10 KEYS TO PERSONAL POWER
-Brian Tracy
Key #1
"Have vision. determine what you want to be, do or have in life. Have a sense of direction and know where you're going. If you do not have clear specific goals in life, you are doomed forever to work for others who do"
Reflection: Clear goals and objectives are essential to the success of any business, and this is no less true of building your own career. If you don't take the time to get really clear about exactly what it is you're trying to accomplish, then you're forever doomed to spend your life achieving the goals of those who do. In the absence of a clear direction for your life, you will either meander aimlessly or you will build a career that you don't feel good about. You may make some money, and you may do some interesting work, but the end result will not resemble anything you ever made a conscious decision to build, and ultimately you will be left with the sinking feeling that maybe you took a wrong turn somewhere along the way.
Key 2: Competence
"If you commit to excellence, opportunities will always come your way. The harder you work, the better you get."
Reflection: A competence, a commitment to becoming excellent in your chosen field is an indispensable prerequisite for success. If you are not good in what you do you haven't got a chance.
If you commit yourself to becoming excellent it changes everything about you. You must commit yourself to excellence. You must commit yourself to becoming the best.Excellence is a journey, it is not a destination. Complacency and satisfaction are the key enemies of excellence.Do your best every time out and always strive to do it better.Last 5%-10% of every job or a project makes all the difference. If you are not excellent in your field you don't go anywhere, you are locked in place.
Key 3: Concentration
"Make the best use of your time. Ask yourself “Is this the best use of my time?” before you start anything."
Make the best use of your time. Ask yourself “Is this the best use of my time” before you start anything. Before you start your day, before you get in the car, before you watch TV, before you do anything.Without touching my subject I want to come to the moment when, through pure concentration of seeing, the composed picture becomes more made than taken. Without a descriptive caption to justify its existence, it will speak for itself - less descriptive, more creative; less informative, more suggestive - less prose, more poetry.To inspire a singularity of focus, a challenge must be important to you and it must be something you feel you should do now in this moment. If it's trivial or not time-bound, you won't engage. So in selecting your next challenge in life, choose one that is meaningful and will demand your complete concentration.Designing is a matter of concentration. You go deep into what you want to do. It's about intensive research, really. The concentration is warm and intimate and like the fire inside the earth - intense but not distorted. You can go to a place, really feel it in your heart. It's actually a beautiful feeling.
Key 4: Common Sense
Train your mind
think things through
listen to your intuition
learn from setbacks
Such as have reason, understanding, or common sense, will, and ought to make use of it in those things that concern themselves and their posterity, and suspect the words of such as are interested in deceiving or persuading them not to see with their own eyes.If we put our trust in the common sense of common men and 'with malice toward none and charity for all' go forward on the great adventure of making political, economic and social democracy a practical reality, we shall not fail.We must do everything in our power to keep families together, and to use common sense in our immigration laws. Children deserve better than to lose a parent because of an inflexible law.My elections are really not about campaigns. I tell my people that these are about a movement. And a movement to do what? To restore common sense. A movement to do things like provide economic growth. And a movement not to let anybody be behind.Taste is the common sense of genius.
Key number 5: Creativity
"Except the fact that every human being is a genius. that hallmark of creativity is asking questions. the people who are most creative ask the most questions"
key 6: Consideration
"The quality of your relationships with other people will determine your success in life."
"Develop the people skills you need to become a better communicator. Take courses in listening, speaking, etc."
"If you were to learn one new word a day, within 5 years, you’ll be the best educated person in history."
Key 7: Consistency
"Dependable, steady predictable work is always superior to fast spurts of work."
Be consistent in your relationships, your family, friends, your boss, your work. Be the person that people can depend upon. That if you say you’ll do something you do it.."
One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.If business doesn't thrive, it hurts America. We need improved relations, more collaboration, more thought and more consistency as we go about trying to make sure we have the best country in the world. Not scapegoating and finger-pointing.Even as a kid, I was a businessman. I figured out that if you plucked all the berries off my neighbor's tree and smashed them up, they made a Nickelodeon Gak-type consistency. I sold them to all the neighborhood kids and made stacks of quarters. Of course, the berries were poisonous, and I got in all types of trouble.
Key 8: Commitment
"No success is possible without commitment. The ability to commit yourself whole heartily is the basis of achieving all success."
