Success isn't sexy

Success isn’t sexy

 

Too many leadership experts make being successful and fulfilled sound complicated. They preach the latest technique and offer the latest modality that they say will speed us to our greatest life. Take a magic pill or try the latest fad and all will be fine – life will be perfect.

 

Nonsense. Yes, crafting an extraordinary existence takes work. Of course, getting to greatness – personally and professionally – requires sacrifices. A primary sign of maturity is the ability to give up instant gratification for a much more spectacular pleasure down the road. And true, the right thing to do is generally the hardest thing to do. With daily consistent effort in the direction of our dreams and an application of the fundamentals of success, one can really get to the place one have always dreamed of getting to.

 

Success isn’t sexy. It’s all about working the basics of excellence with a passionate consistency. I love that word. Consistency. It’s amazing how far one will get by just staying with something long enough. Most people give up too early. Their fears are bigger than their faith, I guess.

 

Stick to the fundamentals that we know in our hear are true and we’ll do just fine. Things like being being positive, taking responsibility for our role in what’s not working in our lives, treating people well, working hard, being an innovator rather than a follower, getting up early, getting goals, speaking one’s truth, being self-disciplined, saving money, caring for health and valuing family. “ the smallest of actions is always better than the noblest of intentions”

 

Don’t complicate things. Getting to best life is simple. Not easy but simple. It just takes focus and effort. That philosophy about the thousand mile journey beginning with a single step is true. Do a little each day to get the goals and over time, the goals will be achieved. Small daily gains leads to giant results over a life time.

 

Personal & organizational greatness is not about revolution but about evolution, those small but consistent wins. Sam Walton began with a single store. Bill & Alan started Microsoft from their homes. Every dream starts small. But you need to start. Today.

 

“It’s amazing how far one will get by just staying with something long enough. Most people give up too early. Their fears are bigger than their faith”

 

RE: BE AN IDEA FACTORY

CREDIT DOESN’T MATTER

 

“You can accomplish anything in life, provided that you do not mind who gets the credit”, observed Harry Truman. Splendid thought. Leave your ego at the front door when you go to work and just do superb work. Good things will happen. For you.

 

It’s so human to crave applause and recognition and acclaim. We all want to be appreciate by our peers and revered by the tribe. But leadership is about a lot more than trying to look good in the eyes of others. It’s about standing for a cause (as Pablo Picasso added, “It’s your Work in life that is the ultimate seduction”). It’s about being BIW (Best in the World) at what you do. It’s about leaving people better than you found them. And it’s about not worrying who gets the credit for a job well done.

 

People who are outstanding always get found out. The cliché is true: the cream always rises to the top. The best always come to light. And the Great Ones among us can never be held back.

 

BE AN IDEA FACTORY

BE AN IDEA FACTORY

 

One big idea could revolutionize your life – and even the world around you. All it takes is that single genius thought to change the whole game. I’m reading a fantastic book called Humble master pieces: Every day Marvels of Design by Paola Antonelli, curator of architecture and design at new york’s museum of Modern Art. In one of the chapters, I learned of designer Daniel Cudzik. He’s the brave dreamer who invented the stay-on metal tab that you now see on everyone single one of the billion aluminum cans made every year. Before his invention, tabs were pulled off and thrown away, creating tons of litter, not to mention hurt feet. One idea transformed all that.

 

Cudzik was watching TV one night with his two kids when the vision came to him. (Your best ideas will come when you least expect it. Most revolutionary thoughts don’t come when you are keeping a frenetic pace, they come when you’re having fun, so have some fun – it’s good for business, as well as for your soul). Rather than letting the idea slip away (like most of us do), he wrote it down, sketching his plan for the stay-on tab. He quickly gave it to a draftsman, and they soon created the prototype. Guess what? It worked. Brings me to my suggestion: Become an idea factory. Of course, you also need to have a passionate commitment to breathing life into your big ideas through near-flawless execution. Couple the two and you just might produce something extraordinarily valuable. And wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing?

 

“One big idea could revolutionize your life – and even the world around you. All it takes is that single genius thought to change the whole game”