Success in 12 Bullets
Okay, a quick “Holy Shit” is necessary to get it out of my system – reading Heather Cox Richardson and Andrew Coyne on a regular basis sometimes (well, always) punches my anxiety button and I start to shoot through the roof. And the last few days have been almost unfathomable in their reporting of bizarre activities and absurd events.
But then I remind myself that I am doing what I can – learning, adapting and all the time sharing some positive thoughts and energy to help others do the same.
I have taped to my wall in my office a piece of paper entitled “12 Things Successful People Do Differently”. Now, I’m sure we all have different definitions of what success means, and perhaps our go-to definition relates to material wealth. To get a baseline, I check with the good old Oxford Dictionary that tells us success is defined as “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose” or “the attainment of fame, wealth or social status”.
If I focus on the latter part of that definition, I’ve got a long way to go before I can claim to be successful! But if I consider the first part of the definition, where there is accomplishment of an aim or purpose, then I’m already successful by even writing this note.
Here’s a quick look at those 12 things that successful people do:
1. They create and pursue focused goals.
2. They take decisive and immediate action.
3. They focus on being productive, not being busy.
4. They make logical, informed decisions.
5. They avoid the trap of trying to make things perfect.
6. They work outside their comfort zone.
7. The keep things simple.
8. The focus on making small, continuous improvements.
9. They measure the track their progress.
10. They maintain a positive attitude as they learn from their mistakes.
11. They spend time with the motivational people
12. They maintain balance in their life.
This all makes sense to me, but I don’t do them all. I do some of them all the time, a few of them occasionally, and one or two of them rarely. But at least I give all of them a passing thought.
For example, I am very goal oriented. I like to determine ahead of time where I want to be when I’m done, if you know what I mean. Whether those goals are focused or not, who knows. But I’ve thought about the outcomes of my actions, and that allows me to move forward with a plan in mind.
I don’t always take immediate action, but I write that off because I prefer to pause and reflect before I go in, guns a ‘blazing, and do something I’ll regret later. And it wasn’t until I started my own company and worked for myself that I insisted I be productive, not just busy. When I became accountable, I became more productive.
#5 makes me laugh at myself! I am not a perfectionist but rather a big picture person and I never worry about making things perfect. As a result, I get caught up sometimes making foolish errors. (For example, this week I put the word “shat” in an e mail and got caught! Gotta make sure I double and triple spell check!)
One of these that really resonates with me is #8….making small, continuous improvements. I sometimes look around the house or sit at my desk and think of all the gazillion things I need to be doing….and I get overwhelmed. But then I utter my own personal mantra “Just take it bit by bit”, and I do a little something. And then I do a little something more. And I make a small improvement and that’s enough for me!
But seriously, what is success? Do these 12 things really define your personal notion of success? I think we’re all different, and that our success can be individually defined. Here is my personal list that best represents my version of success today:
· Waking up in the morning feeling positive, optimistic and without worry – which may change over the period of the day, but it’s the start that counts!
· The knowledge that my children are happy, healthy and content in their lives.
· Still being a runner, despite a broken leg and hip surgery!
· Calling Isla when she’s chasing a coyote, and having her come back to me!!! Now that is incredible success!
· Knowing that if I needed help, I have people around me who will be there.
Two wonderful humans who would help me in a heartbeat!
· Standing in a river, casting a fly rod and knowing that that is enough, fish or no fish
Well, I had been standing in a river with the incredible Sofia Newton from the Lodge at 58 North! We were successful!
· The ability to help people smile, despite all the challenges we all are facing.
My friend Nikki and I went for a hike with our dogs the other day, and I challenged her to think of her version of success. She found it easy to come up with those over-arching good things that are universal but realized it takes a bit more thought to decipher personal ideas of success.
I challenge each of you who read this to contemplate your own verion of success. You may surprise yourself and a little surprise goes a long way. Celebrate those successes!