‘Stick with the facts.’
Rule your emotions by sticking with the facts. Be a detective and learn to make investigation your key weapon for success. Ask questions. Delve deep. Get input. Surround yourself with wise counselors. But above all, get the facts and stick with them. By doing so, you will position yourself at the right place at the right time. You will be one of the informed. And while others are swayed by the emotion of opinion, you will act on the basis that you have all the facts at hand. This will equip you to make informed, winning decisions.‘Have a plan of action.’
I’ve just been completing our personal and business budget for next year. It’s amazing how good one feels when you record your plan of action on paper. Everything is put in the right perspective. Nothing is hidden, and all guesswork is put aside. This is the platform for planned success rather than unknown occurrences. A planned life will not just happen by accident, but will allow you to adjust and swerve, if need be, when the unexpected happens. It allows you to sleep at night, knowing that by taking time to plan, you have planned to succeed.‘Follow the footsteps of masters.’
Place your toes within the boundaries of the footprint that has been left in the sand by a giant. Then do what they have done, think what they have thought, go where they have gone, speak what they have spoken and believe what they have believed. By following in their footsteps you will be destined to live how they have lived. Trace their experience and then duplicate their ways. Remove the guesswork of how to live a successful life, by having a mentor.‘Remain teachable.’
A teachable spirit is a great spirit. It is the basis of a great life, which in turn will be transformed into a great teacher. Bathed in humility, the one who is teachable will always learn more, because they recognise the importance of listening more than speaking. They open their mouth when they need to and keep it closed when they have to. Reading is a vital part of their life, and because they are teachable they surround themselves with people who are much wiser than themselves.
‘Walk in humility.’
Never think too highly of yourself, because pride comes before a fall. When people compliment you, simply respond by saying ‘thank you’ and then move on. Don’t dwell on your past victories and don’t ever believe your own press. The greatest people who have ever lived have walked in this way, and it is for that reason that they have provided a great service to humanity. Quietly they have worked, often without any recognition, and when it finally arrived, they continued on, unchanged by all the fuss.
