It was September 11th 2002, one year on from the Twin Towers attack . I was in my London office and had to drive to a meeting across town on the other side of the River Thames. Saying the traffic was bad would be an understatement. It’s usually difficult getting around on the roads in the centre of London at the best of times, but this was something else.

To make things worse, my usual route, which takes me past St Paul’s Cathedral, was blocked off by the police. There was to be a big remembrance service there later in the day so I was diverted along an unfamiliar route.

Having finally reached my destination a little late and got my meeting over with, I then had to get back. I tried three different routes never managing to get within even one mile of Shoreditch and my office. The roads were grid locked and I wasn’t getting anywhere. I was also low on petrol and  was concerned about my tank reaching empty while I was still in the jam.

In normal circumstances, I suppose I’d have reacted like most other drivers, cursing my predicament and every brainless idiot trying to jump the queue of traffic, slowly boiling away inside trying to set a new blood pressure record. But I didn’t, surprisingly I stayed reasonably calm and rational. I concluded that I was wasting my time trying to get to my office any time soon, so changed my plan. I headed off for an early lunch and the nearest petrol station.

So what was different this time?

Well on this occasion, I couldn’t help thinking about what was causing the situation, the many remembrance events around the city to mark what had happened 12 months before. Pondering those events really didn’t make my predicament seem that important in the scheme of things.

Why is it that sometimes a normally annoying situation can be calmly accepted, or more simply an apparent negative situation can be regarded as positive?

It all depends on your perspective on a particular situation! And of course, your perspective is determined by your attitude.

Attitude a little thing that makes a big difference!

Your attitude is just as important in determining the success of your business endeavours as it is the more trivial personal situations you find yourself in, such as the one I describe above.

The single most fundamental thing you can do to almost guarantee success in anything you choose to do or be is to have the right attitude. Good attitude is about being positive, confident and having self-belief.

There is no big secret or magic formula that will ensure your success. There is only you! You are the single most important factor in the equation.

The only way you will succeed in anything is through your own hard work and persistence. But to drive you on through any adversity day after day, you need the right mental attitude.

With the right attitude you simply can have or be anything you really want.

Be successful!

Technorati Tags: attitude, self-belief

A small agricultural community was suffering from a severe drought. If the rains didn’t come soon the crops would be ruined and the farmers and their families would most likely starve. The people turned to their preacher for a solution.

The preacher told them all to “come to church on Sunday”, when they would all join together and pray for rain.

Sunday came and the whole community turned out for the church service. There was hushed quiet as the preacher climbed up to the pulpit to speak.

He looked around the expectant faces of the congregation and studied them pensively. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak: “I suggest that you all go home” he said “there will be no rain today.”

The congregation were aghast. “But you promised us rain” they cried.

The preacher turned to address them again and said: “I see that not one of you has brought an umbrella or a raincoat with you today. How can you hope to pray for rain, if in your hearts you have no faith that it will come?”

Think about that message for a moment. How can you hope to achieve anything, if in your heart you have no faith that you’ll actually achieve it?

The Oxford English Dictionary gives the following definitions for the word ‘faith’:

– trust, things believed, loyalty, fidelity, confidence.

Well these cover all the angles!

To succeed with anything you first need to trust in your own ability to succeed and be loyal to that trust. By that I mean don’t go changing your mind every five minutes. You know the drill ” Yes I know I can achieve that!” one minute and then “Well now I’m not so sure!” the next.

Stepping on from this you also need the confidence and self belief to see the thing through to its completion.

Let me paint another image of faith for you, again involving the rain.

You’ve probably heard stories of the legendary ‘rain dance’ carried out by the American Indians. Apparently they could dance to make it rain.

“But!” I hear you cry, “They just danced until it began to rain. There’s nothing mystical about that!”

No my friend you’re right. But they had the faith to continue dancing, knowing that if they danced long enough the rain would come.

Take a look in the mirror. Do you have enough faith to continue ‘dancing’ until you achieve the dreams you desire?

Do you have enough faith to ‘carry your umbrella’ even though your associates may have fallen by the wayside. Certain in the knowledge that good fortune will rain down upon you?

If you don’t have faith in yourself and your ability to succeed, then you’re sunk even before you launch your boat. Faith is a very powerful emotion that can conjure up all sorts of amazing phenomena. Remember, that faith requires trust, self-belief, loyalty to yourself and above all confidence in your own abilities. If you’re ‘packing’ all those weapons then you’re really a force to be reckoned with.

Be successful.

Technorati Tags: confidence, faith, loyalty, self-belief, trust

I remember a particular relaxing family holiday in Portugal. And yes it was very agreeable, thank you for asking. One afternoon I was lazing by the pool, as you do, and for want of something else to do began thinking about ideas for an article. As time goes on, it certainly seems harder trying to think of original and entertaining ideas to write about. But I digress.

Anyway, I was lying there sleepily gazing at my surroundings and longing for inspiration. Not that a hundred bloated pink bodies lying around a swimming pool in the mid-day sun are very inspirational.

I wasn’t one of them by the way, bloated and pink I mean. Well, I may have been a little bloated, but you have to partake of the local hospitality don’t you? It’s the polite thing to do isn’t it?

The Sunlight was flashing off the surface of the pool, interrupted by occasional ripples from the half-hearted strokes of a solitary swimmer. Then I had a thought! What is there, if anything, about water that could inspire us to achieve more in our lives?

I know, sad aren’t I?

When you think about it though, water is one of the greatest unstoppable forces of nature. It’s simply undefeatable. You just can’t get rid of the stuff! It never gives up, never shows any quarter. It just keeps coming back for more.

Throw it away and it’ll come back and rain on you. Try and imprison it behind the most technically advanced dam and you still have to let some of it escape for fear of it overcoming its captor and causing devastation.

