Sunday, May 26, 2019

8 Principles for Success (Part II)

A few weeks ago, I published part one of my 8 Principles for Success, which included the first four principles. I am thrilled to now unveil part two, which includes the four remaining principles.
5) Open your mind: I always tell people that I coach to commit to learn something new every day. By doing this, you automatically grow and expand, for it is true that whatever does not grow, dies. There are many ways that you can learn; you can read a book or magazine article, you can watch an educational program, you can listen to a program on CD or on an audio app like Audible, or you can even learn something new by having a conversation with someone.
6) Be kind to your fellow human beings: There are many ways that we can be kind to others. Greet people with a smile on the street. You never know what kind of day they're having or how much of a difference that smile could make for them. One way to show kindness is to listen to people when they are communicating with you. Listen without anticipating how you're going to respond, and just really listen. Being kind to others cultivates good energy, and it doesn't cost you a thing. Another way would be to be patient with people when you are out and about. Hold the door for the person behind you. One thing that I want to request is that you be kind to people on the road when you're driving, let people go first or let them cut in. I promise you it won't set you back in terms of time. It actually improves the traffic situation instead of making it worse. These days everyone is in a rush, and so hostile on the road. Don't be the person who made someone miss their turn because you wouldn't let them cut in.
7) Take care of the future you: In the first part of this series, I mentioned some ways of taking care of your well-being. I talked about things like eating more dark green veggies, getting some exercise, and getting enough sleep. By doing these things, you can literally prolong your life, and improve the quality of your life. The other way that I am referring to when I say take care of the future you is in the context of finances. One day we all have to stop working. 
 When that time comes, we want to be able to enjoy a certain quality of life and not have to depend on the government to support us. Even for those that have a 401k or a pension plan, by putting as little as $25 per month aside, we are being proactive and creating another financial resource for our future. Doing these things can only help you 20 years down the road, and your future self will thank you for it.
8) Don't spend your time trying to please other people, because you can't please everyone: I'm going to close with a story I heard in an audio program I was listening to last month. I believe I heard it from the book "High Performance Habits."
The story involves a little boy, an old man and a camel. They were traveling through the desert, and the little boy told the old man that he could ride the camel since he was elderly, and the little boy decided that he would walk. They passed a group of people who were gossiping among themselves loud enough for them to hear. They were accusing the old man of being selfish because he was making the little boy walk.
They felt bad about this and they wanted to please the people, so they switched places. The old man decided that he would walk while the little boy rode the camel. They passed another group of people who were criticizing the little boy, saying that he was selfish for making the poor old man walk. They then decided that they would both walk and perhaps the people would be pleased with them then. At this point, they passed another group of people who called them silly because they were both walking and no one was riding the camel.
They realized that they should just both ride the camel, and at last the people would be pleased. They passed the next group of spectators, who were criticizing them for being cruel to the camel, so they decided to carry the camel together. As they crossed a bridge over a stream while carrying the camel, they both lost grip of it and it fell into the stream and died. The moral of the story? Don't try to please other people, because everyone will never be pleased. Live your life based on what pleases you and what you know to be right or just.

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

8 Principles For Success (Part I)

As someone who worked in the corporate world for many years and who has been an entrepreneur for over ten years, I would like to share some of the principles for success that I think have made the most difference for me over the years. I consider these principles to be critical ones that make up the foundation for whatever you are building. In other words, a foundation for your success.
1) Embrace your spirituality: This may look different for each of us. Depending on whether you follow a religion or not, embracing your spirituality could mean visiting your place of worship more often. It could also mean spending more time in prayer. As for me, I am a Christian, but I consider myself to be more of a "spiritual" person, as opposed to a "religious" person. Two spiritual experiences that work for me have been connecting with nature and spending quiet time in solitude. What do I mean by "connecting with nature?" I mean things like going for a walk in the park or a walk on the beach. There's something about spending time in the midst of God's awesome creation...noticing the blue sky...the beautiful sand...the green trees...the flowers...that just grounds you in a spiritual way. Also, spending time in solitude allows you to pay attention to God's whispers, His guidance into the direction in which He wants you to go. One last way of embracing your spirituality that I want to share is expressing gratitude. I always say that gratitude cultivates abundance. One of the things that I stress to my coachees is that it is so easy to come up with a list of things that we are not happy with, things that aren't going well. But there is so much power in creating a list of things that you can be grateful for, even in the middle of a crisis. Personally, a few of the first things that end up on my gratitude list are having a place to lay my head at night, being in good health, having the means to prepare a healthy meal and being part of a very large family.
2) Be responsible for your well-being: This is an area in which the list of ways to do this can be very lengthy. I'd like to share three ways that are at the top of my list. I'll start with eating well. Making subtle changes in your diet can make a huge difference in your energy level, your productivity and your overall well-being. Some of those changes might include eliminating or reducing the amount of fried foods, red meat, and white flour products that you consume. Another change that makes a difference is increasing the amount of dark green vegetables you consume. To start, they help reduce the risk of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and mental decline. I speak from experience because I made all of the above changes in 2011, and over these past years my blood work has remained near perfect, even at the age of 52. Making sure you exercise is another change that can be made. It's not even necessary to join a gym or buy expensive equipment. You could add 30 minutes of exercise three or four times per week by going for a walk in the park, or working out with an instructor via YouTube...for free! The last change I'm going to mention here is getting enough sleep. Years ago I used to get up in the middle of the night to do work on my computer, etc. because I could not sleep. Then, one year I was sharing this with my physician.  He told me to start staying in bed when I can't sleep, and it will provide me with at least a percentage of the benefit that I would get if I were asleep. I've been doing that since then, and it has made a world of difference in how I feel as I move through my busy agenda each day.
3) Be a contribution to others: I personally believe that each person on this earth has a purpose. We all have gifts to share with our fellow human beings, and in turn, they need what we have to give. That's one way to be a contribution, to share your gifts, whether it's through the work that you do to earn a living, or through philanthropy. The second way I'm going to mention here is by being vulnerable. I believe that the purpose of some of the experiences that we go through in life is to prepare us to minister to others who are dealing with similar circumstances somewhere down the road. By being vulnerable and sharing your story, your challenge, and how you got through it, you can sometimes provide what is needed by someone else to overcome their challenge.
4) Live in the present: I once came across a quote that read: If you’re depressed you’re living in the past...if you’re anxious you’re living in the future...and if you’re at peace you’re living in the present...the more time you spend in the present, the richer your life will be" Unknown. Living in the past puts you in a negative state over things that you cannot change or control. At the same token, spending too much time worrying about the future is a moot point. There was a study conducted once by the Huffington Post that proved that 90% of what we worry about actually never happens. All we have is right now, and that's where we should focus our energy, on being in the moment, right here...right now.
Well, that sums up the first four principles. Stay tuned for the next four. I hope these make a difference for you in the meantime.