The Element of Making the Attitude Changes Necessary To Our Achievement - or Fulfillment - and Its Hope for Helping Us Prosper

“I would like to change my fortune.”

All of us say this at one time or another.

We don’t like where we are.

We want to be in a better place.

But we don’t know how.

Our circumstances overwhelm us.

“There are too many constraints, challenges and limitations. How is it even possible?” we think.

Fortune is both elusive and fickle.

It can be hard to attain.

Once attained, it can be lost quickly.

Any change in our personal lives can bring about a change in our fortunes...

A marriage

A birth

A death

A divorce

An illness

Any change in the environment can bring about a change in our fortunes...

A new boss

A merger

A political changing of the guard

An economic downturn

New technologies which make existing manufacturing, business or service practices redundant

Natural calamities

War

Even when we are successful, fortune can play head games with us.

The uncertainty we will be able to hold on to what we have will give us sleepless nights.

“Will I always have my job, my house, my car, my savings” - we worry.

The future is always a question mark.

The end of the world is just a tax-law change away.

And yet…..in spite of all this, in spite of all the uncertainty that is involved, we have to make our way in the world - it is something we should never shirk from doing.

And it is important we have the right attitudes in place.

Or more importantly, it is important that we do not have the wrong attitudes in place.

Let’s explore some of these attitudes.

Just because you’ve never done it before, or it is different from what you did before, does not mean you can’t do it, or you won’t be good at it.

A mental block may stand between you and an exciting future. Dismantling this mental block - as fast as it is created in your mind - should be your number one priority.  When opportunity knocks, we should answer it.  That is what my friend Ajay did. Ajay was doing fine in his advertising job - when the opportunity arose for him to become a stock-broker.  He could have dismissed it, making any number of excuses. “Nah…..I don’t have the personality for that.” “Why bother with something new?”  But he didn’t.  He took the plunge.  He gave up an advertising job with a steady paycheck - and entered the stock-broking business, even though his income would be entirely commission-based. It paid off.  Stock-broking became Ajay's lifetime occupation and he prospered in it. 

Are you thinking about doing something which is different from what you have done before? Don't let excuses hold you back. Just because you’ve never done it before, or it is different from what you did before, does not mean you can’t do it, or you won’t be good at it.

Just because it’s tough and terrifying in the beginning, doesn’t mean it won’t get easier as time passes.

When you are starting out, whatever the job or venture,  there will be a learning curve.  Until you are past this learning curve, your workday will be challenging, maybe even extremely challenging, and the rewards will be slim. After you have learned the ropes, it will get easier and more profitable. Ask me. When I started doing Commissions Administration, it was tough and terrifying in the beginning  - because  I entered the field cold.  By cold, I mean sub zero minus 61.6 degrees Oymyakon, Siberia cold. I did not have a background in finance or accounting. Crazier still, I did not know what the job of a Commissions Analyst involved (which, in hindsight was just as well, perhaps).  Even crazier, I did not know Excel – a fact which, I am sure, would be stunning to every Commissions Analyst.  But guess what – I put one foot in front of the other and, as tough and terrifying as it was in the beginning, Commissions Administration got easier as time went by.  Taking up my first Commissions Analyst job was one of 3 brave career decisions I made.  The first brave career decision was quitting my full time pay-check based advertising copy job to start my advertising creative shop Purple Patch.  The second brave decision was entering the Commissions Administration field, though I did not have the background, skills or experience for it. The third brave decision was becoming a Commissions Consultant in 2010 - giving up a full-time Commissions Analyst job to help companies with their commission accounting needs on a temporary basis. In each of these gigs, it was tough in the beginning, but got easier and more paying as time passed.

Are you thinking about doing something which is different from what you have done before?  Are you afraid that it’s going to be tough and terrifying in the beginning?  Even if it's going to be, you shouldn't let that stop you.  As you gain experience and confidence, it will get easier, and you will never look back.

Just because you are going up against highly experienced people - or people with a head start over you - doesn’t mean you don’t have a chance.

Have you noticed how new social media companies keep popping up?  First there was My Space.  Then there was Facebook.  Then there was You Tube. Then there was LinkedIn. Then there was Instagram. Then there was Blogger. Then there was Twitter.  Then there was Pinterest. Then there was What’s App (forgive me if I am getting the chronology wrong, I am just trying to make a point about how social media has proliferated).

If you have a great idea or valuable skills to offer, you shouldn’t let anything stop you.

Not even, the fact, you are going up against people (or companies) with a head start over you.

Never let ‘the Goliath factor’ make you shrink from your destiny.

The world moves because young, nimble minds are willing to take on established giants - through the application of new energy and new ideas.

