Success Rule Book

Your Education Isn't Over. Prepare Now For The Tests That Lie In Store

[Forewarning: This is a long post]

Your education isn't over. That you may have finished school, college, or your professional exams is irrelevant.

To earn a higher salary, get a promotion, or run your own business successfully, you will need to educate yourself continually. You must increase your knowledge, gain experience, and continually upgrade your skills.

If you don't do that, you'll be stuck in your current position. Your job will become routine and dull. You'll stagnate.

And you won't get promoted. You won't get offered a better job. You wouldn't deserve to be offered one.

And if you were offered one, you won't know enough to do it well.

As a child, your teachers micro-managed you. You were told what to learn, when to learn it, which books to buy and which lessons to attend You were set specific tasks and given externally imposed deadlines by which to complete them. You were told what work you would have to do at home, after the working day.

You're an adult now. There's no-one there to set you homework, no-one to test you, no-one to check up on your progress. You've got to do all this yourself.

And you've still got a lot to learn.

You'll need to learn Strategy, Sales, Marketing, Product Development, Logistics, Customer Service, Negotiation, Law, Micro-economics, Research, People Skills, Writing, Design, Creative Thinking, Logic, Project Management, Purchasing, Market Analysis, Time Management, Risk Management, Human Resources, Psychology, Humor, Active Listening, Presentational Skills, Financial Analysis, Statistical Analysis, Business Development and Business Financing.

You will be frequently tested on many of these areas. It won't be a formal sit-down test, with a big neon 'test' sign flashing above your head. It'll be far more subtle.

You must prepare now. Do not let the requirements creep up on you, leaving you to suddenly find yourself with an evening to prepare followed by scary hours of 'winging it' badly the next day.

Many people fail to grasp the opportunities that are presented to them because they have failed to prepare for them.

A promotion comes up, but they haven't got the skills needed for the job.

Or they see or hear of a job they would like, but they can't apply as their lack of knowledge stopped them from volunteering for tasks at work that would have gotten them the necessary experience.

Too often the warning of an impending test comes only after it is too late to prepare. That's why you must prepare in advance, learning more than you 'need' at present. For by the time the 'optional' becomes 'necessary' it will probably be too late. You must actively be planning ahead. Find out what you need to learn - and what experience you must gain - in order to do your job better, so you can get the career you want.

The areas I have listed would cover most of what you would need to shine in any situation you encounter. A working knowledge of those areas will make you invaluable to your employer and to your colleagues. It will ensure that when you set up your own business, it'll have every chance of being successful.

The knowledge will help you understand the needs and concerns of your colleagues and customers. It will help you tailor your work to fit their needs. You'll be able to spot work you could do for them that would be of great benefit, but which they have not requested. Work that could increasing your value to the firm.

The knowledge also acts as your insurance. If you know how others do (or should do) their job, you'll be better able to recognize liars, the incompetent, and those who are 'winging it'. You'll be better able to spot when people are attempting to manipulate you or fob you off with red herrings. You'll be able to spot your boss's mistakes and omissions when they briefing you, and to compensate for them.

Your self-initiated study program should start with the areas most critical to your job; the ones that could improve your performance, reduce your errors, improve your effectiveness and the timeliness of what you do.

Next, it should cover the knowledge needed by people in the organization with which you interact. Your boss, your colleagues and your direct reports. The better you understand their roles, the better you can tailor your work to meet the needs of the 'customers' you serve.

Few jobs offer continual, substantial, on-the-job training. So you'll need to be continually investing in your education, OUTSIDE working hours.

You must put together a plan to gain the knowledge you require. Prioritize your learning, and start learning this week!

What The Successful Have That YOU Don't

Success is no accident. The successful aren't lucky. Their success is down to one thing: Every day they follow the rules that determine success.

They're not more intelligent that you. They're not better looking. Yet they have jobs, homes, holidays and bank balances that outclass your own.

You've been making a mistake; a simple one. You've been playing life's game, without bothering to read the rule book that determines who succeeds. Every day you try to break the rules, and every day the rules break you.

Your dream life is waiting for you right now. And waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

Every day you move one day closer to the grave, and ever day you make little progress in your life. In truth, is your dream life ever going to happen?

You, my friend, have sold yourself out. Your work for a salary that is barely adequate to maintain your lifestyle. Your job is mundane. You know it's routine and does not challenge you. You have countless talents that go unused. Every day you come home from work tired, and have few hours to spend with your kids, your partner and your friends. Every Sunday evening your heart sinks. 'I have to go to work tomorrow' you mutter to yourself in resignation. You console yourself 'I have no choice', and believe your lie.

Let me tell you: I'm angry with you. Extremely angry. How DARE you have settled for this! How dare you have done this to yourself?! How much longer will you accept this from yourself? If anyone else had done this do you, you would call them an enemy. You would never want to see them again. Yet because the saboteur of your life is internal, you placidly accept the harmful behavior.

Your life is being wasted. Please, please, decide this day to declare: 'I will take this no more!'. Make today the day you finally accept full, complete, and total responsibility for your situation, for every aspect of your life that you dislike but do nothing about, for everything you do wrong, for all the painful consequences your have brought on to yourself. You may look like an adult, but internally you still act childishly. It's time for you to grow up, and to face the reality of your life, the good, the bad, and the ugly without excuses and without escapism.

Today, I want you to commit to radically change your life. To get that dream that you had given up on down from the attic, to dust it down, and resolve to plot its realization.

You can turn your situation around, starting today. You can choose to live the life you always wanted, a life where money is no longer a problem, where you can have the best of everything. Just imagine yourself four years from now, in a job where every day is rewarding and challenging. I can see you being in a position to give your partner, your children the things they deserve. You know how great they are, that they deserve the best, and soon you could give it do them.

If you want this dream to be a reality, you must learn the rules that govern success. Live by them, and your success is assured. Ignore them, and your status quo is assured.

The rules are simple. But in applying them you must confront your inner saboteur, the inner voice that forever lobbies against change, against work, against learning, the inner voice that calls for inaction, for the avoidance of any necessary discomfort, denial or risk-taking. That voice is truly your worst enemy. More than any person in the world, that voice has damaged your life, and that of your family. That voice must be drowned out.

There are obstacles on the road to success. You must tackle them. You must suffer the temporary bruising of your ego, the irritation of your temper, and you must deny yourself pleasures that are harmful or ill-timed. You must tackle any destructive behavior patterns that you have, head on. The rewards are worth it.

I am committed to helping you master the rules that can change your life. But it's up to you to take them off this page, and apply them to your life. I can't do that for you.

May you choose to change your life for the better by applying these rules.