer to grant an interview. Unless you demonstrate desire and command of yourself and your professed skills, employment will not result. When you present yourself in a credible manner and your skills match their need, you may be hired. Now the work begins.
Many an employee has been the victim of their own bad judgment. Acting as if the duties or your fellow workers are beneath you causes tension and discord. The fault is not the duties, the employees or even the company. Look squarely in the mirror and view the problem. Education and talent open doors but bad decisions close doors.
Even though I jumped through many hoops and climbed over numerous obstacles to pay for my own college, once the degree is earned, it is totally up to me. Education becomes more than shelf development, buying books; true education requires implementation. In order to receive the full value of education, there must be self development. Jim Rohn, noted business philosopher, admonished us to “work harder on yourself than you do on your business.” Shelf development may impress visitors to your library, but life seeks evidence of self development.
Developing your education or talent into usable skills creates the true platform for achievement. Work hard on yourself and your skills. Maintain a congenial and cooperative attitude in the process and you will thrive. Education and talent may open the doors for you but once you step over the threshold, your attitude and performance take control. Many talented and well educated people fail to survive or thrive because they stopped learning, stopped growing and maintained a disagreeable attitude.
Education and talent open doors but lack of performance, bad attitudes and bad decisions close those doors. You control your present and your future. Anything you created in the past can begin its improvement in the present. Just as my father held old beliefs about educating women, so other people hold on to old beliefs and attitudes which no longer serve them or anyone else. They may hold old erroneous beliefs because they did not know any differently. Now you know. Your excuse evaporated. If your attitude and performance are not serving you profitably and productively, stop doing that and change to something which will work. Good attitudes and diligent work overcome a multitude of other deficiencies.
Education and talent open the doors but your passion, persistence, great attitude and diligent performance swing them wide open.
For more inspiration and articles, join me at www.Elaine4Success.com
Fortunately for me, I had other ideas. Long story, short version, I not only graduated from college with honors but proceeded to earn masters degrees. No blame or “feel sorry for me” inferred. He passed along what he learned from the old country and from his parents. Even though I was a bit miffed at the time, I quickly devised a solution. The point of impact is that just because something was true several generations ago does not mean it remains valid today. Women hold prominent positions in industry and all professions in the 21st century.
Education served to change my life in numerous ways. My degrees opened doors for me which might have remained closed without those pieces of paper. Like education, talent also opens doors. Celine Dion’s talent captivated producer David Foster’s attention enough for David to invite Celine to sign a record contract. Talent opened the door.
I lived in Steamboat Springs ski resort for 29 years. In that period of time I became acquainted with scores of talented and highly educated individuals who were working as lift operators and restaurant or bar employees. Neither education nor talent alone propels anyone through life’s hoops and hurdles. Education proves to be a valuable asset. Talent attracts attention. Both of these elements assist a person; however, neither or both are enough to achieve the pinnacle of success.
Getting the door open with a degree or talent constitutes step one. Once that door opens even a small crack, persistence and passion must take the reins and drive. An impressive resume may entice a prospective employer to grant an interview. Unless you demonstrate desire and command of yourself and your professed skills, employment will not result. When you present yourself in a credible manner and your skills match their need, you may be hired. Now the work begins.
Many an employee has been the victim of their own bad judgment. Acting as if the duties or your fellow workers are beneath you causes tension and discord. The fault is not the duties, the employees or even the company. Look squarely in the mirror and view the problem. Education and talent open doors but bad decisions close doors.
Even though I jumped through many hoops and climbed over numerous obstacles to pay for my own college, once the degree is earned, it is totally up to me. Education becomes more than shelf development, buying books; true education requires implementation. In order to receive the full value of education, there must be self development. Jim Rohn, noted business philosopher, admonished us to “work harder on yourself than you do on your business.” Shelf development may impress visitors to your library, but life seeks evidence of self development.
Developing your education or talent into usable skills creates the true platform for achievement. Work hard on yourself and your skills. Maintain a congenial and cooperative attitude in the process and you will thrive. Education and talent may open the doors for you but once you step over the threshold, your attitude and performance take control. Many talented and well educated people fail to survive or thrive because they stopped learning, stopped growing and maintained a disagreeable attitude.
