Competence is one of the keys to success in my Common Sense Success System.  I discuss it in detail in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success; Your Success GPS; Star Power, I Want YOU…to Succeed and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success. 

If you want to succeed you need to develop four basic, but important competencies: 1) creating positive personal impact; 2) becoming a consistently high performer; 3) communication skills; and 4) relationship building.  

Lifelong learning is the first step in becoming an outstanding performer. 

I like blogging.  It gives me an opportunity help people create the successful life and career they want and deserve by sharing my thoughts on career and life success.  It gives me the opportunity to continue learning about my subject matter.  Blogging gives me an opportunity to shamelessly plug my books and Common Sense Success System.  And I’ve discovered that blogging has another huge benefit; people send me books that they would like me to review.  I love books and I love seeing how other people think about career and life success, so this is a great benefit.

The other day, I received a great book called The Big Picture: Essential Business Lessons from the Movies, by Kevin Coupe and Michael Sansolo.  That was my lucky day.  I love movies and business, so I read it that evening.  And I’m glad I did.

Kevin and Michael make some great business and career and life success points like…

• Denial is never a good idea.
• Play to your strengths.
• Take responsibility.
• Create a vision and make it work.
• Find a role model.
• Do the right thing.
• Stick to the fundamentals.
• Be different.
• In tough times, quality wins.
• Cross the thin line between good and great.
• Use word of mouth advertising.
• Protect your brand.
• Make sure your words count.
• Take the long view.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that I write about all of the above points quite frequently.

On the other hand, Kevin and Michael give their take on a lot of my favorite movies…

• Jaws
• The Guns of Navarone
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• The Right Stuff
• Rocky
• Schindler’s List
• Citizen Kane
• Guys and Dolls
• The Caine Mutiny
• High Noon
• Casablanca
• Big
• The Producers
• Bull Durham
• When Harry Met Sally
• You’ve Got Mail
• The Shawshank Redemption
• Hoosiers
• In the Heat of the Night
• Good Night and Good Luck

A couple of my favorite message movies are missing, films like “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “On the Waterfront” both of which make a great point about doing the right thing, even when the odds are stacked against you.  But that’s quibbling.  I really like this book and think that it is an entertaining way to pick up some great business knowledge – especially if you are a movie fan. 

Here’s an example on the importance of branding from an unlikely film; American Gangster. 

Denzel Washington plays a bad guy in this movie.  He’s a ruthless drug dealer, but he understands the importance of a strong brand.  He brands his high quality heroin as “Blue Magic.” 

This is what Kevin and Michael have to say…

“Lucas (Denzel Washington) finds out that one of his competitors has been taking his product, diluting it and then selling it under the same name.  Lucas, to say the least is not pleased.

“Lucas says, ‘Brand names mean something…Consumers rely on them to know what they’re getting.  They know the company isn’t going to try to fool them with an inferior product.  They buy a ford, they know they’re going to get a Ford, not a f****n’ Datsun.  Blue Magic is a brand name; as much a brand name as Pepsi.  I own it.  I stand behind it.  I guarantee if and people know that even if they don’t know me any more than they know the chairman of General Foods’.”

I am a big believer in the power of personal branding.   I always advise my clients that they need to clearly, consistently and constantly promote their brands.  That the message Kevin and Michael point out in Denzel Washington’s rant about his brand of heroin. 

The Big Picture is full of interesting insights like this one.  That’s why I like it and recommend it.

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people are outstanding performers.  Lifelong learning is an important key to becoming an outstanding performer.  Reading is one of the best ways I know to become a lifelong learner.  You can find lots of good information on creating the successful life and career you want and deserve in books that at first glance don’t apply.  Kevin Coupe and Michael Sansolo’s book The Big Picture is one of them.  It is subtitled, “Essential Business Lesson’s From the Movies.”  At first glance, it appears to be a light hearted look at movies and the lessons they impart about career and life success.  While it is an easy read, there are some profound ideas inside.  If you want to begin on a lifelong learning journey, The Big Picture is a great place to start.

That’s my take on lifelong learning and The Big Picture by Kevin Coupe and Michael Sansolo.  What’s yours?  Please take a few minutes to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

PS: If you liked this post, you’ll love my free 90 minute DVD on career and life success.  To get your free copy, go to www.CareerSuccessDVD.com.  That’s www.CareerSuccessDVD.com.  Go there now and get started creating the successful life and career you want and deserve.

Competence 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; I Want YOU…To Succeed; Star Power and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success. 

If you want to succeed you need to develop four basic, but important competencies: 1) creating positive personal impact; 2) becoming a consistently high performer; 3) communication skills; and 4) relationship building.

