Archive for March 10, 2008
Ya-ttitude: Procrasti-NATION
Positive Ya-ttitude has its Advantages
(Still working on it – but why Procrastinate)
And Help us Spread the Word!
Stand at attention and face your future.
Place your right hand over your eyes and your left hand over your mouth.
Persons dressed in Procrasti-Nation’s official uniform should remain silent (as usual).
Face reality and render your self “ready to submit” to those who have decided its time!
Repeat after me…
I pledge allegiance
To a reality
That I have no control over
I can’t decide
I won’t decide
Maybe I’ll play with Rover
Ya – there you go “the official” Pledge of the large populous of Procrasti-Nation.
It seems that 98% of the people of our great nation are also card-carrying members of Procrasti-Nation; the group of people who do not achieve anything because they just cannot make a decision. Any decision would be good, but they cannot muster up the [imagine all the words (email me Your thoughts) we are going to fill this spot in with] to just decide! Great Leaders have the skill to make a decision and follow through with it. Ex-Leaders, wannabe-leaders, never-was-a leaders tend to procrastinate. “Let me get back to you, I am going to have to give that some thought, Let’s have a meeting about that tomorrow” are just a few of the great alibi’s of the Procrasti-Nation.
It has often been said that making a decision – any decision is better than making no decision at all. A truth be know – it is correct. The more decisions you make the better at them you become. I am not telling you to make an uneducated decision, but your troops, your workers, your fellow-employees want to look up to you and the only way to make that a reality is to take the decision-making bull by the horn and decide.
Now, that does not mean you can’t make a mistake in a decision or have to tweak your initial plan and more than one tweak is expected but what it does mean is you need to lead by making quick and clear-cut decisions or dissension in the ranks are sure to happen. People look up to those who make quick smart decisions and then stick to their guns. Wishy-washy gets you nothing and worse it gets you a mutiny.
When men and women who have experienced failure in one way or another are analyzed one of the key causes of this failure was a lack of ability when it came to decision making. Procrastination is the direct opposite of decision it is the “common enemy” the soldiers of Procrasti-Nation must learn to fight and defeat! People who make decision quickly and change them slowly, if at all, seem to always be those people that are in the lead, are making more money, have a greater group of followers, can rile the troops and garner the help of unlimited constituents. Yes, the ability to decide quickly is not only for business people who are looking to run a corporation, it works as well for leaders of volunteerism, rock bands, political parties and anyone looking to be successful in the venture they set out to accomplish. If you want to be the best web-designer, it begins with the decision that you are “going to be the best web designer.” You have decided what it is you are going to do, when you are going to do it and how you are going to accomplish all of these things you are going to accomplish. Yes – you decided. I know we are going to fail sometimes. If you do not fail sometimes you are never going to know when you have succeeded.
Your failures are simply building blocks, or ingredient to your recipe for success. We are all well aware of Hill’s great quote: “Every adversity, every failure, and every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”
Or the derivatives of it like “every cloud has a silver lining.” This topic needs a chapter all unto itself and we will discuss it later on in our studies.
Most people allow their decisions to be colored or discolored by the opinions of others; the newspapers or the water-cooler crowd fills their heads with the nonsense-of-the-day and this is the surest way to an end.
Opinions are the world’s best bargains. A-dime-a-dozen I believe someone once told me, I am betting I can get even a better deal. If you are consistently influenced by the ideas and opinions of others (who are not deciding to do anything either) you will never succeed in any of your goals, plans, or desires. Do you really need the opinions of anyone outside your immediate Master Mind group; People who are in complete harmony with your thoughts and motives behind your plans (more on the Master Mind group to come as well.)You have a brain, you have a mind, and you have desire and a plan. You are focused on where you want to be and how you are going to get there, so now decide on the action you are going to take and make it all a reality. If and when you need to acquire knowledge from other people, it would be advantageous for you to seek this information quietly; you need not tell the world what you are up to, at least not yet. You will get much farther in life with the theory of listen more and talk less.
There is a very specific reason you have two ears and one mouth, work that theory. People who talk too much generally have a love of their own voice and little else to back it up with. You will learn much more when you let others talk to you and you listen to what they all have to say. Of course you assimilate what is useful and toss aside the rest, but listening is the key to a working relationship; whether that is with your goals, your wife, your children or your employees – learning to listen will take you far.