I feel trepidation with every new assignment.  I think - what if this company has more experienced and skilled Commissions Analysts than me - and my skills and experience don’t hold up against theirs?

But I go ahead anyway - hoping to bring something to the table.

Indeed, every company I have worked for, has needed a shoulder to the wheel. I immediately put my shoulder to the wheel as best I can - and where I see the need is greatest.  I bring a service attitude and heart – and this serves me well.

Do you have a great idea, or a passion to do something?  Don’t be afraid to go up against more highly experienced people, or people who have a head start over you.  Remember - the world moves - because young, nimble minds like yours are willing to take on the status quo.

Speaking of status quo…

Just because there’s a status quo, doesn’t mean you can’t find your own cadence.

You don’t have to buy into existing ideas of what work means, or how one should work.

You don’t have to get sucked into what everyone else thinks.

You can design your own job and your own workday.

If you are willing, like me, to live simply, you can do temporary gigs (mine is in Commission Consulting) and take breaks in between.

You can have a baby and run a little business on the side.

You can, like Louis Auchincloss, or Louis Begley, have a thriving law career - and write novels in your spare time.

You can, like Tim Ferris, design a four hour work week.

The simpler you are in your wants and needs, the more flexible your work week can be - and the more activities you will be able to accommodate.

It will be easier to accommodate your exercise regimen, your hobbies, your volunteer work, or a pet-project.

I have designed my schedule to accommodate my blog-writing.

Are you yearning to establish your own work cadence?  If you need inspiration, here’s an inspiring example -  My friend Ajay has written - and now published a 300 page novel – Operation Al Nagrib - all while continuing to run his stock-broking business.  You can pursue your secret dreams too – just by setting your own work cadence.

Just because something has become challenging for you, doesn’t mean you have to give it up.

Curve balls are a part of life.

They can come at us suddenly – or be there from day one.

The bigger the curve ball, the bigger is the temptation to live life in a state of dependent hopelessness, or to throw in the towel.

For our own self-esteem and fulfillment, we have to tell ourselves, “I am going to make the best of this.  I am not going to go down without a fight.”

We have to hang in there and keep going.

I am grateful for the role models who provide inspiration in this regard.

I dedicate this post to my two brothers-in-law Jim and Arun, and my cousin Vinita, who by the fullness with which they live their lives, have been a continuous source of inspiration to me.

I also dedicate this post to all of you who are past, present or future victors over the circumstances in your life.

Way to go!

Do play my Judge and Jury game if ever you have a low moment.

Yes, a challenge may be around the corner for us.  But just because something becomes challenging for us, doesn’t mean we have to give it up. I will end with these words - from Gustave Flaubert, the French novelist, and the author of Madame Bovary - which are worth taking a moment to reflect on: “The most glorious moments in your life are not the so-called days of success, but rather those days, when out of dejection and despair, you feel rise in you a challenge to life, and the promise of future accomplishments.”

As always, thanks for reading and have a great day and week….M……a Pearl-Seeker like you.  Thanks to Ajay for his comments on my last post, and thanks to the rest of you for your likes, pins and votes.  Much appreciated!

The Element of Finding Joy in Every Victory And Its Hope for Experiencing More Abundance - Personal Power Edition

With the new day, comes new strength and new thoughts – Eleanor Roosevelt

Oh to be victorious…

…to live life to our full potential… and to make every day a winning day…

….to fill each day with a blessed victory…

…a victory, worth a resounding, private or public, “Yes!”

A mental victory….

A physical victory…

An attitude victory…..

A gratitude victory…..

A relationship victory….

A career victory…..

A health victory…

A lifestyle victory…

Victories don’t have to come with a trophy, or a certificate, to mean something to us.

Any meaningful accomplishment is a victory.

Becoming more aware is a victory

In my post The Element of Awareness and Its Hope for Understanding It's Half the Battle, I suggested that awareness is half the battle, giving examples from my work and life.

What is the secret to becoming more aware?

It is being more open.

We should be open to ideas, suggestions and inputs from others, and be willing to take their advice.

Often when we have a problem, we retreat and head off people who are trying to help us, because we don't want to hear what they have to say. We think of it as interference.

What for?

Isn’t it much better to get all the help we can?

Most of us have no problems accepting physical or financial help, but advice, oh no, never!

We don’t want to hear what others have to say about our situation.

“What do they know?” “It is none of their business”

We are quick to underestimate, or to take offence, at any advice we are offered.

Sometimes, we pretend to be open – only to respond with a vicious, delayed, negative reaction.

What good is this?

We may justify this with self-talk.

 “Who do they think they are, trying to tell me what to do – what do they know?”

