Motivating yourself and your staff when times are difficult
The successful businessman's personality ideally has four
components, (a) to plan ahead into the future, to (b) work hard,
and for (c) long hours, and (d) to deal with people.
If
you can make sound decisions, and plan ahead well, you are a long
way towards business success. In business you can and should seek
advice from experts. But after you have consulted all the experts,
collected all the facts, the final decisions remain yours.
We
have touched upon the elements of decision-making and planning
in various places throughout this course. It is worth your while
to reread these parts from time to time, and to practice what
they suggest.
But
with decision-making and planning, which is so central to business
performance, we wish to look at them from your personal point
of view as well. After all, it is, or will become, your business.
Your personality, your personal modes of thinking, determines
how your business will perform. And especially when times are
tough and your moods are "dark", can you keep
going and survive the difficult times?
Personal decision making and planning
Say
you walked down the street today. A friend saw you, and called
out, "Where are you going?" You may reply that
you were going home, or to your office, or to a club. But you
will not reply. "I want to go home, and to my office,
and to the club. So I'm strolling around to see where I come out."
This
would be a ridiculous reply. It is ridiculous because you always
decide where you want to go. Then you take the shortest or the
most pleasant route there.
Yet
many people stroll aimlessly along life's highway. They vaguely
know where they want to arrive at in sound health. But they don't
know the order of importance of these different destinations.
Nor do they know the routes, so that they don't know how to get
there. Nor have they studied themselves, to see whether they are
equipped for the journey. These aimless wanderers never come home.
Many are victims of being controlled by others and the will or
whims or their associates or partners. A recommended reading is
the book by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, called Pulling
Your Own Strings
There
is a better way to reach your goals. Mr. Henry J. Kaiser put it
well.
Kaiser
started life as a poor boy with little education. But he had a
bright positive self-image, and he worked himself up to become
one of America's richest men. He controlled dozens of companies.
On his death, he left an estate worth several hundred million
dollars. This is how Mr. Kaiser explained his success recipe.
-
First,
know yourself, and decide what you want to make out of your
life. Then write down your goals, and a plan to reach them.
-
Second,
use the latent powers and hidden energies of your soul and
subconscious mind.
-
Finally,
WORK. Put your action plan into determined action.
These
are the words of a man who single-handedly made himself into one
of the world's super rich. Modern psychology shows the wisdom
of his words. If you know what you want, and you can summon the
energy to plan and act on your goals, all of them are within your
reach. Let us study Mr. Kaiser's formula for success.
Almost
2,500 years ago there lived, in Athens, a man named Socrates.
He was very ugly, and walked barefoot around the city, instructing
the people in moral wisdom. He was, in fact, one of the greatest
moral teachers the world has ever seen. He told the people of
Athens that the first step, the biggest step, to wisdom is in
the words: KNOW YOURSELF.
This remains as true today as it was 2,500 years ago. Man must
forever seek to know himself. There is no final answer. It is
a process that fills a lifetime. Here are three things that
you should try to know all about yourself.
- Know
your strengths. Find out what your own positive
qualities are. Everyone has good qualities, personal plus
points. Think about yourself and learn what your strengths
are, then use them
Do
not fool yourself by thinking that you have none or very
few. Sometimes they are hidden, buried deep down below a
layer of negative images. Dig them out. Dr. Maxwell Maltz,
a scientist, who has written books about how a good self-image
helps a person says, "I have, during my many years
as a plastic surgeon and human being met so many people
who buried their finest qualities." He has met,
says Dr. Maltz, warmhearted human men who felt forced to
prove that they were masculine by never showing their feelings.
There were women so ashamed of single scar on their faces
that they never dared to show their basic kindliness. There
were people so unhappy with their jobs that they forgot
to use their creative talents to sing, or draw, or write.All
this is not necessary. Find out what your plus points are,
and build on them. To obtain this book by Dr.Maltz called
Psycho-Cybernetics
visit this link Psycho-Cybernetics.
- Know
your weaknesses. We all have our weak spots, physical
and mental. Find out what yours are, and see if you cannot
do anything about them. If you can, do something. But if
you can't, accept them, and learn to live with them. Wishing
them away, or feeling sorry for yourself will get you nowhere.
Mr.
Richard Nixon, former president of the United States of
America, learnt to do this at university. He tried to play
football, but played so badly that he was never selected
for the team. He accepted this, and was content just to
cheer his team from the pavilion. About this someone wrote:
"Nixon's acceptance of his limitations won the admiration
of his football coach and lifted the morale of the team."
No
one is perfect at everything. Prof Albert Einstein did poorly
at school and was bad at sport. He accepted his weakness,
and spent time on his strong point. This was mathematics.
He became the greatest mathematician the world has ever
seen.
Napoleon Bonaparte was not worried about his height, although
he was many inches shorter than most women of his time.
A famous president of the United States, Mr. Franklin D
Roosevelt, had polio and could not walk unaided.
Another
president, Mr. Abraham Lincoln, was considered extremely
ugly and children often cried when they saw him. It did
not worry Mr. Lincoln he even joked about it. An opponent
once called him " a two-face". "That is not
true," replied Mr. Lincoln. "If I had two faces,
do thou think I would wear this one?"
So,
take your cue from these great men. Accept those weaknesses
that you cannot change. But, remember, only those that you
cannot change.
-
Know
your own purposes. The word success is used so frequently
that one may think it has one meaning only, like the words,
rock, or water. But this is not true. Success means a different
thing to every person. For some, like the bully and tyrant,
success lies in getting power over people. To others, success
equals money and the things money can buy. Some people,
like poets and painters, feel successful when they are creating
something artistic. Others, such as scientists and thinkers,
find success when they uncover the laws of nature.
