Calvin Coolidge was the 30th President of the United States.  He was a small government Republican.  Comments on his presidency are eerily similar to what is being played out in US politics today.    Many historians look favorably on the reduction of the size of government programs during his presidency.  Others feel that the federal government under Coolidge should have been more involved in regulating and controlling the economy, and are not so quick to heap praise on his administration.

Coolidge was known as “Silent Cal” as he was a man of few words.  But when he did speak, he came up with some gems.  One of my very favorite life and career success quotes comes from Silent Cal Coolidge…

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”

I was skimming through Napoleon Hill’s classic book Think and Grow Rich the other day when I came upon his thoughts on persistence.  They reflect President Coolidge’s…

“One of the main causes of failure is a lack of persistence.  You may overcome this weakness through effort and intensity of desire.  Will power is the basis of persistence; increasing your will or desire will help to strengthen your persistence…Persistence is not reliant on education or intelligence, and requires only a little bit of time and effort.  There are four simple, but necessary, steps that will lead to the practice of persistence:  1) a stated purpose, backed by burning desire, 2) a definite plan, expressed in continuous action, 3) a mind closed against criticism and discouragement, and 4) a friendly alliance with at least one person who will encourage you to follow through with your plans.  Persistence should become a habit.”

I really like Dr. Hill’s third and fourth points.  Tweet 49 in my career advice book Success Tweets says, “Surround yourself with positive people.  Hold them close.  They will give you energy and help you create the career success you deserve.”  Tweet 50 says, “Jettison the negative people in your life. They are energy black holes.  They will such you dry; but only if you let them.”

Persistent people, successful people, surround themselves with positive people – people who are both positive by nature, and positive about their life and career success.  Positive people are optimistic; and optimism is the first step in building your self-confidence and life and career success.

As Napoleon Hill points out, positive people help you feel good about yourself and become more persistent, because they feel good about themselves – and life in general.  They help you build your self-esteem because they have a strong sense of self-esteem.  Positive people are there when you begin to doubt yourself or when you want to give up.  They are not threatened by you or your success.  They realize that self-esteem is not a fixed pie.  There is an unlimited amount of it to go around, so positive people are always giving it away.  You can build your self-confidence and jumpstart your life and career success by spending your time with upbeat, positive people.

It’s pretty simple.  When you surround yourself with positive, self-confident people, you become positive and self-confident.  On the other hand, when you surround yourself with negative or cynical people, you become negative and cynical.

The choice is yours.  I choose to surround myself with positive people.  Not only do they help my self-confidence, they are more fun to be around.

I’m a big fan of Mark Twain.  One of my favorite quotes of his gets at the heart of surrounding yourself with positive people and jettisoning the negative people in your life…

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions.  Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”

Mark Twain and Napoleon Hill thnk alike when it comes to negative people.  Negative people are a drag on your goals and your ambitions.  They can hamper your chances of becoming a truly persistent and successful person.  They are quick to tell you what you can’t do, offer little encouragement, and hate to see you prove them wrong by succeeding.  Hold these kinds of people at arm’s length.  Don’t spend time with them.  Instead, invest in friendships with positive, upbeat people; the kind of people who not only don’t belittle your ambitions, but do what they can to help you make them a reality.

Cynics are negative people.  They are also dangerous, because they are seductive.  They always have something witty to say about others – usually others’ shortcomings.  At first, they seem to be funny and amusing.  But spend time with cynics, and you’ll find that they have little joy in life except in pointing out and reveling in others’ problems and failures.

The career success coach point here is simple common sense.  Persistence will help you create the life and career success you want and deserve.  But as Napoleon Hill points out, no one — no matter how persistent — can go it alone.  Follow the career advice in Tweet 49 in Success Tweets.  “Surround yourself with positive people.  Hold them close.  They will give you energy and help you create the success you want and deserve.”  Positive people are great.  They feel good about themselves and life in general.  They are enthusiastic – and their enthusiasm is contagious.  When you surround yourself with positive people, you’ll become more positive and enthusiastic.  And, you’ll be on your way to creating the life and career success you want and deserve.  Who are the most positive people you know?  Get to know them better, spend more time with them.  Don’t let negative people into your life.  Follow the career advice in Tweet 50 in Success Tweets.  “Jettison the negative people in your life.  They are energy black holes.  They will suck you dry, but only if you let them.”  Avoid cynics.  They are jealous and petty, unhappy when others succeed.  Avoid jerks too  – people who are rude, insulting, sarcastic and two-faced.  They will only drag you down.  Make a conscious choice to spend time with positive, optimistic people.  Avoid negative, pessimistic ones.

That’s my career advice on how positive people can help you become more persistent – and to achieve the career success you deserve.  What do you think?  Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us in a comment.  Thanks for reading my daily thoughts on life and career success.  I really appreciate your support.

Bud

PS: If you haven’t already done so, please download a free copy of my popular career advice book Success Tweets and its companion piece Success Tweets Explained.  The first gives you 140 bits of career success advice tweet style — in 140 characters or less.  The second is a whopping 390 + pages of career advice explaining each of the common sense tweets in Success Tweets in detail.  Go to http://budurl.com/STExp to claim your free copy.  You’ll also start receiving my daily life and career success quotes.

PPS: I opened a membership site last September.  It’s called My Corporate Climb and is devoted to helping people create career success inside large corporations.  You can find out about the membership site by going to http://www.mycorporateclimb.

February is Black History Month in the USA.  Over the past two weeks several people have shared some great quotes from prominent African American leaders.  Yesterday, I received an email with a quote by Dr. Martin Luther King.

“If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. But by all means, keep moving.”

Dr. King was talking about the struggle for racial equality in this country, but his words apply to anyone interested in creating the life and career success they want and deserve.

Tweet 30 in my career advice book Success Tweets says, “Success is a journey, not a destination.  When you accomplish one goal, reach higher and set a new one.”  The idea of life and career success being a journey, not a destination, squares with Dr. King’s words.  A journey implies movement.  To create the career success you deserve you have to keep moving – even if it seems that sometimes you’re only crawling.

