From very humble beginnings, Brian Tracy has risen to a position of respect in the international world of business. Now living in Southern California, he has traveled the world, speaks several foreign languages and has business interests. He is an author, speaker and consultant, helping thousands of individuals on a daily basis through his books, tapes, speeches, email newsletters and coaching programs. Here are some of his thoughts about how you can become a better leader in your organization.
Optimists and Pessimists
There are three basic differences in the reactions of optimists and pessimists. The optimist sees a setback as temporary, while the pessimist sees it as permanent. The optimist sees an unfortunate event, such as an order that falls through or a sales call that fails, as a temporary event, something that is limited in time and that has no real impact on the future. The pessimist, on the other hand, sees negative events as permanent, as part of life and destiny. Make sure your associates are the optimists.
The Profession of Selling
Selling is hard. It always has and it always will be. Even for the best and most experienced salespeople, it is a continual effort. A person can make it easier by developing skills in the critical areas of prospecting, presenting and closing sales, but it is unlikely that someone can make selling an easy profession. However, once it is accepted that selling is a hard way to make a living, it somehow becomes a little easier. When someone stops expecting it to be something other than it is, much of the stress of selling goes out of it. As William James said, “The first step in dealing with any difficulty is to be willing to have it so.”
The Key Question
Continually ask, “What is the most valuable use of my time, right now?” And whatever it is, work on that. The ability to have self discipline to work on those few tasks that can make the greatest difference in life is the key quality that makes everything else possible.
Clarify The Desired Result
Start by asking “What are we trying to do?” Whenever becoming frustrated with slow progress for any reason, step back and ask this again and again, “What are we trying to do?”
Analyze Current Methods
Clarify the process of what is trying to be done by asking “How are we trying to do it?” If resistance is being experienced, perhaps the method is wrong. Be willing to objectively analyze the approach by asking, “How are we trying to do it?” Is this the right way? Could there be a better way? What if our method was completely wrong? How else could it be done?
The Narrow Margin
The game of life is very competitive. Sometimes, great success and great failure are separated by a very small distance. In watching the play-offs in basketball, baseball and football, the winner can be decided by a single point, and that single point can rest on a single action, or inaction, on the part of a single team member at a critical part of the game.
The Winning Edge
Life is very much like competitive sports. Very small things that are done, or not done, can either give the edge that leads to victory or takes away the edge at the critical moment. This principle is especially true with regard to accepting responsibility for individual actions, including everything that happens to you.
A Go-Giver; Not A Go-Getter
Someone has observed that no one ever built a statue to a person to acknowledge what he or she got out of life. Statues are built only to people to acknowledge what they gave. The most powerful, influential and successful people you will ever meet always look for ways to do nice things for others. When you meet someone under almost any circumstance, one of the best questions you can ask is this: “Is there anything that I can do for you?” Always look for ways to put in rather than to take out. The successful man or woman of today is a “go-giver” as well as a go-getter.
