Clarity of purpose and direction is one of the keys to career and life success in my Common Sense Success System.  I discuss it in detail in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success, Your Success GPS and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success.  To develop your personal clarity of purpose you need to do three things.  First, define what success means to you personally.  Second, create a vivid mental image of you as a success.  This image should be as vivid as you can you make it.  Third, clarify your personal values.

Maya Angelou is famous for her quote on love…

“Love recognizes no barriers.  It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.”

I like this quote.  It says a lot about love for another person or for a cause.  But in this post, I’d like to address it in a different context; one that helps you create your clarity of purpose.  When you figure out what you love doing, you will be well on your way to developing your clarity of purpose.

The other day, I was at a client’s office.  I bumped into one of their employees who works in their conference solutions department.  He and his colleagues set up meeting rooms, make sure things like flip charts and markers are there and that the projector works.  They also do minor repairs on the rooms and the equipment. 

I have known this particular guy for about 15 years.  I often facilitate meetings for this client, so I rely on his help if I need something for a meeting.  Quite by accident, we got into a conversation about personal responsibility.  He was telling me that years ago the company used to use real china and crystal water pitchers in its meeting rooms.  He said that he and one of his coworkers used to stay late every night – on their own time — to make sure the china was clean and that the water pitchers were iced and ready for meetings the next day.

Even though the company no longer uses real china and crystal water pitchers, he cares deeply about his job. As we spoke, he went into great detail about what he does and how he does it.  Then he said something very interesting.  He said that he believes that is job is not setting up rooms.  His job is helping to create successful, productive meetings for the company. 

And that’s his clarity of purpose – helping to create successful, productive meetings.  He loves what he does, sees the value in what he does, and is good at what he does.

He told me that he likes me because I see the value in what he does and treat him with the respect he deserves as someone who contributes to the success of the meetings I facilitate.  This is true.  I respect him for his great work and commitment to it.  And I am happy for him because he is someone who is clear on his purpose and the contribution he makes. He is happy in his work and his life.

I love helping other people create the successful lives and careers they want and deserve.  Because I love what I do, my efforts recognize no barriers.  I jump hurdles, leap fences and penetrate walls to be successful at what I do.  I have posted to this blog five days a week, 50 weeks a year (I take off the last two weeks of every year) for six years.  That’s 250 posts every year.  Sometimes I have to work really hard and juggle my schedule to make sure I do a post every day.  But I make the effort because it is one way I live my purpose in life; helping others succeed.  Besides that, it’s something I love doing so it really doesn’t seem like a lot of effort.

What are you willing to jump hurdles, leap fences and penetrate walls to do?  The answer to this question will lead you to your clarity of purpose.  And it will help you create the successful life and career you want and deserve.

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people are clear on what they want out of life.  They define what success means to them personally.  They create a vivid mental image of their success.  And they clarify their personal values.  Figuring out what you love to do is the first step in defining what success means to you personally.  As Maya Angelou says, when you love something, you recognize no barriers, jump hurdles, leap fences and penetrate walls to do what you are meant to do.  When you love something this much, you have a clear purpose for your life.

That’s my take on the importance of loving what you do.  What’s yours?  Please take a few minutes to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Clarity of purpose and direction is one of the keys to career and life success in my Common Sense Success System.  I discuss it in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success, Your Success GPS and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success.  To develop your personal clarity or purpose you need to do three things.  First, define what success means to you.  Second, create a vivid mental image of you as a success.  Once you define what success means to you personally, I suggest that you develop a clear mental picture of you as a success.  This image should be as vivid as you can you make it.  Third, clarify your personal values.

I have been thinking about how to not just clarify your purpose and direction in this life, but how to live it.  Here is what I’ve come up with…

Figure out why you are here on earth. 

Act in a manner consistent with your purpose every minute of every day.

Clarify your personal values.  Use your values to help you make decisions, especially in ambiguous or unclear situations.

Live each day as a testament to your personal values.

