I spent much of the day today with friends of ours in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Well, actually… about fifteen miles from there, but it’s a town you’ve never heard of before, so we’ll leave it at that.
They are just starting a family business, and doing a lot of things right.
It helps that both Chris and his wife (for now we’ll just allow them to maintain their anonymity) are dedicated and diligent workers; they’re also both highly intelligent.
But that’s not what fires me up the most. What is really exciting is the fact that they are truly decent people, with wonderful goals, and a desire to continue making a real difference in the lives of those they love.
And… they don’t cut corners.
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This last point is a major success principle. We live in a world where everyone wants everything… and they want it now… whether they’ve earned it or not. People want shortcuts… and when they find one… they often begin the process of trying to shortcut the shortcut.
Success is seldom achieved this way. In fact… maybe never.
During our conversation, my friend Chris laid out his social networking strategy. No shortcuts. He’s just very methodically working at it every day… no wonder it’s a success.
Then together, as a couple, they spoke of the wonderful things they’ve been able to do for her family… and what they are planning to do two years from now. Not surprisingly… there were no shortcuts there either.
Will they be successful..? Well, I’m not a betting person… but my instincts would be to go “all-in” on that one.
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Years ago, I gave a number of speeches to graduating business classes on the concept that successful people do things that unsuccessful people don’t do… or won’t do.
Earlier this week, I actually heard someone say that if he could play golf like Tiger Woods… he’d be at the Master’s too.
Yeah… that’s probably true. And if he could shoot free throws like Larry Bird… I suppose he’d be an NBA player.
It has been reported that Tiger practices pretty much from 6am-6pm every day. He doesn’t really seem to take shortcuts very much… and neither did Larry Bird. Larry didn’t just happen to be a good free throw shooter… he practiced more than any other player in history.
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It’s exciting to see what my friends are doing… and I’ll be honored if I have even a small part to play in their success. But make no mistake, it is THEIR drive, determination, and willingness to learn and then serve others that will take them to the top.
And they WILL win… because that’s what winners do.
Questions:
What goals have you set that MUST be accomplished within thirty-six months?
Are you on track right now?
If not, what changes need to be made… and what are you willing to give up temporarily… in order to succeed?
I look forward to speaking with you.
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