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Bud Bilanich Articles

Written by: Bud Bilanich

How to Become a Dynamic Communicator - Click To Read Article
This article is about communication skills. In my executive training sessions, I tell my clients that people with good communication skills share at least three things in common: 1. Good communicators are excellent conversationalists 2. Good communicators write in a clear, concise easily readable manner. 3. Good communicators are excellent presenters – to groups of two or 100. In this article, I will look at each of these in detail.

George Clooney, Up in the Air, Relationships and Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people know that relationships are key to their success. They understand themselves and use this self knowledge to better understand others. They are competent at building relationships and resolving conflicts in a manner that enhances their relationships with the important people in their lives. They pay it forward by giving without the expectation of return. They make regular deposits to the emotional bank accounts they have with the important people in their life. They keep their emotional bank account balances high. In that way, they won't be overdrawn when they have to make the occasional withdrawal.

Want Success? Take a Lesson From Lindsey Vonn - Click To Read Article
As you go through life, stuff will happen; good stuff, bad stuff, frustrating stuff, happy stuff, sad stuff, fortunate stuff, unfortunate stuff. Successful people choose to react to the stuff that happens -- especially the negative stuff -- in a positive way. Lindsey Vonn had some really bad stuff happen -- a deep bone bruise on her shin; and some lucky stuff -- the warm weather in Vancouver that delayed the women's downhill -- happen to her over the past couple of weeks. She did what she could with it. And what she did was pretty spectacular. The next time things get you down, think of Lindsey Vonn, do what you can to recover from circumstances and stay positive. Because that's what successful people do -- they choose to react positively to the negative people and events in their lives.

Commit to Your Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their own success. They realize that personal and professional success are the result of focus and hard work. If you want to succeed, you need to look for the opportunity in failure. Successful people don't give up. They keep on working towards their goals with a single minded focus.

Heed the Dalai Lama -- and Fortune Magazine - Click To Read Article
The Dalai Lama says: “One can be deceived by three types of laziness: the laziness of indolence, which is the wish to procrastinate; the laziness of inferiority, which is doubting your capabilities; and the laziness that is attached to negative actions, or putting great effort into non-virtue.” I really like this quote because it drives home an important point about personal responsibility and becoming an outstanding performer. The Dalai Lama doesn’t let us off the hook by saying, “I didn’t think I could do it.” Instead, he says that doubting our abilities is a form of laziness. That’s some tough love!

Fear, Defensiveness, Relationships and Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are interpersonally competent. Interpersonally competent people build strong relationships and resolve conflict in a positive manner. Defensive behavior hinders the development of strong relationships and tends to make conflict worse. Often we get defensive when our fear buttons get pressed -- especially our fear of rejection. So, the next time you find yourself feeling or acting defensively, ask yourself "what am I afraid of here?" The answer will help you respond in an interpersonally competent manner and to build and maintain strong relationships.

Surround Yourself with Positive People for Success - Click To Read Article
Self-confidence is an important key to personal and professional success. Positive people help your self-confidence because they tend to see the potential in you - even when you might not see it in yourself. Negative people, on the other hand, will hinder your self-confidence because they tend to reinforce your self-doubt and negative beliefs about yourself. Jettison the negative people in your life. If you can't remove them completely, do your best to keep them at arm's length. Build a network of positive people by being positive yourself. Think positively. Smile. Speak positively.

Dealing With Procrastination - Click To Read Article
Well organized people manage time well. The other day, I came across an interesting quote on time from Luanne Oakes, PhD: "Time is within your control." My first reaction was "maybe in your world, Luanne, but try mine for a while and then we’ll see what you have to say." However, as I thought about it, I realized that Dr. Oakes is right -- time is within my control. I know that we live in a crazy information age where business life and home life are a blur of activity, deadlines, pressures, and projects. In this always available, always on call age, it’s hard to believe that time is within your control. But it is. You can control your time if you work at it.

How to Create Positive Personal Impact - Click To Read Article
This article is about positive personal impact. My work as an executive coaching consultant has led me to conclude that people with positive personal impact have three things in common: 1. People with powerful personal impact develop and constantly promote their personal brand. 2. People with powerful personal impact are impeccable in their presentation of self. 3. People with powerful personal impact know and practice the basic rules of etiquette.

How to Become an Outstanding Performer - Click To Read Article
This article is about outstanding performance. All outstanding performers have at least three things in common: 1. Outstanding performers set and achieve goals. 2. Outstanding performers are organized. 3. Outstanding performers are detail oriented and execute well.

How to Become Interpersonally Competent - Click To Read Article
This article is about interpersonal competence. In my work as an executive coaching consultant, I have found that interpersonally competent people share at least three things in common: 1. Interpersonally competent people are self aware. They understand themselves, and as a result they understand others. 2. Interpersonally competent people build solid, long lasting mutually beneficial relationships with the people in their lives. 3. Interpersonally competent people are able to resolve conflicts with a minimal amount of problems and upset to relationships.

Interpersonal Competence - Click To Read Article
Interpersonal competence is the fifth key of career and life success. No matter how self confident and how good at creating positive personal impact or how great a performer and dynamic a communicator you are, you will not achieve life success without interpersonal competence. By taking the time to understand yourself and others, build strong relationships and resolve conflict positively you are well on your way to achieving life success. The greatest life success is found by those who truly seek these things.

Persistence and Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their lives and career. Only you can make you a success. You have to take personal responsibility for creating the successful life and career you want and deserve. Persistence is the mark of people who are committed to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers. Persistent people keep going; even in -- no especially in -- the face of difficulties and problems. Promise yourself that you will commit to taking personal responsibility for your life and career in 2010. Be persistent. Keep at it, and you will reach your goals

Successful People Build Strong Relationships With Their Colleagues - Click To Read Article
Successful people are inter-personally competent. Inter-personally competent people build and maintain strong relationships with the people close to them. They also resolve conflict in a manner that enhances, not detracts, from these relationships. If you want to become inter-personally competent put as much effort into building strong relationships with your colleagues as you do in producing good results. Remember, success depends both on what you do and how you do it.

Successful People are Optimists -- They Ask For, and Often Get What They Want - Click To Read Article
Self confident, optimistic people ask for what they want. They may not always get it, but often they do. If you want to become a career success, you need to be confident enough to ask for what you want. Randy Pausch and his father and son got to ride in the nose cone of the Disney World Monorail -- because he chose optimism and asked. Cathy and I got to see the sold out Inspiring Impressionism exhibit at the Denver Art Museum -- because she chose optimism and asked. Ask for what you want. You'll be surprised at how many times you'll get what you want.