Create goals that reflect your purpose.

Keep your purpose in mind as you work on achieving your goals.

Create plans and milestones for each of your goals.

Use your goals and milestones to help you plan every minute of every day.

Believe in the future.  Stay positive, confident and optimistic.

Visualize yourself achieving your goals.

Act in a manner that inspires others by your actions.

Be tenacious.  Persist with passion.  Never quit.

Prioritize your actions based on what is important to you – not urgent to others.

The common sense point here is clear.  Successful people clarify their purpose and direction.  They figure out what they are meant to do in this life.  They build their goals on this purpose.  They visualize themselves achieving their goals.  They keep their purpose in mind when they encounter problems and setback as they work on their goals.  They clarify their personal values.  They use their values as guides to decision making in ambiguous situations.  They are tenacious, persistent and passionate about achieving their goals and realizing their purpose.  Follow this advice and you will create the successful life and career you want and deserve.

That’s my take on how to realize your purpose in this life.  What’s yours?  Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Clarity of purpose and direction is one of the keys to career and life success in my Common Sense Success System.  I discuss it in detail in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success, Your Success GPS and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success.  To develop your personal clarity of purpose you need to do three things.  First, define what success means to you.  Second, create a vivid mental image of you as a success.  This image should be as vivid as you can you make it.  Third, clarify your personal values.

I’m a tennis fan.  That’s why I was very interested when I heard that Andre Agassi was writing an autobiography.  He was one of my favorite players.  I liked his style and flamboyance as a young man.  I watched him mature into one of the all time great players.  He won eight majors and has a career grand slam – meaning he won the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open at least once.  Only five other men have ever done that.  On the other hand, his wife, Steffi Graf, won all four grand slam tournaments in one year, 1988.  She won the Olympic gold Medal that year for good measure.  But that’s another story.

Andre’s book is disturbing.  Throughout most of his career Andre Agassi says he hated tennis.  His father forced him to become a world class player.  In an interview he did with Katie Couric for 60 Minutes he talked about having ping pong paddles taped to his hands when he was a toddler.  He quit school at 14 to attend the Nick Bollettieri tennis academy.  He turned pro at 16.  He had early success on the court and off – lots of endorsements and a marriage to Brooke Shields.  However, he hated his life — and tennis.  He told Katie Couric that he “had to do it for the family.”

He partied hard – even doing crystal meth.  He fell to number 141 in the world rankings.  I saw him play in those down years.  I was at a meeting in Scottsdale and he was playing in a tournament near the hotel where I was staying.  I got some court side seats and was really excited to see him play up close.  He lost 6 – 2, 6 – 1.  In those days, he seemed to be entering tournaments just to get the appearance money.

However, in 1997 when he was ranked 141, he says he made a choice.  He chose tennis.  “The hate for tennis began to change when I took ownership and chose tennis, which didn’t happen until 1997, which didn’t happen till I fell to 141 in the world, which didn’t happen till that moment when I either had to walk away or choose it, and I didn’t walk away, I chose it.”

And that’s the point about clarity of purpose and direction.  You have to choose what you are going to be in life.  Let me say that again.  You have to choose what you are going to be in life.

Andre Agassi didn’t have a choice early on.  He was forced into a life and career as a professional tennis player by his overbearing father.  He hated the game for his first 29 years.  Finally, he realized that he could choose.  As he said, he chose tennis and became an elder statesman of the game.  He was inspiring to watch as he grew older.  In 2005 when he was 35 he got to the US Open final against roger Federer.  He played a great match, losing in four sets.  The crowd loved him and he loved the crowd — and tennis.

Now he has chosen to help others.  He has raised tons of money to help poor kids and runs a tuition free school for at risk youth in Las Vegas.  His story has a happy ending.