You’ve probably heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – it’s a staple in undergraduate social psychology.  In case you haven’t, or need a refresher, here is a quick recap.

In 1943, Dr. Abraham Maslow wrote a paper called, “A Theory of Human Motivation” in which he described his ideas about what motivates human beings.  He suggested that we humans have a series of needs which we strive to meet — and that the best way to motivate someone is to appeal to the need most relevant to him or her at a given time.  He arranged these needs in a pyramid.

Physiological or survival needs like breathing, food, water and sleep are at the base of the pyramid.  Dr. Maslow suggests that until these basic survival needs are met, human beings will not be motivated by any other needs.

Safety and security needs are the next up on the pyramid.  Dr. Maslow suggests that once people feel that they will survive today, they will be motivated by the need to survive tomorrow, the next day and in the long term.

Love and belonging needs are next.  Dr. Maslow suggests that once human beings experience a reasonable level of security, their needs turn to developing friendship and family relations.

Esteem needs are next.  Once people feel secure and loved, Dr. Maslow says that they seek the gratification that comes from achievement, self respect and the respect of others.

Self-actualization needs are at the top of the pyramid.  Dr. Maslow often described self-actualization as “being all that one can be.”  And therefore, one can never be truly self-actualized.  Dr. Maslow suggests that self-actualization is the pursuit of perfection.  In other words, once you accomplish something that you previously thought of as the pinnacle, you will find that there is more that you can accomplish.

These ideas are in keeping with Tweet 30 in Success Tweets which suggests that you set new and higher goals whenever you accomplish one of your goals.  Or to paraphrase Dr. King, you need to keep moving.

That’s why I say that success is a journey, not a destination.  Successful people see themselves as works in progress.  Successful people are never finished becoming all that they can be.  Successful people keep moving.  If you want the life and career success you deserve, you need to think of yourself this way.

I’m not suggesting that you take no time to celebrate your successes and look back at them with pride.  I am saying however, that if you want to build long-term career success, you will keep moving — using your successes as springboards to bigger and better things.

Once you accomplish a goal, set new one.  Develop a plan for achieving your new goal.  Work your plan.  And then do it again.  Keep moving.  Think of yourself as someone who is “becoming” not as someone who is “complete.”

Successful people realize that there are always new challenges and opportunities.  Some of the best career advice I ever received was from an early mentor who told me to see beyond the horizon, to keep actively looking for new ways to learn, grow and succeed.

The career success coach point here is simple common sense.  Successful people follow the advice of Dr. Martin Luther King.  They keep moving forward.  They never stop learning and growing.  They follow the advice in Tweet 30 in Success Tweets.  “Success is a journey, not a destination.  When you accomplish one goal, reach higher and set a new one.”  This is the idea embodied in the concept of self-actualization; you can never be all that you can be because there will always be new challenges ahead.  Setting and achieving ever increasingly difficult goals is the best way to live a fulfilling life and to create the career success you deserve.  Keep learning, keep growing, keep achieving, keep moving, and you will succeed beyond your wildest dreams.

That’s the career advice I found in Dr. Martin Luther King’s suggestion to keep moving.  What do you think?  Please take a minute to share your thoughts with us in a comment.  As always, thanks for reading my daily thoughts on life and career success.  I appreciate you taking the time to read what I’ve written.  I hope my thoughts help you in your career success journey.

Bud

PS: If you haven’t already done so, please download a free copy of my popular career advice book Success Tweets and its companion piece Success Tweets Explained.  The first gives you 140 bits of career success advice tweet style — in 140 characters or less.  The second is a whopping 390 + pages of career advice explaining each of the common sense tweets in Success Tweets in detail.  Go to http://budurl.com/STExp to claim your free copy.  You’ll also start receiving my daily life and career success quotes.

PPS: I opened a membership site last September.  It’s called My Corporate Climb and is devoted to helping people create career success inside large corporations.  You can find out about the membership site by going to http://www.mycorporateclimb.

It was 20 years ago today…

I bet you thought I was going to follow that up by saying, “Sargent Pepper taught the band to play.”  I’m not.

20 years ago today on a beautiful autumn day in Denver, Cathy and I were married in the chapel on the grounds of Regis University.  It’s been a great 20 years and I love Cathy dearly.  Happy anniversary Cathy.  Thanks for giving me the best 20 years of my life.

But as those of you who are married know, no matter how strong and loving all relationships have their ups and downs.  Both parties have to be tenacious to make it through20 years of marriage.  My dad and mom made it through 62, prior to her death in 2009.  Tenacity not only helps in marriage.  It helps in creating your life and career success.

In this post, I want to focus on tenacity.  Tenacious people commit to three things.  First, they take personal responsibility for their career success.  They know that they are responsible for their own life and career success.  They are willing to do the things necessary to succeed.  Second, tenacious people set high goals – and then do whatever it takes to achieve them.  Third, tenacious people know that stuff happens as they go through life.  They realize they will encounter many problems and setbacks.  Tenacious people choose to react positively to the negative stuff that happens and move forward toward their goals.

I live in Denver; the weather here is very changeable.  On December 21 2009, the first day of winter, we had 60-degree weather.  That night the weather announcer on TV reminded us that we had snow on the last day of summer.

This got me thinking about the unpredictability of life.  As I frequently say to my career success coach clients, stuff will happen as you go through life – good stuff, bad stuff, happy stuff, sad stuff, encouraging stuff, frustrating stuff.  However, it’s not the stuff that happens that’s important, it’s how you react to it.  You can’t control the people and events in your life.  You can control how you react to the people and events in your life.

I choose to react positively to the people and events in my life – especially the bad stuff, sad stuff and frustrating stuff that happens to me.  I choose to tenaciously follow my purpose and dreams.  And I urge you to do the same if you want to create the life and career success you want and deserve.

I know this isn’t always easy.  In fact, it’s seldom easy.  But the harder you find it to react positively to negative people and events, the more important it is for you to do so.  Don’t blame people or circumstances when things go wrong.  Instead, choose to be tenacious and learn the lesson behind every less than successful relationship or event in your life.

