6 Things To Do To Increase Your Success Rate

We humans (that means me included) often get stuck in a hamster wheel of habit. We do things that aren’t good for us, remain where we shouldn’t and put ourselves through voluntary suffering all in the name of comfort. We don’t know these things are damaging, because it’s normal to us.

Here are six things you should quit doing today, before it’s too late.

Quit Stopping – I’ve completed six half marathons (13.1 miles) over the past few years and each one has been an emotional experience for me.

They say that at the very moment you want to quit, you’re actually almost there. It’s the stupid human in us…we go so far and then our brains take over and tell us it’s too hard. When did we get the memo that life was supposed to be easy all the time?

Think right now about something you keep stopping. You committed to it, but then you suddenly quit because it started to require a little extra elbow grease. A project at work, a relationship, a fitness goal. Remember why you started it, then push onward. Because the more you stop and think about quitting, the longer it’ll take to get to your desired result. Or worse, you’ll never know what it feels like to reach the finish line.

Quit Saying Tomorrow – You know the saying, “Yesterday you said tomorrow?” Seriously, stop that! Delaying or procrastinating around something that you think is important means one of two things. You’re either scared to start because it means your life will change or you want it for the wrong reasons (i.e. someone else is encouraging you to do it).

So yes, that new healthy eating thing you want to do will be very difficult and possibly unpleasant. But every day you wait to start is another day you’re not helping yourself. And you keep telling yourself that you’ll wait until the kids are a certain age before you finish your degree, but is that really the main reason you’re waiting? Or is it because studying is not nearly as exciting as all the other options you have right now? And while you’re at it, why are you donating free money to the gym? They haven’t seen you in months.

Quit Being A Victim – When people tell me they’re doing something or making certain choices because they have “no choice,” it makes me want to bang my head on the table…and then put that on repeat. You have a choice in everything you do. Barring a few really crazy exceptions, no one holds your hand to the fire on anything. And if you’re choosing to remain in a place that isn’t positive, you’re victimizing yourself.

You are not so worthless that you have to keep dating that person. There are other places you could live. And it’s not your schedule that prevents you from being healthy.

Our social groups are great for complaining. We all discuss our problems with our friends and that’s ok. But there are limits. Everyone gets a few opportunities to complain about a particular hardship, but if you seek advice and respond with “but I can’t” (said in whiny voice) too many times, you officially become a victim. Eventually, you’ll have to ask yourself whether you even want to fix the problem.

Quit Saying Yes – Anytime we say yes to something, we’re saying no to something else. So when you say yes to a happy hour, you’re saying no to . When you say yes to a crappy review from your boss, you’re saying no to getting acknowledged for the great work that was overlooked. When you say yes to watching pointless reality TV shows, you’re saying no to doing the dishes. Or if you say yes to staying late at the office, you’re saying no to your relationship.

It could be you don’t need to entirely quit saying yes. You may just need to analyze when you’re saying yes and what you’re trading for it. You might find yourself saying yes to things you don’t even care about and no to things that could make your life better in some way.

Quit Expecting – I got an email the other night from someone looking for advice after reading this article. He told me that he’s been working for the same company for his entire career, rising through the ranks and loving it. But recently he realized he’s hit a wall – he’s had many reviews and each time he meets with management, they’re not giving him the promotion he knows he’s ready for. My question to him was, “Have you asked for it?”

It’s very rare for a company to proactively promote someone at a fast pace. Especially true in older organizations, if you expect your company to promote you when they feel you’re ready for it, you’ll be sitting around waiting for about 10 years to reach the next level.

Your boss is like your significant other. Don’t expect them to read your mind. They’ll only know what you need when you tell them. If you really have your heart set on something (like a promotion), you must be vocal about it. If you don’t speak up, you’re leaving the translation up to them. Expect at your own risk.

Quit Avoiding – Suck it up. We all have things we don’t want to do, but we have to do them because we’re adults. (Should I have started the paragraph with, “Dear Congress”?)

