Several years ago a long-term relationship I was in ended and I felt absolutely terrible: the person I was with could not stop fraternizing with other men. At least a few times a week, she would be out with a different man and say it was related to work. We lived together and she would come home late – sometimes she would make excuses that she was staying with friends and would not come home at all. Eventually, I was so angry about this all the time that the relationship ended.
You need to control your work environment. People who are successful in their work and personal lives are generally able control their environment, and resist being controlled by it. Do not take on more work than you can handle, and make sure to competently handle the work that you do take. An organization’s success depends on its control over its assets, and your own success similarly depends on your ability to control your environment rather than the other way around.
In this article Harrison explains how personal relationships and connections are incredibly useful. You need to get out there and do everything you can to meet people, form alliances and establish connections with people. Whether it is Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, or more — these and other tools that help you connect can make a giant difference. You need connections to make the most of your career. When you are looking for a job, it is effective if you are applying to a variety of places and really getting your message out there. You need to be seen in order to be hired. The more you get your information out there, the more likely you are to get hired. Connections matter. Connections cut through the clutter of advertisements and other interruptions that decision makers are faced with throughout the day. When a connection is at issue then things can really get done.
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In this article Harrison discusses the importance of ‘energy’ over technical skills. When people are hiring you they are purchasing your “energy” more than they are purchasing your technical skills. They are interested in your ability to influence the world around you through your energy. When you are marketing yourself and seeking a job, or working in a job, there are essentially two things you are marketing. You are marketing your technical skills, but more importantly you are marketing an intangible sort of energy. The most successful people have mastered the art of projecting positive energy. The better your energy, the more employable you will be and the farther you will go.
In this article Harrison discusses the choices that life offers us. We can choose to be average, very much like the people around us and doing just what society wants us to do. Or, we could be radically different. We could defy the trend, choosing not to play by the rules and simply doing things in a way that makes sense to us. The same philosophy can also be applied to your job search. Any innovation and deviation from the accepted norm, especially in a challenging economic environment, could prove to be a tremendously successful strategy. When you follow your heart and do what you want to do, everything changes. People who stepped out of the rat race and did exactly what they wanted to do with their lives found not only happiness, but great success.
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.
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.
Recent immigrants exemplify the benefits of willpower, passion, and excitement in the way that they work so much harder for their goals than the people who have been here for most or all of their lives. Like most Americans, you need to rekindle the spirit of your immigrant ancestors and become hungry for what you want. The entrepreneurial spirit that brought people to America has often faded over time; adopt the fire and work ethic of new immigrants in order to achieve your goals.
In this article, Harrison explains the importance of putting in your best efforts while at work and simply not working when you are not working. This he calls ‘disconnecting’ from work. Some people perpetually work all the time, whether at office or outside it. Their minds never get the chance to recharge and their constant attachment to work proves counterproductive and is dangerous. Once outside the work place, you need to rapidly put yourself in another state of mind and begin to enjoy your life and the world around you. In this way, your mind gets recharged and rejuvenated and you can begin work the next day with a fresh new perspective. Harrison believes that you need to develop the profound ability to disconnect from work which in turn will help you to become more efficient, more detail-oriented, and more focused than an average worker.
One of the most important aspects of the people around you is their definition of the “norm”; norms of acceptable behavior exist everywhere. Your own definitions of normal and acceptable will determine your success in life, as will those of the groups with whom you interact. Develop an understanding of the norms for the many groups in your life.
In this article Harrison discusses the importance of listening to, and understanding the other side’s point of view. Harrison feels that a lot of the economic crisis in the country is because people fail to understand one another. The biggest problems why businesses fail is that people want things to be in a certain way and are afraid to listen to what needs to be done to change this. People often assume they know what someone else needs or what they are entitled to. People do this without having any information whatsoever about where the other person is coming from. This never works. Harrison concludes that the most important thing you can often do to keep a job, get a job, and more is take the time to listen and ensure you understand the other person’s point of view.
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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