Or “Ha, he’s the one to talk!”

Self-talk, such as this, is never productive.

Awareness – whether it comes as advice, or as knowledge someone passes on to us, whether it comes as a joke at our expense, or a mistake we have to pay for, is always good for us, never bad.

Recently, I was reading the book Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin.  In it, he says that excellent performers have learned to spot non-obvious information that is important.

This is the awareness we should all strive for.

Colvin says 2 people can look at the same thing and see the same thing, but the ones with deep knowledge will be able to perceive more.

This is brought home to me every time I start a new Commissions Analyst assignment.

Those with knowledge (they have typically been in the company for a while) will instantly be able to spot things that I can't.  They will say to me, “This is a credit memo - see here the transaction type says x”, something I will miss, because I do not yet have the knowledge.

You can see how it is in my interest to develop rapid awareness on every new Commissions Analyst assignment.

Should we limit our knowledge to our immediate calling, or sphere of work, or business?  That depends on how specific our calling is.  As a musician, if we learn everything there is to learn about music, we may have nothing to lose, but if we are Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s investing partner, we study widely and deeply, fields as wide-ranging as microeconomics, psychology, law, mathematics, biology, and engineering, and we apply insights from all these fields to our investing

If ever there was a case for awareness!

If you want to become more awareness focused, read my post The Element of Awareness and Its Hope for Understanding It's Half the Battle for inspiration.  I hope it helps you usher more awareness angels into your life.

Moving on….

Taking the initiative is a victory

It was initiative that got my daughter Tanita into her present job, as I narrate in my post The Element of Taking the Initiative and Its Hope for Being a Star At Work and In Life.

When we take the initiative, things fall into place.

People sit up and notice.

We are given opportunities, or we are given greater responsibility.

My post The Element of Taking the Initiative and Its Hope for Being a Star At Work and In Life gives several examples of people who were given opportunities - just because they “took the initiative”.

What does it mean to “take the initiative” ?

The book How to be a Star at Work by Robert E Kelley, lists 4 elements.

Going beyond your job description is the first.

The second, third and fourth elements are listed in my post, The Element of Taking the Initiative and Its Hope for Being a Star At Work and In Life.

You might think you should focus on your individual needs - when it comes to deciding what initiative to take.

Wrong!

Kelly says the focus should be, not on your needs, but on what is needed by the situation, task, project, department or company.

Tomorrow, as you start your work week, think about that.

Don't wait to be told what to do - think about what is needed  - and then take the initiative.

Pick up the phone.

Write an e-mail.

Call a meeting.

Share your ideas or thoughts.

Write a proposal.

Good things happen when you take the initiative.

Get started this week.

Approaching everything with a problem-solving attitude is a victory

Whatever challenges we face in life, we have 2 choices.

We can throw up our hands and say, “This is it.  I can't take it, anymore.”

Or we can say, “How do I solve this, how do I make the best of a tough situation? Is there another approach I can take?”

Approaching everything in our lives with a problem- solving attitude is a victory.

It is especially important - when life deals a blow to us, or presents us with a tough challenge.

Because, whatever the challenge, a problem-solving attitude can turn a hopeless situation into a hopeful one.

Relating to a teenager?  Yep, that too!

My post The Element of Seeing All Problems as Puzzles and Its Hope for Becoming Master Solvers tells you how I did it.

Become a problem-solver.

Ask more questions.

Seek more answers.

Tap different resources.

Make a list of ideas.

You can turn any situation around.

You just have to put your mind to it.

Welcoming constraints is a victory

Resources and time – these will always be in short supply.

With deadlines to meet, and  challenges to face, how do we do it?

This is where our resourcefulness comes into play.

How can we be more efficient?

Can we break up the work and do it in chunks?

Can we automate any of it?

Can we get more done when we are at our productive best?

Is there a creative way to approach any aspect of our work - and speed it up, without losing quality?

Throughout history, people have done amazing things with constraints, as I narrate in my post, The Element of Constraints and its Hope for Focused Creativity.

We can too.

We can turn Mission Impossible into Mission Possible.

Personal power….it’s our ticket to higher productivity, more well-being and greater success.

As we begin a new work week, each one of us should make a commitment to approach things differently this week.

Be more aware.

Take the initiative.

Adopt a problem-solving attitude.

Welcome constraints.

Here's to starting a new day in a new way. Let's get it right!

With the new day, comes new strength and new thoughts – Eleanor Roosevelt

As always, thanks for reading, and have a great day and week…..M…..a Pearl Seeker like you.  Thanks to Ajay, for his comments on my last post, and thanks to the rest of you - for your likes, pins and votes. Much appreciated!