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people are clear on what they want in their lives and careers.  They use their clarity of purpose and direction as a touchstone to help them navigate the twists and turns life throws at them.  Once Andre Agassi “chose tennis” late in his career, he won six grand slam tournaments – to go with the two he won as a youngster.  I choose to help others learn, grow and prosper in their lives and careers.  What have you chosen?  The answer to this question is the first step in clarifying your purpose and direction.

That’s my take on choosing what you will become.  What’s yours?  Please take a few minutes to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.  I appreciate it.

Bud

Today is Use Your Common Sense Day.  I know that because I created it.  I chose November 4 as Use Your Common Sense Day because it is Will Rogers’ birthday.  Will was a great American humorist who was famous for saying, “Common sense ain’t all that common.”

We are all born with five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste and smell.  These senses help us navigate our way through the world.  They bring us delight in small things: the turning of the leaves in autumn, an Eric Clapton guitar lick – or depending on your taste, a Yitzhak Perlman violin piece, the warmth of the sun on your face on the first day of spring, your favorite birthday dinner that your mom always made, the smell of warm bread baking.  They also warn us when danger threatens: lightning in the sky, a police or fire siren, a hot barbeque grill, food that is spoiled and not safe to eat, the odor that is added to natural gas.

However, I believe that we all have a sixth, and underused sense, our common sense.  Your common sense helps you make the right decision in ambiguous situations – but only if you use it.  When I tell people that I’m the Common Sense Guy, people often come back with Will Rogers’ saying, “Common sense isn’t all that common.”  I disagree.  I think that we all have innate common sense.  It’s a natural gift, just like our five other senses.  We don’t always use it though.

Recently, I learned of an emerging science — noetics.  According to the Institute of Noetic Science, “The word ‘noetic’ comes from the ancient Greek nous, for which there is no exact equivalent in English. It refers to ‘inner knowing,’ a kind of intuitive consciousness — direct and immediate access to knowledge beyond what is available to our normal senses and the power of reason.  Noetic sciences are explorations into the nature and potentials of consciousness using multiple ways of knowing — including intuition, feeling, reason, and the senses. Noetic sciences explore the ‘inner cosmos’ of the mind (consciousness, soul, spirit) and how it relates to the ‘outer cosmos’ of the physical world.”

I realize that’s quite a mouthful.  I also believe that our common sense is a type of noetics.  It is an inner knowing of what to do in any given situation.

Thomas Edison once said “Many people miss opportunity because it comes dressed up in overalls and looks like work.”  I often say that many people don’t use their common sense because using it often results in work.  I believe that most people know what to do in most situations, their common sense tells them.  However, many people often don’t do what their common sense says for a number of reasons… “it’s too difficult and not worth the effort,” “it takes too much time,” “so and so might get upset with me,” “I don’t know if I can do it.”  I’ve found that there are as many reasons for not using your common sense as there are people in the world.

That’s one of the reasons I’ve created Use Your Common Sense Day.  It’s kind of like the logic behind the great smoke out – if you can not smoke for one day, you can not smoke for another and another and another, until you’ve quit smoking.  If you are willing to let your common sense guide you today, you can use it as a guide tomorrow, the next day, next week and next month.

The common sense point here is simple.  Common sense is a great career and life success builder.  Successful people use their common sense to create the lives and careers they want and deserve.  My Common Sense Success System is built on four, simple, easy to use, common sense ideas: 1) clarity of purpose and direction; 2) commitment to taking personal responsibility for your life and success; 3) unshakeable self confidence; and 4) competence in four areas – creating positive personal impact, outstanding performance, dynamic communication skills; and 4) the ability to build strong relationships with the important people in your life.  I have put together a 90 free DVD that explains the ideas in my Common Sense Success System.  If you would like this free DVD (I will ask that you pay a small shipping and handling charge) go to www.CommonSenseSuccessSystem.com.  Even if you don’t take me up on this free offer, I urge you to use your common sense today, and tomorrow and the day after.  It’s the best way to create the successful life and career you want and deserve.