When you look for the lesson behind problems, setbacks and failures you are being tenacious; you are taking responsibility for your life and career success.  Find the lessons in the bad stuff that happens and then do something to put those lessons to work.  Commit to taking responsibility for yourself, your life and your career success.  Put yourself in the driver’s seat.  Don’t let events and people stop you from achieving your goals.  Be persistent.  Be tenacious.

As I write this, I’m reminded of the famous quote on persistence by Calvin Coolidge…

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.  Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.  Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education will not; the world is full of educated failures.  Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

The career success coach point here is simple common sense.  Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their life and career success.  They heed the advice in Tweet 10 in Success Tweets:  “Emerson says, ‘Good luck is another name for tenacity of purpose.’  Find your purpose and pursue it tenaciously.”  Only you can make you a career success.  You have to take personal responsibility for creating the life and career success you want and deserve.  Tenacity and persistence are the hallmarks of people who are committed to taking personal responsibility for their life and career success.  Tenacious and persistent people keep going, especially in the face of difficulties and problems.  Promise yourself that you will commit to taking personal responsibility for your life and career success.  Be persistent.  Be tenacious.  Keep at it, and you will reach your goals.

That’s my career advice when it comes to tenacity.  What do you think?  Please take a minute to share your thoughts with us in a comment.  As always, thanks for reading my daily thoughts on life and career success.  I value you and I appreciate you.

Bud

PS: If you haven’t already done so, please download a free copy of my popular career advice book Success Tweets and its companion piece Success Tweets Explained.  The first gives you 140 bits of career success advice tweet style — in 140 characters or less.  The second is a whopping 390 + pages of career advice explaining each of the common sense tweets in Success Tweets in detail.  Go to http://budurl.com/STExp to claim your free copy.  You’ll also start receiving my daily life and career success quotes.

PPS: I opened a membership site on September 1.  It’s called My Corporate Climb and is devoted to helping people create career success inside large corporations.  To celebrate the grand opening, I’m giving away a new career advice book I’ve written called I Want YOU…To Succeed in Your Corporate Climb.  You can find out about the membership site and get the career advice in I Want YOU… for free by going to http://www.mycorporateclimb.

The Sunday New York Times Business Section had an interesting article by Peggy Payne, a successful author and journalist that contained some great career success advice.  She talked about how not getting selected for the Governor’s School of North Carolina when she was 16 motivated her to excel and has led to her life and career success.

I make a similar point in Tweet 37 in my career advice book Success Tweets.  “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it.  Don’t dwell on the negative, use it as a springboard to action and creativity.”

In other words, don’t be afraid to fail.  Fear is the enemy of self-confidence – and career success.  Most people fear failure, criticism and rejection.  It’s only normal.  We all want to feel good about ourselves.  Failure, criticism and rejection are not pleasant experiences.  They lower our self-esteem and make us feel bad about ourselves, so we often avoid doing things that we think might lead to failure, criticism or rejection.  However, if you want to create the life and career success you want and deserve, you have to have the courage to do things that might result in failure, criticism or rejection.

Failure, criticism and rejection provide you with the opportunity to grow and develop – to succeed.  You can’t take failure, criticism and rejection personally.  Failure, criticism and rejection are outcomes.  They are a result of things you have done.  They are not who you are.  We all make mistakes and fail.  We all do things that cause others to criticize or reject us.  This doesn’t mean that we are failures.  It means that we have made some poor choices and done some not-so-smart things.

Failure, criticism and rejection provide the opportunity to start over – hopefully a little smarter.  Buckminster Fuller once said, “Whatever humans have learned had to be learned as a consequence of trial and error experience.  Humans have learned only through mistakes.”

That’s why fear is the enemy of self-confidence and career success.  Take it from a career success coach.  If your fear of failure, criticism and rejection paralyzes you to the point where you aren’t willing to take calculated risks, you’ll never learn anything or accomplish any of your goals.

Don’t be too hard on yourself when you fail, or when others criticize or reject you.  My best career advice is to put your energy into figuring out why you failed and then do something different.  Here are four career success coach questions to ask yourself the next time you fail, or get criticized or rejected.

1. Why did I fail?  Why did I get criticized or rejected?  What did I do to cause the failure, criticism or rejection?
2. What could I have done to prevent the failure, criticism or rejection?
3. What have I learned from this situation?
4. What will I do differently the next time?

If you do this, you’ll be using failure, criticism and rejection to your advantage.  In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill says, “Every adversity, every failure and every heartache carries with it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit.”  I know it’s hard to see the benefit or opportunity in failure, criticism and rejection.  But it’s there – you just have to look hard enough.  But it all begins by facing your fear and acting.  The less you fear failure, the more career success you’ll create.

I am proud of my niece, Brett.  I’m having dinner with her tonight.  A couple of years ago, she left a good job in Florida and moved to San Diego.  She had no job lined up in San Diego when she moved.  Some members of the family thought she was silly to leave a good job to move across the country with no job.  I thought that she demonstrated amazing optimism and courage in making such a long move in such a difficult economy.  Brett wasn’t afraid to fail.  Seventeen days after she arrived in San Diego she landed a job as an account manager for an athletic apparel manufacturer.  She has since received three promotions.  I’m proud of Brett.  She didn’t let her fear of failure, criticism, or rejection stop her from pursuing her dreams.

The career success coach point here is simple common sense.  Successful people are self-confident and committed to their life and career success.  Self-confident people face their fears and act.  They aren’t afraid to fail.  They know that you fail only if you don’t learn something from the experience.  Treat every failure as an opportunity to grow and mover forward toward your career success.  Our most common fears are failure, criticism, and rejection.  Follow this career advice.  Choose to find – and use – the learning opportunity in your failures and you will become more self-confident and successful.  It’s sad but true – failure, criticism and rejection are often the price you pay for becoming a career success.  Facing your fear of failure, criticism and rejection, and acting will pay big dividends when it comes to your life and career success.

That’s the career advice I took from reading Peggy Payne’s story.  What do you think?  Please take a minute to share your thoughts with us in a comment.  As always, thanks for reading my daily musings on life and career success.  I value you and I appreciate you.

