#864 Three Truths You Must Accept to be Successful
Three truths you must accept to be successful.
Today’s blog is dedicated to the leadership team at High Rise Fire and Security who embrace truth three every day.
ONE: You are responsible for the results of your life. It’s on you. You are but a choice away from changing everything. The life you live today is the sum total of the choices you’ve made up to today.
We’ve all seen rags to riches stories unfold around us and have been witness to, or read about, trust fund tragedies.
We are made or unmade by the choices we make, and the good news is that this rule continues daily. Tomorrow can be vastly different from today if you choose it to be.
TWO: Work wins. “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” Malcolm Gladwell wrote that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert in any field. Too often we see other folks succeeding and chalk it up to natural talent or luck. I assure you that, most of the time, luck is made, not granted. Work wins. Work means focus. Work means training, research, study, modeling, and an unwavering commitment.
Taking the lottery winners and lucky sperm* out of the equation, and you’ll find that most often, good fortune is the result of good work.
THREE: Kindness Prevails. My two least favorite expressions are “Nice guys finish last” and “No good deed goes unpunished.” Cynics would have you believe that the whip always prevails over the carrot and that people are always looking for ways to take advantage of you.
It’s a proven fact that workers led by kind and understanding bosses are more productive than those who are led by uncivil oafs.
Dr. Paul Zak’s is said to be the first to prove, scientifically, that the most productive workers are happy workers. In a recent study, Dr. Zaks showed that their happiness at work boiled down to one thing: oxytocin. Basically, Zak’s team was the first to discover that the brain chemical, oxytocin, facilitated trust, generosity, and connection to others and that leaders who lead with compassion, empathy and trust bring out more oxytocin. Conversely, leaders who are uncivil, rude, and unfriendly bring about stress and oppression which dry up oxytocin.
As a result, Zak says that “Employees in high-trust organizations are more productive, have more energy at work, collaborate better with their colleagues, and stay with their employers longer than people working at low-trust companies.”
One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from Emerson, who said, “You can never do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late.”
Own Your Sales Gene…
*Born into wealth