That’s my take on common sense and success.  What’s yours?  Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts on my ideas.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Clarity of purpose and direction is one of the keys to career and life success in my Common Sense Success System.  I discuss it in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success, Your Success GPS and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success.  To develop your personal clarity or purpose you need to do three things.  First, define what success means to you.  Second, create a vivid mental image of you as a success.  Once you define what success means to you personally, I suggest that you develop a clear mental picture of you as a success.  This image should be as vivid as you can you make it.  Third, clarify your personal values.

Yesterday I met a really cool guy – someone who figured out his clarity of purpose and direction and lives his passion.  Wayne Bennett is the president of a company called Team Worx.  He does team building for large corporations.  Wayne is passionate about two things – helping people learn to think out of the box and helping young people by giving them access to bicycles.

I have spent most of this week working with one of my large corporate clients, helping them manage an acquisition.  Yesterday afternoon, we had Wayne and his people in to conduct a fun interactive teambuilding sessions for about 100 people.  Wayne did a bang up job challenging people to work together and use creative thinking in solving some very interesting puzzles.  As the teams solved puzzles, they earned “cash” that they could put to use in buying bicycle parts. 

Part of the exercise was to work together to build a BMX bike.  By the time we were finished, we had built eight bikes.  Then came the really cool part.  Wayne arranged for a local charity – in this case, a drop in after school program – to identify eight kids who needed a bike.  Once the bikes were built, he brought in the kids and the meeting participants presented each of them with a brand new bike and helmet.  A local bike store was there to make sure that the bikes were put together properly and to fit each kid to his or her bike.

The kids loved it.  The meeting participants loved it.  All in all, it was a great afternoon.

I’m telling you Wayne’s story, because he is a guy who has clarified his purpose and direction in life, and is living it – and from what I can having a whole lot of fun in the process.  Why not?  He gets to live his passion – helping people learn to think creatively, and helping disadvantaged children get free bikes.  Why didn’t I think of that?

I went to bed happy last night.  I loved seeing those kids with their new bikes.

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people clarify their purpose and direction in life.  Really successful people manage to tie their purpose and passion together into their job.  Wayne Bennett of Team Worx is a great example of someone who is living his passion.  He teaches business people how to think more creatively, and how to work together better.  He also gives back in the process.  His team building programs have resulted in thousands of needy kids getting bikes that they otherwise wouldn’t have.  What’s your passion?  How can you tie it to your direction in life?  Take Wayne’s advice on this one – think outside the box.

That’s my take on living your passion and thinking outside the box.  What’s yours?  Please take a few minutes and leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Clarity of purpose and direction is one of the keys to career and life success in my Common Sense Success System.  I discuss it in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success, Your Success GPS and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success.  To develop your personal clarity or purpose you need to do three things.  First, define what success means to you.  Second, create a vivid mental image of you as a success.  Once you define what success means to you personally, I suggest that you develop a clear mental picture of you as a success.  This image should be as vivid as you can you make it.  Third, clarify your personal values.

In a blog post a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned Gary Vaynerchuk’s book Crush It!  At the time, I was about half way through it.  I’ve finished it now and all can say is “WOW!!!”  Crush It! Is a great book for entrepreneurs – and for everyone else.  On the surface, it’s a book about internet marketing.  However, it’s also about stuff that’s important for anyone who wants to create a successful life and career.  It’s about finding and living your passion.  It’s about defining and living your personal brand.  It’s about building relationships and creating community.  It’s about caring.

Gary doesn’t mess around.  In Chapter 1 he lays out his three rules for success:

• Love your family.
• Work superhard.
• Live your passion.

These three pieces of advice are the Alpha and Omega for Gary.  He mentions them on page 2 in Chapter 1 and on page 134 in the Conclusion of Crush It!  In between, he gives tips on what to do to build a business, but these three tips are where he starts and ends – and so should you. 

