In this week’s video I list Dr. Gene Griessman’s 5 common characteristics of high achievement and explain the details of each.
Tag Archive for 'success'
What’s the difference between success and achieve? Webster is unable to define either word without the other.
If there’s no difference, why don’t we use achieve more to describe wealth, fame, status, credentials, etc.? Perhaps it’s because success is a noun and achieve is a verb, and nouns are handier than verbs.
But grammar isn’t the only reason success is more popular. Even achievement, the noun cousin of achieve, isn’t as preferred when describing accomplishment.
Perhaps early on, success just had better PR than achievement. Today success is synonymous with celebrating at the finish line, holding the trophy or the check, while achievement has more of a work and effort connotation. But don’t you have more memories of the journey of work and effort toward your goals than of the high fives at the end?
Legendary actress, Helen Hayes (1900-1993), said, “Always strive for achievement; forget about success.” But are there benefits to focusing more on the virtues of achievement? My friend, Dr. Gene Griessman says there are.
In his audiotape, “The Path to High Achievement,” Griessman identifies common characteristics of high achievement and how they’re in evidence long before anyone flourishes a checkered flag. Here are five of those characteristics, each followed by my thoughts.
1. The power of self-knowledge.
Knowing your strengths and weaknesses may be the most important characteristic to seeking excellence. High achievers regularly critique themselves and make adjustments.
2. Time consciousness.
Like soybeans or gold, time is a commodity. And although not traded in any market, any billionaire will tell you that time is more precious than gold. High achievers don’t waste time.
3. Persistence.
Stick-to-itiveness is a real word and a handy noun coined in 1884, meaning dogged perseverance. High achievers personify stick-to-itiveness.
4. The power of decision.
Indecision is the Kryptonite of achievement. History has shown that an army with a poor battle plan boldly executed can defeat a greater force tentatively deployed.
5. Learn from mistakes.
No one likes failure, but high achievers recognize the value of setbacks and actually leverage them in the quest for excellence. Failure is the abiding harness mate of achievement, and high-achievers expect to always be hitched to both.
No one lives their life in the winner’s circle. Strive for success, but focus on achievement.
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Check out my latest segment on The Small Business Advocate® Show about why achievement isn’t used to describe accomplishment more than success? I talk about the similarity and differences between success and achievement, and to recommend thinking more about the latter. Click the link below to listen!
If you were to identify synonyms for the word entrepreneur, you would come up with things like, risk-taker, industrious, visionary, perhaps even capitalist. But one word that is definitely NOT synonymous with entrepreneur is patient.
It simply is not in an entrepreneur’s DNA to wait for the world to bring him or her things. Entrepreneurs bring things to the world.
But having said this, entrepreneurs who enjoy long-term success have learned entrepreneurial patience. Even the most impatient entrepreneurial farmer understands that a corn harvest doesn’t take place until after the seeds are planted, the plants nurtured and a certain amount of time has passed.
Having entrepreneurial patience means knowing the difference between wasting time and energy and investing time and energy. Successful entrepreneurs are impatient about steps in a process — getting the seed, planting the seed, cultivating the plants, etc. — but not about accomplishing the ultimate goal of harvesting the result of the process.
One of the most prominent guarantees of failure in business is not understanding the simple wisdom of Renaissance author and father of deductive reasoning, Sir Francis Bacon, who said, “In all negotiations of difficulty, a man may not look to sow and reap at once; but must prepare business and so ripen it by degrees.”
When you see someone trying to “sow and reap at once,” you’re witnessing failure waiting to happen. The only thing left to be determined is whether this failure will become a valuable lesson in entrepreneurial patience, or a bitter experience.
Whether in the field or in the marketplace, all endeavors are subject to natural laws, like the time it takes for a seed, or a project, to germinate and produce fruit. Successful entrepreneurs understand this and have learned how to employ their impatience prudently, as leverage for success.
Impatience is often synonymous with failure; entrepreneurial patience is usually synonymous with success.
Did you know that Michael Jordan was cut from his junior high varsity basketball team?
Never give up!
Did you know that Dr. Seuss pitched his now-classic children’s book, Green Eggs and Ham, to 27 publishers before it was accepted and ultimately millions sold?
Never give up!
Did you know that Abraham Lincoln lost six elections before becoming one of the most important presidents in U.S. history?
Never give up!
Did you know that Henry Ford went broke five times before he found success — at age 51?
Never give up!
Robert Allen wrote, “There is no failure, only feedback.”
Never give up!
Thomas Edison said, “Failure is successfully discovering what doesn’t work.”
Never give up!
Any questions?
There are times when being one with your small business is not only a good thing, it’s essential. But extreme commitment weaves a fine seam between business and owner. And, unfortunately, entrepreneurial single-mindedness often results in the opposite of what is intended: a business in jeopardy, run by unhappy humans.
The best way to be a successful AND happy small business owner is to define success in many ways, including having a life that’s balanced with richness outside of the business.
A small business is more like a patchwork quilt than a security blanket. Some patches represent good things and some not so good. Some patches are about the business, others are about the owner, and some are hard to tell. Small business happiness is found by those owners who feel successful regardless of which patch is in front of them.
Having multiple touchstones of success, not just money and stuff, helps keep the rough patches in business and life in proper perspective. If you became a small business owner to find financial success, good for you; as a capitalist, I admire that motivation.
But if you think just being rich will make you happy, get your umbrella out because I’m going to have to rain on that parade with these two truths:
1. Wealth only provides options, not a guarantee of happiness.
2. If you can’t be happy without wealth, you aren’t likely to be happy with it.
Small business success can actually be found in being able to attend a child’s school activity in the middle of the day, as well as in getting a new contract. And you should be as proud of being able to give back to any worthy cause as you are of the reason you can give back: your business’s financial strength.
Now let’s talk about fun.
Reasonable people disagree on where we will spend eternity, but most agree that this is our only trip through this life. And every moment that goes by without some kind of joy is a precious opportunity lost.
You’re no doubt planning for success this year, but have you made any plans to have fun? Not your trip to Disney World. Are you having fun on any given day as you run and grow your business?
If you desire maximum small business success, learn how to run a tight ship while encouraging your people to laugh and find joy in their work.
And one more thing: Be sure to laugh at yourself — in front of others. Those are usually the best laughs of the day.
Write this on a rock… Define success in more ways than just money and stuff. And don’t forget to have fun. On Monday, I talked with JoAnna Brandi, The Customer Care Coach, about what it takes to be happy and keep the good and bad stuff in perspective. Take a few minutes to listen and tell us how you keep your life in balance.