Education and talent open doors but lack of performance, bad attitudes and bad decisions close those doors. You control your present and your future. Anything you created in the past can begin its improvement in the present. Just as my father held old beliefs about educating women, so other people hold on to old beliefs and attitudes which no longer serve them or anyone else. They may hold old erroneous beliefs because they did not know any differently. Now you know. Your excuse evaporated. If your attitude and performance are not serving you profitably and productively, stop doing that and change to something which will work. Good attitudes and diligent work overcome a multitude of other deficiencies.
Education and talent open the doors but your passion, persistence, great attitude and diligent performance swing them wide open.
For more inspiration and articles, join me at www.Elaine4Success.com
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Success is Failing Forward
In John C. Maxwell’s book “Failing Forward” he dispels the myth that failure is a bad thing. The man who has never made a mistake is taking orders from the one who made several mistakes. Sometimes what appears to be a failure at the moment is simply success trying to be born in a bigger and better way. When I have failed, and yes I have many failures, it generally meant that I was not thinking big enough. I simply needed to tweak my thinking and action.
There is the story of a man who made a fortune in oil by going back to wells others had abandoned and drilling just a little deeper. There is the story of a man who stopped just three feet short of one of the biggest gold mines ever discovered. Edison, one of the world’s greatest inventors, successfully identified 10,000 ways that the electric light bulb would NOT work before he discovered the one that did work.
Major league baseball players expect to be out every two out of three or three out of four times at bat. Pro football quarterbacks know that some passes will be dropped or intercepted or even caught out of bounds, but they don’t stop throwing. The pass that results in a first down or a touchdown makes up for the ones that were not successful.
In my own home based business I have reinvented my strategy many times. Not every Google campaign worked. Not every web page design attracted leads. Not every print ad resulted in sales. Did I stop marketing and give up? Absolutely not. When my pay per click campaigns with Google were costing more than the sales they were generating, did I say Google does not work? Of course not. I decided to change my landing page, change my ad or change my keywords. Sometimes I changed all three. The secret there is to only change one at a time. Otherwise you will not know which change made the profitable difference.
When Google changed their rules, and they do change their rules ever four to six weeks, I added article writing to my marketing arsenal.
I am a hiker. Sometimes when I am making a long climb and my legs are complaining, do I turn around and quit? No because I know I am closer to the top than I think. We have a winding road in Steamboat which we lovingly call the “run of the false summit.” Every time we come around a corner, we think this must be the top. Unfortunately, there is another switchback and then another before the top. It is not a point to stop, but a reminder to keep pushing forward just a little longer.
Remember, whether you are an inventor, a major league ball player, a hiker, a runner, or a marketer, one monumental success makes up for several temporary setbacks. The key is always to learn from your failures. When you use mistakes or failures as learning and growing experience rather than a defeat, you actually progress forward.
Notice I said learn from each temporary setback. When you view them as learning experiences on your way to small successes, and even greater success, the temporary defeat does not faze you. Or at least not for long. When you view every experience as a learning experience, it becomes a college classroom on life. When you view a failure as a failure, it becomes a failure.
Sports, business and even our personal life presents us with challenges. Some of those challenges become victories and some become learning experiences. It all depends on your attitude and how you view your present and your future.
My college professor told me something I have never forgotten. Even though that was 40 years ago, the message is still valid today. “You can have ten years experience or one year’s experience ten times.” Use every situation as a learning experience and you will have ten years experience.
The attitude of a winner, the attitude of a professional, is to continually learn and grow. Developing a learning mindset rather than a failure mindset will propel you through life in an upward spiral toward success. Any other choice but learning and growing and you will defeat yourself. Do an attitude check on yourself right now. Are you failing forward toward success?
Come visit me at Elaine4Success.com and together we will propel you toward success.
There is the story of a man who made a fortune in oil by going back to wells others had abandoned and drilling just a little deeper. There is the story of a man who stopped just three feet short of one of the biggest gold mines ever discovered. Edison, one of the world’s greatest inventors, successfully identified 10,000 ways that the electric light bulb would NOT work before he discovered the one that did work.
Major league baseball players expect to be out every two out of three or three out of four times at bat. Pro football quarterbacks know that some passes will be dropped or intercepted or even caught out of bounds, but they don’t stop throwing. The pass that results in a first down or a touchdown makes up for the ones that were not successful.