Your
idea of success is almost as unique to you as your fingerprints
are. Ask yourself what will make you feel most alive, most
happy, and you will know what success means to you. Then
act on this. Forget what others say or think, their ideas
of what is good for you are likely to be wrong. Select your
own stars, and follow them with vigor.
Planned
Action Towards Success
We
have now looked at ways of putting the first sentence of Mr. Henry
J. Kaiser's success recipe to use. Remember, the sentence was:
"Know yourself, and decide what you want to make out of your
life."
Let
us now look at his second sentence: "Then write down your
goals, and a plan to reach them." And, while we are at it,
we will also look at his last sentence: "Finally, work and
put your action plan into determined action."
Mr.
Kaiser's recipe is the result of his own experience. It worked
for him. Scientists have found that it will also work for you.
In
the paragraphs that follow, we will look at the most modern ways
of applying the Kaiser formula. We will do it under three headings.
These are desire, confidence, and knowledge.
The
very first thing in the series of forces that impels animals and
human beings to action is to feel a need for something and desire
it.
The
horse will not walk to the drinking trough before he feels a need
for water. You will not study for an examination before you desire
further qualifications. Desire is the first step to action.
Desire
comes from deep down inside of you. One of the world's most famous
psychologists, Prof. Abraham Maslow, studied the origins of needs.
Prof. Maslow says that each cell in a human body gives out signals
about its needs. The signals reach the servomechanism in the subconscious,
which sends them to the conscious mind in the form of desires.
We
do not have to think up our desires. They reach us as a matter
of course from the little computer in our subconscious. When your
body needs salt, you feel a desire for salt in your food. You
do not have to calculate how much salt you need. It is done for
you in your subconscious.
Scientists
have also discovered that desires impel people to action if certain
conditions are met. They have coded these into a step-by-step
program. To explain the program, let us imagine that you desire
more money. We will now see how you should handle this desire
to motivate you towards action.
-
Clearly
define your goal. Tell yourself exactly how much money
it is you desire. Be as clear as possible about it. Do not
tell yourself that you want lots of money but rather set a
definite goal; $100,000 in cash assets, or $30,000 per year.
-
Clearly
define what you will give you in return. For example,
you may decide that your contribution may be your ability
to sell things to people, your technical knowledge of bookkeeping,
your ability to speak fluently, write well, think up new ideas,
save costs by planning. Or simply your ability to work hard.
You do not need a special talent.
-
Set
yourself a date. Decide that you want to possess the $100,000
or earn the $30,000 per year, in 6 months time, or 2 years
from today.. Any date will do but make it definite.
-
Draw up an action plan. This is the most important
step. Draw up a definite plan of action to reach your goal.
Make the plan as concrete as possible, for example, set goals
month by month for each month up to the final date. And start
immediately after your plan is complete. Your plan need not
be as detailed as a builder's blueprint. In human affairs,
no forward planning can ever be final, or complete. We must
revise and change as we go along. But be clear about your
initial steps, and fill in more details when you can.
-
Put
the above steps in writing.
Write down on a piece of paper how much money you want, when,
what you will offer in return, and exactly how you plan to
do it. Put this paper in a private file. Add notes to it as
new thoughts occur. Anticipate problems, and outline ways
of solving them. See to it that your written plan grows as
your thoughts become more.
-
Re-read
this daily. Read this written memo twice every day, once
on rising every morning, and once before going to bed every
night. Read it carefully, and jot down additional points.
You
must follow the steps given above exactly as they are given. The
six steps have been tested, and found invaluable. There
are good reasons, which you do not have to bother about, or why
they work. Many thousands of ordinary men and women have proved
to themselves the value of this magic six-step formula.
The
formula will work on any desire you may have; your desire to start
and own a solid business, your desire to write a book, build a
new house, achieve a trip overseas, save your marriage, get promotion
on your job. Set your goal and go for it. For more information
on goals setting click
here.
Now
Stop reading and select a strong desire from among the many
that you have. Apply the first five steps to them. Allow ample
time to number 2, "Clearly define what you will give in
return." and the most to number 4, "Draw up an
action plan." Keep thinking after you have finished number
5, "Writing down your plan", and change the plan
if necessary. Take at least a day or two on the whole plan. Do
not read below until you have formed a six-step plan to fulfill
one of your desires. Please Stop Reading NOW.
Confidence
Your chances of reaching a goal are much better if you believe
that you can reach it. Confidence is the second step in motivating
yourself. We live in a world where we often feel that things are
too much to cope with, where we feel that we cannot do the things
we would like to do. It is not easy to be confident about things.
But
you have already seen how you inject confidence into yourself.
Use the principles of psycho-cybernetics to charge your
battery. It will reward you over and over for the effort.
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Relevant
knowledge
You
will reach your goals much faster if you use as much specialized
information and knowledge as possible.
Learn
as much as you can about the goal you have set yourself and the
business. If your goals to succeed are in selling, read books
about sales techniques, oberve successful salesmen in action,
find out the common mistakes in selling, find out which products
and services are in current demand. Become an expert yourself
by drawing on facts from expert sources. Think about your information,
organize it into useful headings, and write it down.
Let
us say you have decided to use the techniques in these notes to
help you to achieve three goals in your life or business.
Open
a file on each goal. File away newspaper clippings and articles
and notes from your own research. Look at each file regularly,
say three times each week. Check on your progress. Collect information
on the main sources of investigation, and fill in the gaps in
your knowledge as they appear.
You
will find it easier to remember the facts for your file, because
it is your private file. Of course you don't have to remember
all of it, because it is there in your file to consult whenever
you feel the need to.
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