I once managed a team responsible for a corporate-wide project with a lot of moving pieces. There were some majorly miserable elements to that project and there were some really sexy parts (i.e. things you put on your resume) too. As I sat with my boss reviewing progress one day, she asked why I hadn’t finished one particular task (a task that couldn’t be delegated). I responded with, “It’s boring me!” Her response was, “Your point?”

Yeah, life doesn’t work that way. You can’t pluck the fun parts out and leave the tough parts on the table. You take all or none.

If we didn’t have to work hard to reach success, we wouldn’t appreciate it. If there’s something you’re putting off because it’s boring you, it’s hard, physically demanding or tiring…just get up and get it done. Quit avoiding it. There will be rewards along the way and there will be a great sense of accomplishment at the end.

Source: Forbes

Molly is a co-founder and Executive Producer of Haul Studios, the founder of GlassHeel.com and a freelance writer covering business, leadership and innovation. 

Motivational Quotes For Job Seekers

Everyone needs motivation to get through daily stress or disappointing times. It's easy to get a drug to relieve you of a headache than is easy to get a word to motivate you in times of depression. You need your own dose of suiting words as you set out every day.

Andy Teach, author of From Graduation to Corporation, said, “It would be great if we all had a career coach or mentor who could follow us around every step of the way when we look for a job. They could motivate us and keep our spirits up when we get rejected for a job; or congratulate us when we land that dream job. Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen so we all need to look for motivation from other sources.”

The quotes below are not so about those who wrote them than about the impact they can have on you if they are constantly used and kept as a reminder. These words are aimed to keep you firing on all cylinders regardless of the rough surfaces you're riding on.

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky

“Don’t be afraid to fail. Don’t waste energy trying to cover up failure. Learn from your failures and go on to the next challenge. It’s Ok to fail. If you’re not failing, you’re not growing” – H. Stanley Judd

“Take risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise.” – Anon

“Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell ‘em, ‘Certainly I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it.” – Theodore Roosevelt

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and will always solve the problems of the human race.” – Calvin Coolidge

“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it” – Thomas Jefferson

 “Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.” – Arthur Ashe

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“Success doesn’t come to you, you go to it” – Marva Collins

ARE YOU GOING WITH THE FLOW?

“Only dead fish go with the flow.” Dead fishes simply go with the direction of flow of the water body. They have no life in them to go otherwise. How do we differ from dead fishes if we allow our lives to be patterned with what’s the norm?

Image Courtesy: contrarian.ca/2009/07/04/going-with-the-flow

Most of us like to take the path of least resistance. We don’t want to be termed the odd one out. We don’t want to be seen as been ‘different’ even though we’d like to be different but not ready to pay the price of being different: Courage.

How do you know if you are going with the flow?

A very simple way to know if you are going with the flow or not is the decisions you take on a daily basis. For instance, if you just resumed in an office where you resume by 8am and you decide to resume one hour earlier to get started with your day, you will be noticed and possibly mocked (I have seen that happen too many times); that’s not a problem. But when you drop your guard to go with the flow of prompt resumption or late resumption, you will notice one thing: your productivity will drop. You are down with the flow; struggling for survival. One mark of truly successful people is continually doing the inconvenient but necessary things without losing enthusiasm.

How do you deal with this: decide everyday you breathe to be different. Don’t take the path of losers. Don’t just do the convenient; do the necessary.

(A word of caution: By any means, being different does not mean you should neglect sound principles or good examples from mentors or role models.)

Dead fishes don’t swim. The water body carries them and sooner than later drops them on dry land. You have life in you, a great opportunity to be different and an example unto others in every good works. You’ve got no business going with the flow. Only those who stand out are outstanding.

Share and inspire a friend. Have a great working week.

CREATE YOUR WAY WITH DETERMINATION

In a situation, the views of all present decision-makers are paramount for the leader. Now you may not have the privilege to make the last call, but you can channel your view and stand out anywhere in life.