Bud

PS: If you haven’t already done so, please download a free copy of my popular career advice book Success Tweets and its companion piece Success Tweets Explained.  The first gives you 140 bits of career success advice tweet style — in 140 characters or less.  The second is a whopping 390 + pages of career advice explaining each of the common sense tweets in Success Tweets in detail.  Go to http://budurl.com/STExp to claim your free copy.  You’ll also start receiving my daily life and career success quotes.

PPS: I opened a membership site on September 1.  It’s called My Corporate Climb and is devoted to helping people create career success inside large corporations.  To celebrate the grand opening, I’m giving away a new career advice book I’ve written called I Want YOU…To Succeed in Your Corporate Climb.  You can find out about the membership site and get the career advice in I Want YOU… for free by going to http://www.mycorporateclimb.

Jill Koenig posted a great piece of career advice on Facebook yesterday.  Check it out…

“More often than not, discipline is the single greatest factor in determining whether or not you achieve your long term goals. Planning requires discipline, concentration requires discipline, a positive mindset requires discipline, visualizing your outcome requires discipline, all other skills necessary for goal achieving require discipline to manifest your desired outcome.”

Jill is a smart woman.  I suggest you check out her Facebook page.  Tell her I sent you.  And, she’s right on here.  Discipline is an important key to career success.  And discipline takes persistence.  Tweet 35 in my career advice book Success Tweets says, “Persistent people keep going; especially in the face of difficulties.  Keep at it and you will accomplish your goals.”  I believe you have to be disciplined to keep at it.

John Miller is a friend of mine.  He is also the author of a great little book called QBQ! The Question Behind the Question. John says that all too often we ask the wrong questions when we run into problems.  These questions focus on other people.  They seek to find who to blame for our troubles and difficulties.  John suggests that you (and I) should ask the question behind the question – the question that requires discipline, empowers us and helps us take charge of our life and career success.

John is on to something here.  His question behind the question concept is great career advice.  QBQs, as John calls them, help us become disciplined and persistent and keep going in the face of difficulties.

At the end of the book, John provides “a great list of lousy questions,” along with a QBQ that he suggests will help you move toward your life and career success.  Check them out…

Lousy Customer Service Questions

• When will shipping start getting orders out on time?
• Why do our customers expect so much of us?
• Why don’t customers follow the instructions?

Customer Service QBQ

• How can I best serve our customers?

Lousy Sales Questions

• Why are our prices so high?
• When will our products become more competitive?
• Why won’t customers call me back?
• When will marketing give us better sales aids?
• Why can’t manufacturing make what we sell?

Sales QBQs

• What can I do today to become a more effective sales person?
• How can I add value for my customers?

Lousy Marketing Questions

• When will salespeople deliver our programs?
• Why won’t salespeople take the time to learn our new products?

Marketing QBQs

• What can I do to understand sales reps’ issues and concerns?
• How can I learn more about what our customers want and need?

Lousy Manufacturing Questions

• Why can’t salespeople stay within our capabilities?
• When will they learn to sell according to our specifications?

Manufacturing QBQ

• How can I better understand the challenges our salespeople face?

Lousy Individual Contributor Questions

• Why do we have to go through all this change?
• When will I get the training I need?
• Why don’t I get paid more?
• Who is going to clarify my role and responsibilities?
• When is management going to get their act together?
• Who will set our vision?

Individual Contributor QBQs

• What can I do to be more productive?
• How can I adapt to our changing environment?
• What can I do to develop myself?

Lousy Management and Leadership Questions

• Why doesn’t the younger generation want to work hard?
• When am I going to find good people?
• Why aren’t my people motivated?
• Who made that mistake?
• Why don’t people come in on time?
• Who dropped the ball?
• When are they going to catch the vision?
• Who will care as much as I do?
• When will the market turn around?
• Who do I have to do everything myself?

Management and Leadership QBQs

• How can I be a more effective coach?
• What can I do to better understand each person on my team?
• How can I be a better leader?
• What can I do to show I care?
• How can I communicate better?
• How can I do a better job of delegating?

Notice that all of the QBQs have the word “I” in them.  “I” Implies a high level of personal responsibility.  Asking yourself what you can do to make a situation better and move closer to the career success you want and deserve takes personal discipline.

The career success coach point here is simple common sense.  Successful people are persistent and disciplined.  As Jill Koenig says, “More often than not, discipline is the single greatest factor in determining whether or not you achieve your long term goals.”  Become a persistent and disciplined person.  Follow the career advice in Tweet 35 in Success Tweets.  “Persistent people keep going; especially in the face of difficulties.  Keep at it and you will accomplish your goals.”  Successful people don’t search for blame.  They search for what they can do to overcome the problems and difficulties that are getting in the way of their career success.  They ask what my friend John Miller calls “the question behind the question,” or a QBQ.  Questions behind the question focus on what you can do to solve problems and handle difficulties.  They begin with the words “how” and “what”.  They contain the word “I;” and they focus on action.  Here is my best career success coach QBQ: “What can I do to create my own life and career success?”  Ask and answer this question, be persistent and disciplined enough to put your answers into action and you’ll be well on your way to the life and career success you want and deserve.

That’s my career advice on being persistent and disciplined in pursuit of your career success.  What do you think?  Please take a minute to share your thoughts with us in a comment.  As always, thanks for reading my daily thoughts on life and career success.

Bud

PS: If you haven’t already done so, you can download a free copy of my latest career success book Success Tweets Explained. It’s a whopping 390 + pages of career advice explaining each of the common sense tweets in Success Tweets in detail.  Go to http://budurl.com/STExp to claim your free copy.  You’ll also start receiving my daily life and career success quotes.

Questions behind the question focus on what you can do to solve problems and handle difficulties.  They begin with the words “how” and “what”.  They contain the word “I;” and they focus on action.  Here is my best career success coach QBQ: “What can I do to create my own success?”  Ask and answer this question, be persistent and disciplined enough to put your answers into action and you’ll be well on your way to the life and career success you want and deserve.

That’s my career advice on being persistent and disciplined in pursuit of your career success.  What do you think?  Please take a minute to share your thoughts with us in a comment.  As always, thanks for reading my daily thoughts on life and career success.