Create Your Success by Acting With Enthusiasm - Click To Read Article
Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their career and life success. They decide what they really want out of their life and career. They create a vivid mental image of themselves having what they want. And then they act -- enthusiastically. They seize the day and do whatever it takes to get what they vividly imagine and ardently desire. Commit to taking responsibility for your success. Seize the day -- and act.

Create WE for Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are competent when it comes to building strong lasting relationships with the important people in their lives. Giving with no expectation of return is one way to build relationships. In other words, don't think quid pro quo. This is a quid pro quo world: you do for me and I'll do for you. While there is nothing wrong in reciprocating a good deed or a favor, there is a fundamental problem with quid pro quo. It is reactive not proactive. Too many people wait for others to go first. Break that routine, and put yourself out there. Go first.

Become the Star You Are Meant to Be - Click To Read Article
You want more out of life than just a job. Whether you work for a large company, a startup, a nonprofit, or you are an entrepreneur, you want to be a star; a complete and total personal and professional success. But professional success is complicated and may be elusive. To achieve professional success and become the star you are meant to be you need a professional success blueprint.

Do What Scares You the Most - Click To Read Article
Successful people are self confident. Fear is the enemy of self confidence. It can immobilize you, making it difficult to reach your goals and aspirations. You can overcome fear by taking action. You'll probably make mistakes and have a few failures. Don't fear these mistakes and failures. Use them as to find new and better ways of getting what you want. Remember this simple message: action cures fear.

Successful People Make Their Own Luck - Click To Read Article
Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers. You can demonstrate your commitment to taking personal responsibility for you success by doing five things. 1) Decide you are in control. 2) Do something to show yourself you are in control. 3) Think through all of your options in a given situation. 4) Choose an option and act. If it doesn't work, choose another option. 5) Be adaptable. Change with the times. In The Luck Factor, Richard Wiseman calls these five steps a method for learning to be lucky. I say they are a recipe for demonstrating your commitment to taking personal responsibility for your life and career.

Successful People Think Win-Win In Conflict Situations - Click To Read Article
The common sense point here is simple. Successful people build strong, positive, mutually beneficial relationships with the people in their lives. No relationship is without conflict. That's why it's important to become adept at resolving conflict in a positive manner. Collaboration is the best choice for handling most conflict situations. When you collaborate with others -- especially those with whom you are in conflict -- you not only are likely to resolve your conflict in a positive manner, you will strengthen your relationship with the other person. It's a win-win. Take it from a long time career success coach, collaboration -- focusing on where you agree and building a solution together is the best way to resolve conflicts that can damage your relationships.

Common Sense and Success - Click To Read Article
We are all born with five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. These senses help us navigate our way through the world. They bring us delight in small things. They also warn us when danger threatens. However, I believe that we all have a sixth, and underused sense, our common sense. Your common sense helps you make the right decision in ambiguous situations -- but only if you use it. When I tell people that I'm the Common Sense Guy, people often come back with Will Rogers' saying, "Common sense isn't all that common." I disagree. I think that we all have innate common sense. It's a natural gift, just like our five other senses. We don't always use it though. If you are willing to let your common sense guide you today, you can use it as a guide tomorrow, the next day, next week and next month.

Conversation Skills for Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are competent. Dynamic communication is an important key success competency. If you want to become a dynamic communicator, you have to become a good conversationalist, clear writer and effective presenter. To become a good conversationalist learn to listen well. Listening, like a lot of success advice, is just common sense. Show the other person you are engaged. Focus on understanding, not on rebutting points with which you don't agree. Don't get distracted by words that trigger your emotions. Ask clarification questions to ensure you understand what is being said. Repeat what you've heard.

Create Your Success - Click To Read Article
If you want to succeed you need to do at least four things: 1) Get clear on --your purpose and direction in your life and career; 2) Commit to taking personal responsibility for your life and career; 3) Build unshakeable self confidence; 4) Develop the competencies you need to succeed. Yes, there's a lot to learn, but there is one point I make over and over again with my coaching clients. You need to use what you learn. I listed several success quick points above and hopefully you learned something from them. But, as the U.S. Steel pencils used to say, "Knowing is not enough." You have to use this knowledge if you're going to become a career and life success. Remember, success is a journey, not a destination.

Successful People Create and Nurture Their Unique and Powerful Personal Brand - Click To Read Article
Successful people create, build and nurture their personal brands. You can create your unique personal brand by answering the following four questions. 1) What do I do? 2) Why is it important? 3) How do I do it? 4) Why does this matter in the long run? These questions may seem simple at first glance, but they can help you summarize what you want to communicate about yourself to the rest of the world -- and that's a great start on creating your personal brand.

Hard Work and Success -- One Follows the Other - Click To Read Article
The point here is simple -- and sobering for those who are looking for career success shortcuts. Be willing to go the extra mile. Create custom resumes for every job for which you apply. Once you get a job, work harder than others. Volunteer for unpopular jobs -- and then do a great job. Yes, if you want to become an outstanding performer, it's important to be a lifelong learner, set and achieve high goals, and get organized. But it's also important to do something a lot simpler -- and totally in your control; be willing to work hard. Hard work will help build your brand and put you at the top of the promotion list, and bottom of the layoff list.

Your Values and Your Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people clarify their purpose and direction in life. Your personal values are an important part of your clarity of purpose and direction. Values are guides to decision making in ambiguous situations. They center you. They provide you with a touchstone when you are trying to make important decisions. If you have not already clarified your personal values, I suggest that you do so -- the sooner the better. You'll find that clarifying your personal values is time well spent.

Your Online Presence and Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are competent. Creating positive personal impact is one of the competencies that successful people possess. You create positive personal impact by building and nurturing your unique personal brand, being impeccable in your presentation of self -- in person and on line, and knowing and following the basic rules of etiquette. Your on line reputation is very important these days. Employers will Google you before inviting you in for an interview. Make sure that on line persona presents you in the best possible light. Create a Google profile -- it will be the first thing to appear when someone enters your name into Google. In this way, you can better control what others see about you on line.