More than a century ago, Edwin C. Barnes discovered how to make a point in a maze of successful folks and created a niche for himself. He engineered his ways with his thoughts into a booming partnership with the 20th century genius, Thomas Edison. When the thought flashed across his mind, he was in no position to act upon it. Two difficulties stood in his way. He did not know Mr. Edison, and he did not have enough money to pay his railroad fare to Orange, New Jersey. Those difficulties were sufficient to have discouraged the majority of men from making any attempt to carry out the desire. A lot of people decide to shy away from responsibilities in the light of making peace at all costs. This is a mirage. There is a price for peace. You have to pay it else you stand the risk of paying more with false peace. Mr. Barnes had a strong desire with a focus and went to East Orange on a freight train.
discovered how to make a point in a maze of successful folks and created a niche for himself. He engineered his ways with his thoughts into a booming partnership with the 20

He presented himself at Mr. Edison’s laboratory, and announced he had come to go into business with the inventor. In speaking of the first meeting between Barnes and Edison, years later, the inventor said, “He stood there before me, looking like an ordinary tramp, but there was something in the expression of his face which conveyed the impression that he was determined to get what he had come for. I gave him the opportunity he asked for, because, because I saw he had made up his mind to stand by until he succeeded. Subsequent proved that no mistake was made.” It is always true that if you look long and hard at an object, you will see the flaws as well as the pearls. This implies that if you determine to get the best out of a situation, you must be ready to stand by your focus until there is the desired success. Barnes did not get his partnership with Edison on his first interview. He did get a chance to work in the Edison offices, at a very nominal wage, doing work that was unimportant to Edison, nut of utmost important to Barnes, because it gave him an opportunity to display his “merchandise” where his intended partner could see it. Psychologists have correctly punctuated that, “when one is truly ready for a thing, it puts in its appearance.” Barnes was ready for a business association with Edison. He did not say to himself, “Ah well, what’s the use? I guess I’ll change my mind and try for a salesman job.” But he did say, “I came here to go into business with Edison and I’ll accomplish this end.”

When the opportunity came, it appeared in an entirely different work clothes than Barnes expected. Mr Edison had just perfected a new office device, known as the Edison Dictating Machine (also called the Ediphone). His salesmen were not enthusiastic over the machine. They did not believe it could be sold without great effort. Barnes saw his opportunity. It had crawled in quietly, hidden in a queer looking machine which interested no one but Barnes and the inventor.

Barnes knew he could sell the Ediphone. He suggested this to Edison, and promptly got his chance. He did sell the machine. In fact, he sold it so successfully that Edison gave him a contract to distribute and market it all over the nation. Out of that business association grew the slogan, “Made by Edison and installed by Barnes.”

Mr. Barnes made his mark with a successful man creatively and genuinely. He built a great fortune for himself in the process and for his partner. He desired, planned it, prepared for it and stood by until he got it. He didn’t quit halfway. He didn’t shy away from the responsibilities attached to his greatness. He chose to respond well despite the odd cards life dealt to him. He had no money to begin with. He had but little education. He had no influence. But he did have certain virtues like faith and perseverance. With these, he created a world for himself.
You also can create your way with strong determination and achieve greater results in this present times.


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Take A Step

It's always frightening when we want to do something new; get a new job, start a business, join a group/community. There's no best way to avoid such circumstances in life, except we don't really want to move forward.
Accomplishing new things demands sacrifices. It demands patience in the planning process, endurance in the delivery process. But in the long run, we experience a fresh breath of satisfaction when the goal is met.
Look before you leap is a common saying in our world. But how much do we really practice this?
In the course of life, some leap before they look. While some look, look and look and never leap. Both courses are not good. The proverb must be practiced: look then leap.
For a child growing up, the parents will tell him/her when crossing the streets that look right, look left and then right before you cross the road. The same is applicable to taking practical steps in life's journey. The road needs to be crossed.
Everyday we are faced with choices to make; either voluntarily or involuntarily. There's no middle ground. Indecision is in itself a decision not to make a decision.
How are you sure that the decision you are about to make is a good one?
Simply calculate with all resources at your disposal; researching, planning, preparation,
interactions and then pray. There are no guarantees.
But a step forward is better than being stagnant. Pool water stinks over time, and that's why they are constantly piped out and re-filled.
Sit down, plan and take that positive step today!