Successful Blog

5 Ways to Get to Success

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It’s the week after the official book launch for Anything You Put Your Mind To. For more than a year, Liz and I were working toward September 21, 2016. Toward the day we would get to share Alice, Larry and the dog with the world.

And . . . now we are here — with the published book in hand.

Since then, I’ve been reflecting on success. In particular, I’ve been thinking about the things I’ve been learning and working toward over the last year. Below are 5 of the ways I’ve been using to get to success — not only for the book launch and GeniusShared — but in all areas of my life. Perhaps some of these ways will be helpful for you too.

1. Be Patient

No matter what you are trying to do in life or where you are trying to go — be patient. Getting to success takes patience. Not only with yourself — but with others too. Each of us express our thoughts differently. And we all come from different perspectives. Sometimes our definitions of success are different. From getting our laundry done to completing that big project at work — each of us have different ways of doing things. Be patient with yourself when you are trying to learn new ways, skills or strategies. Be patient with others when they are trying to understand you. And be patient with how you approach next steps and the execution of new ideas.

Understand that patience is an essential ingredient of success.

2. Learn and Keep Learning

Remember when you were a kid and you thought your parents knew everything. And then when you found out they didn’t. Guess what? There’s no one person that knows it all. Every single person has the opportunity to learn new things. It takes curiosity, an open mind and a desire to be better at something. Be open. And do everything you can to keep learning. Expose yourself to new ideas, to new people and to different opportunities.

Learning opens your horizons in a way that allows you to sail toward success more easily.

3. Change the Stories You Tell Yourself — Change Your Life

If you’ve read Anything Your Put Your Mind To — well then you’ll understand why this one matters so much. How many times do we tell ourselves we can’t do something? That we’re not good enough? Or that something is just not meant to be? Getting to success requires you to break out of your old ways of thinking, to take calculated risks and to execute on things that sometimes make you feel uncomfortable. This is okay.

Eliminate the stories that hold you back and you will find success in ways you previously thought impossible.

4. Surround Yourself With the Right People

I’ve written about this before — but it just can’t be said enough. Your success in life, at work and in everything you do is very dependant upon the people you have around you. Let go of the people who don’t believe in you, those who are constantly negative or who have values that are in conflict with yours. When you surround yourself with the right people they will become invested in seeing you succeed. And they will help you get to the places you seek. It takes trust, hard conversations and commitment — but it’s always worth it.

The right people won’t let you fail. They will help you on your journey toward success — however you have defined that success.

5. Know It’s a Marathon — Not a Sprint

Midway through the book launch a wise friend said to me — “Remember this is a marathon, not a sprint.” And how right they were. Now that we’ve launched the book, I know the quest is not over — it’s just farther along. We have met a major goal but — there’s still more to do. More to create. More to understand. And that’s as it should be. It’s important to remember that success takes pacing. And — over time — the way you define success will likely evolve. As will your projects, plans and the people you meet along the way.

Commit to the long haul — the marathon. Spend your time and energy wisely as you seek your definition of success.

Remember . . .

There are many ways we each get to success. Find the ways that work best for you and actively practice them on a daily basis — in all areas of your life.

Put Your Mind To It

Spend some time thinking about just one of the ways listed in this article about getting to success. Choose just one thing to work on over the next week that will move you toward the success you seek in life.

Further Reading on Successful-Blog About Success

Define Success, Then You Can Find It

Why Successful People In Business Lean On Their Friends

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Define success, then you can find it

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I recently watched the movie Everest, a harrowing account of the 1996 disaster that claimed eight lives.
The movie was well done, but it’s the story that has me still thinking about it days later.

Consider the internal fortitude it takes to put yourself so far outside your comfort zone that you are willing to die. The climbers on that expedition decided they were going to touch the top of that mountain, period.

Once they decided, a whole machinery fell into place around them. The guides, the equipment, the climbing permits, the base camps, and the training.

At the end of the day, it was the climber who reached the summit and then died on the way down who really affected me. Was he successful?

Is success even a thing that can be “done?”

It’s not over until the fat lady sings, people. And we’re all going to have small and big successes along the way, but not unless we decide what we want. Define success. We need the sherpas and guides to gather around us.

Small success. Send out an email campaign that results in some potential client meetings.
Big success. Hit the New York Times bestseller list.

What do you want?

What do you want?

And what are you willing to do to reach it?

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for Social Strata — makers of the Hoop.la community platform. Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

How SWOT Analysis Creates a Culture and Strategy of Fear or Opportunity

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Creating Opportunity

What SWOT is NOT

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I started writing about strategic deep thinking — the importance of finding more than one solution to any problem and realistically advancing by leveraging opportunity for years here at Successful-Blog.

As part of my research and discussion on the topic of strategy, it’s not unusual for me to ask someone their definition of strategy. Recently a conversation like that reminded me of a bad experience with the misuse of SWOT Analysis.

“SWOT Analysis is a powerful technique for understanding your Strengths and Weaknesses, and for looking at the Opportunities and Threats you face.” says James Manktelow

STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS

SWOT IS a powerful tool for analysis.
Unfortunately, some folks who use SWOT dropped the word Analysis. They think of SWOT as strategy.

SWOT is not strategy. It’s analysis.

The Difference Between Strategy and Analysis

SWOT is first reconnaissance then analysis. Analysis is not strategy.

A SWOT analysis is the examination and interpretation of the elements that make up a tactical position in business. Analysis reviews and reports a single moment’s position.

Analysis underpins strategy.

Strategy is a realistic plan to leverage opportunity and strength (avoiding weakness and threats) to advance forward over time. Strategy changes as that position changes.

Some folks treat SWOT as what it’s not. They do the analysis and believe they’ve got a strategy. They identify strengths and weaknesses. They list threats and opportunities. Then they go off to execute on tactics to reach their goals, totally leaving out the strategy step. The thinking never went to the strategy level — because they thought they were there already.

Instead their corporate thought was stuck in the abyss of analysis with only passing thought to what came after that.

How SWOT Analysis Creates a Strategy of Fear or Opportunity

Most folks do move onto something more strategic. They write the notes from the white board and circulate them. They give their analysis have room to breathe. They apply the deep thinking required to make informed choices after the analysis.

Where we focus that thinking is critical to our culture and the strategy that comes from it. The same SWOT chart with the wrong thinking can create a culture that is defending against failure rather than achieving success.

If we focus on the threats and weaknesses, the strategy we build will be a defense — focused on protecting ground, not gaining it. It will center around the strengths and moves of the competition. The “Plan B” we build will be one that is a lesser achievement than our “Plan A,” because it will be what happens if a weakness or a threat overcomes us. In that way, our company will be building a culture and strategy based on fear.

If we focus on the opportunities and strengths, the strategy we build will be and offense — focused on gaining ground, not protecting it. It will center around our own strengths and unique openings in the competitive field we can leverage to our own advantage. The “Plan B” we build will be a detour — another route to the same strong achievement as the “Plan A,” because it will be what happens when we engage our strength and find new openings. In that way, our company will be building a culture and strategy of opportunity.

Next time you do a SWOT analysis, rather than building shields around your weaknesses and threats, consider how to turn them into strengths and opportunities. The way we build our defense or offense can affect our entire culture.

How to you build strategy achieving toward opportunity rather than defending against threats?

Building opportunity is irresistible.
Be irresistible.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

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