You Can't Brown Nose Your Way to Success - Click To Read Article
As a recent USA Today article points out, relationship building with your boss can be a bit tricky. While you want to be positive and build a strong relationship, you don't want to come across as someone who is too aggressive in managing upward -- or what the article called "brown nosing." On the other hand, you can't be so afraid of being seen by your boss and coworkers as a brown noser that you never give your boss or other leaders in your company, any positive feedback. The best way to do this is to be authentic. Give your boss some strokes when he or she does something that you really appreciate, or think was a truly great idea. Don't give him or strokes just for the sake of making him or her like you better.

Using Common Sense to Create Your Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people have mastered four C's -- clarity, commitment, confidence and competence. You can and will succeed if you do four things. 1) Clarify your purpose and direction in life. 2) Commit to taking personal responsibility for your own success. 3) Become a dynamic communicator. 4) Get competent.

Successful People Make No Little Plans - Click To Read Article
Successful people are outstanding performers. Outstanding performers become outstanding performers by setting and achieving high -- no, big hairy audacious goals. Outstanding performers put in the time and effort, the blood sweat and tears necessary to turn their goals into reality. They don't settle for good, because they know that good is the enemy of great. They choose to be great. They make no little plans. They make big plans that stir their blood.

Successful People Beat Procrastination - Click To Read Article
Successful people are self confident. Self confident people are optimistic. They face their fears and act. They surround themselves with positive people. Procrastination is the manifestation of fear. When you find yourself procrastinating on any task, identify what you fear about that task. Once you identify your fear, you'll find that you can put it behind you and get on with the job at hand. Procrastination and fear are the enemies of self confidence and success. Face them head on, and you'll not only build your confidence, you'll succeed in your life and career.

Successful People Develop Their Natural Talents - Click To Read Article
Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers. As Eleanor Powell said, "What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God." She took personal responsibility for using her God given dance talent to become the world's greatest tap dancer, and become a vaudeville, Broadway and Hollywood star. What are your God given talents? What have you done to develop them? Commit to taking personal responsibility for developing your talents. It's the best way to thank God for giving them to you, to help others, and to create the successful life and career you want and deserve.

Louis L'Amour, Albert Einstein, Lifelong Learning and Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are outstanding performers. Outstanding performers are lifelong learners. Lifelong learning is really important to creating the successful life and career you want and deserve. Remember what Louis L'Amour says, "There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning." Treat each new day as an opportunity to learn. Stay open to new people and new ideas. If you do this, you'll come to realize that you are never finished learning and that what you learn after you know it all is the most valuable knowledge you'll develop.

You've Got To Be Self Confident To Ask For Help - Click To Read Article
People lacking in self confidence don't like to feel vulnerable. Self confident people, on the other hand, realize that it's OK -- better than OK really to put themselves in a vulnerable position by asking for help. Self confident people find mentors to help them learn and grow. They realize that admitting what you don't know and asking for help are the best ways to learn what they need in order to success.

Communicate for Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are dynamic communicators. Dynamic communicators have mastered three important skills: conversation, writing, presenting. If you master these three skills you will become a dynamic communicator. Work hard at being a good listener, a clear and concise writer and a well prepared presenter and you'll be on your way to becoming a career and life success.

Career Success Advice: Be Nice - Click To Read Article
Successful people create positive personal impact. Knowing and following the basic rules of etiquette is key to creating positive personal impact. In the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games, in his tribute to Canada, slam poet Shane Koyczan said "And some say what defines us / Is something as simple as 'please' and 'thank you'." Canadians are known for being polite and we can all learn a lesson from them. Simple words like "please" and "thank you" define you as a person who not only is polite, but one who is polished and gracious -- two characteristics that will help you create positive personal impact and succeed in creating the career success you want and deserve

Become a Remarkable Creature: Take Personal Responsibility for Your Own Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are clear on their purpose and direction in life. They commit to taking personal responsibility for living their life purpose. If you want to achieve career success, you need to do the same. Clarify what you want from your life and career. Then commit to doing whatever it takes to get it. Set high goals. React positively to the setbacks, problems and negative people and events in your life. Keep at it. Don't let a day when you come back empty handed in your quest for career success get you down. Get up the next day with optimism in your heart and keep working toward the mighty purpose you've set for yourself.

What the Super Bowl Teaches Us About Successful Branding - Click To Read Article
Successful people create positive personal impact. Developing and nurturing your unique personal brand is the first step in building your brand. Brand building takes work, but it is simple conceptually. Do two things. First, decide how you want people to think of you. Then do whatever it takes to get them to think of you that way. Your brand is important and, just like the NFL, you should do everything you can to protect it and build it.

Successful People Treat Life as a Splendid Torch - Click To Read Article
Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for creating the successful life and career they want and deserve. They set high goals -- and do whatever it takes to accomplish them. They react positively to the people and events in their lives -- especially the negative people and events. They relish the days when they have a lot to do, and then go on and do it. They get great satisfaction from working hard and seeing the results of their labor.

Successful People Use Their Nerves to Deliver Dynamic Presentations - Click To Read Article
Successful people are dynamic communicators. Presentations are opportunities to shine -- to demonstrate that you are a dynamic communicator. Stage fright is the biggest enemy of presentation success. Don't let stage fright rob you of your opportunity to shine. One good presentation can make a career. Presentations are the best ways to get noticed and have your name at the top of the list when promotional opportunities come up. There are several ways to deal with presentation anxiety: be prepared, know your stuff cold; think of your talk as a conversation with the audience; tell stories to illustrate your points. However, there is one piece of advice that trumps all when it comes to delivering dynamic presentations: practice, practice, practice!

Successful People Know How to Manage the Stress in Their Lives - Click To Read Article
Successful people are high performers. High performers maintain a reasonable level of health and fitness. They manage their stress. Here are a few simple steps you can take daily to increase your health and fitness and manage your daily dose of stress. Snack on healthy foods when you begin to feel a little slow and low. Take a few minutes in the afternoon to breathe deeply and relax. Move around -- don't spend all day every day in front of your computer. Exercise as often as possible. Get the same amount of sleep every night. If you follow these simple, common sense pieces of advice, you'll be able to prevent a lot of stress related illnesses.

