Change is the most beneficial thing that can happen to you; starting from scratch gives you the opportunity rebuild your life and career in the manner you see fit. You must find where there is upward movement and opportunities are being created, and ensure that your own structures and ways of operating are effective and relevant to you. Orient your life towards happiness and growth in everything you do.
Punishment and how you react to it are important determinants of your success. Never put yourself in a position where you cannot be forgiven and move on. Guilt leads to self-punishment, which is insidious and damaging; determine whether you are punishing yourself for something in the past, or if you are allowing others to unjustly punish you for long-ago transgressions. Such punishment can undermine your life and success.
You must think of yourself as a product, something of value for which people are willing to pay. Your career will thrive in direct proportion to the perceived value of the product you are offering, so you must present yourself as something that the world wants and is willing to pay for. Pick something, and focus on doing it to the best of your ability. The quality of your product will determine the quality of your life.
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Charles T. Munger is the vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. He gave three separate talks ranging from about 20 to 23 years ago. These were combined...
In this article Harrison explains how long-term enjoyment of life requires that we delay gratification until a later time. The most successful people in the world show the ability to delay gratification. Failure is the result of not delaying gratification. Not facing problems is something related to our ability to delay gratification. One of the most important things we can do is to confront a problem early. Ignoring problems is a simple expression of the unwillingness to delay gratification. Our problems will not disappear. The problems that we need to confront are a barrier to our future growth. It is in your best interest to delay gratification. The people who delay gratification are found to experience the most success in their careers and lives.
In his article, Harrison talks about how hope is the element central to most of our circumstances. We may buy medicines to heal a particular physical problem, but what we are actually buying is hope; the hope that we will get better after using that medicine. It works in much the same way for job seekers and recruiters as well. When you present your credentials to a prospective employer, you offer hope in the form of your qualifications and experience. Harrison says it is important to convey hope in a job interview, because eventually it is only hope that the recruiter will use as a benchmark when choosing one candidate over another. Depending on how you see it, you as a job seeker can offer the recruiter a definite hope to improve his or her situation.
A recommendation from a powerful person can make a huge difference in your job search; a reference from an influential person makes a tremendous difference to a prospective employer, and thus can be a major advantage for you. When an important person whom the company trusts recommends you, you instantly qualify for positions that may previously have been unattainable. Make the absolute most of your connections with the powerful people in your life, because doing so can instantaneously change your career and life.
Come to terms with how you feel and be open about it, and you will be much less likely to be affected by your dark side. Acknowledge your deepest and most profound feelings in order to improve your career and life. Your career will never reach its full potential unless you gain control of the personal matters that are negatively affecting your life. Allow your unconscious to be conscious and face what you are avoiding deep down to achieve your potential.
In this article Harrison explains how you can ensure success in your career by externalizing your opponents. Your job is like a game; if you work hard, play by the rules of the company and are seen as part of the team you will be viewed as a valuable player for the company. The most significant part of any game is the presence of an opponent. Don’t look for an opponent among your co-workers. Never speak negatively of your team members. Instead, concentrate on the external opponents. External opponents bring you and the team closer as you work towards a common goal. In order for you and your company to succeed it is important to have an external opponent. Harrison advises people to consistently work hard and not participate in the politics. This is a sure way to score big in your career.
True self-esteem comes from within, not from the acceptance of others. When your sense of worth comes from within, you free yourself from comparisons with others and will enjoy a greater sense of internal security. You will no longer be bogged down by the experiences of others and can become much more self-reliant.
Your greatest successes will come from some of the smallest actions in terms of meeting people. You will cause a “stacking effect” the more you meet and connect with people; conversely, people cannot connect with you when you are withdrawn and nothing will happen. You must do everything in your power to connect with as many people as possible.
A powerful sense of self will make all the difference in your life. You must understand that your sense of yourself and your capabilities come from inside of you, not from the external forces that have brought you to your current place in life. What you feel internally might be completely different from what the world is telling you, and you must learn to focus on the former rather than the latter.
Adopting a positive attitude will always bring you closer to success, as nobody wants to be associated with a losing side. Everyone wants to associate with and hire winners, and avoids losers. Nothing is more important than maintaining a positive attitude, as many employers hire people based primarily on attitude; with the right attitude, everything else will fall into place. You must look like you are on the winning team, even if times are tough; nobody wants to hire a loser.
Everyone tries to maintain a certain emotional state, and learning to control your own emotions will have a profound impact on your career. While everyone allows their emotional states to be influenced by outside events, there is no advantage in basing your own emotions on things that you cannot control. Allow yourself to discover happiness and fulfillment naturally, rather than making your emotions dependant on external circumstances. Your outlook will have a tremendous impact on your psychological health, as well as that of those around you.
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