Your passion should guide your clarity of purpose and direction.  If you can’t get really excited about something, you don’t want to be doing it for the rest of your life.  Gary is passionate about marketing, especially internet marketing.  I’m passionate about helping others succeed.  What are you passionate about?

A few years ago, I was featured on the cover of a book called Speaking of Success.  I was right there – in between Stephen Covey, of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People fame, and Brian Tracy one of the most well known motivational speakers in the US.  I was proud to share the cover of this book with these two well know thought leaders on success.  But I don’t bring up this book to pat myself on the back, I bring it up because both Stephen Covey and Brian Tracy share my thoughts on the importance of clarity to success.

Brian Tracy says that the three keys to high achievement are clarity, clarity and more clarity.  While I don’t say that clarity is the only key to high achievement, I do agree that it’s vitally important.  Brian also says that clarity accounts for 80% of your success.  That’s a really high number.  Don’t quibble with it, if you think it’s too high.  Instead, take the message to heart.  You have to be clear on what you want if you are going to succeed.  And, you can’t argue with his other points: lack of clarity leads to frustration and underachievement; and your success in life will be determined largely by how clear you are about what you really, really want.

Way too many people set out on their life’s journey without taking the time to figure out what they want out of life.  This is a recipe for mediocrity at best, and disaster at worst.  Not to sound like a cliché, but if you don’t know where you’re going, you won’t know when you get there.  I have found that most people who don’t have a clear idea of what they want out of life, go through life with a vague sense of dissatisfaction.  Don’t let this happen to you.

“Begin with the end in mind” is Habit 2 in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.   That’s just another way of saying that you need to build your success on the foundation of clarity of purpose and direction.  Stephen Covey suggests that you have a vision of your future – for your life, for today and for his minute.

Once you have a clear idea of where you’re going in this life and the results you want to achieve, you should ask yourself one question at the end of every day…

Did today’s activities and accomplishments move me closer to my vision of success?

If this answer is no, rethink what you’ll be doing the next day.  Also, I think that it is a good idea to stop two or three times a day and ask yourself this question…

Is what I’m doing right now moving me closer to my vision of success?

If the answer is yes – right on!  Keep on keeping on.  If the answer is no, stop what you’re doing and start doing something that will move you closer to your vision of success.

Gary Vaynerchuk suggests that you have to passionate about your purpose and direction in life – or else why bother.  I agree.  You have to really, really care about what you do.  Gary says…

“Live your passion.  What does that mean anyway?  It means when you get up for work every morning, every single morning, you are pumped because you get to talk about or work with or do the thing that interests you the most in the world…You don’t even pay attention to how many hours you’re working because to you, it’s not really work.  You’re making money, but you’d do whatever it is you’re doing for free.”

I’m lucky.  I feel this way.  Do you?

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people clarify their purpose and direction in life and for their career.  Really successful people are passionate about their purpose and direction in life and career.  So, figure out what you really, really care about.  Then turn this passion into your life’s work.  In Crush It! Gary Vaynerchuk shows you exactly how to do this.  I’m fortunate, I’ve been able to turn my passion for helping others succeed into a profitable business.  However, I learned a lot from reading Crush It!  You can too.  Pick up a copy, get your highlighter and get to work.

That’s my take on living your passion by clarifying your purpose and direction in life.  What’s yours?  Please take a few minutes to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Clarity of purpose and direction is one of the keys to career and life success in my Common Sense Success System.  I discuss it in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success, Your Success GPS and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success.  To develop your personal clarity or purpose you need to do three things.  First, define what success means to you.  Second, create a vivid mental image of you as a success.  Once you define what success means to you personally, I suggest that you develop a clear mental picture of you as a success.  This image should be as vivid as you can you make it.  Third, clarify your personal values. 

I remember reading Hamlet when I was in high school.  As Hamlet was setting off on his journey, Polonius gave him some advice.  As we got to this advice, the teacher stopped and said “This advice is timeless wisdom, pay attention.”  Here it is…

There … my blessing with thee!
And these few precepts hold in thy memory…

Look thou character.  Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportioned thought his act.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.

Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new hatched, unfledged comrade. 

Beware of entrance to a quarrel but, being in,
Bear it that the opposed may beware of thee.

Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;
Take each man’s measure, but reserve thy judgment.

Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not expressed in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man;
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are of a most select and generous chief in that.

Neither a borrower, nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

This above all: to thine own self be true,
and it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst be false to no man.

Farewell; my blessing season this in thee!

The final piece of advice – “This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow as the night the day, thou canst be to no man” – is at the heart of clarity of purpose and direction.  It is much easier to be true to yourself when you are clear in your purpose and direction in life.  As Polonius suggests, if you are true to yourself, you can’t be false to others.  More important, you can stay on the course to career and life success.

Roy Blackman, my father-in-law was so enamored of this advice that it was his final words of advice to his first grandson as he went off to college.  Roy lived by these words.  They were his epitaph, displayed prominently on the program at his funeral.

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people clarify their purpose and direction.  Then they conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with it.  Shakespeare, speaking as Polonius, offers some timeless advice on how to live in a manner that is consistent with your purpose and direction: “To thine own self be true, and it must follow as the night the day, thou canst be false to no man.”  If you follow this advice you’ll be living your purpose and you’ll be well positioned to create the successful life and career you want and deserve.

That’s my take on Polonius’ advice to Hamlet and how it is as important today as it was when it was written hundreds of years ago.  What’s yours?  Please take a few minutes and leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Clarity of purpose and direction is one of the keys to career and life success in my Common Sense Success System.  I discuss it in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success, Your Success GPS and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success.  To develop your personal clarity or purpose you need to do three things.  First, define what success means to you.  Second, create a vivid mental image of you as a success.  Once you define what success means to you personally, I suggest that you develop a clear mental picture of you as a success.  This image should be as vivid as you can you make it.  Third, clarify your personal values. 

Values are those things that really matter to you … the ideas and beliefs you hold as special.  Your values are guides to decision making in ambiguous situations.  I’m a John Mellencamp song.  One of his songs “Stand” really gets at the heart of personal values.  There’s a line that goes “You’ve got to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything.”

I couldn’t have said it better.  Values are the things you stand for.  When you’re clear on where you stand, it’s difficult for someone to pull the wool over your eyes.

For example, honesty is a value that many people hold.  There is a great Aesop’s Fable about honesty.

If you don’t know about Aesop’s fables, they are a collection of stories that go to the 6th century BC. According to the legend Aesop was a slave who collected the stories that bear his name.  These stories contain timeless lessons that are reflected in many of the values people hold today.  There are more than 300 Aesop’s Fables.

“Mercury and the Woodman” is an Aesop’s Fable that illustrates the importance of honesty as a value.  It goes something like this…

A guy was cutting down a tree.  He lost his axe into the river when it glanced off the tree and went into the river.  Mercury (the God) showed up and asked what happened.  Mercury listened to the man and then dived into the river, and came back with a golden axe. The guy who lost the axe said, “That’s not mine.”  So Mercury jumped back into the river, and came back with a silver axe. “That’s not mine,” the guy said.  So Mercury returned the silver axe to the river.  This time he came back with the axe that the guy lost. “This one is mine,” he said.  Mercury was impressed with his honesty and gave him the gold and silver axes as well. The guy told all of his friends this amazing story.  One of his friends decided to trick Mercury.  He went to the same spot and threw his axe in the river. Mercury showed up and dived in to recover the lost axe. When Mercury came back with a golden axe, the man said “That’s mine.” Mercury was no dummy.  He knew the second guy was lying so she kept the golden axe, and refused to recover the original. 

The moral of the story – honesty is the best policy.  And, for our purposes here, if you value honesty, you won’t lie cheat or steal.

That’s the way values work; and why it’s important to clarify your personal values.  They will serve as guides to decision making when you find yourself in ambiguous situations.