Can You Successfully Carry a Message to Garcia? - Click To Read Article
Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers. You demonstrate your commitment to creating the successful life and career you want and deserve by being willing to do the things necessary to succeed. You also have to set high goals -- and then do whatever it takes to achieve them. Finally, stuff happens; as you go through life you will encounter many problems and setbacks. You need to react positively to the negative stuff and negative people in your life and move forward toward your goals. 112 years ago Elbert Hubbard published an essay called "A Message to Garcia." I find it to be a great commentary on the importance of committing to taking personal responsibility for your life and career.

Successful People Live a Mighty Purpose - Click To Read Article
Success is built on four pillars; clarity of purpose and direction, a sincere commitment to taking personal responsibility for your life and career, unshakeable self confidence and competence in a few key areas. George Bernard Shaw's quote on being used for a mighty purpose gets at the ideas behind developing your clarity of purpose and direction -- and the importance of taking personal responsibility for your life and career. If you want to succeed, start by determining why you are on this earth, and then devote yourself to living that purpose every single day of your life.

Positive Psychology, Optimism and Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are self confident. Self confident people are optimists. They face their fears and act. They surround themselves with positive people. They find mentors to help them learn and grow. They mentor others. If you begin incorporating these five things into your life, you'll become more self confident, you will be happier in you work and your life and you'll be on your way to creating the successful life and career you want and deserve.

Failure Is the Tuition You Pay for Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their lives, careers and success. Treating your setbacks and failures as the tuition you need to pay to succeed, is a great way to demonstrate your commit to taking personal responsibility. When you fail, choose to react positively and learn something. Then use what you've learned to create the successful life and career you want and deserve.

Create Your Success by Acting on Your Vision - Click To Read Article
Successful people have a clearly defined purpose and direction for their lives. They also commit to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers. Getting clear and getting committed are the starting points for creating the successful life and career you want and deserve.

Trust, Abundance and Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are competent at building strong, mutually beneficial relationships with the important people in their lives. A trusting attitude and abundance mentality are the best way to build relationships. When you trust yourself, others and the universe, you will approach life from an abundance mentality. You'll be willing to give of yourself with no expectation of direct return. This world view will make it easier for you to build and maintain the relationships that will help you create the successful life and career you want and deserve.

Business Meals and Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people create positive personal impact. If you want to create positive personal impact, you must know and follow the basic rules of etiquette. This is especially true at a business meal. Knowing simple things like the water glass is on your right, and the bread and butter plate is on your left, can save you a lot of embarrassment. It's also important to order something that is easy to eat and doesn't call attention to you while you eat it. Pasta that needs to be twirled, lobster or other shellfish are good things to avoid at a business dinner. Order simple food, and mind your manners as you are eating it. Business dinners are not about the food. They're about the conversation.

Create Your Success by Faking it Till You Make It - Click To Read Article
Self confidence is crucial to building a successful life and career. When your actions -- your posture, tone of voice, etc. -- demonstrate your confidence, other people believe in you and your ability to perform. On the other hand, when your actions demonstrate a lack of confidence, others doubt your ability. When you stand tall, look people in the eye and speak in a direct manner, you will appear to be self confident -- even if you aren't. When you appear to be self confident, people will treat you as if you are.

The State of the Union, Common Sense and Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people embrace and use their common sense. They apply four key common success principles: 1) clarity of purpose and direction; 2) a sincere commitment to taking personal responsibility for your life and career; 3) unshakeable self confidence; and 4) competence in several key skills. In the State of the Union address, President Obama called common sense a novel concept. It may be. However, if you are serious about creating the successful life and career you want and deserve, you will embrace your common sense. You'll apply your inner knowing of what to do to when it comes to succeeding in this life and in your career.

Success Advice from a Country Song - Click To Read Article
Successful people are competent. Relationship building is a key success competency. If you want to build strong relationships with the important people in your life, you need to extend yourself. You need to take the first step towards other people, and you need to be willing to go beyond half way. When you're willing to go first and willing to go beyond half way you demonstrate that you sincerely want to create and nurture a relationship with the other person. Relationships are everything when it comes to success. Do whatever it takes to build and maintain them. Start walking towards others. Don't stop until you've connected and built a relationship.

Non Verbal Communication in Presentations - Click To Read Article
Presentation skills, conversation skills and writing skills are the three keys to effective communication. In this post, I'd like to focus on some tips for using non verbal communication to improve your presentation skills. If you effectively use non verbal communication ideas you'll become someone whose presentations carry an impact -- and you'll be on your way to career and life success.

Mentor Others to Create Your Own Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are self confident. Self confident people surround themselves with positive people. Mentors, by definition are positive people. They are willing to give of themselves to help others succeed. I urge you to find mentors to help you create the successful life and career you want and deserve. I also urge you to mentor others. It's never too early. As Wall Street Journal reporter, Jonnelle Marte points out -- many young people have accelerated their career development by mentoring their boss and colleagues. I think that we all have something to offer -- something that someone else is eager to learn. Figure out what you know that others around you don't and then take the time to share your knowledge and expertise. You'll be helping your colleagues, your company and yourself if you do so.

Just Say Yes for Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for creating their personal and professional success. You can demonstrate your personal commitment to your success by adopting the motto "Just Say Yes!!!" When people ask for your help, give it to them willingly and pleasantly. You'll gain a reputation as a team player -- someone who is willing to pitch in and do whatever it takes to get the job done. A "Just Say Yes!!!" attitude is rarer than you might think. Sunday's Dilbert cartoon illustrated this point perfectly. By saying yes -- and delivering, you will set yourself apart from others and demonstrate your commitment to your career and life success.

What a Little Boy's Clarity of Purpose Teaches Us About Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people clarify their purpose and direction in life. Your purpose is your mission -- why you exist. Your direction is your vision -- where you are going in the short term. New Orleans Saints head coach, Shawn Payton's son has a simple purpose in life -- to spend as much fun time with his father as he can. That's why he worried that he wouldn't be able to have his post game catch with him last Sunday -- because the field was covered in confetti. What is your mission in life? What is your vision for the next five years? If your answer is, "I don't know," please take some time to answer these questions. These answers provide you with your clarity of purpose and direction -- a foundation on which you can build to create the successful life and career you want and deserve.

Tiger Woods, Personal Branding and Success - Click To Read Article
Creating positive personal impact is one of the competencies all successful people possess. You create positive personal impact by developing and nurturing your unique personal brand, being impeccable in your presentation of self, and knowing and following the basic rules of etiquette. Your personal brand should be uniquely you, but it should be built on integrity. Integrity is doing the right thing -- even when no one is looking. As Tiger Woods's case demonstrates, a lack of integrity can lead to serious consequences for a carefully crafted brand. Now, everyone is looking and most people aren't liking what they're seeing. So take a lesson from Tiger -- one he's learning the hard way, build your personal brand on integrity.