Bud

PS: If you haven’t already done so, you can download a free copy of my latest career success book Success Tweets Explained.  It’s a whopping 390 + pages of career advice explaining each of the common sense tweets in Success Tweets in detail.  Go to http://budurl.com/STExp to claim your free copy.  You’ll also start receiving my daily life and career success quotes.

Over the weekend, I received an email from the folks at JustSell.com that had some great career advice.  It was a quote from Voltaire, the French philosopher.  Check it out…

“Shun idleness.  It is the rust that attaches itself to the most brilliant metals.”

I would amend this to say that idleness is the rust that attached itself to the most brilliant minds.  Or as Neil Young says, “It’s better to burn out than rust away.”

Regardless of whether you prefer Voltaire’s original quote, my reinterpretation or the rock and roll version,  there is an important career success idea here.  Idleness is a career success killer.   Career success comes from being active and working hard – not settling for good enough.

Tweet 96 in my career advice book Success Tweets says, “Good truly is the enemy of great.  Don’t settle for good performance.  Today good is mediocre.  Become a great performer.”

Hard work is the best way I know to become a great performer.  In his book, Good to Great, Jim Collins hit the nail on the head when he began with the idea that good is the enemy of great.  He’s right, good is the enemy of great.  There are lots of good performers, but only a few great ones.  To achieve the life and career success you want and deserve, you need to become a great performer – not just a good one.

Good is seductive.  For many of us, it’s not too difficult to be good.  And good has a nice feeling attached to it.  On the other hand, good performance won’t get you to the top of the promotion list and keep you off of the layoff list.  Great performance will.

But great performance comes with a price.  You have to work at it.  In The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup for the Soul fame quotes several great performers on paying the price…

“If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it wouldn’t seem wonderful at all.”  Michelangelo

“When I played with Michael Jordan on the Olympic team, there was a huge gap between his ability and the ability of the other great players on that team.  But what impressed me was that he was always the first one on the floor and the last one to leave.”  Steve Alford, Head Basketball Coach, University of New Mexico.

“If I miss a day of practice, I know it.  If I miss two days, my manager knows it.  If I miss three days, my audience knows it.”  Andre Previn, Pianist, Conductor and Composer.

“Talent is cheaper than table salt.  What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”  Stephen King, Bestselling Novelist

Here are four people – an artist, a basketball player, a pianist and a writer – all saying the same thing: good is the enemy of great; and to be great, you have to work hard.

Your natural talent might allow you to be good.  Great — and career success – however, requires determination and persistence, never being idle, always working towards your life and career success goals.

Jerry Rice is in the NFL Hall of Fame.  He was well known for his commitment to fitness.  He worked out harder and longer than any other pro football player.  When he was asked the secret of his success, he said, “I am willing to do the things today that others won’t do, so I can do things on Sunday that they can’t do.”  In other words: don’t be idle, work hard, prepare, commit to taking personal responsibility for your career success.

It’s simple, really.  Career success is all up to you, and me, and anyone else who wants it.  We all have to take personal responsibility for our own success.  I am the only one who can make me a career success.  You are the only one who can make you a career success. 

Become willing to do things that others are unwilling to do – and this can be a million little things like working hard, keeping your clothes in good repair; shining your shoes; rehearsing your presentation out loud; proofreading your emails, not just relying on spell check; staying up-to-date on your company, your competitors and your industry, building relationships by doing willingly for others.

If you already do these kinds of things, bravo.  You’re in the minority.  Too many people do only what they have to.  Successful people always go the extra mile.  As Jerry Rice says, they do the things others won’t.

Think for a minute.  What are the kinds of things that you can do that go above and beyond, that demonstrate your commitment to your own career success?  Make a list.  Then go about doing these things regularly.

Activity and persistence will make you an outstanding performer.  And they are the key to putting the career advice in the Voltaire quote at the beginning of this post to work.  Activity – even 1% more than you currently do – and persistence – fighting through problems and setbacks – will yield positive results in the long term.  But you have to commit to both of them.

Some of the best career advice on persistence that I’ve come across comes from Calvin Coolidge, 30^th President of the United States…

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.  Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent.  Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.  Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.  The slogan, “press on,” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

The career success coach point here is simple common sense.  Successful people are great performers.  They follow the advice in Tweet 96 in Success Tweets.  “Good truly is the enemy of great.  Don’t settle for good performance.  Today, good is mediocre.  Become a great performer.”  Hard work and persistence are the best ways to become a great performer.  If you practice longer, prepare more, make the extra call, rewrite your proposal, rehearse your presentation, you will find yourself creating the life and career success you want and deserve.  Keep at it.  Don’t become idle.  Don’t let your brilliance rust away.

That’s my career advice when it comes to avoiding idleness.  What do you think?  Please take a minute to share your thoughts with us in a comment.  As always, thanks for reading my daily musings on life and career success.

Bud

PS: If you haven’t already done so, you can download a free copy of my latest career success book Success Tweets Explained.  It’s a whopping 390 + pages of common sense career advice explaining each of the tweets in Success Tweets in detail.  Go to http://budurl.com/STExp to claim your free copy.

I’ve been fortunate to be able to post a lot of great career advice in the form of guest posts on this blog lately.  Today  I have some great career success advice on persistence from Christine Kloser.  Check it out…

The Power of Persistence

What would be different if you were more persistent about “going for” the shifts and goals you want to experience in your life? 

Whether you want to write your book, grow your business, experience more love in your life, surrender to a spiritual path, feel more JOY, etc… any endeavor you take on requires a certain type of persistence if you are going to get through to the other side and have the experience you desire! 

So, it’s important to understand where you stand in relation to being persistent when it comes to goals in your business, and your life.  There a few common “persistence profiles” you may fall into… only one of which is truly beneficial and serving you at the highest.  I’m going to use a “Goldilocks” analogy to illustrate this point and help you discover your “persistence profile.” 

Persistence Profile #1:  Too Much

If you fit into this profile, you may be persistent to a fault… continuing to pursue goals and endeavors that are NOT the highest and best ones for you.  You are likely unwilling to release a goal because you are committed to doing what you said you would do, even if it means self-sacrificing and doing something that perhaps doesn’t fuel you anymore.

