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The key to building an elegant home, a thriving career or a happy family is having a wide range of appropriate tools and using them to solve any problem life can throw at you. No one has the talent or ability to master "success" using only one tool! It can't be done and you shouldn't try. Instead, assemble a complete toolbox filled with resources you can use to achieve any outcome you desire.
I am intrigued by the concept of "tool boxes". In the literal sense, of course, a tool box is used by a carpenter or mechanic to carry tools to build a house or repair a piece of equipment, and in a metaphorical sense, EVERY adult needs a complete and well equipped "toolbox" to build the life they truly want.
Frequently, I am challenged by someone who has "tried" a classic tool for creating the life they truly want. Maybe they went to a motivational seminar (which is good), but they complain that it didn't "last" after they got home. Or they read a book on setting goals, but complain that it didn't help them with their sales skills. The problem is they have only one tool in their toolbox!
Imagine you wanted to remodel your kitchen and hired a carpenter to do the job, but when he arrived he had only ONE TOOL to work with! It wouldn't matter if that one tool was a hammer, a saw or a wrench, you'd fire him on the spot. A one-tool carpenter is simply not equipped to do the job.
And yet that's exactly what many of us do when it comes to creating the life we truly want. We set goals (which are GREAT!) but we neglect to learn time management skills. Or, we work on our communication skills or our parenting skills, but fail to provide adequate financial resources for the family.
ANY time we lack the appropriate tool, our chances for success are reduced. You might be able to "cut" a board with a hammer, but it will take an awful lot of work and the results won't be pretty. Creating the life we want requires that we master a wide variety of tools and use them appropriately.
I was reminded of this truth again last month. I was in the book store, I seem to spend a lot of time there, and I was reviewing a copy of Shad Helmstetter's book, "Who Are You REALLY and What Do You Want?". One of its unique strengths is Shad's focus on combining MULTIPLE TOOLS to create the life you truly want. Specifically, the book is separated into three parts that emphasize using three tools:
Part 1: Use effective self-talk to help increase your optimism, action and success. I don’t believe that self-talk in of itself is that valuable but integrated into the second and third parts of Shad’s tools, then part one is powerful and integrates the best ideas for using affirmations and positive thinking to enrich your life.
Part 2: Understand and USE a powerful process for setting goals. Shad has a process that is simple, easily mastered, and gets at the heart of the matter by defining goals that REALLY matter and are consistent with your values.
Part 3: Get and USE a personal support team. Shad emphasizes the benefits of a personal coach, but we all need to structure our relationships, our environment and our daily routines to maximize our chances for ultimate success. I refer to it as having the equivalent of a board of directors.
Whether you agree with the author or not, the point is, the key to building an elegant home, a thriving career or a loving family is to have a wide range of appropriate tools and use them to solve any problem life throws at you. No one has the talent or ability to master "success" using only one tool! It can't be done and you shouldn't try.
Instead, assemble a complete toolbox filled with resources you can use to achieve any outcome you desire.
"One can never consent to creep when one feels the impulse to soar." -- Helen Keller
"Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born." -- Dale E. Turner
"Nothing happens unless first a dream." -- Carl Sandburg
"Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not." -- George Bernard Shaw
Strictly Business: Find a Need and Fill It
Recently, I attended a class on real estate investing and while the focus was on the nuts-and-bolts on making money in real estate, what struck me was that almost all the "success stories" had to do with creating win-win situations.
The really big money is never made by ripping people off or over-charging! That may lead to one, or even a handful of profitable transactions, but it eventually costs you customers, costs your reputation, and just plain costs you too much!
The BIG money comes from finding a way to SERVE people. Over and over again, the success stories were about helping someone keep their home, or helping a business find a more suitable location. The success stories that made REAL moneycame from helping someone solve a problem!
In the end, business is always about serving a customer or client. Successful restaurants serve the best meals. Successful architects listen to their clients and create buildings that serve the spirit as well as the budget. Successful coaches help clients create masterful lives, not just make money or win contests.
I believe it was Zig Ziglar who noted that "you can have anything you want in life if you find a way to help enough other people get what they want." In the long run, achievement, wealth, fame and fortune all come from serving people.
Who are your best customers and what (exactly) do they really need? How can you serve them better, faster, or cheaper than anyone else?
If you want to increase sales and grow your bottom line, find something your audience wants and serve them better than anyone else in town. The key to success? It's simple: Find a need and fill it.
My daughter Rebekah, who lives in Memphis by the way, is always sending me stuff like the following. They made me laugh and laughter always brightens my day and makes things lighter, so thank you again sweetheart. I hope y’all get a few laughs too, so enjoy.
The North has Bloomingdale; the South has Dollar General.
The North has coffee houses; the South has waffle houses.
The North has dating services; the South has family reunions.
The North has switchblade knives; the South has Lee Press-on Nails.
The North has double last names; the South has double first names.
The North has Indy car races; the South has stock car races.
The North has Cream of Wheat; the South has grits.
The North has green salads' the South has collard greens.
The North has lobsters; the South has crawfish.
The North has the Rust Belt; the South has the Bible Belt.
FOR NORTHERNERS MOVING SOUTH:
If you run your car into a ditch, don't panic. Four men in a four-wheel drive pickup truck with a tow chain will be along shortly. Don't try to help them; just stay out of their way. This is what they live for.
Don't be surprised to find movie rentals and bait in the same store. Do not buy food at this store.
Remember, "y'all" is singular, "all y'all" is plural, and "all y'all's" is plural possessive.
Get used to hearing "You ain't from round here, are ya?".
Save all manner of bacon grease. You will be instructed later on how to use it.
Don't be worried at not understanding what people are saying. They can't understand you either. The first Southern statement to creep into a transplanted Northerner's vocabulary is the adjective "big'ol truck" or "big'ol boy." Most Northerners begin their Southern-influenced dialect this way. All of them are in denial about it.
The proper pronunciation you learned in school is no longer proper.
Be advised that "He needed killin'" is a valid defense here.
If you hear a Southerner exclaim, "Hey, y'all, watch this," you should stay out of the way. These are likely to be the last words he'll ever say.
If there is the prediction of the slightest chance of even the smallest accumulation of snow, your presence is required at the local grocery store. It doesn't matter whether you need anything or not. You just have to go there.
Do not be surprised to find that 10-year-olds own their own shotguns. They are proficient marksmen, and their mammas taught them how to aim.
In the South, we have found that the best way to grow a lush green lawn is to pour gravel on it and call it a driveway.
If you do settle in the South and bear children, don't think we will accept them as Southerners. After all, if the cat had kittens in the oven, we wouldn't call 'em biscuits.
Rodger Blaker works with executives, small business owners and professionals who want to grow in their business and create an extraordinary life!
For info on resources for your success, visit: http://www.rodgerblaker.com or call me at 214-485-2238.
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