"Dedicated people have employment security."
Zig Ziglar
[NB re-read that one - not job security but you can bet they are highly employable in another company!]
Who would have thought that being sacked from a multi-billion dollar company that you owned was in fact the biggest blessing in your life?
See here for Steve Job’s inspiring address to graduating students from one of the world’s top universities. From Apple to Pixar – you cannot keep a good man down.
As it is put so succinctly in Zig Ziglar’s book “Over The Top” – Your Choice: Boom Attitude or Depression Attitude. What I personally love about being around motivational people who know the value of inputting good stuff into your brain is that we can choose at any moment how we feel and our attitudes to things.
For example, over the last couple of years there has been a world-wide recession. Most of the world has been glued to the television or stock exchange to see how their superannuation or stocks are faring. Yes, many people did lose money. However many did not. What do I mean here? Well if you chose to leave your money in the stock market for example and did not take it out when the market was down, that same stock may already been going up again. Many are. Please do not misunderstand me, to lose money especially at retirement is terrifying for many people. Others however no matter their age, see the opportunities. Some see the bust as a time to buy more shares at a lower price so when prices go up they can make money. Of course, due diligence needs to be practiced and I do not recommend gambling on the stock exchange but rather minimising your risks by becoming educated in matters of financial management, whether on a personal or business level.
Even not-for-profit organisations receive funding that is to be used over a certain time period, say a year or two. Why not check out the best rates for different types of accounts at various banks. Obviously a not-for-profit would need to be more conservative with grant monies and I do not recommend putting this money in high risk ventures.
Back to Zig’s advice – what separates the successful people out is not only their attitude but also their momentum – maintainance. Others call this stickability – the ability to stick with things. ‘Positive Thinking + Positive Training = Positive Results’
Zig Ziglar, the world class motivational speaker, is an amazingly passionate man, who continues to inspires millions many decades on. He has researched and come up with a list of 8 things that everyone wants and what constitutes success:
1. Happy
2. Healthy
3. Reasonably Prosperous
4. Financially Secure
5. Friends
6. Peace of mind
7. Good family relationships
8. Hope
So this is where we can agree that this is the goal. Obviously the next step is how do we get there?
One way that most people think they can get there is by emulating their role models.
In Western society, heroes are often sporting champions, rich and famous actors or even socialites. As a high school teacher ,it was enlightening to see how much youth revere their chosen idols. In 2008, a class project involved students researching and writing a paper on their hero. Some of the more well known idols were Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan for the girls and usually with the boys sporting heroes such as Ben Cousins and Chris Judd, both now former West Coast Eagles stars in Australian Rules Football. Aside from Chris Judd, the commonality for the other four are that they live very high profile, glamourous lives of the rich and famous AND they are all well known as being out of control with addictive behaviours to various substances, usually illicit drugs and alcohol. Perhaps it is in one sense a reflection of how we may view ourselves that we too are far from perfect and as one student explained, how would we cope with all that attention in our personal lives? From feedback over the time it seemed that the students wanted to be given more chances to redeem themselves whether it be at home, school or with friends.
Who are your heroes?
So as Zig Ziglar suggests, I challenge you to hold up your heroes, mentors or boss to the above list.
Are they happy? If they always seem stressed then give them a big X.
Are they healthy? Tick or cross
Are they reasonably prosperous? It seems that most heroes now have a tick on this one. This is due to the world’s reliance on money and personal wealth as outward sign of achievement.
Financially Secure – Is this possible? We have all heard of extremely wealthy people who have gone bankrupt later. Most of us have had ups and downs financially with volatility in stock and property markets and even the job market where short and medium term contracts have become more widespread. However of course, by executing such basic principles as receiving income for your activities or ideas, saving and investing, we have the best chance of accumulating wealth and minimising the risks of future loss.
Friends – does your idol have many? Often if you look closer perhaps the so called friends are more business associates with not much depth to the friendship.
Peace of mind – If people are continually stressed usually this is a sign that they are unable to quieten their mind.
Family relationships – Is the person happily married or they undergoing a divorce proceedings or have never allowed anyone close enough and so are perpetually single? What kind of relationships do they have with their children?
Hope – do you think the person is hopeful about their present and future?
Now give them a score out of 8. Do you still want to emulate them?
None of these by the way are saying that the person is good or bad. It is a reflection of how they are inside and where they are at in a particular point in time.
How do you rate? Interestingly sometimes when we feel that we are not so successful , then consider this list again – perhaps our own lives are not so bad.
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