What makes a good flower? The secret may not be something you think.
Good flowers attract bees. The flowers do not go to the bees. It is the bees which go to them. You too must look for success.
Sustainable success is found in the books you read. The people you meet and the places you go to. Taken together, these three give you intellectual superiority to stay ahead of the rest.
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Read a lot. Travel a lot. And get your name out there. Let people know you. That way, you become a flower that attracts all the bees. Once you do that success will come your way. The ability to influence others to follow you is the most critical for your career success. You must invest a lot in the art of negotiation, influence and positioning your personal brand to be so attractive like how a flower attracts bees. Here are more insights for your success.
Read a lot
Put stuff into your head. Every person is alike a strong building. For a building to last for a very long period, it must be built on a strong foundation. What is your ‘strategic personal foundation?’
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You need to have the minimum foundation to anchor your career success so that you are attractive like a magnet. That is where education comes in. Whether you are home schooled, or you attend school, you need education not just training. You can train a dog or a donkey. But you cannot educate it. The ability of the human brains to be educated makes us so special. For example, a dog may be trained to bark, when ‘strangers’ come home or appear in the vicinity. However, the same dog may fail to bark when its master is put at gun point and forced to open his gate. You need to invest a lot in reading various topics so that you are knowledgeable and up to date. At any opportunity, read. When you are at school read. When you are relaxing at home read. While travelling read. There is no something like overreading.
Travel a lot.
If you have the means to travel, do so. Take every opportunity to visit new places, meet new people and learn about new things. Travel gives you an opportunity to be exposed to new things.
When I travel, I am on the lookout for new things. When I visit a restaurant in a new city, I request to greet the chef. Just to see the kitchen setup and how they do it. You will be surprised by the quality of tools in the kitchen which you have never seen. For large hotels, you will find a lot of automation in the kitchen than you would find elsewhere. As people are disembarking after a long flight, stay behind and request the air hostess to see how first class look like! Even you could request to see the cabin. Of course, for security reasons you may be denied, but if you are lucky, it is possible to be allowed to see. I have often asked and given a great tour of an Airbus – checking the first class, business class and the cabin – all free of charge. Just by asking! If you stay at a great hotel, always ask for the opportunity to upgrade your room at a discount. When you are at the hotel, and you want to gain better experience go to the reception or concierge and request for a change of room. Depending on availability, you will get.
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When you travel, go to new places with someone. Or travel alone and focus on making friendships along the way. The best way to meet people is to attend events that are social and involve interactions like cultural dances, sports events and competitions. If you are focused, you will learn a lot and gain exposed to so much that you will ever understand by reading alone.
Get your name out there.
It does not matter how well educated and qualified you are, if potential clients do not know about what you can do, you will not move on faster. Whether you are a professor or an engineer, you need to identify your target market for your skills and make sure people who matter get to know about your existence. It is not enough to be good. You must be known as well.
Open a Facebook Page. LinkedIn page. Twitter account and a blog from any free blog services. Start writing 300 words a day and post. The secret is in consistency. Write an article to the editor of your local newspaper to contribute to their paper. Expect several rejections but do not give up. Visit talk show hosts and suggest a topic for discussion. Do the same for television. Media people are always looking for experts to be featured on their shows. Research about them and write something down before the meeting. Make sure you have your profile reviewed and leave it behind with them.
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But mostly importantly humility is key. You must be able to go into any room, read the moment and be able to make the right actions based on the ‘feelings’ of the environment. This is one of the most unavailable skill to most young professionals especially executives from backgrounds of insufficient and of all a sudden, they fall into power. They develop a tendency of gathering huge fat of ego that stands into their way of success.
Once you have intellectual power and humility, the second thing is being able to communicate and market what you know. The ability to influence other people to like you, makes you an exceptional achiever.