"Become totally absorbed in your work. Be totally committed."
When you encourage others, you in the process are encouraged because you're making a commitment and difference in that person's life. Encouragement really does make a difference.Thankfully, President Obama has stood firmly behind women's health care issues by supporting coverage for contraception and reaffirming commitment to organizations like Planned Parenthood. India is a vibrant nation whose strength lies in its commitment to equal rights and to speech, religious and economic freedoms that enrich the lives of all citizens. India is not only the world's largest democracy; it is also a secular, pluralistic society committed to inclusive growth.Throughout my career, as both a physician and a scientist, I have drawn inspiration from Merck's unwavering commitment to scientific excellence. Over time, this commitment has brought forth an unparalleled number of breakthrough medicines and vaccines that improve the lives of patients around the world. Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.
Key 9: Courage
"The fear of failure is the single greatest reason for failure in life."
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, like in my case at Halloween horror nights, "I lived through this horror". I can take the next thing that comes along. These are great qualities that they must work towards. without courage then you wouldn't get anywhere in your school, social or family life. im not talking about pressure like the courage to jump off a bridge but the one to walk up to your crush. ill open up to you haymore and admit to you i have a crush and i dont have the courage to tell him. i feel rejection or even worse to be just friends."Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition"-steve jobs.
Reflection: I'm not sure i have much confidence when it comes to my romantic part in life and lack the courage. i have a crush, yet i dont do anything about it. But its a mutual state of being because it is not my fault why we arent talking. he honestly messed up and is doing the least to recuperate whats left of our feelings. he has to commit to me and we'll gain back better what we used to have. but where is the consistency if he only tries when he wants to? how about making a commitment, or agreeing to something then sticking to it. one of the main questions is, when he goes off to college, will he continue to try? are we strong enough to try long distant? He has to consider my feeling and not play around with them as if there easy to bounce on. wheres the creativity in just making me do all the work. i would do my part if he did his. I wasnt a distraction and actually helped him want more. never was i a bad influence and actually helped him concentrate in his academics. i was the one in his ear telling him he will become the doctor he wants to be and push him to do more. i was willing to spare my time to help him. but i guess people dont relize what they have until they have lost it.
Such as have reason, understanding, or common sense, will, and ought to make use of it in those things that concern themselves and their posterity, and suspect the words of such as are interested in deceiving or persuading them not to see with their own eyes.If we put our trust in the common sense of common men and 'with malice toward none and charity for all' go forward on the great adventure of making political, economic and social democracy a practical reality, we shall not fail.We must do everything in our power to keep families together, and to use common sense in our immigration laws. Children deserve better than to lose a parent because of an inflexible law.My elections are really not about campaigns. I tell my people that these are about a movement. And a movement to do what? To restore common sense. A movement to do things like provide economic growth. And a movement not to let anybody be behind.Taste is the common sense of genius.
Key number 5: Creativity
"Except the fact that every human being is a genius. that hallmark of creativity is asking questions. the people who are most creative ask the most questions"
The work you’re doing feeding your need for creativity? There are seasons of life when it might not. In those seasons, it’s so incredibly useful to have a creative outlet on which to rely. From experience, I can say that this is essential. I wrote for six years about nutrition and health, serious discussions about good fats and the colon. On the side, I wrote about sports, silly, creative stories about touchdowns and championships. All of it was writing—some that paid the bills, some that fed my joy.The psychological research supports these types of creative pursuits. In a San Francisco State study measuring employees with a creative side project and those without, those with a creative hobby were more likely to be helpful, collaborative, and creative with their job performance. Best of all, side projects are unlike whatever you’d experience at work. They’re low-risk, low-pressure, and something you love doing.
"The quality of your relationships with other people will determine your success in life."
"Develop the people skills you need to become a better communicator. Take courses in listening, speaking, etc."
"If you were to learn one new word a day, within 5 years, you’ll be the best educated person in history."
Considerate people have a unique perspective, and they don’t see life as a win or lose game. They understand that life is abundant, so they spread joy and kindness as if it’s infinite. When the gym at LeBron James’s alumni high school needed an upgrade, he was kind enough to donate a million dollars to make it happen. Talk about abundance.Considerate people hate to make others squirm. You won’t hear a considerate person asking super personal or awkward questions. They care about how others feel and make it a point to make them feel comfortable in all situations.Considerate people always think before they speak. They’re brutally honest, but share their opinion in such a tactful and thoughtful way that people don’t get offended by what they have to say.They understand that time is an important resource and that showing up late shows a lack of respect towards other people. Marilyn Monroe didn’t seem to care about being punctual, as she has been quoted saying, “I am invariably late for appointments – sometimes as much as two hours. I’ve tried to change my ways but the things that make me late are too strong, and too pleasing.” Don’t pull a Marilyn, show up on time.
