Success against all odds

Building a recession-resilient mentality and action plan At some point in life, we all fight to be successful; this is what people call a worthwhile life, a fulfilment, a total satisfaction or an accomplishment of life’s merits. Then how can these all be possible if any failure knocks us down and all odds encroach on our efforts and we don’t have the strength to trudge over them? In his writings, Zig Ziglar said, “it doesn’t matter where and how you started, what matters is where and how you end.” There is always a blurred genesis in life but an individual is the key holder of the new door to either a happier, worse or moderate living. Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing. Albert Schweitzer said, “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” Barack Obama, the main man of 2008 during one of his campaign trails said that, “making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it’s not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.” Therefore, there are certain principles or I would call them formulas to attaining success when the credit crunch bits hard on the earth, when your job is ended and when mist and fog covers your way. Move form re-branding your company to re-branding yourself: This is not a selfish move but if one shifts their focus and mentality; towards favouring their company. Doing something special to uplift your company’s outlook will bring satisfaction and interest, then success is a sure deal. The desire to make unique actions, to stand out from the rest, to be extraordinary is a climbing stair in someone’s hit in life. Whoever said that if you work extra hours, it’s the company that gains needs a revision; aren’t you part of the company? If you are the marketing manager and your company is doing well, who gets the credit and the name? Coco Channel, 1883-1971 stressed that, “in order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.” Rebranding means focusing towards the future-- what do you want to be in the future with or without that job, what do you have now, how relevant will you be to the society, what is your action plan, note your barriers and how do you get there are the questions that need to be answered. ‘My will shall shape the future. Whether I fail or succeed, it shall be no man’s doing but my own. I am the force; I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze. My choices, my responsibility, win or lose; only I hold the key to my destiny.’ If you had such a personal mentality, then you are the one that makes the company. From a speech given in Paris at the Sorbonne in 1910, Theodore Roosevelt said “it is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” Reference to knowledge: People keep searching the net because they want an added fling to what they already know. Scientists recommended 20 minutes of reading everyday as equivalent to 20 text books each with 200 pages a year. There is need to acquire proprietary knowledge by using every available materials like CDs, Car radios, iPods and any given item as a source of knowledge especially in this modern era. The world is moving so fast that stale knowledge easily becomes decayed and stagnated. A vivid example stems from the books written today or even for theses and dissertations because references are only authentic if they are of recent years. For instance, information from 1999 backwards is stale knowledge and it means that there are different authors that have come up with something new. Therefore, updating one’s self with the contemporary and current information would be of great advantage while pursuing the road of success against all odds. There is a famous phrase, “For also knowledge itself is power” stated originally by Francis Bacon in Meditationes Sacrae (1597), which in modern times is often paraphrased as, “Knowledge is power.” The phrase implies that with knowledge or education one’s potential or abilities in life will certainly increase. What do you think can make you different? How can you stand up from the crowd if you know what others know? Or is all you know old and out of date? The answers to these are what can make one an exception and that’s why some are kings and others are servants. If one wanted to engage in a business, they first get more information about it, or even if a couple decided to have a baby, there is still need to learn more about babysitting and what a baby needs to grow better. So who can work and succeed without knowledge? While for some knowledge acquisition through reading and listening to educational materials could be boring, for others it’s a prime source of power. Resilience and affirmation: These work hand in hand because after someone has hardened in a situation, they will be able to assert or declare positively. Resilience in psychology is the positive capacity of people to cope with stress and catastrophe. It is also used to indicate a characteristic of resistance to future negative events. On the other hand, affirmation is a declaration that something is true. It may also refer to a positive judgment: in logic, the union of the subject and predicate of a proposition. Building a fireproof wall is important if one is to stay focused on success as a goal. Henry Ford emphasised that if you think you can, you can. And if you think you can’t, you’re right. Positive confession is a road to win even when you’re down. A quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, summarises the whole meaning of success without doubt. “To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others. To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition, to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded.” Therefore, choose what to tell others when you reach there. All in all, the road to success cannot be exhausted but you can reach its peak with just a few tricks in life as you learn the little details on your walk along that narrow path. Ends