"You're never as good as everyone tells you when you win,
and you're never as bad as they say when you lose."
-- Lou Holtz and John Heisler
"[Self-]assurance is contemptible and fatal
unless it is self-knowledge."
-- George Santayana
"Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered--
either by themselves or by others."
-- Mark Twain
In my business travels, I have learned a very important thing: once a person leaves a company, they can never do anything right. I've paid particular attention to this fact and watched how it is carried out and several companies. It's fascinating to watch the new person come in and find nothing but errors in judgement, errors in management, needing to be wiped clean and done right this time. . . by them. . . until they leave, of course, and then it will be another. One man I worked for had a saying for this. He said, the new broom sweeps the cleanest. Same thing, different words.
Fact is, they couldn't have done everything wrong and survived as long as they did, so we all have talents, skills, value. Sometimes we just lose our drive, our desire, our commitment, or those assets are not well matched to the task. When that happens, it's far better for us to pay attention to that and do something constructive about it, like finding a different sandbox to play in, or finding some inspiration to get us fired up again. And, that is always up to us and is best left to our control.
The longer we do something, or work somewhere, the more opportunity to become complacent, or to live a lie by doing something you just don't like doing. I've loved every co-worker and employee I've ever had or dealt with and there have been occasions where I took someone aside and suggested strongly they find a new career because I truly wanted them to succeed; to love what they were doing.
Self-assurance is a key ingredient and it isn't possible to fake it for very long. You can see it in people's eyes, their face, their demeanor. We each have genius in us and finding a way to make use of that is our responsibility. Sometimes it requires more wilingness to risk a little, or risk a little more. One thing I think is certain, we know it full well when we find it. We love doing it and would do it free if money were not an object. We're alive and looking forward to going to work, doing our work.
I just read an article in this month's Success Magazine (by the way, if you don't subscribe, I highly recommend it!) titled The Business of Being Creative by Amy Anderson and it is about the best-selling author, James Patterson and how he combines passion with profit. At the end of the article, James Patterson is quoted as defining success: "I think if you wake up in the morning and you are kind of excited about the day and you go to bed excited about the next day, then you are a success." I agree completely.
Some say success is hard work, or working hard, but I think it is easy work, or working easy. That comes from enjoying what you do. I don't think there is a greater goal than this, and certainly not a more effective one. Achieving this goal changes everything. And, many may find it is not leaving that will achieve this, but something else.
It May Be As Simple As A Change In Thoughts. . .
Spread Some Joy Today--by seeking joy. It's one of those things that are totally free, doesn't even really require any physical or mental effort. It is more a letting go. When you are smiling as you think a thought, you are in joy. Injoy your day! Spend your day in joy.
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