Persistence Profile #2:  Too Little

If you fit into this profile, you may not be persistent enough.  You have a tendency to quit when the going gets tough and assume that it must not be meant to happen if it isn’t easy.  You often stop just short of experiencing great success and totally fulfilling personal shifts, because you didn’t hang in there long enough to bust through to the other side. 

Persistence Profile #3:  Just Right

If you fit into this profile, you have a great way of discerning between being too persistent and not being persistent enough.  You are willing to forge forward and “dig in” when the going gets tough.  But, you’re unwilling to continuously knock your head on a brick wall when you hit one.  You have the intuition and savvy to know the difference between a temporary block and a solid brick wall.  You are committed to your goals, yet are willing to change course when all signs point you in a different direction.

Take a moment to assess which profile you fit into.  And, begin to focus on finding a workable balance when it comes to your persistence.  I wish there were an easy “cut and dry” formula I could give you for striking this balance, but only YOU will truly know if you are pushing too hard for something or giving up too easily. 

For now, simply reflect on a goal or two and think about where you stand in terms of your persistence as it relates to that goal.  And, the goals can be anything… not just a material/external pursuit.  The goal you may need to be persistent with is having more patience with your spouse or children, reaching out to new business associates, setting aside time to write your book, or to exercise, etc.

You get the idea here.  Think about these goals that are truly important to you.  Do an honest assessment of how persistent you are in regards to them.  And, if something doesn’t feel right (you’re being too persistent or not persistent enough), make the decision to have a “just right” experience when it comes to persisting with your goals and dreams.

And, if you want to get started now, I encourage you to take the action step below…

Action Step

Identify a breakthrough or goal you want to achieve.  Next, choose one action you will take consistently in order to achieve your desired outcome.  The outcome you desire can be in any area of your life; professionally, personally, emotionally, spiritually, financially, etc.  Get crystal clear on the breakthrough AND the specific action you’ll take consistently.  Finally, pay close attention to how persistent you are the pursuit of your breakthrough (or goal) and aim for a “just right” balance.

I’m not sure if you can ever be too persistent, but I think that Christine makes some great career success points here.  I particularly like the action step she suggests – especially the specific action part.  I think that is geat career advice.

Let me close with my favorite quote on persistence, from Calvin Coolidge the 30th President of the United States.

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

The common sense career success coach point here is simple.  Persistence is key to creating the life and career success you want and deserve.  The best way to create your career success is to identify both your goals and the specific actions you will persistently take to achieve them.

Thanks to Christine Kloser for her great career advice on persistence.  What’s your take on what Christine has to say?  Please share your thoughts with us by leaving a comment.  As always, thanks for reading these musings on life and career success.

Bud

I’m really enjoying writing this series of posts further explaining the ideas in my latest career success coach book, Success Tweets: 140 Bits of Common Sense Career Success Advice, All in 140 Characters or Less.  I hope you’re enjoying reading them.  I’m pleased to say that Success Tweets is now in its second printing.  You can pick up a copy at your local book store, or online at Amazon.com.  Better yet, you can download the eBook for free at http://www.successtweets.com.

Today’s career advice comes from Tweet 97…

Today, do the things others won’t do; so tomorrow you can do the things they can’t.

I got this one from Jerry Rice an American Football player.  He is in the NFL Hall of Fame.  When he retired, he held all of the important records a wide receiver could amass.  I’ve never seen anyone better – and I’ve watched a lot of football over the years.  Growing up in Pittsburgh, Sunday’s meant two things – church and watcing the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Jerry Rice was well known for his commitment to fitness.  He worked out harder and longer than any other pro football player.  When he was asked the secret his success, he said, “I am willing to do the things today that others won’t do, so I can do things on Sunday that they can’t do.”  In other words – work hard, prepare, commit to taking personal responsibility for your own success.

It’s simple, really. Success is all up to you, and me, and anyone else who wants it. We all have to take personal responsibility for our own career success. I am the only one who can make me a career success. You are the only one who can make you a career success.  When you become willing to do things that others aren’t willing to do – and this can be a million little things like keeping your clothes in good repair; shining your shoes; rehearsing your presentation out loud; proofreading your emails, not just relying on spell check; staying up to date on your company, your competitors and your industry; building relationships by doing willingly for others.

If you already do these kinds of things, bravo.  You’re in the minority.  Too many people do only what they have to.  Successful people always go the extra mile.  As Jerry Rice says, they do the things others won’t.

Think for a minute.  What are the kinds of things that you can do that go above and beyond, that demonstrate your commitment to your own career success?  Make a list.  Then go about doing these things regularly.

Here’s a bit of important career advice.  Stuff happens: good stuff, bad stuff, frustrating stuff, unexpected stuff.  Successful people respond to the stuff that happens — especially the niegative stuff — in a positive way.  Humans are the only animals with free will.  That means we – you and me – get to decide how we react to every situation that comes up.  When you take responsibility for responding positively to people and events – especially negative people and events – you’re taking personal responsibiliyt for you career success, doing the things that a lot of people won’t do.  This means that you’ll be more successful in the long run.

Personal responsibility means recognizing that you are responsible for your life and the choices you make. It means that you realize that while other people and events have an impact on your life, these people and events don’t shape your life. When you accept personal responsibility for your life and career success, you own up to the fact that how you react to people and events is what’s important. And you can choose how to react to every person you meet and everything that happens to you.

The concept of personal responsibility is found in most writings on success. Stephen Covey’s first habit in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is, “Be proactive.” My friend John Miller’s book QBQ: the Question Behind the Question asks readers to pose questions to themselves like, “What can I do to become a top performer?”  When you ask and answer this question, you’ll be on your way to doing the things that other won’t do – and getting the promotions and recognition that they can’t get.

In my opinion, all of this comes down to two words: activity and persistence.  Activity and persistence are my watchwords.  I set some very high goals for myself for every year.  I begin each year in high gear and then I kick it into overdrive.  And, I persist until I achieve all of my goals, no matter what.  I am committed to activity and persistence.

