In this article Harrison explains how your beliefs are controlling what is happening to you. Due to our early life experiences, almost all of us develop beliefs about who we are and our relationship to the world. These beliefs end up controlling how we evaluate ourselves in relation to the world. Most of us are acting and going through life largely unconscious to what we believe about ourselves. People want their experience of the world to be consistent with what they believe. The drive for this is so strong that people will do almost everything to be right about their beliefs. The key to a successful career and life is to start choosing what to believe about the world and about yourself. You need to manage your mind and understand how your beliefs about yourself, the world and the people around you are controlling your destiny.
There are people in your life, just as in everyone else’s, who do not appreciate your talents and will seek to undermine you. You must avoid situations that place you among these kinds of people, and instead find colleagues who recognize and appreciate your efforts. Your work environment will do much to either motivate or de-motivate you, so make sure to find one that recognizes your talents.
To reach the goals to which you aspire, you must compare yourself with people superior to you for motivation. Most people prefer to look at life the way they wish it to be, rather than as it truly is. Move out of your comfort zones and face reality. Don't seek out or compare yourself with the average people around you, as doing so will only mire you in mediocrity rather than push you forward.
Avoid complacency, as it can literally destroy your career and your life. You are either moving up or moving down, and complacency will always place you on a downward trajectory. Surround yourself with people who will continually challenge you to become better. Surrounding yourself with mediocre people will introduce mediocrity into your own life; when you surround yourself with people who accept nothing but the best, you are likely to become exceptional as well.
Assess both the habits you have and the habits you lack to progress towards your goals. You will improve the quality of your life by adopting positive habits, and adopting negative habits will make you more likely to suffer. Adopt habits that will enable you to live long and prosper, and conquer those habits that harm you.
Repeat work is always more valuable to you than one-offs, however well-paid they may be. Companies succeed or fail depending on their ability to generate repeat business. Repeat work grants you more options and control over your life and actions. Even work with a lower salary, which might not initially seem appealing, can be beneficial if it promises repeat jobs.
Obvious solutions always get overlooked. Simple problems get overanalyzed, and the simple solution gets ignored. Look out for the solutions that are right in front of you, and do not create mountains out of molehills for nonsensical reasons.
In this article Harrison discusses the importance of focusing entirely on your employer’s needs in order to succeed in your job and job search. A relationship with an employer is quite similar to any other relationship. In maintaining any relationship, you need to understand the other person’s needs. You need to concentrate more on giving than taking. Likewise, at work, you need to be more focused on your employer’s interests than your own. When you are applying for jobs and interviewing, you need to put yourself in the employer’s shoes. This will take you places and will give you the level of satisfaction you want out of your work relationship.
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.
Want Powerful Career Advice?
Get my free newsletter and strategies that make people successful