Of course there are many ways to improve your business, your relationships, and your life in general. I don’t purport to know them all; I don’t believe any one person can. However, there are a few things that I do I know for sure, including this: Each us can change our life and become a person of purpose. In this article I will share with you a few ideas that can make meaningful, purposeful changes in your own life right now.
First, in order to thrive in tough economic times we must strive to gain a competitive business advantage. One definite business advantage is a well-oiled, cohesive and committed team. Having team members devoted to each other and to your picture of success is an almost unbeatable advantage, and here’s how you get such a team: Once you’ve hired the best people you can find, invite them in. Make them a part of your picture of success by sharing your goals, your knowledge, and your experiences with them.
You can make real progress in achieving your goals by not keeping your ideas and energy buried within yourself. I can’t think of one person who has succeeded by themselves – it truly takes the whole team working toward the same goals. It’s like the wall-climbing exercise at The Temecula Creek Learning Center. Participants on “the Wall” climb together and reach the top by either overcoming their fear or by helping their teammates to overcome a fear with encouragement and/or physical support.
At JimJacksonLive, our team has studied high performance people from all across the country and from all walks of life. Again and again, we see people grow and succeed by sharing what they know with their friends, family, neighbors, associates, employees, team members, and even people they don’t know. We constantly learn from each other – high performance people are students of success. The best way to see change take place in your own life is to not only practice what you preach, but to share what you’ve learned. In other words, if you want openness and honesty, then you must practice those traits. If you want others to be punctual and excited to work, then you must show up early and be genuinely excited about the day. Whatever you put out is exactly what you get back. Second, keep learning new ideas and then keep reminding yourself of what you’ve learned and why by practicing what you’ve learned. At JimJacksonLive, we sincerely want you to become an active, successful and purposeful person – we want you to be a doer, not just a good listener. You can ignite a personal transformation if you follow the recommendations below.
- Make the most of reading a motivational book by treating it like a handbook, or a manual, or, better yet, a textbook. Take notes as you read, clip pages you want to read again, or highlight lines like you did in college. Then, review specific chapters or passages, or notes you might have jotted down. You might even write down especially inspiring or insightful passages on 3 x 5 inch cards and tape them on the fridge. In other words, keep the information running through your head. You see, most people, unfortunately, will get very excited after reading a great book or learning something new, they may even want to tell all their friends about it. Then, after a while, well, you probably know what I’m talking about. Keep the information fresh in your mind and then act on it.
- After attending a motivational seminar or speech, take a few minutes to jot down two or three things that really struck a chord in you. What was the most important thing you heard that day? Your adventure started when you entered the auditorium, now keep it going by reviewing your notes and then practicing the principles you learned. If it was good enough to get you motivated and excited during the seminar, then keep it going. Keep the information fresh in your mind and then act on it. Here’s the point: If your purpose is good and true, if you focus on your goals and what you’ve learned, and then share all of that, you will certainly know success. So, continue to learn and help others to learn by sharing. Show your positive purpose to your teammates by example and with sincerity and purpose.
And, last but not least, take time to spread a little joy around. When you say good morning to your teammates (or family members or whomever) say it like you mean it and with a smile. Let them know you are glad for the new day and glad they are with you. Approach each new day with positive purpose and spread it around, it will come back to you tenfold.