My friend, Mike Litman has some interesting things to say about activity…

“Activity. Activity. Activity.  Too many people are standing still.  Too much pondering, too little action. Too much scatterness, too little focus.  Too much talk, too little results.  In 2009, commit to a year filled with activity.  Be 1% more active each day in your business.  Start at 1%.

“Activity. Activity. Activity.  When you stand still too long, moving becomes real tough.  Very tough.  Every day, do at least one action that moves you forward.  What I love best about a lot of activity, is that I get to make mistakes and learn what works.  You can do the same.  Activity. Activity. Activity.  2009 is about you being more active then you’ve ever been.  Are you in?  Are you ready to commit to a year filled with activity?”

Kevin Eikenberry writes to leaders, but his ideas apply to anyone who wants to create life and career success.  He says…

“Let me be blunt.  We can create and engage in the best leadership skill training, we can create the best leadership development opportunities, and we can provide coaching and mentoring that is outstanding, and yet, if all of these programs and leadership activities, don’t include an ongoing persistent process of improvement – a way to instill and inspire persistence, we will fall short of what is possible…As a leader, when we practice proactive persistence – persistence that is positive and supports people through both an example and support to pursue the desired objectives persistently, we are truly leading…Ask yourself today what you can do to create greater persistence in yourself and your organization.  Your answer (and the action taken on that answer) will pay you rich rewards.”

These guys are right!  Activity and persistence will make you an outstanding performer.  And they are the key to putting the career advice in Success Tweet 97 to work.  Activity — even 1% more than you currently do — and persistence — fighting through problems and setbacks — will yield positive results in the long term.  But you have to commit to them. 

The common sense career success coach point here is simple.  Successful people commit to taking responsibility for their life and career success.  They follow the career advice in Tweet 97 in Success Tweets.  “Today, do the things others won’t do; so tomorrow you can do the things they can’t.”  Be willing to put in the time necessary to create the life and career success that you want and deserve.  Successful people are willing to do whatever it takes to succeed.  They are active and they are persistent.  The law of inertia says that a body in motion tends to stay in motion.  That’s why activity is so important.  Once you get moving, it’s easier to stay moving towards your goals.  And it’s easier to persist in the face of problems and setbacks.  To paraphrase Muhammad Ali – “Inside a ring or out, ain’t no shame in going down.  It’s staying down that’s shameful.”  Persistent people don’t stay down; they get back up and keep moving.  Make activity and persistence your watchwords.  You’ll amaze yourself with how much you will accomplish, and the life and career success you will create.

That’s my take on the career advice in Success Tweet 97.  What’s yours?  Please take a minute to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

I’m really enjoying writing this series of posts further explaining the ideas in my latest career success coach book, Success Tweets: 140 Bits of Common Sense Career Success Advice, All in 140 Characters or Less.  I hope you’re enjoying reading them.  I’m pleased to say that Success Tweets is now in its second printing.  You can pick up a copy at your local book store, or online at Amazon.com.  Better yet, you can download the eBook for free at http://www.successtweets.com.

Today’s career advice comes from Tweet 97…

Today, do the things others won’t do; so tomorrow you can do the things they can’t.

I got this one from Jerry Rice an American Football player.  He is in the NFL Hall of Fame.  When he retired, he held all of the important records a wide receiver could amass.  I’ve never seen anyone better – and I’ve watched a lot of football over the years.  Growing up in Pittsburgh, Sunday’s meant two things – church and watcing the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Jerry Rice was well known for his commitment to fitness.  He worked out harder and longer than any other pro football player.  When he was asked the secret his success, he said, “I am willing to do the things today that others won’t do, so I can do things on Sunday that they can’t do.”  In other words – work hard, prepare, commit to taking personal responsibility for your own success.

It’s simple, really. Success is all up to you, and me, and anyone else who wants it. We all have to take personal responsibility for our own career success. I am the only one who can make me a career success. You are the only one who can make you a career success.  When you become willing to do things that others aren’t willing to do – and this can be a million little things like keeping your clothes in good repair; shining your shoes; rehearsing your presentation out loud; proofreading your emails, not just relying on spell check; staying up to date on your company, your competitors and your industry; building relationships by doing willingly for others.

If you already do these kinds of things, bravo.  You’re in the minority.  Too many people do only what they have to.  Successful people always go the extra mile.  As Jerry Rice says, they do the things others won’t.

Think for a minute.  What are the kinds of things that you can do that go above and beyond, that demonstrate your commitment to your own career success?  Make a list.  Then go about doing these things regularly.

Here’s a bit of important career advice.  Stuff happens: good stuff, bad stuff, frustrating stuff, unexpected stuff.  Successful people respond to the stuff that happens — especially the niegative stuff — in a positive way.  Humans are the only animals with free will.  That means we – you and me – get to decide how we react to every situation that comes up.  When you take responsibility for responding positively to people and events – especially negative people and events – you’re taking personal responsibiliyt for you career success, doing the things that a lot of people won’t do.  This means that you’ll be more successful in the long run.

Personal responsibility means recognizing that you are responsible for your life and the choices you make. It means that you realize that while other people and events have an impact on your life, these people and events don’t shape your life. When you accept personal responsibility for your life and career success, you own up to the fact that how you react to people and events is what’s important. And you can choose how to react to every person you meet and everything that happens to you.

The concept of personal responsibility is found in most writings on success. Stephen Covey’s first habit in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is, “Be proactive.” My friend John Miller’s book QBQ: the Question Behind the Question asks readers to pose questions to themselves like, “What can I do to become a top performer?”  When you ask and answer this question, you’ll be on your way to doing the things that other won’t do – and getting the promotions and recognition that they can’t get.

In my opinion, all of this comes down to two words: activity and persistence.  Activity and persistence are my watchwords.  I set some very high goals for myself for every year.  I begin each year in high gear and then I kick it into overdrive.  And, I persist until I achieve all of my goals, no matter what.  I am committed to activity and persistence.

My friend, Mike Litman has some interesting things to say about activity…

“Activity. Activity. Activity.  Too many people are standing still.  Too much pondering, too little action. Too much scatterness, too little focus.  Too much talk, too little results.  In 2009, commit to a year filled with activity.  Be 1% more active each day in your business.  Start at 1%.

