Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to all of my Irish friends and wannabe Irish friends today.  I’m wearing a green plaid shirt in honor of the day.  How about you?

As a career success coach I advise my clients to surround themselves with positive people if they want to achieve the career success they deserve.  I practice what I preach.  I have a strong network of friends and partners who I can call on.  I also make use of mentors.  Linda Hollander is one of my mentors.  She is teaching me how to attract corporate sponsors for one of my projects.

I was listening to a rebroadcast of one of Linda’s sponsorship training programs the other night and heard this piece of wisdom…

“They say that knowledge is power.  Knowledge is not power.  Acting on your knowledge is power.”

Linda is right.  My career success coaching clients will tell you that I am a big believer in the importance of continually building knowledge by becoming a lifelong learner.  However, learning is wasted if you don’t use what you learn. 

The US Steel pencils my dad would sometimes bring home from work used to say, “Knowing is not enough.”  When I was a kid, I was really fascinated and puzzled by these pencils. “Knowing is not enough – what the hell does that mean?” I used to think. I spent hours struggling with that idea. I was too stubborn to ask a grown-up.

When I got to Penn State, I took Philosophy 101 my freshman year. We had to read Johann von Goethe. One day, as I was plowing through an assignment, I came across this quote: “Knowing is not enough, we must do. Willing is not enough, we must apply.”

Boy was I glad I took that course! It solved one of the profound mysteries of my childhood:  “Knowing is not enough.” You have to take what you learn and use it, or what you’ve learned isn’t very valuable. That’s part of personal responsibility, using your knowledge to achieve your career success goals.

A Message to Garcia is one of the best-known writings on the idea of personal responsibility.  It is an inspirational essay written in 1899 by Elbert Hubbard that has been made into two movies, reprinted as a pamphlet and a book and translated into 37 languages.  It was well known in American popular and business culture until the middle of the twentieth century.  It was originally published as a filler without a title in the March 1899 issue of Philistine magazine.

A Message to Garcia celebrates the initiative of a soldier who was assigned and accomplished a daunting mission. “He asked no questions, made no objections, requested no help, and accomplished the mission.” The soldier was Andrew Summers Rowan, a class of 1881West Point graduate.

The essay suggests that the reader should apply Rowan’s ask no questions attitude to his or her own life as an avenue to success. Its message was often used by business leaders to motivate to their employees. It was given to every United States Sailor and Marine in both World Wars and was often memorized by schoolchildren.

It is about an event in the Spanish-American War in 1898. As the American army prepared to invade Cuba, they needed to contact the leader of the Cuban insurgents, Calixto Iniguez Garcia. Garcia had been fighting the Spanish for Cuban independence since 1868 and sought the help of the United Sates.

Here are some selected excerpts from A Message to Garcia:

“In all this Cuban business there is one man who stands out on the horizon of my memory like Mars at Perihelion. When war broke out between Spain and the United States, it was very necessary to communicate quickly with the leader of the Insurgents. Garcia was somewhere in the mountain fastnesses of Cuba – no one knew where. No mail or telegraph could reach him. The President must secure his co-operation, and quickly.

“What to do!

“Someone said to President McKinley, ‘There is a fellow by the name of Rowan who will find Garcia for you, if anybody can.’

“Rowan was sent for and given a letter to be delivered to Garcia…

“McKinley gave Rowan a letter to be delivered to Garcia; Rowan took the letter and did not ask, ‘Where is he?’

“By the Eternal! There is a man whose form should be cast in deathless bronze and the statue placed in every college of the land. It is not book-learning young men need, nor instruction about this or that, but a stiffening of the vertebrae which will cause them to be loyal to a trust, to act promptly, concentrate their energies: do the thing – ‘Carry a message to Garcia…’

A hundred years later, Nike turned these ideas into its “Just do it!” ad campaign.  At the end of my career success talks, I often tell the US Steel pencil story and challenge the audience to put to work what they have just learned.  Linda Hollander does the same thing with her message that knowledge isn’t power, using it is.  As a career success coach, I often tell the Message to Garcia story.  I tell my career success coaching clients to be like Rowan. Treat all of your tasks as “a message to Garcia.”  If you would like to have the full text of A Message to Garcia, go to http://BudBilanich.com/garcia.

The common sense point here is clear.  Successful people surround themselves with positive people.  Mentors, by definition are positive people.  They are willing to share their knowledge and wisdom to help others succeed.  Linda Hollander is one of my mentors.  Her message on the importance of using what you learn is invaluable.  Because, knowing is not enough.  You have to do.  We all have to do.  Take it from a career success coach, knowledge and learning are great.  However, knowledge and learning should never be ends in themselves.  The real career success payoff comes from applying what you’ve learned.

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

Bud

Self confidence is one of the keys to personal and professional 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. 

You can become self confident by doing three things.  First, choose optimism.  Believe in your heart of hearts that today will be better than yesterday, and that tomorrow will be better than today.  Second, face your fears and act.  Procrastination and inaction feed fear and rob you of self confidence.  Action cures fear.  Third, surround yourself with positive people.  Don’t let the naysayers into your life.  Hang around with people who are positive about themselves, their careers and life in general.

Mentors, by definition are positive people.  They are willing to give of themselves to help others grow and succeed.  That’s why I urge all of my coaching clients to find mentors.  However, it is also important to be a mentor.  By mentoring others you are giving back, and you are building your self confidence.  The more you serve others, the more confidence — and success – will come your way.  Besides that, you’ll grow by mentoring.  As you reflect on your life experience and knowledge and distill it into some nuggets that you can share with others, your knowledge and experience will become wisdom.

The October 25, 2009 “Starting Out” column by Jonnelle Marte in the Wall Street Journal Sunday was called “Mentor Your Boss.”  Ms. Marte told the story of several young people in companies who were becoming what she called “reverse mentors.”  In most cases, these people were helping older colleagues learn how to use technology more effectively – and getting some positive career benefits in the process.

Ms. Marte suggests that figuring out how the skills you have can benefit your company is a good place to start.  Then, volunteer for projects where you can use these skills – even if these projects are outside of your department.  “Talk to your boss about how you think the company would benefit from your know-how.  Offer to host a brief seminar for your colleagues.”

I think this is great common sense advice.  We all have something to give.  Sometimes we downplay our knowledge and expertise thinking “everybody knows that.”  Well guess what, everybody doesn’t know a lot of what you know.  You can help others by sharing your knowledge and expertise.  You can also help your company, and your career.  Sharing what you know with others will get you noticed in a positive way.

The other day, I was at a meeting of about 100 people.  There were several presentations over the course of the day.  One woman, who is very intelligent and had some great things to say, did a not-so-good job in her presentation.  She threw in the phrase “you know” way too many times.   At a break, I watched one of her colleagues gently point out the problem with her presentation.  This person then went on to offer to coach and rehearse her the next time she had to do a talk.  That’s one-to-one mentoring in action. 

By recognizing a problem his colleague had with presentations and then offering to help her fix that problem, this person was sharing his expertise, helping a colleague, helping the company and helping build his confidence.  It takes a self confident person to be willing to share his or her knowledge and expertise.

In his book, A Game Plan for Life, John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach says…

“Anywhere there is a sharing of knowledge or a teaching of experience, there is a mentor.  Anywhere there is an individual with life lessons to impart, even to one person, there is a mentor…Mentoring becomes your legacy.  It is the greatest inheritance you can give to others.”

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people are self confident.  Self confident people surround themselves with positive people.  Mentors, by definition are positive people.  They are willing to give of themselves to help others succeed.  I urge you to find mentors to help you create the successful life and career you want and deserve.  I also urge you to mentor others.  It’s never too early.  As Wall Street Journal reporter, Jonnelle Marte points out – many young people have accelerated their career development by mentoring their boss and colleagues.  I think that we all have something to offer – something that someone else is eager to learn.  Figure out what you know that others around you don’t and then take the time to share your knowledge and expertise.  You’ll be helping your colleagues, your company and yourself if you do so.

That’s my take on the importance of mentoring others in your company.  What’s yours?  Please take a few minutes to leave a comment sharing your thoughts and wisdom with us.  If you’ve had a mentor who has really helped you, feel free to give a shout out to him or her here.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Self confidence is one of the keys to personal and professional success that I discuss in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success, Your Success GPS and 42 Rules to Jumpstart your Professional Success.  You can become self confident by doing three things.  First, choose optimism.  Believe in your heart of hearts that today will be better than yesterday, and that tomorrow will be better than today.  Second, face your fears and act.  Procrastination and inaction feed fear and rob you of self confidence.  Action cures fear.  Third, surround yourself with positive people.  Don’t let the naysayers into your life.  Hang around with people who are positive about themselves, their careers and life in general.

Mentors, by definition, are positive people.  They are willing to share their wisdom and experience to help others learn and grow.  When you were young, I bet you looked to your parents and other adults for guidance and help in learning how to survive in the world. I know I did.  We relied on these people to teach us what we needed to know to get through life.

Now, just like then, we all need others to teach us what we need to know to achieve personal and professional success.  These people are our mentors.

The term “mentor” comes from The Odyssey.  Odysseus entrusted the care of his son, Telemachus, to Mentor when he set out to fight the Trojan War.  The best mentors will help you learn and grow by sharing their knowledge and wisdom with you.  In this way, you can benefit from their experience without having to suffer the consequences of gaining that experience firsthand.

I have been fortunate to have had several mentors in my life and career.  All of them shared several characteristics.  They all…

• Were willing to share their wisdom, knowledge, skills and expertise.
• Had a positive outlook on life.  They helped me through tough times and showed me how to find the opportunity in the difficulties I was facing.
• Were genuinely concerned about me and my success.  In addition to being knowledgeable, they were empathic.
• Really knew what they were doing.  I respected them for their knowledge and skills.
• Kept growing themselves.  All of my mentors were curious and inquisitive.  Sometimes the roles were reversed.  They asked what I was reading, and then read the books themselves – so they could learn and we could discuss the ideas.
• Gave me direct, constructive feedback.  They held me to high standards.  They congratulated me when I met their expectations.  They corrected me when I failed to do so – but in a manner where I learned what not to do the next time.
• Were respected by their colleagues.  Choosing someone who is highly regarded in his or her field or company is one of the best ways to identify a mentor. 
• Sought out and valued the opinions of others.  My best mentor always told me to listen most carefully to the people with whom I disagreed – in that way I might learn something.  And, he was right.

Mentors are people whose hindsight can become your foresight.

I think that finding and working with a mentor is so important to building your self confidence and creating a successful life and career that I have created an acronym for the word “mentor.”

A Good Mentor…

M    Motivates you do accomplish more than you think you can.

E     Expects the best from you.

N    Never gives up on you or lets you give up on yourself.

T    Tells you the truth – even when it hurts.

O    Occasionally kicks your butt.

R    Really cares about you and your success.

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people are self confident.  Self confident people surround themselves with positive people.  They find mentors to help them build their self confidence.  Mentors are positive people because they are willing to give of themselves to help others succeed.  When you’re looking for a mentor, look for someone who is highly skilled, is a lifelong learner, is respected by his or her colleagues, has a positive outlook on life and is willing to provide you with direct, constructive feedback.  When you find the right mentor you won’t have to go it alone on the road to career and life success.

That’s my take on mentors, self confidence and success.  What’s yours?  Please take a minute to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  Better yet, give a shout out to one of your mentors.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud