The Twin Pillars of Success
The Twin Pillars of Success
Some people have tons of passion. They have a dream, a vision or mission and they are on fire for it. They get up early and work and try all day long, struggling endlessly to "make this happen."
Unfortunately, they often become profoundly frustrated that their hard work has produced so little in terms of lasting results. They lack "focus".
The other group is people who have defined their goals, created plans and know precisely how to achieve their objectives. They have mapped their lives, complete in every detail. They typically
accomplish a lot, but are bored, restless or just tired. They have successfully reduced life to a "paint by the numbers" routine. They lack "fire".
Sometimes we map our lives so carefully that, in reducing risk, we remove all the mystery, all the drama, romance and wonder. We get up, get dressed, go to work, run errands, come home, have dinner and do it again tomorrow. That stability may be rewarded with money, promotions, even prestige, but it often lacks a sense of being "real life". It's like reading the lines of a play, in which we are assigned the role of an executive, entrepreneur, parent, or whatever. Boring!
The opposite, of course, are the "drama kings/queens", whose lives defy any sort of organization, consistency, or tranquility. They live for the flash and the fire, every day. They can see and
do amazing things, but are always under the gun, scrambling to stay on top. If they are good jugglers, they may also be rewarded with money or fame, but the secret is that their lives are stressed to the max and they fear that one day they'll drop the ball and everything will fall apart.
It seems to me that the key to long-term success is a balance between these two extremes. Highly successful people DO have a sense of fire. They are passionate about their goals. They are excited, determined, creative and restless, but they are also focused.
They are able to discipline their energy and finish projects on budget and ahead of schedule. They know that systems and routine and simplicity are the keys to productivity. They know that in the fable of the tortoise and the hare, the slow, steady, predictable turtle wins the race.
There is a reason we love roller-coasters, suspense novels and scary movies. We NEED adventure in our lives. When we are too careful and reduce life to a formula, we deny ourselves the wonder of pushing the limits and pursuing our dreams "flat out", full-speed-ahead. If life is boring, go faster, aim higher, stretch yourself!
But if life has become too dangerous or too stressed, don't be afraid to slow down, to "drive safer" or even stop and ask directions. A life based on too much fire, passion, and drama may create short-term success, but I'm told it also leads to heart attacks, strokes and tragedy.
The trick is to balance the twin pillars of fire and focus. Honor the fire in your belly! Trust that your passion, your dreams and your imagination know where they are going, they know better than your logical brain what you are capable of achieving. Trust that and go for it! But, be smart. Get a map, know your obectives, have a plan, and day by day, work the plan. Inch by inch, step by
step, anything's a cinch!
The Twin Pillars of Success - To learn more about this author, visit Rodger Blaker's Website.
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Have you ever thought about “Fire and Focus” as twin pillars of success. If not, you may be someone who is or has been extremely frustrated because you didn’t make the connection between "fire" and "focus".
Some people have tons of passion. They have a dream, a vision or mission and they are on fire for it. They get up early and work and try all day long, struggling endlessly to "make this happen."
Unfortunately, they often become profoundly frustrated that their hard work has produced so little in terms of lasting results. They lack "focus".
The other group is people who have defined their goals, created plans and know precisely how to achieve their objectives. They have mapped their lives, complete in every detail. They typically
accomplish a lot, but are bored, restless or just tired. They have successfully reduced life to a "paint by the numbers" routine. They lack "fire".
Sometimes we map our lives so carefully that, in reducing risk, we remove all the mystery, all the drama, romance and wonder. We get up, get dressed, go to work, run errands, come home, have dinner and do it again tomorrow. That stability may be rewarded with money, promotions, even prestige, but it often lacks a sense of being "real life". It's like reading the lines of a play, in which we are assigned the role of an executive, entrepreneur, parent, or whatever. Boring!
The opposite, of course, are the "drama kings/queens", whose lives defy any sort of organization, consistency, or tranquility. They live for the flash and the fire, every day. They can see and
do amazing things, but are always under the gun, scrambling to stay on top. If they are good jugglers, they may also be rewarded with money or fame, but the secret is that their lives are stressed to the max and they fear that one day they'll drop the ball and everything will fall apart.
It seems to me that the key to long-term success is a balance between these two extremes. Highly successful people DO have a sense of fire. They are passionate about their goals. They are excited, determined, creative and restless, but they are also focused.
They are able to discipline their energy and finish projects on budget and ahead of schedule. They know that systems and routine and simplicity are the keys to productivity. They know that in the fable of the tortoise and the hare, the slow, steady, predictable turtle wins the race.
There is a reason we love roller-coasters, suspense novels and scary movies. We NEED adventure in our lives. When we are too careful and reduce life to a formula, we deny ourselves the wonder of pushing the limits and pursuing our dreams "flat out", full-speed-ahead. If life is boring, go faster, aim higher, stretch yourself!
But if life has become too dangerous or too stressed, don't be afraid to slow down, to "drive safer" or even stop and ask directions. A life based on too much fire, passion, and drama may create short-term success, but I'm told it also leads to heart attacks, strokes and tragedy.
The trick is to balance the twin pillars of fire and focus. Honor the fire in your belly! Trust that your passion, your dreams and your imagination know where they are going, they know better than your logical brain what you are capable of achieving. Trust that and go for it! But, be smart. Get a map, know your obectives, have a plan, and day by day, work the plan. Inch by inch, step by
step, anything's a cinch!
The Twin Pillars of Success - To learn more about this author, visit Rodger Blaker's Website.
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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