The stuff has very few equals. Are you with me?

What a remarkable quality to have. If you could emulate anywhere near that sort of resolve, then how could you possibly fail at anything?

There is only one thing that’s ever certain in business. If you give in, you will definitely fail. You must be strong and self-disciplined, and come back fighting again and again just like the water. As long as you stick with it, you will eventually reap your rewards.

It’s easy to give in, but then it’s always easy to fail. It’s so very much harder to find your success. If it wasn’t, then everyone would be a success and nobody would be striving for anything. What a dismal prospect!

You have a choice. You can achieve success in your personal and business life if you really want to. But you have to be persistent and stick with it until all the pieces of your own personal jigsaw fit into place.

Just think about that, the next time you pour yourself a cool clear glass of water.

Be successful.

Technorati Tags: determination, perseverence, self-belief

You may have wandered off the safe path through the Internet business forest, or you may be wary about setting off in the first place. What’s stopping you from continuing? Is there really a Big Bad Wolf waiting to jump out and finish you off?

If you’re experiencing this sort of hesitancy, then a little regression therapy may be necessary. Think back to when you were a child. When you had little experience of success or failure. When you approached each new challenge with vigour and a sense of adventure.

I remember when my Dad taught me to ride a bike. If I fell off, I just got straight back on and tried again. The fact that I may fall again and again never entered my head. This was new, it was fun and I was spurred on by the prize for my endeavours; joining in with my elder brother and our mates who were already racing around on two wheels.

As children we charged forward with gay abandon into every new adventure. But as adults we hesitate and check our step. Why is that?

The answer’s simple!

The one thing that’s changed our perceptions of new and uncharted territories, like starting our own business, is fear. It may be fear of failure or fear of rejection. As Edmund Burke once said “No passion so effectively robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear.”

But is there anything wrong with failing once in a while?

Certainly not!

You never learn anything from doing things right all the time. Making mistakes is an essential part of the learning process. That being said, you must remember that you never learn much from a mistake the second time you make it.

Fear is an important emotion. Like the Big Bad Wolf, it provides a safety check to ensure we’ve thought through our actions and planned for likely outcomes. But you should never allow it to stop you from setting off on your next great adventure.

In his inaugural address of 1933, Franklin D Roosevelt famously said “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Are the things we fear always realistic and tangible? I think not! We often tend to create our own ‘monsters under the bed’.

Take our arch nemesis the Big Bad Wolf for example. I mean, how could any hairy transvestite quadruped fool anyone into believing it was Grandma. And if it had despatched Grandma, wouldn’t there have been blood stains on the eiderdown?

But I digress!

These ‘monsters’ are barriers we create for ourselves that reside in our imagination rather than in reality. So, let’s get back on that path through the Internet business forest then, and stride bravely forward. If you’re fearful about starting out, or you’re fearful of taking the next step, don’t let that fear ruin your journey. Let it simply act as a reminder to check what’s round the next bend once in a while.

What! You’re still scared?

OK, take along the woodcutters axe for protection if you must.

By the way, he’s behind you!

Be successful.

Technorati Tags: fear, perseverence, self-belief

Many people spend the whole of their lives searching for that elusive secret to their own success. Often the so-called ’secret’ is sitting right under their very nose.

Let’s face it, unless you’re naturally gifted, making a success of anything involves a whole lot of hard work. A lot of the time, the work we’re faced with is often boring and monotonous. Wouldn’t it be great if it were fun? Ding, dong! Are the lights starting to flash, and bells starting to sound inside your head yet?

I’m tempted to carry on rambling at this stage, but I know your just itching to find out what a GOOBI is.

Am I right?

Well I’ll put you out of your misery right now!

GOOBI is simply a mnemonic for Get Out Of Bed Inducer. It’s that thing that gets you out of bed in the morning and puts a spring in your step. It’s also been described elsewhere, as your “Friday night essence”. Think about it, what would you happily spend Friday night working on instead of dining with friends or watching a movie?

I was reminded of the GOOBI concept recently, whilst watching a film. The title of the film escapes me, which is probably best because it was rubbish. If I was to tell you the title you’d only go watch it, and then you’d be saying why did he mention that film it was rubbish.

Anyway, at one point in the film, the leading character made a statement that struck a chord with me. He said “The secret to success is to find something you love doing, and do it for the rest of your life!” Of course, he was talking about finding your GOOBI.

So here comes the hard part.  To find your GOOBI you have to start thinking for yourself. I know that bit’s going to come as a shock to some of you, as a lot of people will go to the ends of the earth to avoid thinking for themselves. Isn’t it just a lot easier to run with the flock and let the shepherd and his dog make all the decisions for you?

If you’ve just answered “Yes” to that last part, then all I have to say to you is “Baaah!”. For those of you who don’t speak Sheep, roughly translated this means “You’d be better off grazing with the flock, you haven’t got what it takes”.

If you think that thinking is hard, you ain’t seen nothing yet!

(Authors note: “think that thinking is hard” is it me or does that have chicken and egg connotations? Never mind, hopefully you see my point. Let’s get back to the plot.)

What do you really love to do? It’s a simple question; so don’t try to make it a hard one. We’re talking about constructive exercises here so don’t cheat by saying “Nothing”. Anyway, I’m sure you’d get bored doing absolutely nothing for the rest of your life.

The answer you come up with should be your true vocation. If you’re totally honest with yourself, then if you do the thing you love for the rest of your life, you can’t fail to be successful. You’ll literally do anything you need to do, to carry on doing what you love to do. Hey, have I just invented a new tongue twister, or another piece of nonsense rhyme?

So, go find your GOOBI! You know it makes sense, which after reading what I’ve just written, is more than I do.

Be successful!

Technorati Tags: honesty, motivation, self-belief, vocation