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Becoming A Successful Person

Alan Austin-Smith

I have always been fascinated by successful people. How are they different from less successful folk? Yes, there are those privileged few who are "to the manor born," but essentially we all have the same opportunities.

You may be thinking to yourself that you are a special case, that you've faced greater challenges, and that may be true - but there are countless stories of people from disadvantaged backgrounds or who are not fully able in some way, yet they have achieved exceptional levels of success.

So what is the difference? Why does one athlete consistently win the 100 metres? Why does one footballer score more goals than another, or a waitress get more tips, or a sales person hit more targets?

Successful people aren't more intelligent, they don't have bigger brains, and they don't start with more money. It is all about attitude. A champion athlete doesn't just run fast, a great waitress doesn't just serve food.

It doesn't matter which job you look at, this principle remains the same - 50% of being successful at what you do has nothing to do with what you do! 50% of being a fantastic hairdresser has nothing to do with a pair of scissors.

50% of what makes you successful at what you do is - 'THE OTHER STUFF.'

MILLIONS OF MOMENTS

You may not have thought about it like this before but there is only one moment you are alive - when your heart is beating, your mind is thinking and your body is breathing - and that is NOW.

So what is life? It's NOW - it is happening right now.

We need to stop looking at life as a whole, a 70 to 80-year long experience. Life is made up of millions of moments. Every life is made up of so many years, each year is made up of 365 days, and every day is filled with many moments - moments of love, fun, energy, achievement, excitement, or simply the accomplishment of some task in your work or life. The first step toward being successful, therefore, is to learn to live in the moment.

The way you deal with each moment in your life determines how successful it is. The more successful, happy moments you have, the happier and more successful you will be.

So a successful life is actually a life filled with loads of little successes.

What can you do about the past? Only one thing - learn from it. Learn what brings you joy, and learn not to repeat actions that brought you sorrow. But that is it - you can't undo the past.

What about the future? What can be done about that? Plan for it, prepare for it, but that is all - you can't know for certain what will happen.

Now you're thinking, "But what about the moments that aren't so good, will they still happen?"  Well, yes… life will continue to present challenges to each of us, but we do have choices as to how we respond to these. Stop worrying about "unknowns" - worrying is a waste of energy that never changes the outcome of anything - empower yourself by taking action instead!

CHOOSE CHANGE

If you want change - if you really want things to be different, then you have to take responsibility to change something!  How many people do you know that want changes in their life, but are not prepared to change anything? People who:

• want to stop smoking, but continue to put cigarettes in their mouths
• want to lose weight, but continue to eat too much
• want to get fit but don't go to the gym
• want to save money, who continue to spend more than they earn

Are you also one of those people? If you do not like how you are feeling or acting, ask yourself these two questions - first, "Do I want to feel like this?" Assuming the answer is no, then ask yourself, "What have I got to change then to feel different?" Now, take action on the answer. Take responsibility, and take as your motto, "IF IT'S TO BE - IT'S UP TO ME!"

The first steps, then, are to be clear about what you want or need to achieve, and to choose to take action. This could be a huge life goal, or some small change you need to make in your everyday life.

INHIBITORS AND DRIVERS

Change is hard, no question about it. But as I always say, if two year-olds had the same levels of perseverance and patience as most adults, humans would still be crawling around on all fours! Think about it - learning to walk takes real commitment, but look at how easily we as adults give up on things, how some of us believe that we can't change, or don't have the discipline or patience to stick at it. With that sort of attitude as two year-olds, we would never have bothered to progress from crawling!

Take the time to look at your inhibitors and drivers and identify where you need to take action. Inhibitors are the factors that are stopping you from achieving your focus and drivers are what propel you towards your goal. These are the key inhibitors and drivers:

Do you feel as though you don't have enough time, or that you need more money to achieve your goal? What about knowledge, do you have what you need? How about fear, the greatest inhibitor of all - so much of our procrastination is due to fear. Or maybe you are feeling so stressed that you can't even think about any of the things I have just mentioned. Don't beat yourself up for feeling scared, stressed, or stuck. Choose not to let lack of time or money hold you back. Instead, identify the factors that are inhibiting your progress, and then make the changes you need to.

Now look at the drivers that can help move you forward. Have you accepted responsibility for making change happen, because nothing will magically occur if you don't. Do you need more confidence to take the steps you need to take? Do you need to communicate better to get the support you want? Is it creativity that is needed to move you to the next level, or is it your motivation or your energy that needs to improve? Take stock of which drivers need development, and work on those.

HOW DO I DO IT?

There are some simple Rules of Focus that will give you the best chance of achieving your goals. The first and most important is the understanding that where you put your focus is where you get your results. A good example of this is when you are buying a car. The moment you decide - focus - on the make and model you want, you will see it everywhere.

It is because of this fact that the second rule of focus is so important - be specific. It is no good just saying that you want to be more successful, you have to be precise. What would your success look like?

Finally, you need to put some sort of time line to it. When will you achieve this by? Be realistic, specific and positive about your goal and you will have a much greater chance of achieving it.

Remember - where you put your focus is where you get your results; so if you want average results - then set average goals. However, if you want spectacular results in your life - then you had better start setting spectacular goals!

Finally, don't forget the most important rule of all - whatever you choose to do, make sure you have fun doing it!!

For information on Salon Strategies and its programmes, or to make an appointment to see a business advisor, call 020 7377 9922.