In my own home based business I have reinvented my strategy many times. Not every Google campaign worked. Not every web page design attracted leads. Not every print ad resulted in sales. Did I stop marketing and give up? Absolutely not. When my pay per click campaigns with Google were costing more than the sales they were generating, did I say Google does not work? Of course not. I decided to change my landing page, change my ad or change my keywords. Sometimes I changed all three. The secret there is to only change one at a time. Otherwise you will not know which change made the profitable difference.
When Google changed their rules, and they do change their rules ever four to six weeks, I added article writing to my marketing arsenal.
I am a hiker. Sometimes when I am making a long climb and my legs are complaining, do I turn around and quit? No because I know I am closer to the top than I think. We have a winding road in Steamboat which we lovingly call the “run of the false summit.” Every time we come around a corner, we think this must be the top. Unfortunately, there is another switchback and then another before the top. It is not a point to stop, but a reminder to keep pushing forward just a little longer.
Remember, whether you are an inventor, a major league ball player, a hiker, a runner, or a marketer, one monumental success makes up for several temporary setbacks. The key is always to learn from your failures. When you use mistakes or failures as learning and growing experience rather than a defeat, you actually progress forward.
Notice I said learn from each temporary setback. When you view them as learning experiences on your way to small successes, and even greater success, the temporary defeat does not faze you. Or at least not for long. When you view every experience as a learning experience, it becomes a college classroom on life. When you view a failure as a failure, it becomes a failure.
Sports, business and even our personal life presents us with challenges. Some of those challenges become victories and some become learning experiences. It all depends on your attitude and how you view your present and your future.
My college professor told me something I have never forgotten. Even though that was 40 years ago, the message is still valid today. “You can have ten years experience or one year’s experience ten times.” Use every situation as a learning experience and you will have ten years experience.
The attitude of a winner, the attitude of a professional, is to continually learn and grow. Developing a learning mindset rather than a failure mindset will propel you through life in an upward spiral toward success. Any other choice but learning and growing and you will defeat yourself. Do an attitude check on yourself right now. Are you failing forward toward success?
Come visit me at Elaine4Success.com and together we will propel you toward success.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Consistent and Persistent
In order to be successful, it requires being consistent and persistent. Whether you are pursuing a career in sports, music, business or any other endeavor, you must be consistent and persistent.
There is the story of the violin maestro who performed an absolutely majestic concert. A lady went back stage to speak to the master. She told him, “I would give my life to play like that.” The master replied, “Madam, I did.”
You do not become outstanding in your chosen field overnight. Get rich quick schemes are not real. It will take consistent focused action every day. If you are determined to achieve your goals then give yourself at least a year. Do not be unrealistic by expecting to make a six figure income per month in your first 90 days. Can you achieve that level over time? Absolutely. The key words are “over time.” You must be consistent in your activities every day.
The best thing you can do for yourself is to establish a daily schedule and absolutely commit to accomplishing that schedule every day. The secret is performing specific actions which move your business forward every day.
As I stated earlier Zig Zigler reminds us that success can not be paid for. It is something you purchase on the installment plan and pay for every day,
Personally I have a rule of 5. I take 5 actions steps every day to move my business forward. I write out the list at night and commit to accomplishing every one of the 5 tasks the next day.
1. Write something in my blog every day.
2. Follow up with my business calls and business emails – calls and emails from new clients and support calls to existing clients who have questions.
3. Read at least 10 pages in a good book and listen to an educational or inspirational cd for at least 30 minutes every day
4. Could be working on a new marketing idea or a new web site – this will vary from day to day
5. This could be working on a new video or audio or writing new autoresponders
You will select your own 5. The key is to be consistent and persistent. Take solid focused action to move yourself forward every day toward your goals.
There is the story of the violin maestro who performed an absolutely majestic concert. A lady went back stage to speak to the master. She told him, “I would give my life to play like that.” The master replied, “Madam, I did.”
You do not become outstanding in your chosen field overnight. Get rich quick schemes are not real. It will take consistent focused action every day. If you are determined to achieve your goals then give yourself at least a year. Do not be unrealistic by expecting to make a six figure income per month in your first 90 days. Can you achieve that level over time? Absolutely. The key words are “over time.” You must be consistent in your activities every day.
The best thing you can do for yourself is to establish a daily schedule and absolutely commit to accomplishing that schedule every day. The secret is performing specific actions which move your business forward every day.