I have a set of personal values which guide my life.  They are… 

Effort — I always do the very best I can at everything I do.

Human Dignity — I treat all people with the respect and dignity they deserve as fellow human beings.

Willingness to Help — I help others wherever and whenever I can with no strings attached.

Family — I am a supportive and loving husband.
 
Common Sense — In addition to the five senses – touch, taste, sight, sound, smell — I believe we all have a sixth sense – common sense.  I use my common sense to guide my decision making.  I help my clients and friends use to making better life and career decisions by applying their common sense.  Common sense is not just my brand.  It’s the way I live my life.  I use my sixth sense to help me make personal decisions and to help my clients make business decisions.

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people clarify their purpose and direction in life.  Your personal values are an important part of your clarity of purpose and direction.  Values are guides to decision making in ambiguous situations.  They center you.  They provide you with a touchstone when you are trying to make important decisions.  If you have not already clarified your personal values, I suggest that you do so – the sooner the better.  You’ll find that clarifying your personal values is time well spent.

That’s my take on clear personal values and success.  What’s yours?  Please take a few minutes to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Clarity of purpose and direction is one of the keys to career and life success in my Common Sense Success System.  I discuss it in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success, Your Success GPS and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success.  To develop your personal clarity or purpose you need to do three things.  First, define what success means to you.  Second, create a vivid mental image of you as a success.  Once you define what success means to you personally, I suggest that you develop a clear mental picture of you as a success.  This image should be as vivid as you can you make it.  Third, clarify your personal values. 

Yesterday was a beautiful day n Denver, sunny and warm.  I went on a bike ride.  As I was riding my bike, I was thinking about how clarity of purpose and direction has played out in our family.  I have a younger sister, Betty.  She and I are in two completely different fields.  Betty is a CPA.  I am a consultant, speaker and coach.  I remember a conversation we had over 30 years ago about our career choices.

At that time, Betty was working for a very large public accounting firm as an auditor.   She said something like, “I don’t know how you can do what you do, getting up in front of people all the time and speaking.   I’d be scared to death.”  I said something like, “I love helping people learn and get ahead in their lives and careers.”  Then I said, “I don’t know how you can do what you do, sitting there working with numbers all day, not interacting with many people.”  Betty replied, “I like numbers, they are consistent.  Numbers can tell you a lot about what’s going on in a company.  I feel as if I can help companies succeed by helping them better understand their numbers.”

This conversation demonstrated how we both found our clarity of purpose early in life.  Betty enjoys numbers and has had a number of high level finance jobs over the years.  After helping to sell the last company where she worked and was the CFO, Betty embarked on something new and exciting several years ago.  This was the period immediately following the Enron and World Com scandals.  The Sarbanes Oxley act had just passed.  Betty saw an opportunity and became a SOX expert.  Now she is one of the most accomplished SOX practitioners in the USA.

On the other hand, I’ve gone from working in training and development in large companies, to running a small consulting, coaching and speaking business.  Right now, I am learning how to use the internet to bring my common sense success message to an even larger audience.

My sister and I found our purpose in life early on.  We’ve continued growing and developing in the fields we’ve chosen.  Our purpose has stayed the same over the years.  Our direction has changed as we’ve have grown in our careers and the times have changed.

There is a common sense point here.  Successful people are clear on their purpose and direction in life.  Think of your purpose as your mission – something that in broad terms is unlikely to change much over the course of your life and career – unless you experience a significant emotional event that alters your perspective on life.  Your direction on the other hand is more of a short to medium term vision of where you are going.  As you grow and develop in your career, and the times change, your vision is likely to change too.  However, your vision should be consistent with your life’s purpose.  The two should fit together like a hand and glove.

That’s my take on how my sister and I have stayed true to our life’s purpose while growing and evolving in our fields over the years.  How about you?  Please leave a comment sharing your life’s purpose with us.  Tell us about how it has guided your vision over the years.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud