We become what we think about. (Choose carefully what you think!)
Imagine your wildest possibilities. Then believe they can come true! Back up that belief with lots of hard work.
Sixties football coach of the Green Bay Packers, Vince Lombardi, put it well: "The will to win is not nearly so important as the will to prepare to win."
Most people have some will to win. Most people enjoy winning, and all that comes with it. People willing to put in the hard work over time that is required to prepare to win are far more rare. The greatest performers have that rare will to prepare.
What makes this especially challenging is that it's not a one-time thing. You can't prepare to win once and then just let success flow. Great performers have the will to prepare to win over and over and over again. They simply know what it takes. So put in your 10,000 hours, and then keep going!
Develop a clear vision of what you want (your goal). Write an outline for it. Write an essay on it. Paint a picture of it. Storyboard it. Build a model of it. But clearly understand the end result you want, before you do it.
Treat this process as a journey that you plan carefully in advance. Beginning with the end goal in mind, work backwards. Map out and establish a clear purpose, a sense of direction, and even a "road map" from your goals, back to the starting point.
List everything that needs to be done, everyone who needs to be involved, every resource you will need. Then be sure it is listed in the order you must do it. Gather those resources. Finally, focus intently, on one thing at at time, in the correct order, as you travel the course toward the goal. Finish each step well.
You will encounter problems along your journey. Problems are just the surface evidence of great opportunities. When you encounter problems, dig deeper, fix the messes, and grow forward, onward, upward. Setbacks are temporary and, like a median and a shoulder, they define the sides of the road.
Be a leader. When you feel the vibrations of a setback "as your tires hit the road's shoulder", stay calm under pressure, and deliberately but calmly steer your "vehicle" (your self!) back onto the correct path.
Everything and everyone is a work in progress toward, or away from, something. Leadership is the art of aligning others toward a worthy, common goal or purpose. In one sense, it is largely a descriptive, cheer-leading task.
Be humble, proceed diligently, and you and your team will accomplish great things.
Respect, involve, and enable others to perform better, and together you will magnify your accomplishments.
Use the Mastermind Principle. (Google search it! See works by Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich, and David Hooper, The Rich Switch). Working with others in the right way multiplies your effectiveness exponentially.
God gave us two ears, two eyes, and one voice. Listen to others, and watch what they do, more than you speak. Then, what you say and do can be wise with the knowledge of what they need from you.
Study the diversity of age, gender, race, religion, political orientation, culture, nationality, and experience, that is all around you. Learn the best lessons from all of it. You never know where and when it will serve you well.
Be serious, but not too serious. Cultivate a good sense of humor, and sprinkle it around fairly. Laugh daily for good health. Strive always to break tension with laughter and smiles. Everyone needs comic relief to stay focused.
In the long run, what is right (ethically, morally, legally, spiritually, and according to the laws of the universe) is far more important than who is right. In the short run, the reverse may often seem true. So know when to be passionate and when to be patient! Allow the truth to come out or unfold. Sometimes others need time to walk around it, look at it, sample it, discover it, make it their own.
Expect excellence in others as you expect it of yourself. Believe in them, as you believe in yourself. Let others know what you expect, and that you believe they can achieve it. Tell yourself that you will get what you want. Chances are, you, and those you encourage, will get it.
Don't copy. Change the game. Create something new and different! Create a new, high-margin market niche item or service, not a low-margin "knock-off" commodity. We don't need another white bread maker. We need more interesting, tasty, non-GMO, non-wheat, nutritious artisanal breads!
Innovate courageously. Surprise the world with something new and wonderful that perhaps seems obvious, but is so elegant in its presentation and practicality that no one has done it before. You want examples? Compare:
• The latest iPhone with the latest BlackBerry.
• The iPad Pro with any other pure tablet device.
• Smart watches vs. Swiss watches with mainsprings.
• Digital imaging vs. Polaroid film pictures.
• Digital imaging vs. conventional film imaging.
• Xerography vs. carbon paper.
• Desktop publishing vs. printing methods of the 1950s.
• Internet learning vs. classroom learning
• Hybrid Synergy Drive vs. conventional car engines
• Hybrid Synergy Drive vs. conventional car engines
Communicate your vision as if your life depends upon it. It does!
Celebrate "milestone" successes along the way, during your journey, even as you plan for your final success and your next journey.
People at all levels must feel appreciated and valued if they are to be involved, energized, and contribute to mutual success. Show genuine interest in them. Ask them what is important to them. Get to know their concerns and interests. Empathize and energize.
"Do, or do not. There is no try." --- Yoda, in The Empire Strikes Back. In other words, be committed, or get out of the way. Help, or do not impede, progress.
Good morale trickles down. Leadership's ever-visible attitudes directly influence outcomes.
