Who doesn’t want to achieve great results and earn the rewards? We all try to do well in whatever we set ourselves on. However, going gets tough and we give up along the way. That is why Thomas A. Edison said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
Keep at it!
We have to overcome the power of self-doubt and fear of losing the game. Assuming that we do our best, it is not plausible to deliver exceptional results always. Dashun Wang at Kellogg School of Management and team researched on career success and studied careers of about 30000 scientists, artists and film directors to understand how and when they produce super-hits. Their study says that super-hits cannot be scripted. They are not linked with age or experience. The recipe for success is to keep at it and do more with all earnestness. Interesting finding!
Stephen Covey said, “Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.”
Be unassuming!
Educational degrees that we acquire by hard work give us an edge in life. It opens doors for us to a variety of possibilities. We get our passport to pick challenging assignments. Rarely can one acquire high degrees without the talent for it. This is the first step on the ladder, needless to say.
Along the way of our work life, we establish our track record and build a legacy. The way we live our life at work remains etched in the minds of the stakeholders of a business. Right from the boss, co-workers and subordinates to business associates and clients, they measure us in terms of our integrity, honesty, fairness, punctuality, energy, attitude, standards of excellence, behaviours and so on. This network of contacts gets built over a period of time and remains testimony to our professionalism.
Intellectual brilliance combined with a strong network of contacts becomes a potent weapon to conquer new peaks on the career path. Sometimes, this weapon boosts one’s ego so much that the strength starts to be a vulnerability. Arrogance and immodesty creep in; decisions start going awry and the team starts losing faith. While the mechanics on the ground could continue yielding doses of success, they do not sustain over a long time.
The poet Tennyson once said that humility is, “the highest virtue, the mother of them all.” Studies have shown, success in life is often rooted in the learning and practice of being humble and less prejudiced.
Believe in Yourself!
Steve Jobs said, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”
We drop the ball when challenges appear invincible. Possibly it is because we do not associate with the goal strongly. Possibly, we do not own the task at hand and the long-term purpose behind it. Easier said than ending up with a job that is so dear to the heart! However, exceptional results can happen only when we own the challenge whole-heartedly and burn moments of our life conquering the challenge. We do not have to the entrepreneur or the owner of a business to own the task. A Finance Manager, a Sales Executive, a Front Office Executive can deliver exceptional result only when the concerned person clearly knows how the business works, how he or she fits in the overall scheme of things and the impact that can be produced by the person.
Delivering superior results each day may be a random event but one has to keep at it honestly. “We know what we are, but know not what we may be.” —William Shakespeare. So, let’s unleash our potential!