Lifelong learning is the first step in becoming an outstanding performer.  In today’s fast paced world, if you don’t keep learning, you’re not standing still, you’re falling behind.  One of my favorite quotes from Gandhi nails it when it comes to lifelong learning…

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

He’s right.  None of us should ever quit learning.  I have a thirst for knowledge and do my best to quench it through learning.  I try to learn something new every day.  Sometimes my learning is trivial, sometimes it is profound.  Regardless, I keep on learning. 

On days when I feel as if I haven’t learned anything, I turn to a little book that I have called Live and Learn and Pass It On.  The subtitle is, “People ages 5 to 95 share what they’ve discovered about life, love, and other good stuff.”  I usually find something in there that satisfies. 

Here are a few of the learnings in the book that have helped me…

I’ve learned that if you wait until all conditions are perfect before you act, you’ll never act.

I’ve learned that if you want to get promoted, you must do things that get you noticed.

I’ve learned that 90% of what happens in my life is positive and only about 10% is negative.  If I want to be happy I just need to focus on the 90%.

These are little life learnings that I find helpful.

On the other hand, I had a big learning the other day.  I figured out how to podcast.  I have been wanting to turn these blog posts into podcasts for a long time.  However, I never put in the time it takes to become a proficient podcaster.  I promised myself that I would learn to podcast in early 2010.  On Tuesday, I spent about four hours figuring out how to podcast.  It wasn’t all that hard, the information I needed was on the web.  Now I know how to podcast – and since knowing is not enough, I’ve been doing a daily podcast.  You can check it out at http://CareerSuccess.mypodcast.com.  I hope you do and that you give me some feedback on it.

Podcasting is an important technical skill for me.  I had to learn it if I were to reach my target audience with my common sense career and life success advice.  What important technical skill do you need to learn to stay current in your area of expertise?  How can you learn it?  I suggest you set a deadline for learning this skill, and then do whatever it takes to learn the skill by the deadline. 

All of the people I know who are committed to lifelong learning have several traits in common.  They all…

…Are humble.  They admit what they don’t know.  This is the first step in learning what they need to know.

…Question the status quo.  They realize that because something is right today, it may not be right tomorrow.  They know that doing things “the way we’ve always done them” is not good reasoning.

…Are intellectually curious.  They truly want to learn and find learning fun, interesting and stimulating.  They see life as a journey in which they are constantly learning.

…Are willing to try new stuff.  They experiment and see what works.  When things work, they use them.

…Are not afraid to fail.  They see failure as an opportunity to learn.  Just as they incorporate what works into their repertoire, they use failures as stepping stones to other experiments.

…Are tolerant of ambiguity.  Learning creates ambiguity.  These people are willing to let go of past ways of doing things in order to come up with new ways of doing things in the future.  The gap between the past and future can make for an uncomfortable present. 

…Focus on staying ahead of the pack.  They are early adopters – of new technology and new ways of thinking.  They realize that knowledge has a short half life today.  They keep learning to stay ahead.

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people are outstanding performers.  Outstanding performers remain outstanding performers by becoming lifelong learners.  They continually expand their knowledge in order to get out in front of the pack and stay there.  Begin your lifelong learning journey by focusing on your strengths and working to improve them every day.  Building on your strengths is easier that overcoming your weaknesses.  When you build on your strengths you can make incremental improvements.  However, if you have a glaring gap in your skills, address it now.  Don’t wait to take necessary quantum leaps.  What do you need to learn in 2010?  How do you plan on learning it?  Remember what Ben Franklin had to say, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”

That’s my take on lifelong learning and success.  What’s yours?  Please take a minute to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Competence is one of the four keys to career and life success in my Common Sense Success System.  I also discuss it in some detail in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success; Your Success GPS; and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success.  If you want to succeed you need to develop four basic, but important competencies: 1) creating positive personal impact; 2) becoming a consistently high performer; 3) dynamic communication skills; and 4) becoming interpersonally competent. 

There are four key competencies that will help you become a career and life success:

• You have to be able to create positive personal impact.
• You have to be become an outstanding performer.
• You have to be a dynamic communicator – in conversation, writing and presentations.
• You have to build strong, lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with the important people in your life.

If you want to become an outstanding performer, you need to become a lifelong learner.  The other day, I came across a great quote from Louis L’Amour, the great American writer of stories about the old west.  I think this quote captures the essence of lifelong learning…

“There will come a time when you believe everything is finished.  That will be the beginning.”

I know a lot about career and life success.  I’ve written several books on it.  I give lots of talks about it.  I’ve coached hundreds of people – helping them build the successful life and career they want and deserve.  I write this blog.  At one point, I thought I knew it all.

And you know what?  Every time I write about career and life success, every time I speak about it, every time I coach someone, I gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to create a successful life and career. 

I begin anew every day, doing whatever I can to learn about career and life success and to pass on this knowledge and wisdom to others.  I choose to keep learning.  So should you.  I’ve learned that if you don’t keep learning, you don’t stand still, you fall behind in the game of life.  I’ve also learned that what I learned after I knew it all was some of the best and most important of my learnings.

