Being Moved By The Inexplicable

Just finished watching August Rush with Ingrid.

I loved the music. Almost surreal and unrealistic that people can be moved by music in such an intense way…

Truth: I love music. Besides the sad country music, I’ve got no preferred genre; I love all beautiful music.

I’m moved intensely by music. I weep, laugh, dance. It fills me up. I engage with it in ways I fail to explain.

When we add passion to our gifts and share them, we can move people in ways we and they can’t understand. Dare. Start.

Being Moved By The Inexplicable…

Before You Methodise Others’ Actions For Success

Because of the need, desperation even , for success, many plans are devised. This often starts with looking at others’ success. What they not only accomplished but also being students of how they did it. We read books, follow their blogs and performance of their organisations.

There is nothing wrong with these things. In fact, it is good to learn from others. I’m glad that they give us insight into their success from their perspective. We can learn useful and valuable principles, which can be applicable to our contexts.

Continue reading “Before You Methodise Others’ Actions For Success”

Replicating Others’ Success

The nobility in success is in its motives, which vary with individuals and organisations. Thus, success is relative. It is one of those things people know with varied interpretations.

This means that we all need to have our definitions of success. At an enterprise level what success looks like needs to be crystallised. Everyone having the same picture in mind and pursuit.

Our antennas are always up for people who have achieved what we aspire to. We look for the lessons to be learned. We try to get their secret, their silver bullet of success. We go as far as seeking mentorship and or guiding from those we label, “successful”.

replicating others success

As we get mentored and seek mentorship or guidance, we must be careful that we don’t blindly and wholly adopt other people’s definition of success. One of the reasons we can adopt other people or organisations’ definition of success is that ours isn’t clear.

One of the best things any mentor can do, which must always be the first step in any mentoring agreement, is getting and if necessary, distilling the definition of “success” for the mentee.

We must have a clear picture of what success looks like. This also means clarifying our motives for its pursuit. If your definition and motives match a hundred percent with those you esteem highly then by all means.

However, be very careful that what you want to build is yours. Shy away from replicating success based on what it means for other people. Also be careful that you don’t seek success exactly how others have achieved it.

While you read and or encounter stories from many sources, watch that you’re not trying to replicate other people’s stories. Love your own story as you live it, as you inch toward your “success”.

Other people and organisations stories are great and yours has the same potential. The question is:

Will you love your success story enough to allow it to be unique in definition and pursuit? [Click to Tweet]

Define and create your success with its idiosyncrasies. Live and lead. Be Bold. Dare. Start.

[Photo Credit: Gratisography]

You Know You’ve Made It When…

You know you’ve made it when you’ve got your own daily planner. By that I don’t mean that you have a daily planner that you own, I mean that your name is on a “daily planner” that other people buy. In case you were wondering about “daily planner”, it is the replacement term for “diary”. FYI: “diary” is soo last millennium.

Having your name on a “daily planner” for others to buy… That, ladies and gentlemen, is the greatest measure of success. In fact, the other side of this success is that the only reason people buy the diar, I mean I mean daily planner is because your name is on it. When your name is on the diary as a sales guarantor…

Oh, to go back on the term “daily planner”… Another reason people will get your daily planner and no one else’s, is that they will be productive. You’ve succeeded when your name on a daily planner means people will be more productive, just because they got your daily planner. I mean the paper on your daily planner rivals silk and is trimmed with gold. Yes, success.

Did I mention that even in the “made it echelons” there are further tiers? Leather bound with gold trimming and a ribbon for a marker is ‘the business’. No, wait, it is not one but two different colour ribbons. When you’re there, you’ve arrived. You make it rain! You are king of the daily planner.

Is your name on a daily planner? Could your name even sell a paperback notebook. One without a ribbon. Can your name guarantee productivity? Would your name even guarantee sales? If not, chances are you’re still calling it a diary. Perhaps you need a name change. Don’t forget to slap leather binding, gold trimming and two different colour ribbons. Make it three so you stand out ;-)

Oops, I’m holding up the queue…