“Activity. Activity. Activity.  When you stand still too long, moving becomes real tough.  Very tough.  Every day, do at least one action that moves you forward.  What I love best about a lot of activity, is that I get to make mistakes and learn what works.  You can do the same.  Activity. Activity. Activity.  2009 is about you being more active then you’ve ever been.  Are you in?  Are you ready to commit to a year filled with activity?”

Kevin Eikenberry writes to leaders, but his ideas apply to anyone who wants to create life and career success.  He says…

“Let me be blunt.  We can create and engage in the best leadership skill training, we can create the best leadership development opportunities, and we can provide coaching and mentoring that is outstanding, and yet, if all of these programs and leadership activities, don’t include an ongoing persistent process of improvement – a way to instill and inspire persistence, we will fall short of what is possible…As a leader, when we practice proactive persistence – persistence that is positive and supports people through both an example and support to pursue the desired objectives persistently, we are truly leading…Ask yourself today what you can do to create greater persistence in yourself and your organization.  Your answer (and the action taken on that answer) will pay you rich rewards.”

These guys are right!  Activity and persistence will make you an outstanding performer.  And they are the key to putting the career advice in Success Tweet 97 to work.  Activity — even 1% more than you currently do — and persistence — fighting through problems and setbacks — will yield positive results in the long term.  But you have to commit to them. 

The common sense career success coach point here is simple.  Successful people commit to taking responsibility for their life and career success.  They follow the career advice in Tweet 97 in Success Tweets.  “Today, do the things others won’t do; so tomorrow you can do the things they can’t.”  Be willing to put in the time necessary to create the life and career success that you want and deserve.  Successful people are willing to do whatever it takes to succeed.  They are active and they are persistent.  The law of inertia says that a body in motion tends to stay in motion.  That’s why activity is so important.  Once you get moving, it’s easier to stay moving towards your goals.  And it’s easier to persist in the face of problems and setbacks.  To paraphrase Muhammad Ali – “Inside a ring or out, ain’t no shame in going down.  It’s staying down that’s shameful.”  Persistent people don’t stay down; they get back up and keep moving.  Make activity and persistence your watchwords.  You’ll amaze yourself with how much you will accomplish, and the life and career success you will create.

That’s my take on the career advice in Success Tweet 97.  What’s yours?  Please take a minute to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

I’m really enjoying writing this series of posts further explaining the ideas in my latest career success coach book, Success Tweets: 140 Bits of Common Sense Career Success Advice, All in 140 Characters or Less.  I hope you’re enjoying reading them.  I’m pleased to say that Success Tweets is now in its second printing.  You can pick up a copy at your local book store, or online at Amazon.com.  Better yet, you can download the eBook for free at http://www.successtweets.com.

Today’s career advice comes from Tweet 96…

Good truly is the enemy of great.  Don’t settle for good performance. Today, good performance is mediocre.  Become a great performer.

In his book Good to Great Jim Collins hit the nail on the head when he began with the idea that good is the enemy of great.  He’s right, good is the enemy of great.  There are lots of good performers, but only a few great ones.  To achieve the life and career success you want and deserve, you need to become a great performer – not just a good one.

Good is seductive.  For many of us it’s not too difficult to be good.  And good has a nice feeling attached to it.  On the other hand, good performance won’t get you to the top of the promotion list and keep you off of the layoff list.  Great performance will.

But great performance comes with a price.  You have to work at it.  In The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup for the Soul fame quotes several great performers on paying the price…

“If people know how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it wouldn’t seem wonderful at all.”  Michelangelo

“When I played with Michael Jordan on the Olympic team, there was a huge gap between his ability and the ability of the other great players on that team.  But what impressed me was that he was always, the first one on the floor and the last one to leave.”  Steve Alford, Head Basketball Coach, University of New Mexico.

“If I miss a day of practice, I know it.  If I miss two days, my manager knows it.  If I miss three days, my audience knows it.”  Andre Previn, Pianist, Conductor and Composer.

“Talent is cheaper than table salt.  What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”  Stephen King, Bestselling Novelist

Here are four people — an artist, a basketball player, a pianist and a writer – all saying the same thing: good is the enemy of great.

Your natural talent might allow you to be good.  Great, however, requires determination and persistence.

Here are some interesting ideas about the difference between good and great when it comes to sales.  They come from a study done by Herbert True at Notre Dame University.

• 44% of all salespeople quit trying to sell their prospect after the first call.
• 24% quit after the second call.
• 14% quit after the third call.
• 12% quit trying after the fourth call.

Great sales people make the fifth and sixth calls.  According my Mr. True 60 % of all sales are made after the fourth call.  And, according to his research, 94% of all salespeople give up after four calls to one prospect.  The 14% and 12% of salespeople who give up after the third and fourth calls are probably pretty good salespeople.  However, the great salespeople make the fifth and sixth calls – and make more sales.

Recently, I worked for about six months to close a large (for me at least) sale.  At first, I seemed to be getting nowhere, but I believed in myself and knew that the services I was selling were valuable to the company to which I selling them.  After six months and way more than six meetings with numerous people, all of whom had some input into the buying decision, I received a signed purchase order for $105,000.  I was great – at least when it came to this sale.

My best career advice on going from good to great is to persist.  Practice harder, prepare more, make the extra call, rewrite your proposal, rehearse your presentation and you will find yourself creating the career and life success you want and deserve.

Some of the best career advice on persistence that I’ve come across comes from Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States….

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

The common sense career success coach point here is simple.  Successful people are great performers.  They follow the career advice in Tweet 96 in Success Tweets.  “Good truly is the enemy of great.  Don’t settle for good performance.  Today, good is mediocre.  Become a great performer.”   Hard work and persistence are the best ways to become a great performer.  If you practice longer, prepare more, make the extra call, rewrite your proposal, rehearse your presentation you will find yourself creating the life and career success you want and deserve.

That’s my take on the career advice in Success Tweet 96.  What’s yours?  Please share your stories of going from good to great in a comment.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud