The secrets of the success of the 7 I would see the young me

The word stunning as defined by Merriam -Webster is to cause astonishment or disbelief. With the rise of home foreclosures, bankruptcies and new restrictions on credit throughout the country, many believe that life itself has dealt them a fatal blow. A blow they think they can never recover from. It is, after all, devastating to go through such a defining experience. However, I can tell you from personal experience having lost my house, my car, a condo and every single thing I owned in this life except the clothes on my back, that you can climb your way back to the top. In this article we examine the seven simple steps anyone can employ to regroup and truly realize their goals in life. In fact, you can take any bad experience and turn it to your advantage. Now, the steps are simple, but you'll have to work hard to achieve the American dream.

Here are seven proven strategies I'd tell the younger me in order to expedite my later successes in life. Followed precisely, they will cause people to look on you with astonishment and disbelief that you've succeeded in spite of all the adversities you faced.

1. Turn a Deaf Ear to the Naysayer: The first lesson you must learn is everyone will have their own opinion of what happened to you and how you should approach getting back on track. However, resist the urge to listen because opinions change on a daily basis. Get a plan of your own. Define what it is you want to achieve and write it down. After writing it down, study it profusely. Don't worry how it will get done just get clear on exactly what you want to happen. This will help stay motivated even when things look impossible. Turn off the negative people like a water faucet. Your ability to bounce back and succeed will be governed to a great extent by what and who you listen to. Run from those who say "you can't." Napoleon Hill advised in "Think & Grow Rich" to keep your own counsel and take no one into your confidence except the select few who are moving in the same direction you are moving.

2. Have a Clear & Compelling Plan: Claude M. Bristol, in his powerful book "The Magic of Believing" talks about the power of the subconscious and instructs students to dream. He says every night before going to sleep, read your goals out loud and crystallize them as you fall off to sleep. As if by magic your mind will help sort out the next steps you'll need to take in order to succeed. For over a decade I worked in the sales field and without fail, the salespeople who succeeded month in and month out were those with a clear plan and well defined goals for success. Forget about what success means to everyone else. Get clarity on what success means to you -specifically. I recall how some of the salespeople I worked with felt if they didn't make a million dollars a year they had failed. But a very wealthy executive of a fortune 10 company told me something I never forgot. He said "if you make $50, 000 a year and all of your bills are paid- you're rich." Stop concentrating on what you make and start concentrating on what you keep.

3. Believe You Can Again: You mind plays a vital role in all that you do. I believe most people you find on the streets are not dummies as some suppose. Most have simply stopped believing in themselves. Bristol posits that we become exhausted with continued trying when at first we don't succeed. Then we begin to lose confidence in ourselves, and resign ourselves to the idea that we have failed and nothing can be done about it. This is where your subconscious mind comes in. Be careful what you say to yourself when you talk to yourself (and we all do it). Your subconscious is the prover (it believes exactly what you tell it to believe). If you tell yourself you are dumb (it seeks to prove this point and will recall incidents when you said 'I'm dumb) It seek to prove what you say. The key is to reverse what you're saying. The subconscious is a powerhouse of energy, Bristol continued, with which the individual can be recharged, and thus enabling her to recover her strength and courage, and also her faith in herself.

4. Be Persistent with Bulldog Tenacity: Mack R. Douglas discloses in his powerful book "How To Make A Habit of Succeeding" that one study in business found that while 80 per cent of sales were made after the fifth call, fully 48 per cent of salespeople quit after the first call, 25 per cent quit after the second call, 12 per cent quit after the third call, and only 10 per cent of salespeople keep calling and thus, 10 per cent make 80 per cent of the sales. The message; Stick with it no matter how it looks initially. It's said that, if you stick with something long enough people start calling you a genius.

5. Be Prepared to Win: It's absolutely true; opportunity knocks only once. How many people have missed their opportunity at success because they were not prepared? They missed their shot at becoming an attorney, a doctor, a scientist, or musician because they stopped studying, or practicing. It looked like it just was not going to happen. Then out of the blue an opportunity presents itself. I've found in life that opportunities often come at inopportune times. Benjamin Disraeli said "the secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes. If you are hoping to become an executive at a fortune 500 company, stay abreast of what is happening in corporate America. When I was hired at Xerox Corporation- I walk in knowing exactly what Xerox was up to in the market place, I studied how its stock was doing, and knew exactly what products were currently being developed. I studied the President/CEO and knew his management style. The branch manger was so impressed with my knowledge- he literally hire me on the spot. I was prepared and ready.

6. Manage Your Success: How often do we see professional athletes, Hollywood actors and actresses, singers and musicians suddenly thrust into the limelight of success, but ill prepared to handle that success. Right before our eyes they self destruct. I've witnessed it in corporate America as well, where executives are promoted (and as the Peter Principal posits) to a level of incompetence. So, it is imperative that you think through your success and how you will handle it when it comes. Take a look at a great many of lotto winners and how winning that large sum of money turned out to be a curse rather than a blessing. Have a plan and know always how you'll deal with success and keep you feet firmly planted on the ground.

7. Don't forget where you come from: Have a plan to give back in some way. In giving back you don't have to have millions nor give away million. Sometime a simple smile will go a long way in making a person's day. Bountifully your received, bountifully give.

Follow these simple strategies and the success you achieve will truly astonish others.

Copyright © 2008 Cubie Davis King. All rights reserved.

References

Bristol, C.M. (1948). The magic of believing. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Douglas, M.C. (1966). How to make a habit of succeeding. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Hill, N. (1960) Think & Grow Rich. New York: Ballantine Books.

Merriam-Webster (2008). Retrieved 8/28/2008 from http://www.merriam-webster.com

Dr. Cubie Davis King is internationally renowned performance technologist who holds a Ph.D. in Training & Performance Improvement. He is author of the best seller "How To Call A Meeting With Yourself- Daily Success Habits That Produce Stunning Results." His life's work is in helping individuals and organizations reach peak levels of personal and professional performance. To schedule Dr. King for your next meeting reach him at http://www.goldcrowninc.com