Can a Long-Lost Success Secret Propel your Career Today?It hit me like a ton of bricks! When I first discovered this long-lost secret I realized that it truly was the difference between successful people and people who have failed or have become mediocre or marginal. First, some background. Albert E.N. Gray delivered a speech in 1940 to a national association of insurance salespeople in Philadelphia. The speech was entitled "The Common Denominator of Success". When I first came across the message while doing some research, my immediate reactions were... "Inspirational"! So here it is. Here's the message that can propel your career faster than you thought possible: "The common denominator of success - the secret of success of every person who has been successful - lies in the fact that he or she has formed the habit of doing things that failures don't like to do." Wow! What a unique and different message! This could be the greatest achievement secret in the world! Gray goes on with this piece of motivation, and I paraphrase, - "Huge success is typically achieved by a minority of people and is therefore unnatural and not to be achieved by following our natural likes and dislikes nor being guided by our natural preferences." Then, he hits you with this "cage-rattling" thought - "Successful people are motivated by pleasing results while failures are influenced by pleasing methods!" So how can you use this to propel your career? First, recognize this principle: EXISTING HABITS = EXISTING RESULTS Then, identify the 4 - 7 habits that are absolutely essential for success in your field. They will typically fall into three major areas:
Then, be brutally honest:
Finally, create a vivid, emotional mental picture of the pleasing results that would represent a huge success for you. Then make a resolution to focus on creating those habits that that will lead to those results. Will it take discipline? Absolutely! Finally, here’s something to give you the self-motivation. One of my acquaintances, and someone I really admire is Nido Quebein, President of High Point University. Here’s what he says about discipline: "At the end of the day, life gives you one of two pains, the pain of discipline or the pain of regret - CHOOSE ONE!" |