Successful Decisions

“No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be." -Isaac Asimov

I have a friend who lost his job in 2009 during the recession. He'd been with his firm for quite a long time and thought it would be hard to find a job. Still, he started looking the way most of us do when we lose our jobs: on the internet. He got a few interviews this way, none of which panned out. He confided to me that he was "too old" to get hired by most of these firms. He complained about this and how bad the economy was. I suggested that he was focusing rather narrowly and might want to expand his criteria a little. He blamed the corporations and the government for the job environment and continued not to find a job. The last time I spoke with him, he had all but given up on the job search in favor of waiting for a better economy. Success tip number one: whatever you focus your attention on is what you see…and what you will get more of as a result!

Fortunately, this works both ways: negatively and positively. Contrast the story above with this one. A woman who was also out of work around the same time started a business making pastries. She had been making these pastries for her friends, several of whom encouraged her to go into business for herself. She didn't have much money, but she used her savings and borrowed from friends so that she could buy enough material to make a large batch of pastries in her kitchen. She sold them through local convenience and food stores. She could make about 18 pastries an hour. As sales picked up, she began focusing on ways to invest her profits and energy on increasing her production. Today she has an industrial kitchen and 16 employees who produce thousands of these pastries a day! She sells them through food chains and the internet. Success number two: focusing your time and energy on a positive outcome will make you successful.

If you review those two stories, you may notice something important: the person involved made choices that moved them in a particular direction. They each had to deal with the same initial problem. They then decided how to focus their attention and energy. I think you can readily see which approach worked best. Like them, you are constantly being presented with challenging situations that require you to decide where you are going to place your focus and your energy. The result of your decisions weave together to form a pattern that becomes the path of your life. Success tip number three: you are where and who you are because of the choices you make. If you're not happy with your situation, make new choices!

Another facet I noticed while contrasting these two stories is how each person approached their situation. In the first case, the gentleman I was talking with seemed to adopt a more passive approach, taking only a certain amount of direct action to change his situation. The woman with the pastries faced her situation head on and took positive action to guide her situation in the direction she thought she wanted to go. I recall her saying something like, "Whatever it is you want to do, start it right now! There's never a bad time!" Success tip number four: on the road to success, action trumps passivity or re-action every time.

Notice also how the individual in each either situation did or didn't look for opportunities. There are an infinite number of opportunities available at any given point in time. The keys to grabbing one are 1) keep an open mind 2) find something that aligns with your skills, interests and talents 3) focus your time and energy on exploring your opportunities in a positive way and 4) view setbacks as challenges rather than as dead ends. The gentlemen apparently couldn't see that when a door closes, another opens. The woman with the bakery grabbed her opportunity once it was pointed out to her. Success tip number five: look for and grab an opportunity when it arises.

Like the individuals in these stories, I myself have been presented with an opportunity recently. It involves writing material in an area I've been researching over the past five years. With my own success lessons in mind, I have decided to focus my energies on the expanding the opportunity that is presenting itself. I'm thankful for those of you who have sent me so many wonderful comments over the years and have inspired me with your own success stories. However, as success tip number six suggests: you must sometimes stop doing one thing to allow yourself to focus effectively on another.

I thank you for reading the For Your Success columns for these past 8 years.

Have a great future!