As I stated earlier Zig Zigler reminds us that success can not be paid for. It is something you purchase on the installment plan and pay for every day,
Personally I have a rule of 5. I take 5 actions steps every day to move my business forward. I write out the list at night and commit to accomplishing every one of the 5 tasks the next day.
1. Write something in my blog every day.
2. Follow up with my business calls and business emails – calls and emails from new clients and support calls to existing clients who have questions.
3. Read at least 10 pages in a good book and listen to an educational or inspirational cd for at least 30 minutes every day
4. Could be working on a new marketing idea or a new web site – this will vary from day to day
5. This could be working on a new video or audio or writing new autoresponders
You will select your own 5. The key is to be consistent and persistent. Take solid focused action to move yourself forward every day toward your goals.
Its all in your head
It’s all in your head
I recently had an interesting and revealing experience. I was frustrated that I had set some very high goals and life seemed to be throwing up roadblocks right and left. Have you ever felt that way? Sure. If we are honest, all of us have experienced that from time to time.
The scary thing is that if you dwell on that obstacle, it looms larger and larger. It is back to my constant reminder that you will receive more of whatever you give your time, energy and focus. The more you let your thoughts continue to swirl around the “poor me” and “why is this happening to me” pattern, the more you will add bricks to the top of that brick wall.
I hit one of those roadblocks on Friday. I had just sent out the link to my blog to several of my business associates. No sooner had I finished sending out the link than I discovered that my blog had been shut down. Was I happy? Absolutely not. The first reaction was “Why?” All of my content was clean, professional, original and non-sales.
The next move was actually from my assistant, Brenda. She jumped into action and requested a review by the powers who controlled the shut down. Smart lady. She took positive constructive action. No blame, no pity party, just proactive action.
It does help to have a partner who is cool under fire. We each have times when it helps to have someone in our corner. Not someone to join in dragging you both down, but someone to shed support and encouragement. You want to surround yourself with other people who are of the same positive mindset as you are. You also want to surround yourself with people with high goals and the absolute focus to achieve those goals. Choose action-oriented friends.
I had to have a serious heart to heart talk with my thoughts and refocus totally on the positive. Yes, I had a few minutes of “oh, no.” A few minutes are only acceptable if you limit it to a few minutes. Then get your act together and focus on what you can do to find a solution. Don’t rely on others to do it for you. This is your business. This is your life. You are responsible for your results.
You have total control of your own mind. It does not happen by accident. You must take control of your thoughts, your words, and your actions.
It really is all in your own mind. It really is in your own control.
Life happens. This is not a fairy land of unicorns and rainbows, this is real life. How you respond to the situations of life will determine your results.
I recently had an interesting and revealing experience. I was frustrated that I had set some very high goals and life seemed to be throwing up roadblocks right and left. Have you ever felt that way? Sure. If we are honest, all of us have experienced that from time to time.
The scary thing is that if you dwell on that obstacle, it looms larger and larger. It is back to my constant reminder that you will receive more of whatever you give your time, energy and focus. The more you let your thoughts continue to swirl around the “poor me” and “why is this happening to me” pattern, the more you will add bricks to the top of that brick wall.
I hit one of those roadblocks on Friday. I had just sent out the link to my blog to several of my business associates. No sooner had I finished sending out the link than I discovered that my blog had been shut down. Was I happy? Absolutely not. The first reaction was “Why?” All of my content was clean, professional, original and non-sales.
The next move was actually from my assistant, Brenda. She jumped into action and requested a review by the powers who controlled the shut down. Smart lady. She took positive constructive action. No blame, no pity party, just proactive action.
It does help to have a partner who is cool under fire. We each have times when it helps to have someone in our corner. Not someone to join in dragging you both down, but someone to shed support and encouragement. You want to surround yourself with other people who are of the same positive mindset as you are. You also want to surround yourself with people with high goals and the absolute focus to achieve those goals. Choose action-oriented friends.
I had to have a serious heart to heart talk with my thoughts and refocus totally on the positive. Yes, I had a few minutes of “oh, no.” A few minutes are only acceptable if you limit it to a few minutes. Then get your act together and focus on what you can do to find a solution. Don’t rely on others to do it for you. This is your business. This is your life. You are responsible for your results.
You have total control of your own mind. It does not happen by accident. You must take control of your thoughts, your words, and your actions.
It really is all in your own mind. It really is in your own control.
Life happens. This is not a fairy land of unicorns and rainbows, this is real life. How you respond to the situations of life will determine your results.
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