SuccessCo

Success Book ~ Tao of Personal Leadership

Excerpt from the Tao of Personal Leadership written by Diane Dreher

Reflective comments allow us to pinpoint the feeling behind the words. Clarifying questions help us to get the information we need for greater understanding.
The wonderful thing about reflective listening is that you really can’t go wrong. If you say to someone, “You sound angry,” and the person isn’t angry, he or she will correct you – “I’m not really angry, I’m just disappointed in Mary” or whatever. Like a natural mirror, your reflective listening reveals the truth of what the other person is saying. But reflective listening is more than a mirror. It sends a strong message of commitment and concern, helping to build greater trust between the two of you.

Trying New Success Techniques

When trying a new technique for the first time, imagine yourself as having already used it successfully in the past.

Spend a few minutes mentally role-playing within your own mind, being successful. Your mind does not know the difference between something vividly imagined and something real.

The first few times you use any new technique, it will likely feel awkward and unnatural – that is normal.  Remember, “No pain, no gain.”

Hear it, see it, feel it, say it and make it real.

-Jim

© 2007  SuccessCo.com

Success Quote

  "We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us
by what we have already done."

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

So. . . .You Want To Be A Writer. . .

Leo Tolstoy flunked out of college. He was described as both "unable and unwilling to learn." No doubt a slow developer.

Jack London received six hundred rejection slips before he sold his first story.

27 publishers rejected Dr. Seuss's first book, To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

Gertrude Stein submitted poems to editors for nearly 20 years before one was finally accepted. See . . . a rose is a rose.

15 publishers rejected a manuscript by e. e. cummings. When he finally got it published by his mother, the dedication, printed in uppercase letters, read WITH NO THANKS TO . . . followed by the list of publishers who had rejected his prized offering.

18 publishers turned down Richard Bach's story about a "soaring eagle." Macmillan finally published Jonathan Livingston Seagull in 1970. By 1975 it had sold more than 7 million copies in the U.S. alone.

Silence Is Golden (Using a Pause)

Does silence make you uncomfortable?
It shouldn’t – it’s part of being an effective communicator. If you’re talking, the person you are talking to can’t.
So pause frequently to encourage the other person to comment. Additionally, it will aid in making you not seem or sound defensive or desperate. A long pause gives the other person or prospect a chance to organize their thoughts and state what’s on their minds.

-Jim

© 2007  SuccessCo.com

If At First You Don't Succeed

Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because he lacked imagination and had no good ideas. He went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland. In fact, the proposed park was rejected by the city of Anaheim on the grounds that it would only attract riffraff.

Charles Schultz had every cartoon he submitted rejected by his high school yearbook staff. Oh, and Walt Disney wouldn't hire him.

Richard Branson and Success

When Richard Branson was at school, his headmaster predicted he would wind up either a millionaire or in jail. Since then, he's done both. Here he talks to *TED's Chris Anderson about the ups and the downs of his career, from his multibillionaire success to his multiple near-death experiences, from Virgin's line of spacecraft to the failure of the Virgin condom. He also reveals some of his very surprising motivations.

Duration: 30:03 But well worth the viewing

* TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

Goals or Just Wishful Thinking?

So, you have a goal in mind. . . or is it actually just a wish in disguise?

Here are a few questions I ask my associates to ask themselves "before" they can call it a goal, thus becoming an effective tool to improve their odds of success.

• How many working days in the month?
• Do you have any days off scheduled?
• Factor in days if you’re prone to illness
• Sales meeting / reviews taking any of your time?
• What prospects do you have pending (Be real)
• What looks promising in terms of who will join / commit (Be real here too)
• How good are you? What are you capable of doing from a standing start?
• What are you going to change to get a different result? If you change nothing, the result will be the same (How’s that for rocket science!)
• How determined are you?
• What assistance might you need?
• Is your goal wishful thinking or based on “real” factors?
• What has been your best? Can you beat it?
• Does your goal depend on environmental or outside factors such as perfect planet alignment – if so, please rethink your goal.
• Have you set the groundwork over the past several weeks or months?
• Is your mind in the right place to achieve this goal?
• How many calls and presentations do you need to do?
• Do you know the value of your calls and presentations?
• Would you be willing to bet a months pay that you will hit your goal? If not, rethink your goal.
• What is the price / cost to achieve your goal? (List 5 items)
• Do you need some additional training in order to achieve this goal? If so, what?
• Can you look your peers in the eye while telling them your goal? Will they believe you?

Now, tell me your goal.

-Jim

© 2007  SuccessCo.com

Success Quote

"Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Willing is not enough; we must do."

Johann Goethe (1749-1832)
German dramatist, poet & novelist

Business Humor ~ Travel in a sailboat

The banker fell overboard from a friend's sailboat.
The friend grabbed a life preserver, held it up, not knowing if the banker could swim, and shouted, "Can you float alone?"
"Obviously," the banker replied, "but this is a heck of a time to talk business."