Key 7: Consistency
"Dependable, steady predictable work is always superior to fast spurts of work."
Be consistent in your relationships, your family, friends, your boss, your work. Be the person that people can depend upon. That if you say you’ll do something you do it.."
One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.If business doesn't thrive, it hurts America. We need improved relations, more collaboration, more thought and more consistency as we go about trying to make sure we have the best country in the world. Not scapegoating and finger-pointing.Even as a kid, I was a businessman. I figured out that if you plucked all the berries off my neighbor's tree and smashed them up, they made a Nickelodeon Gak-type consistency. I sold them to all the neighborhood kids and made stacks of quarters. Of course, the berries were poisonous, and I got in all types of trouble.
Key 8: Commitment
"No success is possible without commitment. The ability to commit yourself whole heartily is the basis of achieving all success."
"Become totally absorbed in your work. Be totally committed."
When you encourage others, you in the process are encouraged because you're making a commitment and difference in that person's life. Encouragement really does make a difference.Thankfully, President Obama has stood firmly behind women's health care issues by supporting coverage for contraception and reaffirming commitment to organizations like Planned Parenthood. India is a vibrant nation whose strength lies in its commitment to equal rights and to speech, religious and economic freedoms that enrich the lives of all citizens. India is not only the world's largest democracy; it is also a secular, pluralistic society committed to inclusive growth.Throughout my career, as both a physician and a scientist, I have drawn inspiration from Merck's unwavering commitment to scientific excellence. Over time, this commitment has brought forth an unparalleled number of breakthrough medicines and vaccines that improve the lives of patients around the world. Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.
Key 9: Courage
"The fear of failure is the single greatest reason for failure in life."
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, like in my case at Halloween horror nights, "I lived through this horror". I can take the next thing that comes along. These are great qualities that they must work towards. without courage then you wouldn't get anywhere in your school, social or family life. im not talking about pressure like the courage to jump off a bridge but the one to walk up to your crush. ill open up to you haymore and admit to you i have a crush and i dont have the courage to tell him. i feel rejection or even worse to be just friends."Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition"-steve jobs.
Key 10: Confidence
"You only get confidence by doing things over and over again ."
confidence is knowing what you're good at, the value you provide, and acting in a way that conveys that to others. Contrast this with arrogance which typically involves believing you are better in a particular area than you are, or low self-esteem which involves believing you're less valuable than you think. The closer your self-assessment is to that reality in the middle, and the more you behave accordingly, the closer you are to displaying healthy confidence.Confidence is one of those traits that can become an ethereal ideal that we all think is good, but ask us to point to the specific reasons why anyone should want it and we can only point to vague hypotheticals. Fortunately, science has our back. Here are just a few ways that tangibly improving your own self-confidence manifests in real world benefits.The importance of confidence in romantic relationships doesn't end at the dating phase, either.i like a man who is confident when he talks to me. like it would be great if my crush were to just be honest ad tell me how he feels. wouldn't it be nice if we were to have the romantic kiss at prom?
Reflection: I'm not sure i have much confidence when it comes to my romantic part in life and lack the courage. i have a crush, yet i dont do anything about it. But its a mutual state of being because it is not my fault why we arent talking. he honestly messed up and is doing the least to recuperate whats left of our feelings. he has to commit to me and we'll gain back better what we used to have. but where is the consistency if he only tries when he wants to? how about making a commitment, or agreeing to something then sticking to it. one of the main questions is, when he goes off to college, will he continue to try? are we strong enough to try long distant? He has to consider my feeling and not play around with them as if there easy to bounce on. wheres the creativity in just making me do all the work. i would do my part if he did his. I wasnt a distraction and actually helped him want more. never was i a bad influence and actually helped him concentrate in his academics. i was the one in his ear telling him he will become the doctor he wants to be and push him to do more. i was willing to spare my time to help him. but i guess people dont relize what they have until they have lost it.
