New Year’s resolutions

So it is that time of year, when though move from the holidays to resolutions for the year ahead. Are you a person who makes New Year’s resolutions or not? More importantly, are you someone who keeps the resolutions or who by the second of January is already regretting promises made in haste?

Know what? It doesn’t matter. Why? Because, every day should be like New Year. We need a complete range of goals, short, medium and long term but importantly we must set goals that belong to US. We also probably need to realise that we are also likley to experience a complete range of outcomes of oru goals from total success to total failure. We need to confidence to live with the results and the fortitude to keep working on those goals that haven’t achieved the results we desire.

The only limiting factor that we place on our outsome are those imposed by our own minds. Nothing can be truer than the saying that “we are limited only by ourlseves” and “if we believe in something strongly enough it will materialize”. Sure, this isn’t always easy to do. If it was then everyone would be achieving everything they desired and we would live in a prefect world. Of course we all know that this is far from the case don’t we?

The secret about New Year’s resolutions in not actually making them or even keeping them but having the courage to make decisions that will truely improve our lives and then to continue to work on them until they come to fruition. As I have said before here, anything worthwhile require sacrifice. The only question that you need to answer is whether the result is truely worth the price, if it is down the torpedos and go for it. Life is too short.

The circle of life

As I have conjectured about previously here, life is a constant balancing act where success is found via control. Clearly, life isn’t about being “up” all the time, there are “down” moments. It is so easy to stay within these “down” moments as a way of feeling sorry for yourself and seeking sympathy from others. If you, however, look at these situations you will probably find they are nothing more than selfishness.

Sometimes it is easier to stay in a low state claiming depression and a life full of woe but it is merely a stage. The speed at which you are able to move through this low state says alot about your character and self confidence. Dwelling in at the bottom of the cycle can be a selfish act for attention, pushing oneself out of these period is hard work, don’t get me wrong, but it needs to be done. In many cases you can’t progress to the next level until you have gone through a “cycle” but you don’t need top spend an equal amount of time at each level in my book.

In this day and age it is too easy to slip into a mindset that lays blame at the feet of everything external. A great book on this subject is “As a man thinketh” by James Allen. Like all great books it is only short but contains a wealth of information. One of my favourite saying from the books is that a man’s ( or woman’s ) mind is like a garden. If it isn’t look after weeds and rubbish will soon overrun it. A health state of mind takes hard work and constant dedication. Sure the occasional weed is going to appear, however continued hard work will ensure that the weed is removed and the garden continues to prosper. Much like that are we, too often mired in the depression and angst of this World to truely look around and thank our lucky stars that it certainly could be far worse that it probably is.

Believing you are better

Business is competitive. Running your own business is more competitive. The only way to survive is to believe in your core that you are better at what you do than anyone else in the World. Sure, that may sound arrogant but I strongly believe that you must have this deep seeded conviction or otherwise you just aren’t going to succeed when things get tough. I would think that people who start and run their own business are, by nature, more competitive than average. They like to win and that is what drives then to achieve.

Now, there is probably a pretty good chance that whatever business you choose to operate there will always be another business that is better. The difference here is that you believe that you can be better than your competition. There aren’t many people that start out in front of their competition and keep winning. Even gifted athletes and teams get beaten sometimes. The secret is the drive, the enthusiasm to keep going, to keep improving, striving to be better and beat the competition.

A smart competitor learns not only from their opposition but also from any aspect which could help them, could give that little advantage that could be all the difference between winning and losing. Part of having drive is the belief to keep striving towards you goals, even through set backs. Where does this drive come from? Personally, I believe you either have it or you don’t Whether you are born with it or whether you foster it through your growing years I still as yet haven’t decided but in my experience if you haven’t got it then you just aren’t going to cut it in your own business. Truth is you are better off working for a boss and focusing your energies in other areas. Harsh, maybe but this is what I generally find. You only hear about the successful athletes and teams, but what about all those who don’t or can’t make it? A belief that you can be better than you opposition is what drives achievers to achieve.

It maybe worthwhile to stop and determine whether you really believe, I mean deep down in your gut, that you can be better than anyone else at what you do. If you can’t honestly say this about what you are doing then maybe it is time to consider a chance to something where doubt will no longer hold you back.

Book review – The Tipping Point

Wow, this has got to be one of the most though provoking books that I have read in recent times. “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell sets out to explain those moments when ideas, trends and social behaviours cross a threshold and then spread liek wildfire.

The book raises many, many though provoking ideas. Ones of these is that you can measue a persons intelligence directly from the people that they associate with. Most people closely associate with people who are like them, move in similar circles, do the same thing, come from similar backgrounds. People who have a wide range of associations, even loose or weak ones, generally tend to be far more intelligent because they are mingling with people who are not like them. They are challenged by these differences and that greatly increases their abilities. It can also be shown that the more contacts people have the greater their intelligence since they have to continue to juggle these associations and social interactions. Interesting eh?

Gladwell identifies three personality traits that required to cause a tipping point. Each is unique but a necessary component for any trend to move into the mainstream. He cites many examples, like the growth in popularity of Hush Puppy shoes, the success of Sesame Street and the influence TV news readers had in recent Presidential campaigns.

If you want a book that will really make you think and take a hard look at what makes things tick then I can’t recommend this book highly enough. It is rare that a book these days can so stimulating. In my opinion this is a must read book!

Rating = 10 of 10