If you can surround yourself with “experts” in each of the areas you may be seeking council all the better. Your immediate think-tank group will be of much more use than random knowledge of an ex trivial pursuit enthusiast; unless you are playing a game and not winning at life.
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Benny
Ya-ttitude: Defending the “If”
Positive Ya-ttitude has its Advantages
(Still working on it – but why Procrastinate)
And Help us Spread the Word!
I really want to thank everyone who sent me email(s) in regards to and in response to the leadership blog from last week. I really never realized that it would strike up so much conversation and controversy as well as so many distinct points of view. I hope I answered all of you who have taken the time to send in your thoughts and comments in email. I have even visited all of the other sites and blogs (yes, every one) you have all sent me and commented wherever and whenever I had something of value to add.
I was going to start off in another direction today, but so much of the content in mail I received could be answered directly by a section that I read and loved from Napoleon Hill that I thought this might help many of you in your career goals and with your definite plan and the writing thereof.
I know that I have answered many emails and have started a few plans, and I will start a question/answer section on this blog shortly, as most of the questions would be of great use to the other readers. I, of course, will be seeking your permission to print your questions and answers – so fear not!
Many of the comments I receive include items from the list compiled by Old Man If (His list had fifty-seven, I could only compile 54 of his originals) that you will read below that I though I would just put together Hill’s List of alibis, so we can talk about them all in one place. I think he did a great job in compiling a definitive list – but I would love to receive more that you may have heard so I can add them to my list!
Tentatively called: The Anti Ya-ttitude.
FIFTY-SEVEN FAMOUS ALIBIS
By Old Man IF
- IF I didn’t have a wife and family . . .
- IF I had enough ‘pull’ . . .
- IF I had money . . .
- IF I had a good education . . .
- IF I could get a job . . .
- IF I had good health . . .
- IF I only had time . . .
- IF times were better . . .
- IF other people understood me . . .
- IF conditions around me were only different . . .
- IF I could live my life over again . . .
- IF I did not fear what ‘THEY’ would say . . .
- IF I had been given a chance . . .
- IF I now had a chance . . .
- IF other people didn’t ‘have it in for me’ . . .
- IF nothing happens to stop me . . .
- IF I were only younger . . .
- IF I could only do what I want . . .
- IF I had been born rich . . .
- IF I could meet ‘the right people’ . . .
- IF I had the talent that some people have . . .
- IF I dared assert myself . . .
- IF I only had embraced past opportunities . . .
- IF people didn’t get on my nerves . . .
- IF I didn’t have to keep house and look after the children . . .
- IF I could save some money . . .
- IF the boss only appreciated me . . .
- IF I only had somebody to help me . . .
- IF my family understood me . . .
- IF I lived in a big city . . .
- IF I could just get started . . .
- IF I were only free . . .
- IF I had the personality of some people . . .
- IF I were not so fat . . .
- IF my talents were known . . .
- IF I could just get a ‘break’ . . .
- IF I could only get out of debt . . .
- IF I hadn’t failed . . .
- IF I only knew how . . .
- IF everybody didn’t oppose me . . .
- IF I didn’t have so many worries . . .
- IF I could marry the right person . . .
- IF people weren’t so dumb . . .
- IF my family were not so extravagant . . .
- IF I were sure of myself . . .
- IF luck were not against me . . .
- IF I had not been born under the wrong star . . .
- IF it were not true that ‘what is to be will be’ . .
- IF I did not have to work so hard . . .
- IF I hadn’t lost my money . . .
- IF I lived in a different neighborhood . . .
- IF I didn’t have a ‘past’ . . .
- IF I only had a business of my own . . .
- IF other people would only listen to me . . .
Using alibis to defend ourselves is more popular than the Super Bowl. Imagine how much we could get accomplished if we spent as much time being creative with our lives and our plan and our jobs as we do with creating alibis. Breaking the habit of alibi-building and replacing it with a positive habit using the same imagination but towards a positive goal would make your goal of achieving success so much easier and bring it about so much quicker.
Building alibis with which to explain away our failures is counterproductive in many ways. The biggest way? Our failures are stepping stones to our success, without them we could never become successful. So do not alibi-away something important, use it as another ingredient in your Recipe to Success.
Ben
