Every year, I make it a point to read a motivational book. Motivation is like bathing – it doesn’t last forever and needs to be repeated periodically – although I must point out that I bathe more than once a year!
This year, it was Brian Tracy’s book. I really enjoyed the entire book, but I must say the last few chapters were an absolute crescendo of motivational remarks from great figures from the last two centuries.
I would recommend this book without reservation to anyone who’s looking for ideas on getting to the next level. Enjoy!
Harvard Business School professor Georges Doriot started the world’s first venture capital firm, American Research & Development (ARD). Professor Doriot said,
“I want money to do things that have never been done before.”
If reading sentences like this gives you a boner, then now’s the time to start your own company. Tomorrow’s millionaires are being made today. What are you waiting for? Start now.
I’m a big fan of Pamela Slim and her mentor, Martha Beck. Martha has a break-it-down methodology for success that she calls the 4 Day Win. Check it out. I have always believed that the way to achieve a big goal is to break it down to a series of small successes; this post gives you the roadmap to doing that.
The Positivity Blog discusses a handful of Mr. Penney’s most positive and energizing quotes.
“We get real results only in proportion to the real values we give.”
“A merchant who approaches business with the idea of serving the public well has nothing to fear from the competition.”
“It is the service we are not obliged to give that people value most.”
“Courteous treatment will make a customer a walking advertisement.”
“The well-satisfied customer will bring the repeat sale that counts.”
Want to be rich? Be like Mr. Penney.
Want to feel humble in a hurry? Mir Imran, CEO of InCube Labs, has started 20 different companies and has over 200 patents. He’s not just a serial entrepreneur, he’s a parallel entrepreneur, running 8 companies at a time. Here is Mir Imran speaking at Stanford.
I’ve written before about how important I think it is to provide encouragement to the people around you – your staff, your supervisor, your clients, your friends and family. Everyone needs encouragement!
Blogger Dave Cheong wrote a great post on the topic of providing encouragement that I commend to you.
I got the biggest laugh out of this post from Brad Isaac’s excellent blog.
My boss never misses an opportunity to praise someone in public. And I’m not talking the typical butter up, either – he’ll be saying “Scott this” and “Scott that,” and I’ll be looking around making sure there’s not another Scott in the room. He is, in the words of Charles M. Schwab, “hearty in his approbation and lavish in his praise.”
So why is this so rare? I’ve only worked for one boss who delighted in criticizing people in public; all the other ones have been completely silent. Is it insecurity or a limited pie mindset that makes people hesitant to praise their subordinates? Is it just laziness?
If you have staff, take some time to praise them. Publicly and sincerely. Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.
I’m a big fan of Penelope Trunk’s blog, and I particularly enjoyed this article. She argues that while our internal set-point for happiness may be genetically predispositioned,
… you can make a 40% impact on your optimism level by changing your daily routine in relatively small ways – like doing a bunch of random acts of kindness in one day, on a weekly basis.
I love this idea. And I have long believed that many actions, which may be peripheral either to your goals or your definition of happiness, could well be critical to attaining either. For instance,
- Taking time to count your blessings
- Getting some exercise every day
- Spending quiet time in prayer, meditation, contemplation or reflection (according to your bent)
- Being careful about the kinds of stimulus you allow into your life
- Eating a healthy, balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables
- (as Penelope suggested) performing a kindness to someone who is less fortunate than you. Jewish people call this a mitzvah.
See what you can do today to improve your outlook and maximize your optimism.