Tough Times, Optimism, Personal Responsibility and Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are self confident. Self confident people are optimistic. They face their fears and act. They commit to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers. When you are optimistic and commit to taking personal responsibility you realize that the stuff that happens to you is not nearly as important as how you choose to react to the stuff that happens. I used the recent economic downturn to add another component to my business. I learned a lot in the process and created a more sustainable and stronger business. And that's how I suggest you think. When the fates seem to be conspiring against you look on the bright side. Figure out what you can learn from the situation and how these learnings can help you move forward. Then commit to taking personal responsibility for doing what it takes.

Successful People Focus on Their Goals - Click To Read Article
Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers. They set high goals and do whatever it takes to achieve them. Focus on your goals every day. Stop for a minute several times a day and ask yourself if what you are doing is bringing you closer to achieving at least one of your goals. If it isn't, stop what you're doing and start doing something related to achieving your goals.

Jumping Hurdles, Leaping Fences, Penetrating Walls and Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are clear on what they want out of life. They define what success means to them personally. They create a vivid mental image of their success. And they clarify their personal values. Figuring out what you love to do is the first step in defining what success means to you personally. As Maya Angelou says, when you love something, you recognize no barriers, jump hurdles, leap fences and penetrate walls to do what you are meant to do. When you love something this much, you have a clear purpose for your life.

Successful People Stick With It - Click To Read Article
Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers. You take personal responsibility for your life and career when you do three things: Doing whatever it takes to succeed -- including sticking with it and dealing with pressure; Setting high goals and then doing whatever it takes to achieve them; Responding positively to the negative people and events in your life.

Successful People Know When and How to Break the Rules - Click To Read Article
Successful people create and nurture their unique personal brands. Good personal brands highlight focus on the uniqueness of the person who created them. One way of doing this is to break a few rules. By breaking the rules, I don't mean doing something illegal or unethical. I mean thinking outside of the box and not being constrained by conventional wisdom. As Kevin Coupe and Michael Sansolo point out in their great book The Big Picture, in the movie Babe, Babe the pig succeeds because he doesn't act like a pig. He is friendly and mannerly -- characteristics not usually associated with pigs. Tamba Mbawa broke the rules in building his personal training brand. He placed his business card inside all of the fitness books in a local Barnes and Noble. What rules are holding you back from building a great personal brand? How can you break them

How to Build On Line Relationships for Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people build strong, lasting mutually beneficial relationships. While there is no substitute for face to face interaction when it comes to building relationships, the internet has opened up a lot of opportunities to reconnect with old friends and to make new ones. For my money, LinkedIn is the best social network for professionals. However, Facebook, Plaxo and Twitter are good too. Offering something of value is the best way to get people to befriend you on social networking sites. This can be as simple as retweeting a Twitter post you found interesting. Or, you can offer advice by answering questions people posts in forums. The idea is to offer value -- not hype yourself. Social networks allow you to help others get what they want. So give value -- and you'll find that you'll be able to build some great on line relationships.

Haiti, Optimism and Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are self confident. Optimism is the key to self confidence. The Hope for Haiti Now telethon showed the resilience and optimism of the Haitian people. When I see the optimism of the Haitian people in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, I'm reminded that my troubles and problems are small in comparison. That's why I keep a copy of The Optimist Creed hanging right above my desk. I read it and think about it when I begin to feel overwhelmed. Choose optimism. Believe that today will be better than yesterday and that tomorrow will be better than today. Then do whatever it takes to create the successful life and career you want and deserve and to "make your optimism come true."

Affirmations Help You Create the Successful Life and Career You Want and Deserve - Click To Read Article
Successful people are self confident. If you want to become self confident, you need to become an optimist, face your fears and act and hang around with self confident people. Your self confidence will improve as you build a successful life and career. The self confidence => success => self confidence cycle is an upward spiral. You have to enter the cycle somewhere. Most of us don't have a strong track record as we begin our careers, move into a new job, or start a business. Therefore, you have to "fake it till you make it" by "acting as if" you are a success. Find ways to bolster your self confidence until you have some real successes on which you can build. Affirmations are a great tool for helping you "fake it till you make it."

How to Build Strong Relationhips - Click To Read Article
Interpersonally competent people share at least three things in common: 1. Interpersonally competent people are self aware. They understand themselves, and as a result they understand others. 2. Interpersonally competent people build solid, long lasting mutually beneficial relationships with the people in their lives. 3. Interpersonally competent people are able to resolve conflicts with a minimal amount of problems and upset to relationships. In this article, I’d like to focus on relationships. To begin, I’d like to share a story about the importance of relationships.

The Optimist Creed Overview - Click To Read Article
This is the first in a series of articles on The Optimist Creed and how it can help you succeed in your career and life.

Success Lessons from Serena’s Meltdown - Click To Read Article
As you go through life you will encounter many problems and setbacks. You need to react positively to the negative stuff and move forward toward your goals. Serena Williams lost in the semi finals to Kim Clijsters, who went on to win the championship. Serena not only lost, she lost in a bizarre manner that could have been avoided had she chosen to react positively to an unfair setback she encountered during the match. To use a term we seem to hear a lot these days, there is a “teachable moment” here. Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers. Choosing to react positively to people and events is a good way to take responsibility for yourself.

The Watermelon Credo, Self Confidence and Success - Click To Read Article
Self confidence is a key to career and life success. Successful people are self confident. Optimism is the foundation of self confidence. Wally Amos, founder of Famous Amos Cookies and Uncle Wally's Muffin Company, says it well in his Watermelon Credo. "Whatever you believe creates your reality. Believe that life is a positive experience and it will be." Optimists believe that life is a positive experience. I believe that life is a positive experience. Of course, I'm a relentless optimist. How about you?

Your Clarity of Purpose and Success - Click To Read Article
Defining your personal clarity of purpose is the first step in becoming a personal and professional success. Use your purpose in life to guide your career and life decision making. Once you are clear on what you want from life, it becomes relatively easy to determine what you need to do to get you there. It all begins with clarity -- and only you can determine what success means for you.

