In this article Harrison discusses the role of authority in your job. In order to get a job, stay employed and succeed in the world, you need to demonstrate authority. You need to portray strength and confidence to your employer and potential employers. Many people have very little self confidence and are constantly asking others questions and seeking the approval and authority of other people. We use authority to govern our relationship and interaction with the world. The more presumed authority you have to offer your employer, the bigger difference it will make. Authority has a giant impact on your success and what ends up happening to you in your career and job. You need to always cultivate authority.
Your perceptions can make you either happy or unhappy. Most peoples’ perceptions, however, are clouded by assumptions that frequently aren’t even true. To change your life, change your assumptions about the world around you; suffering lies in the perception of the fact, not the fact itself.
You have far more assets than you realize or comprehend, and you need to devote your career and life to making the most of them. The more assets you use, the more you can achieve, meaning that the potential for achievement in your life is limitless. Make the absolute most of all of the assets that you have, as do the most successful individuals and businesses.
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My first job out of law school was working for a federal judge in Northern Michigan. The position did not pay very well, but that did not matter to me at all. I decided I was going to “live it up!”
Many people fall prey to the false attractiveness of the ego, allowing it to dominate their lives and hinder their progress. To conquer your ego you must establish a sense of what is and is not correct, and introduce discipline to your business and personal lives. This means your work will result from true effort rather than cutting corners, and you will be respected for the ethics that govern your actions.
Your success depends on the connections you make, and your ability to conform to the groups of which you are a part. People succeed based on the support they receive from the groups of which they are members. Develop quality links and social connections with others, and work with people for whom you have an affinity and with whom you can grow.
In this article Harrison discusses that when you are inspired you can accomplish anything; you can create whatever opportunity you want. Inspiration changes everything and it will change your life–even more so than a new job. A new job is a good thing; however, being inspired is far more powerful and can help you to forever change your life for the better. Being inspired about what is possible can propel you to succeed in your life and career. Do everything within your power to better yourself. Be the best you possibly can be. But first you must realize that the power to do this lies within your own mind, and it is directly related to what you believe is possible. You will only go as far in your life as you think you can.
There is no such thing as true security in either work or life. Companies must subject themselves to change and chaos in order to survive and grow, and you must do so also. Peoples’ natural desire for predictability and for things to proceed in a certain way leads to many missed opportunities. You must not short-change yourself by constantly seeking order; expose yourself to change and chaos in order to force yourself to grow.
In this article Harrison discusses the importance of focusing on your success. If you think about your losses, you will put your focus there and continually be losing. Nothing is more important for your life and career than focusing on your wins. If you do not focus on your wins, you will have nothing to build on. You absolutely must focus on your wins and not your losses. Stay focused on your successes—no matter how small—and do not focus on your losses at all. Forget about your losses and concentrate on what is going right and what you are doing right. Think about this and build upon the things you are doing best.
When a company can no longer survive, all of its jobs disappear; a good manager’s job, then, is to ensure the company’s survival. As a good manager, you need to truly be on the side of the company and dedicated to its continuance; the more the company succeeds, the more you will grow along with it. Good managers care about what happens to their organization, but the best managers focus continually on the organization’s progress and best interests.
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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