1st Reasons For Failure Why We Don't Achieve Excellence

Life is like a ten speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use. --Charles Schultz

Unwillingness to Take Risks 

Risks Success involves taking calculated risks. Risk taking does not mean gambling foolishly and behaving irresponsibly. People sometimes mistake irresponsible and rash behavior as risk-taking. They end up with negative results and blame it on bad luck. Risk-taking is relative. The concept of risk varies from person to person and can be a result of training. To both a trained mountain climber and a novice, mountain climbing is risky, but to the trained person it is not irresponsible risk-taking. Responsible risk-taking is based on knowledge, training, careful study, confidence and competence which give a person the courage to act while facing fear. The person who never does anything makes no mistakes. However, he doesn't realize that not doing anything is his biggest mistake. Many opportunities are lost because of indecision. It is habit-forming and contagious. Take risks but don't gamble. Risk-takers go with their eyes open. Gamblers shoot in the dark.

•  Once someone asked a farmer if he had planted wheat for the season. The farmer replied, "No. I was afraid it wouldn't rain." Then the man asked, "Did you plant corn?" The farmer said, "No. I was afraid of insects eating one corn. Then the man asked , " What did you plant ? " The farmer said, "Nothing. I played it safe."

 RISKS

 To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.

 To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

 To reach outfox another is to risk involvement.

 To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.

 To place your ideas, your dreams, before a crowd is to risk their loss.

 To love is to risk not being loved in return.

 To live is to risk dying.

 To hope is to risk despair.

 To try is to risk failure.

 But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. 

The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, and is nothing.

 They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, or live.

 Chained by their attitudes, they are slaves,

 they have forfeited their freedom.

 Only a person who risks is free. 

What Is Holding Us Back ?

What would happen if we drove our car with the brakes on? It wouldn't be smart, would it? What would happen to our car? It will never go full speed because the brakes offer resistance. The car will overheat and break down. If it doesn't break down, the resistance will strain the engine. You have two choices. You can either press the accelerator harder and risk damage, or release the brakes to make the car go faster. This is a good parallel to life, because we go through life with our emotional brakes on. What are the brakes? They are the factors that prevent us from achieving success. The way to release our emotional brakes is by building a positive attitude, high self-esteem and by accepting responsibility. 

DO WE HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE SUCCESSFUL?

Do all of us have the qualities for success? Some people feel they don't. They stay mediocre and fail. But it doesn't have to be that way. All of us have all of these qualities. They may not be developed to the level that we want them but they are there. We may not know that they are there, but when we find out, our performance changes. This is like having a million dollars buried in your backyard and not knowing about it. You wouldn't be able to use it. But the moment you find out, your thinking and behavior will change. The same thing is true with people. We all have hidden treasures. All we need to do is bring them to the surface and use them. 

10th Qualities That Make A Person Successful

Be Willing to Be a Student--Get a Mentor 

If God and the teacher (guru) are standing together, who does the student salute first? According to Indian culture, the answer is the teacher, because without his direction and help, the student could not have met God. A mentor or a teacher is a person whose hindsight can become your foresight. Look for someone who can accept you as a mentee or a student. Choose your mentor carefully. A good one will guide and give direction; a bad one will misguide. Show respect. Be an interested student. Teachers like interested students. The best teachers will not give you something to drink, they will make you thirsty. They will put you on a path to seek answers. There is a story about a king in ancient times who wanted to honor a person that made the greatest contribution to society. All kinds of people came, including doctors and entrepreneurs, and they all presented their case for receiving the honor. The king wasn't impressed. Finally an elderly person with a glow on his face walked in and said he was a teacher. The king came down from his throne and bowed to honor the teacher. It is the teacher who makes the highest contribution in shaping the future of society

9th Qualities That Make A Person Successful

Pride of Performance 

In today's world, pride in performance has fallen by the wayside because it requires effort and hard work. However, nothing happens unless it is made to happen. When one is discouraged, it is easy to look for shortcuts. However these should be avoided no matter how great the temptation. Pride comes from within, which is what gives the winning edge. Pride of performance does not represent ego. It represents pleasure with humility. The quality of the work and the quality of the worker are inseparable. Half-hearted effort does not produce half results; it produces no results. 

• Three people were laying bricks and a passerby asked them what they were doing. The first one replied, "Don't you see I am making a living?" The second one said, "Don't you see I am laying bricks?" The third one said, "I am building a beautiful monument." Three people doing the same thing gave totally different replies. The question is : did they have different attitudes? And would their attitude affect their performance? The answer is a clear yes. 

