Bud Bilanich Articles

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

How to Build Strong Relationhips - Click To Read Article
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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.


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