Success Comes From Living Your Purpose - Click To Read Article
To develop your personal clarity or purpose you need to do three things. First, define what success means to you. Second, create a vivid mental image of you as a success. Third, clarify your personal values. Ask yourself a simple question almost every day. "Did the things I did today support my life’s purpose?" If you answer, "yes," consider it a successful day. If you answer "no," think about what you can do the next day to get back to living your purpose. Have a clear and vivid mental image of what success means to you. Live your life’s purpose every day. If you haven’t clarified your purpose in life, this is a good time to start. Once you get clear on your purpose, live it every day in all your actions.

Mastermind Your Way To Sucess - Click To Read Article
Belonging to a mastermind group is one of the best ways of building strong, lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with the people in your life. Mastermind groups are not just for entrepreneurs. We can all benefit from the thinking of others. Others can benefit from our thinking. A word to the wise though, your mastermind group will work for you only if you are willing to work for it. Mastermind groups are a two way street. The more you put in to helping others, the more others will put into helping you. When you get in to a mastermind group, don’t keep score. Be willing to listen and share your advice first -- with no expectation of return. Ironically, if you follow this path, you’ll get a lot in return.

High Goals, Outstanding Performance and Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are outstanding performers. Outstanding performers are goal oriented. They set high goals, and do whatever it takes to achieve them. Then they set higher goals and do what they must to achieve them. They do this day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. If you want to become an outstanding performer, you need to constantly challenge yourself by setting high goals. Aim high, and you'll be surprised at what you can accomplish.

Fear, Courage and Success - Click To Read Article
Fear can -- and will -- paralyze you. It can keep you from reaching the career and life success you want and deserve. If you develop the habit of courage, you can beat fear. Repetition is the best way to develop the habit of being courageous. The more you are willing to face your fears -- small and large -- and act, the quicker courage will become one of the guiding habits in your life.

Addiction to Praise Hampers Conversation Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are dynamic communicators. Dynamic communicators are excellent conversationalists. The essence of good conversation is a willingness to listen to, and learn from, others. People who are addicted to praise, those whose "narcissistic supply" is in short supply, are seldom good conversationalists. In seeking the approval of others, they speak only of themselves and their lives. They seldom take the time to engage other people in conversation and listen to what they have to say. If you want to become a good conversation, get interested in other people. Learn about them and their lives. They'll reciprocate and give you the chance to talk about you and your life.

Authenticity, Personal Branding and Success - Click To Read Article
Positive personal impact is an important key to personal and professional success. If you want to create positive personal impact you need to do three things. First, develop, nurture and constantly promote your unique personal brand. Second, be impeccable in your presentation of self - in person and on line. Third, know and follow the basic rules of etiquette.

Action, Action and More Action Builds Self Confidence and Creates Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are self confident. Self confident people take action. They don't let their fears, or their perfectionism trap them into procrastinating. If you want to succeed you need to be self confident. If you want to become self confident you need to face your fears -- and any other impediment to your success -- and act.

Audience Analysis and Presentation Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are dynamic communicators. Dynamic communicators are great presenters. If you want to become a great presenter, you need to spend time analyzing the audience for your talks. My successful colleagues in the National Speakers Association do this. They learn everything they can about who is in the audience and what they are expecting prior to crafting a talk. If you do this, you'll be able to create and deliver solid presentations that will meet the needs of your audiences, and in the process, gain a reputation as a great speaker and dynamic communicator.

Assumptions Are Conversation Killers - Click To Read Article
Assumptions can really derail a conversation. Don't make assumptions about the other person when you are in conversation. If you find you are making assumptions, test them out. Ask, "Why do you thing that is so?" Remember, in many cases you really don't know what the other person is thinking or feeling. To quote Bernard Shaw, "You think you do; but you don't."

Successful People Treat Problems and Setbacks as Opportunities - Click To Read Article
Stuff happens: good stuff, bad stuff, frustrating stuff, and unexpected stuff. Most of it is out of your control. Successful people respond to the stuff that happens in a positive way. Humans are the only animals with free will. That means we -- you and me -- get to decide how we react to every situation that comes up. It's your choice. Successful people choose to respond to events proactively. They do what they can to make the best out of any situation in which they find themselves. Use them to become a better, more successful person.

Social Networking and Success - Click To Read Article
Use the internet to build your personal brand by paying attention to your internet presence. Focus on the "three C's" -- clarity, Consistency, and Constancy when building your brand -- both on line and off line. Make sure your web presence reflects the person you want others -- especially those who don't know you -- to see. Besides presenting yourself well, you can do a number of things to amp up your web presence. Write a blog, comment on other people's blogs. Review books on Amazon.com. Having a lot of hits come up when someone Google's you is a good thing.

Personal Responsibility, Self Confidence and Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers. They also exude self confidence. When you commit to taking personal responsibility for your life and career, you build your self confidence. It's a win/win. The more responsibility you take, the more your self confidence grows. When you commit to taking personal responsibility for your life and career, you act. And action builds self confidence, unlike inaction and procrastination which kill it. So commit to taking personal responsibility for your life and career. You'll not only put yourself in charge of your success, you'll build your self confidence in the process.

Man Up for Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their life and career. It's never too late to do so. Antonio Rocha was 18 years old and about to graduate from high school -- but he couldn't read. He committed to taking personal responsibility for his life when he pressured the New York City school board into giving him a private tutor to help him learn to read. He is a role model for all of us. He knew that he didn't have the skills to survive in the world of work, and he did what he needed to do to get them. If you want to succeed in your life and career, you need to do the same. Commit to taking personal responsibility for your success.

4 Cs for Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people do four things really well. 1) They are clear about what they want out of life and how they are going to achieve it. 2) They are committed to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers. 3) They actively build their self confidence. 4) They are competent in four areas: creating positive personal impact, their technical specialty, communication, and building relationships. If you can master these Four Cs of Success – clarity, commitment, confidence and competence, you'll be on your way to creating the successful life and career you want and deserve.

15 Tips for Career and Life Success - Click To Read Article
In my work as an executive coach, keynote speaker, leadership consultant and author I have spent the last five years studying what it takes to succeed in your life and career. I have found that successful people share five traits in common: 1. Successful people are self confident; 2. Successful people have positive personal impact; 3. Successful people are outstanding performers; 4. Successful people are excellent communicators; 5. Successful people are interpersonally competent. If you follow the 15 common sense pieces of advice I've presented in this checklist, you'll be able to build a successful life and career.

Successful People Face Their Fears and Act - Click To Read Article
Fear is the enemy of self confidence. Self confident people face their fears and act. Procrastination is the manifestation of fear. When you find yourself procrastinating, figure out what scares you about the situation. Is it fear of failure? Is it fear of success? Is it fear of rejection? Is it fear of being embarrassed? Is it fear of the unknown? Once you've figured out why you are afraid, do three things; admit your fear to yourself, embrace your fear, and take action. Action is the antidote to fear. In most cases, you'll choose wisely and your fears won't be realized. In the cases when you choose poorly, you'll find that failure isn't as catastrophic as you imagined. Successful people learn from their failures.

Successful People Build Their Brand on Integrity - Click To Read Article
Successful people create positive personal impact. Creating and nurturing your unique personal brand should be your first step in creating positive personal impact. Regardless of how you choose to brand yourself, you should build your brand on integrity. This means saying what you think. The video, "Ouch! Your Silence Hurts," suggests that you should become a "pro-active ally" instead of a "silent colluder" or "passive bystander" when you encounter a situation that doesn't fit with your values. This video is a wakeup call. It tells us that we shouldn't let words and actions that conflict with our values go unchallenged.

Successful People Use Tough Times to Position Themselves for Better Things to Come - Click To Read Article
Successful people don't let the current economic situation derail their promotion plans. They spring into action to get the promotion they want and deserve. If you want to get a promotion in these times, begin by upping the ante when it comes to your performance. Put more time and effort into your current job. Go from good to great. Build your brand and your network within your company. Take a lateral move. Volunteer for tough assignments. Most of all commit to taking personal responsibility for your life and career.

Presentation Tips for Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are competent. Dynamic communication is an important success competency. Dynamic communicators present with impact. Many people are frightened by the idea of standing in front of a group of people and doing a talk. Unfortunately, presentations can make or break your success. You can conquer your fear of public speaking by following my five steps for making high impact presentations: 1) Determine your message. 2) Analyze your audience. 3) Organize your information for impact. 4) Design supporting visuals. 5) Practice, practice, practice. If you follow these five steps -- especially number 5; practice -- you'll become a confident successful presenter.

Sue Grafton is a Success Because She Loves What She Does - Click To Read Article
Successful people have a clearly defined purpose for their life. Sue Grafton's purpose is writing mystery stories that entertain large numbers of people. My purpose is helping others succeed. My friend's purpose was creating better surgical equipment. What is your purpose? It should be something you love. If you don't love it, you'll get burned out and see your work as a grind. If you love what you do, you see your work as a gift and something to which you look forward every day. As we approach the end of 2009, spend some time thinking about what you truly love doing. Then, and more important, think about how you can make doing what you love your life's work.

Self Awareness and Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people build and maintain strong, mutually beneficial relationships with the important people in their lives. Self awareness is the first step in relationship building. While it's important to know yourself, it's more important to know how you are similar and different from others, and to use this knowledge to help you become more influential with them. The more you understand your style and needs, the better you will be able to understand others' styles and needs. The more you can adapt your preferred style to other people, the better able you will be to build relationships and resolve conflict.

Set and Achieve High Goals for Success in 2010 - Click To Read Article
Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for creating the career and life success they want and deserve. Setting and achieving high goals is one way of demonstrating your commitment to your success. Your 2010 -- and any year for that matter -- success begins with your goals. Make sure they are S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound). You should be able to clearly articulate three things about each of your goals -- 1) What you plan to achieve; 2) Why you want to achieve it; and 3) How you plan on achieving it.

Clarity of Purpose and Direction -- the First Step Toward Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people clarify their purpose and direction in life. They have a clear understanding of what success means to them and an image of themselves as a success. Everything they do is consistent with their clarity of purpose. They look forward and decide where they want to be. Their day to day actions all help move them closer to their vision of success, and are consistent with their clarity of purpose. When you clarify your purpose and live it, you will hardly ever procrastinate or find yourself going off on tangents. You'll be laser focused on living the life that is important to you.

Successful People Never Stop Learning - Click To Read Article
Successful people are outstanding performers. Outstanding performers remain outstanding performers by becoming lifelong learners. They continually expand their knowledge in order to get out in front of the pack and stay there. Begin your lifelong learning journey by focusing on your strengths and working to improve them every day. Building on your strengths is easier that overcoming your weaknesses. When you build on your strengths you can make incremental improvements. However, if you have a glaring gap in your skills, address it now. Don't wait to take necessary quantum leaps.

What To Look For In A Mentor - Click To Read Article
I always tell my executive coaching clients that surrounding yourself with positive people is a great way to build self confidence. I urge them to find a mentor, someone who can help them on their success journey. Typically, mentors are older than the people they help. However, in this new world of technology, that is not always the case. I have a mentor who is about 20 years younger than me, but he has some specialized knowledge that I lack. Whether you do it in person, or on line, find yourself a mentor to help you on your journey of career and life success.

Career Success and Problem Solving - Click To Read Article
Outstanding performance is very important to career and life success. It's at the heart of the five success elements. No one can be successful without being a highly competent, outstanding performer. The incompetents and poor performers get identified and asked to leave or are placed in marginal positions pretty quickly. You have to identify the problems and obstacles to becoming an outstanding performer that you face before you can take action and deal with them. Don't call your problems "opportunities" or your obstacles "challenges". Call them what they are, and then get on with fixing your problems and overcoming your obstacles.

Self Confidence - Click To Read Article
There are a few common sense points associated with self confidence. Believe in yourself. Your career success will be built on your self confidence. First, be optimistic. As the Optimist Creed says, "Be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble." Second, take action. Face your fears and deal with them. Live your life in the career success arena, so you will know the "triumph of achievement." Third, find the positive people around you. Hold on to them. Identify the negative people around you. Jettison them. Find a career success mentor and learn everything you can from him or her.

Outstanding Performance - Click To Read Article
All successful people are outstanding performers. It's the price of admission to the business success club. However, don't make the mistake of thinking that performance alone will get you where you want to go. Performance is just one of the five characteristics of people who achieve business success. Outstanding performers are characterized by three things. They are lifelong learners; they set and achieve high goals and they are well organized.