Excellence comes when the performer takes pride in doing his best. Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it, regardless of what the job is, whether washing cars, sweeping the floor or painting a house. Do it right the first time, every time. The best insurance for tomorrow is a job well done today. Michelangelo was working on a statue for several days and he was taking a long time to retouch every small detail which seemed rather insignificant to a bystander. When asked why he did it, Michelangelo replied, "Trifles make perfection and perfection is no trifle." Most people forget how fast you did a job, but they remember how well it was done.

 If a man is called to be street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well. --Martin Luger King, Jr.

One cannot compromise on quality and service. It is said that Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald's, found a fly during one of his visits at a franchise. Two weeks later the franchisee lost his franchise. Ray Kroc said, "You should work for pride and accomplishment. I was brought up to understand that reward will come later." The feeling of a job well done is a reward in itself. It is better to do small things well than do many things poorly.

8th Qualities That Make A Person Successful

The Power of Persistence 

Nothing will take the place of persistence. Talent will not : Nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent . Genius will not : Unrewarded genius is a proverb. Education will not: The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. --Calvin Coolidge

 The journey to being your best is not easy. It is full of setbacks. Winners have the ability to overcome and bounce back with even greater resolve.

 DON'T QUIT

 When things go wrong,

 As they sometimes will,

 When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,

 When the funds are low and the debts are high,

 And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

 When care is pressing you down a bit-

 Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

 Life is queer with its twists and turns,

 As every one of us sometimes learns,

 And many a failure turns about

 When he might have won had he stuck it out. 

Don't give up though the pace seems slow -

You may succeed with another blow.

 Success is failure turned inside out -

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

 And you never can tell how close you are,

 It may be near when it seems so far ;

 So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit

 It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

• Fritz Kreisler, the great violinist, was once asked, "How do you play so well? Are you lucky?" He replied, "It is practice. If I don't practice for a month, the audience can tell the difference. If I don't practice for a week, my wife can tell the difference. If I don't practice for a day, I can tell the difference."

 Persistence means commitment and determination. There is pleasure in endurance. Commitment and persistence is a decision. Athletes put in years of practice for a few seconds or minutes of performance. Persistence is a decision. It is a commitment to finish what you start. When we are exhausted, quitting looks good. But winners endure. Ask a winning athlete. He endures pain and finishes what he started. Lots of failures have begun well but have not concluded anything. Persistence comes from purpose. Life without purpose is drifting. A person who has no purpose will never persevere and will never be fulfilled. 

7th Qualities That Make A Person Successful

 Give More Than You Get 

It is easy to succeed today. We have no competition. If you want to get ahead in life, go the extra mile. There is no competition on the extra mile. Are you willing to do a little more than you get paid for ? How many people you know are willing to do a little bit more than what they get paid for? Hardly any. Most people don't want to do what they get paid for and there is a second category of people who only want to do what they can get by with. They fulfill their quota just to keep their jobs. There is a small fraction who are willing to do a little bit more than what they get paid for. Why do they do more? If you fall into the last category, then where is your competition? The advantages of doing more than you get paid for are :

You make yourself more valuable, regardless of what you do and where you work.

 It gives you more confidence.

 People start looking at you as a leader.

 Others start trusting you.

 Superiors start respecting you.

 It breeds loyalty from both your subordinates and your superiors.

 It generates cooperation. 

If you work for a man for heaven's sake work for him. --Kim Hubbard

These people are always wanted everywhere regardless of age, experience or academic qualifications: hardworking people,

 who can work without supervision;

 people who are punctual and considerate;

 people who listen carefully and carry out instructions accurately;

 people who tell the truth; 

people who don't sulk when called upon to pitch in at the time of an emergency;

 people who are result rather than task oriented;

 people who are cheerful and courteous.

 Always think in terms of giving value added whether to customers, friends, your spouse, parents or children. Whenever you do anything, ask yourself, "How can I add value to what I am doing?" or "How can I give added value to others?"

The key to success can be summed up in four words: "and then some more." Winners do what they are supposed to and then some more. Winners do their duty and then some more. Winners are courteous and generous and then some more. Winners can be counted on and then some more. Winners put in 100% and then some more.
 Ability without dependability, responsibility and flexibility is a liability. .
 Adapted from Daily Motivations for African American Success by Dennis Kimbro, June 29,1993, Fawcett Press, New York. Why are some highly intelligent people, with impressive academic qualifications living failures, or at best practicing mediocrity? Because they become experts at why things won't work and build a reserve of negative energy. They don't want to do what they get paid for or they only want to do what they can get by with. No wonder they are living failures. When we give or do more than what we get paid for, we eliminate our competition. In fact, we become the competition. This attitude is much more important than intelligence or a degree