The Attitude of Success!

Hi Linda!

You touched on a lot of powerful principles.... :)

> It's been a while! : ) Hope life is being
> good to you.

Yes, life's been good.... Busy, but good!

> Like you, I too read the tidbit about the
> bricklayers. Was that at Joe Vitale's site?
> I don't recall... nevertheless, it does not
> matter where.

Actually, I read that story in "The Magic of Thinking Big" by David Schwartz (and rewrote it slightly for my post)....

> I also read Max's letter, below. I laughed.
> Really laughed. He makes some good points.

> For, when that "person" is
> "building the world's most beautiful
> cathedral" yes - they may truly have a
> vision. Then again, they may also have
> illusions of grandiosity. And who is to
> know?

I agree with you completely!

I believe there have to be at least two components to have success....

The first component is the idea, the vision.... (A goal can be a form of this)....

The second component is the execution of the idea....

Great success I believe needs both!

Although the story really focuses on the first part, I think that you're absolutely right - without the execution, it just doesn't work....

A friend of mine recently visited me (that's why I haven't written much the past few days, I've been busy showing her around the local sights)....

She was the CEO of a start-up in Silicon Valley, which unfortunately closed down due to the tech crash (the investment funding she needed dried up).

However, she and I have had some extensive business discussions during the few days she was visiting.... Such as about what makes a business a success.

I realized one thing. I seem to have a mind which focuses on the ideas, I like to think about what makes a low-risk, high-reward opportunity....

And I realized that she comes at things from the opposite direction, she focuses on the execution....

I think the best approach is a balance of the two. Talking to her really helped me to see it.... As she was always talking about execution, taking action, while I was always talking what makes for high potential ideas and visions! Now, I can see where the balance lies....

So Linda, I fully agree with you.... :)

Thanks for sharing that instructive story about your sister too.... :)

> But, even more so... the mark of the person
> who will succeed? Persistance. Tenacity. The
> stubborn insistance on hanging on, pushing
> forward and refusing to give up!

> The late Irving Stone wrote biographies of
> men such as Michelangelo, Vincent van Gogh,
> Sigmund Freud, and Charles Darwin. Stone was
> once asked if he had found a thread that
> runs through the lives of exceptional
> people. He said;

> "They are beaten over the head, knocked
> down, vilified, and for years they get
> nowhere. But every time they're knocked down
> they stand up. You cannot destroy these
> people...."

> Take, for example, the person whose website
> sucks. Doesn't make any sales. Do they quit?
> Walk away? Many do. Then there is the person
> that will change it, and change it again,
> and persist. And learn. And grow. And hang
> in there with sheer stubborn persistance.
> And work a second job if they have to, and
> stay up at night to promote the site. And
> THAT, my friend, is the person who is going
> to sit back and reap the rewards down the
> road. Persistance. Tenacity!

> Here, on the Internet, people are searching
> for that key to fame. To wealth and
> financial reward. They study others that are
> succeeding, trying to find a common
> denominator. The key to success, if you
> will.

I agree with you, and you can't be reminded of this enough!

I see success as not just a hit and miss affair.... It's a gradual process. Every activity you do brings you one step closer....

Take my friend, for example. Her company was Bookface.com (it's now closed down, but you can read articles about it if you do a search). Sure, the company has closed down. But for her personally, I believe it was a success.

The *experience* she got from doing it was incredible. She has so many contacts now among ecommerce companies in San Francisco, as well contacts as among North American publishing companies, which she can use in the future. So, some will see it as a failure, but she sees it as a great learning experience, one she wouldn't want to do without.

Who knows what she could do next? It's a far way from the end of the line.... This saying sounds like a cliche, but it's really true - It's really just the beginning.

> Eventually it dawns on us. Words are power.
> The man (woman) who has a gift with words
> has power. Power to affect your thoughts
> & your responses.

> To those reading all the articles out there,
> be cautious of the power of words. They can
> as easily sway you the wrong way as they can
> point you in the right direction.

I'm amazed how powerful words can be. Words are like canned emotions - many words and phrases have an emotion attached to them. These attached emotions affect how you feel when you read them....

> So yes... have a good attitude. If for no
> other reason that this; you get what you
> give. But above all, believe in yourself -
> hang in there. Be persistant and tenacious,
> not in ignorance, but in a search for
> knowledge. Be like the willow tree - bend
> with the wind when you need to, but keep
> your roots firmly planted in that which you
> know and believe. In the end, persistance is
> what will keep one foot in front of the
> other until you reach the place of your
> dreams.

Thanks Linda, that's fantastic advice, and a wonderful reminder.... :)

- Dien