Thomas Carlyle once said, “What we become depends on what we read after all of the professors have finished with us. The greatest university of all is a collection of books.”  He lived in the 19th century.  If he were alive today, he might have amended his statement to say, “Books and the internet are the greatest university of all.”  So many of the great books, as well as other career and life success information, are available on line.  The internet is a great way to access this information.  The important thing is to keep learning – how you do it and where you get your information is secondary.

I have a huge collection of books on a variety of subjects.  These books are the first place I turn when I am looking for information to post on my blog, when I am working with my executive coaching clients, when I am preparing a speech and when I am designing a training program.  When I can’t find what I’m looking for in my books, I go on line.

My best common sense suggestion for becoming a lifelong learner is simple.  Read.  Read technical journals.  Read trade magazines.  Read business publications like “The Wall Street Journal”, “Business Week”, “Fortune” and “Forbes.”  If you think they’re too stodgy, read “Fast Company.”  Read your company’s annual report.  Read your competitors’ annual reports.    Read your local newspaper and “The New York Times”.  Read news magazines like “Newsweek” and “Time.”  Read business and industry blogs.  Read ezines and eBooks.  Read books.  Reading is the best way to stay up with what’s happening in business, in your industry and in the world. 

There are other things you can do to keep learning.  Attend seminars.  Join the major groups or trade associations for your industry.  Attend their meetings and participate.  Volunteer for committee work.  Become known locally in your field.  Take a class at your local university.  Use your company’s tuition reimbursement program to get a free undergraduate or Masters degree. 

Your education doesn’t stop when you graduate from college, it begins anew.  There are many ways to keep learning.  Decide which ones work for you, and then follow through.  Outstanding performers are competent.  They stay competent because they are lifelong learners.

I agree with Albert Einstein who said…

“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong learning attempt to acquire it.” 

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people are outstanding performers.  Outstanding performers are lifelong learners.  Lifelong learning is really important to creating the successful life and career you want and deserve. Remember what Louis L’Amour says, “There will come a time when you believe everything is finished.  That will be the beginning.”  Treat each new day as an opportunity to learn.  Stay open to new people and new ideas.  If you do this, you’ll come to realize that you are never finished learning and that what you learn after you know it all is the most valuable knowledge you’ll develop.

That’s my take on continuing to learn once you know it all.  What’s yours?  Please take a few minutes to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Commitment to taking personal responsibility for your success is one of the keys to career and life success that is part of 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.  If you want to succeed, you must commit to three things.  First, you must take personal responsibility for your success.  Only you can make you a success.  You need to be willing to do the things necessary to succeed.  Second, you must set high goals — and then do whatever it takes to achieve them.   Third, stuff happens; as you go through life you will encounter many problems and setbacks.  You need to react positively to the negative stuff and move forward toward your goals.

The other day I saw a great quote on line.  “What we are is God’s gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.”  It was from Eleanor Powell.  If you don’t know Ms. Powell, she was a well known dancer and actress who appeared in many musicals in the 1930s and 1940s.  She was a good dancer, but an amazing tap dancer.  In her day, she was known as “the world’s greatest tap dancer.”

I love the quote – it gets at the heart of commitment to taking personal responsibility for your life, career and success.  God (or the universe, if you are so inclined) gives each of us certain talents and abilities.  It is up to us to take those talents and abilities that we have been given and develop them, make full use of them.  This is our gift back to God (or the universe).

Eleanor Powell was given the gift of dance.  She began dancing in Vaudeville when she was 11 and was on Broadway when she was 17.  She developed her God given dancing talent to a very high level.

I have been given several gifts – the ability to write clearly, the ability to simplify the complex, empathy and common sense.  I’ve worked hard to develop these gifts.  I use them to help others grow and develop and to create the successful lives and careers they want and deserve.  I believe that I owe it to myself, God and the people who read what I write and avail themselves of my coaching services to keep learning, growing and developing my skills.

That’s why I started blogging.  It gives me a chance to use and develop my writing skills, and my ability to simplify complex things, like creating a successful life and career.  I created my Common Sense Success System for the same reasons – to continue to develop my skills and to help others.  It is my gift to God and others.

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers.  As Eleanor Powell said, “What we are is God’s gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.”  She took personal responsibility for using her God given dance talent to become the world’s greatest tap dancer, and become a vaudeville, Broadway and Hollywood star.  What are your God given talents?  What have you done to develop them?  Commit to taking personal responsibility for developing your talents.  It’s the best way to thank God for giving them to you, to help others, and to create the successful life and career you want and deserve.

That’s my take on committing to developing your talents.  What’s yours?  Please take a few minutes to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud