We’re going to get a little Zen today, considering the things in the news (GM Bankruptcy, and the Air France plane disappearance) and I’m going to dust off a post I’ve been working on for awhile but never got around to sending up.
What are you working for?
Seriously. You might be putting in lots of hours doing lots of “projects,” but are they accomplishing anything?
Some folks their goal is money. Others are helping people. Others are causes. Even others are just to make beautiful things. Whatever success means to you, you should go for it.
However, even though not everything is a “hard” ROI (Return on Investment), do you have at least an idea of how much effort you’re putting in to get something out? Are you actually being effective, or are you THINKING you’re effective?
This isn’t about being lazy, it’s about being able to do as much as possible without sacrificing your life (and in fact, enhancing it). After all, you can’t take it with you – at least in my humble opinion, the people are the most important things in this equation… and small adjustments can make huge gains.
In this era of the micro-entrepreneur, there’s many factors at play. The stress of directly seeing work to money coming in (or not coming in), the stress of the business functions (which you should seriously consider outsourcing if you’re not good at it), the stress of others around you feeling like “it’s not a real job.”
Keys To Success (Garnered From Others)
So here’s some things I’ve found from others – and it’s always a work in progress, including myself.
Work to Build a Positive Reputation
Is your reputation and lifestyle inline with your personal objectives? Are you portraying leadership, or are you portraying being lost? Are you over-committing on a regular basis, and then not delivering? Take it from someone who knows – less is more sometimes.
It’s better to do a few marketing objectives and do them well than spread yourself too thin. After all, the impression you leave when you half-ass things is that you’re…. half assed.
For instance, even though people may like you at the bar, I’ve never met a truly successful person who thinks highly of people or trust people who regularly close it down. Have fun, but everything in moderation.
Say No
If your inputs and your outputs don’t match, something needs to change. And saying “no” is really scary in this “economy,” I know. However, if there’s anything I’ve learned, “no” is the most powerful word in your arsenal. Use it wisely, but don’t be afraid to use it.
Network In The Right Places
Are you talking to people who actually can help you, or are you just trolling every networking event? Bruce, our Business Acceleration Engineer, goes through the networking “calendar” and we figure out what actually will be a benefit. After all, one of the 48 rules of power is to use absence to increase respect and power.
Get Yourself Together
You’re going to be a lot less effective if you’re chasing demons. Go to counseling, take a walk, find positive friends that reinforce you and stay away from those who are unhappy, drag you down, or are stuck in the same place. I recently went back to an old neighborhood, and it scared me how many people were in the exact same place they were six years ago.
And I’m not talking physical place; I’m talking about mental, career, and/or personal place. I know lots of people who stay in the same neighborhood but do lots of growing. Misery loves company, and don’t be it’s friend. It’s hard because it’s comfortable – you know these people – and it’s easier to complain – but if you’re not growing and challenging each other, you’re not going to move forward. If you find that you’re in the same place, not making more money, or working more hours for less, or generally unhappy, it’s amazing how a true “people review” can make huge gains.
Dust Yourself Off
Some of the things are tough to swallow, but to realize we’re all not perfect and we’ve all made these mistakes – including me. Life is a process, not an answer. You’re always going to have more “layers to the onion” because unless you’re static (and I sincerely hope you’re not completely static) and it’s AOK to not be “perfect” because you rock the way you are – just keep going towards your goals. You’ll get there, if you truly want to.
What are your tips? What have you found? Share them below. I’d love to hear from you.
(Author’s Note: This post was inspired by various friends, a grungeaoke conversation, along with an email conversation I had with someone I mentor).
The tough part is those “valleys”, if life were a roller coaster of hills and valleys, those valleys are nearly impossible to see through sometimes.
In respect to the people who have been in the same place for six years, I often have thought the same things about my circles and occasionally myself (surely I will never be in those situations…). What I have kind of found is that many of those people, is that they feel like they have hit a wall, or fallen in a pit with no way out. I think maybe they don’t know how to recognize oppurtunity or take advantage of it, and they don’t see an end to their personal storms.
I completely agree with you. Some people are stuck and have no desire to get out of a dying industry and I am not even talking about the Auto industry.
People are scared of change and when you are forced into it like I was it makes you rethink some things. I agree though once you adapt to change then more things are open and you are open to work smarter and NOT harder at things which won’t change.
I know I am a person of habit and I have changed more in the past year then I ever would have had some things happen.