Rules To Succeed

If I Knew Then What I Know Now…

15 Rules for Success In Your Home-Based Business

Someone sent me an email the other day. Supposedly

General Colin Powell’s Rules for Success. Now, I don’t know

whether they really are or not, but as I read them, I thought

they really should be called “15 Rules For Success In Your

Home Business”. So, here they are:

Rule 1 – It ain’t as bad as you think, it will look better in the

morning

If there’s one experience universal to ALL home-business owners,

particularly those running a business on the internet, it’s the

occasional feeling that you’re just spinning your wheels, and not

getting anywhere. The number of people who give up on their

businesses just as they approach the brink of success is

staggering. So hang in there and remind yourself, when things

look bleak, that tomorrow is another day, things really aren’t as

bad as they seem and things really WILL look better in the

morning.

Rule 2 – Get mad, then get over it

OK, I concede this is more general advice than home-business

advice but it applies in your home business just as it does

anywhere else. Resentment and unexpressed anger really

don’t hurt anyone but the person feeling resentful and angry.

Have you ever noticed how completely unproductive you are

when burdened by resentment and anger? So feel it, express

it (constructively) and then move on. As the man said,

“get over it”.

Rule 3 – Avoid having your ego so close to your position that

when your position falls your ego goes with it

Over the course of my career I have, from time to time, met

people whose identity and sense of self-worth is so enmeshed

in what they do for a living that they literally don’t have an

identity outside of their work. Because they rely on an external

source for their self-esteem and confidence, they find it necessary

to continually and relentlessly bolster their personal positions,

often at the expense of others, often resorting to political

maneuvring in the workplace to maintain and improve their

supposed ’status’.

These people are the ‘empire builders’ you sometimes find in

organizations. They jealously guard their power base all the

while gathering unto themselves more and more responsibility,

beyond the point of being able to do everything they take on.

Because their identity and sense of self-worth depends

upon their position within their organization, what happens

when their position disappears, such as in a corporate

downsizing? It freefalls.

Don’t let this happen to you. Remember that you are

something separate and distinct from your business. Sure,

you can be proud and pleased with your accomplishments

but don’t define yourself through them. Your self-worth is

something that comes from inside your human self,

not your business.

Ironically, keeping a professional detachment is more

likely to secure the ultimate success of your business.

Detachment brings perspective, objectivity and clarity,

which helps you make better quality decisions.

Rule 4 – It can be done

Don’t allow self-imposed limitations to restrict what you can

and will do. You can do anything if you set your mind to it.

Well, of course, it must be something that is within your

power – you can’t just set your mind on growing a third arm,

for example.

But for anything that is within human power and capability,

the saying “where there’s a will is a way” is so true.

Get into the discipline of planning your life and where you

want it to go. By setting goals and planning the steps that

will help you reach them, you can achieve literally anything

your heart desires.

Rule 5 – Be careful what you choose, you may get it

Following on from this, it should go without saying that

what you set for your goals is something you truly want

because if you do practice the discipline of goal setting

you will surely get it.

Rule 6 – Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good

decision

Keep your eye on the prize and don’t be distracted by what’s

happening on the sidelines. Sure, you may not have entered

the marathon had you known there were going to be 1,000

other runners but does that mean entering the marathon

was a bad idea? No.

Make your decisions based on quality information and what’s

in the best interests of your business. If someone else comes

along who represents competition for your business, don’t be

put off your game. Just run your own race. There’s ALWAYS

a way to distinguish yourself from your competition.

Rule 7 – You can’t make someone else’s choices. You

shouldn’t let someone else make yours

IGNORE your mother when she tells you you’re crazy

for chucking in your nice SAFE secure little job to start

your own business. Follow your dream, no-one else’s.

Rule 8 – Check small things

Like the fine print in contracts. Like the URL in that

sales letter you’ve just put the finishing touches on.

Like your spelling and punctuation. In other words,

pay attention to detail.

Rule 9 – Share credit

You’ve heard the saying, “no man is an island”. No

woman is either. Remember and acknowledge the people

who have helped and continue to help you get where you

want to go. Acknowledge the achievements of others.

Rule 10 – Remain calm, be careful

Frenzy and recklessness are hardly the prescription for

long-term success in your business. In the face of

unexpected challenges, unexplained downturns in business

or failure to achieve the results expected, recognize that

these are just part of the thrust and parry of business life

and use a calm, methodical approach to the problem.

Don’t just react blindly or chuck away all your hard work

and try something completely different unless a thorough,

calm and careful investigation convinces you that you are

completely off-beam.

Calmly analyze your situation and use your intelligence

to correct the situation. Sometimes a one degree turn of

the wheel is all that is required to get back on course, not

a completely new rudder.

Rule 11 – Have a vision, be demanding

This rule goes hand in hand with rules 4 and 5. In order

to set goals and plan ways to achieve them you must

first set your vision. Think big, be brave. There is

nothing you can’t achieve so make sure your efforts are

going to be for something truly worthwhile.

Rule 12 – Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers

All of us have moments of self-doubt or even fear when

embarking on a journey to an unknown destination. If what

you have planned for yourself brings with it feelings of

anxiety, nervousness, even fear, pay attention to them but

don’t take their counsel.

They are symptoms of grand thinking, of stretching beyond

the boundaries of your comfort zone. As the book says,

feel the fear and do it anyway.

Rule 13 – Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier

This rule is closely related to rule 1. Believe that things

will work out, that they will look better in the morning, that

everything’s going to be OK. Repeat the words to yourself

as a mantra if you must but instill a spirit of indomitable

optimism in your outlook and you will attract success into

your life.

Rule 14 – Sometimes being responsible means pissing

people off

You can’t please all of the people all of the time so don’t

waste your time or energy even trying. You have a

responsibility to the ultimate success of your business and

to your own personal success. If that means you occasionally

have to say no to people to stay true to your objectives, do it.

If it means you have to alienate some people because they

don’t personally agree with what you are doing, that’s their

problem.

In other words, stay focused on your plan. If others don’t like

it or agree with it, too bad.

Rule 15 – You never know what you can get away with

unless you try

If you don’t ask you don’t get. And if you don’t take you

don’t get. Leave nothing on the table. If an opportunity comes

along, take it. It may not come again. And remember,

in chaos there is opportunity. While everyone else is running

around like chooks with their heads cut off, you just bring up

the rear and clean up on all the opportunities that are just

lying there for the taking among the chicken scratch.

Hindsight truly is 20/20, no doubt about it. Perhaps, like me,

you’re thinking that if you’d known then what you know now,

you would have gone a lot further a lot faster. But as with any

form of progress, it’s the journey, not the destination, that

provides the education and creates the experience and,

through it, wisdom. And that’s something no book can teach

you and money can’t buy.

_________________________

Copyright 2008 Fawkner.com.  All rights are reserved.