It’s the first week of a new year and as expected history is already repeating itself. Many of you have made New Years resolutions, lose weight, be a better friend, spend more time with family, save some money, embark on self development, take your career to the next level - the list is endless. Sadly, as sincere as you may be right now to your promise that this year will be different, that you will not be side tracked, statistics have proven that by the first quarter of this year, many of these promises, pledges, goals, and commitments (whatever you want to call them) will be nothing more than a faded memory.
So today my mission is to help you stay on track, to reduce your list to one simple resolution that you can keep. That resolution is this – In 2012 be yourself, only better! What does it mean? Dr. Charles Garfield, author of Peak Performance explains it this way: “Searching for the peak performer within yourself has one basic meaning: You recognize yourself as a person who was born not as a peak performer but as a learner. With the capacity to grow, change, and reach for the highest possibilities of human nature, you regard yourself as a person in process. Not perfect, but a person who keeps asking: What more can I be? What else can I achieve that will benefit me and my company? That will contribute to my family and my community?”
As you search for the peak performer, endeavoring to be yourself, only better here are some tips to help you along the way:
Who will you allow to accompany you on your journey in 2012? The answer to this question is crucial to your success and here is why. The more focus I became in my career I quickly came to realize three things.
There were some people in my life, who seemed genuinely sincere and interested in helping me accomplish my goals. They pledged their support but I had to constantly run them down for follow through. While they may have wanted to accompany me on the journey they lacked the passion to commit to the process. They were prepared to come on the ride, but I would have to peddle the bike myself. End result – as I began to climb uphill these persons quickly became dead weight, so in order to make it up the hill I had to stop the bike and ask them to jump off.
My second humbling came when I realized that even though I believed that I had this fabulous trip planned and had made reservations for everyone there were some people who didn’t want to accompany me on the trip. They either didn’t believe in me or were not interested in the destination. I had to quickly cancel their reservations with the understanding that these people would be “kill joys” and ruin the trip for everyone.
Finally according to John Maxwell “the difference between a partnership and a rescue mission is capacity.” There were some people who wanted to accompany me on the journey, wanted to lend their support, but unfortunately did not have the ability to impact what I was doing. Simply put – there was no fit. No fit = no ticket to accompany me on the journey
What is the lesson in this for you in 2012? Henry Van Dyke explains it this way. “When I turned forty, I entered a season of life where I finally started to realize this truth: those closest to you determine your level of success. It was then that I moved from simply working with good, capable people to partnering with difference makers. And let me tell you the secret of going to the next level in this area: find capable people with the same passion and mission as yours who also need others to make a difference. When you create partnerships with these people, there’s no telling what you can do together.”
Conduct an internal audit – bring in the SWOT team. We’ve talked about this in the past, but surprisingly few people take the time to conduct an honest evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses, reflect on available opportunities and possible threats to their career advancement. This week I want you to step back and take a good look at yourself, but through the eyes of your employer. From your employer or manager’s perspective what are your strengths and weaknesses? Are there any opportunities that exist that you can take advantage of? Are there any threats to your industry/ development that you should be aware of?
Be aware of your weaknesses, but focus your energy on making your strengths stronger: Here is what I learnt from John C. Maxwell. “Choose to grow in the area of your strength, not in the area of your weakness”. Maxwell says “There are only four things that I do well, just four, and I focus exclusively on them. I lead, communicate, create and network. That’s it. I spend all of my time on one of those four strengths zones. The secret of successful people lies in their ability to discover their strengths and to organize their life so that these strengths can be applied.” In 2012 make your strengths stronger. I promise you this recipe is the breakfast of champions and superstars!
Find your voice – “There are no victims only volunteers. Don’t go along just to get along. Peace at any price is no peace at all.”
Don’t settle for less than your best “If you settle for nothing less than your best, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish in your life”. - Vince Lombardi
Never quit – You’ve heard it said that good things come to those who wait - what rubbish! Good things come to those who WORK. “Permanence, perseverance, and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragement and impossibilities. It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.” Thomas Carlyle.