Positive Personal Impact - Click To Read Article
All successful people create positive personal impact. Positive personal impact is like charisma, only more so. People gravitate towards people with positive personal impact. When you create positive personal impact other people want to be around you. They want to work with you. They want to be your friend. People with positive personal impact develop and nurture their personal brand. They are impeccable in their presentation of self. They know and follow the basic rules of etiquette. If you master these three keys, you'll be able to create positive personal impact.

The Tour De France, Relationships and Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are interpersonally competent. Interpersonally competent people build and maintain solid relationships with the people in their lives. Just like in bicycle racing, cooperation, sharing the lead and the work are key to creating strong, mutually beneficial relationships. If you get a chance, tune into the Tour de France one July. You'll see cooperation in action, even among competitors.

Successful People Create Their Dream and Make it a Reality - Click To Read Article
Develop a clarity of purpose for your career and life. Your clarity of purpose and direction is where it all begins. To develop your personal clarity or purpose you need to do three things. First, define what success means to you. Second, create a vivid mental image of you as a success. Third, clarify your personal values. Once you define what success means to you personally, I suggest that you develop a clear mental picture of you as a success. This image should be as vivid as you can you make it.

Success and Your Personal Mission and Vision - Click To Read Article
Successful people define a clarity of purpose and direction for their lives and careers. Your clarity of purpose and direction should include both a personal mission (your purpose) and a personal vision (your direction). Your mission is your reason for living, why you are on this earth. It is unlikely to change over the long run. Your vision is a short or medium term goal that defines the direction you will take over the next three to five years. It will change are you grow and develop in your life and career. Your vision must be consistent with your mission.

Social Networking, Drunken Pirates and Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people create positive personal impact. You create positive personal impact by building a solid, professional personal brand; presenting yourself professionally - in person and on line; and knowing and following the basic rules of etiquette. What you post on line - on MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or any number of places can help or hinder your attempts at creating positive personal impact. Be smart. Think before you hit that send button.

Self Confidence and Success - Click To Read Article
A brief overview of the importance of self confidence to success, and some ideas on how to become more self confident.

Self Confidence, Mentors and Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are self confident. Self confident people surround themselves with positive people. They find mentors to help them build their self confidence. Mentors are positive people because they are willing to give of themselves to help others succeed. When you’re looking for a mentor, look for someone who is highly skilled, is a lifelong learner, is respected by his or her colleagues, has a positive outlook on life and is willing to provide you with direct, constructive feedback. When you find the right mentor you won’t have to go it alone on the road to career and life success.

Self Awareness and Interpersonal Competence - Click To Read Article
It is important to understand how to build solid relationships by taking the initiative, sharing information about yourself and being emotionally supportive. Also, it is important to share your feelings about behavior to which you have a negative reaction in order to resolve conflict positively. However, understanding yourself and how you are similar to, or different from others, is the foundation of interpersonal competence.

Interdependence, The Truth, Love, Self Respect and Interpersonal Competence - Click To Read Article
I look for inspiration for these articles in a number of places. Sometimes I feel as if I am running a clipping service for people interested in career and life success. Oprah’s magazine is one of my favorite places for source material. I particularly enjoy Eve Ensler’s “A Million Was to Save the World” column.

How to Succeed in Your Career and Life - Click To Read Article
As an executive coach, I’m often asked for my best thoughts on what it takes to become a career and life success. I always tell my executive coaching clients to think systematically, to break success down into some manageable components. This article is a bullet point summary of what I tell my executive coaching clients on how to become a career and life success. Put these points to use and you will succeed, just like my executive coaching clients.

How to Begin a Conversation - Click To Read Article
Successful people are dynamic communicators. Dynamic communicators have mastered three basic communication skills: conversation, writing and presenting. Inviting people to participate in a conversation and getting their agreement before jumping in is an important, but often overlooked conversation skill. People who are invited to join a conversation, and choose to do so, are more likely to be better participants. If you want to become an excellent conversationalist, take a few minutes to explain why you want to have a conversation. Ask the other person if he or she has the time and is willing to participate in a conversation on that topic. Your conversations will be better and more productive if you follow this simple common sense advice.

Hard Work, Outstanding Performance and Success - Click To Read Article
Outstanding performance is an important key to career and life success. As Malcolm Gladwell points out, outstanding performers are hard workers. They know what they want and do whatever it takes to get it. They enthusiastically act on their dreams. This action helps them reach their goals. There is no way around hard work. You have to put in the time and effort if you want to be successful. Ask any "overnight success." Everyone that I've ever met tells me that they spent years and years getting to the place where they became an "overnight success." Set your goals. Work hard. Work smart. And you'll succeed.

Dynamic Communication - Click To Read Article
Effective communication is vital to personal success and it is an up close and personal endeavor. All of the great communicators I know are great conversationalists. I have one great piece of common sense advice that will help you achieve personal success through effective communication: listen more than you speak. People like to talk about themselves and the best way to get to know them is to ask questions. When you meet people for the first time, ask "get to know you" questions like: "What do you do?" "Where do you live?" "Are you married?" "Do you have children?" Listen to the answers and file them away for future use. Understanding and using the keys to dynamic communication in this article can help catapult you towards achieving personal success. And they will make you a whole lot nicer to be around, too.

Create a Vivid Mental Image of Your Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people define what success means to them. Then they develop a compelling and clear mental image of their success. They use this mental image to help keep their dreams alive and to keep moving forward to what they want in their lives and careers. Creating a vivid mental image of your success is not day dreaming. It's real work -- it's the work of designing your future, so you can take the steps necessary to create it.

Commit to Developing Success Competencies - Click To Read Article
We all need to commit to taking personal responsibility for not only our health, but for our career and life success. Successful people do the thing they need to do to ensure that they succeed. One way that you can demonstrate your commitment to your success is by becoming competent in four key skills: creating positive personal impact, performing in an outstanding manner, becoming a dynamic communicator and developing your interpersonal competence. If you commit to becoming competent in these four areas, you’ll be on your way to a lifetime of success.

Cary Grant, Interpersonal Competence and Success - Click To Read Article
Successful people are interpersonally competent. Interpersonally competent people - listen to and empathize with others; avoid giving unwanted and unsolicited advice; admit their mistakes; are kind; see the good in others and tell them so. This is a pretty high standard to set for yourself. But as I pointed out in another article, it's best to set high goals. So do yourself a favor and set the goal of living up to these ideals. The people in your life will thank you, and you'll be well on your way to becoming a truly interpersonally competent person.

Referred by: http://www.jimbouchard.org



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