Three Principles for Success
TranscrIpt:
Hi! Welcome to this week’s training! I’m Sherri Wilson, owner of Genius Communication, a system that trains and empowers entrepreneurs like yourself how to persuade without saying a word to increases your profitability and influence. I specialize in introverts!
This week, I wanted to share some advice from Andrew Carnegie, one of the wealthiest men in the late 19thcentury. He was one of our country’s earliest entrepreneurs and considered a builder of America. He made his fortune building the Carnegie Steel Company as the mastermind behind the growth of that industry. He later sold it to JP Morgan. He dedicated the rest of his life to charitable work. He believed that money should be used to serve others.
Carnegie had three principles for his success:
Creative vision
Organized thought
Controlled attention
To Carnegie creative vision was 10 fundamental attitudes:
Recognize opportunities favorable to his own advancement
Move with definite purpose in embracing opportunities
Plan every move
Research others
Remove limitations from his mind
Keep his mind attuned to the circumstances and condition of those around him
Move on his own initiative without being urged to
Go the extra mile
Assume full responsibility for his own deeds and depend on the soundness of his own judgment
Develop and use the faculty of the imagination
One of the ones that I think can be hard for entrepreneurs is “depend on the soundness of his own judgment” because we often don’t feel like we know what we’re doing. There’s a huge learning curve in owning a business. Statistically, successful CEO’s use their intuition 60% of the time when making decisions. We need to know our business, our market, etc. but also trust our judgment.
“You cannot push any one up a ladder unless he be willing to climb a little himself.”
Before I launched Genius Communication, I spent 5 months developing the curriculum and preparing. At the same time, I was always attuned to circumstances around me for an opportunity to advance in my business in a way because I knew it would help others tremendously plus I always go the extra mile so advancement in my business helps all involved. Because I was ready, I was able to step right into an opportunity that opened up doors to my first clients! If I hadn’t done what was needed and if I hadn’t been attuned to opportunity, I’d have missed it.
One more thing. On the “plan every move,” I agree! But I’ve also seen that being flexible and adaptable can be important. I’m sure Mr. Carnegie would agree.
To Carnegie, organized thought consisted of:
Being a master of your own mind
Prohibiting procrastination
Working with definite plans
Stimulate the subconscious mind (using the imagination)
Develop self-reliance
Benefit from the knowledge, experience, and education others possess
Convert efforts to more material resources
Develop a habit of accurate analysis
Maintain sound health
Peace of mind
Organized thought was Carnegie’s second principle. He said, “The organized thinker never gives up anything he undertakes until he was exhausted every effort to finish it.” Organized thought makes them more efficient and effective and impels you to take action.
One thing that amazes me about Mr. Carnegie is his understanding of the importance of the mind—it’s imagination, subconscious and conscious. You guys have heard me say multiple times that the subconscious is only a computer that takes data in and executes it. In fact, if your subconscious has different data than your conscious, it will sabotage your efforts and work against you.
He also understood the importance of stimulating the subconscious mind using the imagination. Allowing your mind to dream and think is one of the best ways to think of new ideas, troubleshoot current problems, and develop strategy to execute your ideas. I also find that listening to other business leaders gets my idea juices flowing!
“People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.”
And, finally, controlled attention. Carnegie believed that if you focus your mind in a specific way, all of your attention will siphon in a certain direction. It’s kind of like when I decided I wanted to buy a Kia Soul, I saw them everywhere! Your brain will filter your thoughts based on what your main focus is and throw out all of the rest. It also causes you to always “be in search of every necessary thing that is related to one’s dominating thoughts.”
What’s incredible about Mr. Carnegie is that his purpose was never the money. It was always the work. He loved his job so prosperity was the consequence. He said, “A man will always be more effective when engaged in the sort of work he likes best. That’s why one’s major purpose in life should be of his own choice. People who drift through life performing work they do not like, merely because they must have an income as a means of living, seldom get more than a living from their labor.”
This is especially true for introverts. There are two musts for us: We must really love what we do and believe in what we do. Combined with perseverance and personal initiative, you’ll achieve your goals in business and life. But most importantly you’ll make a difference in other people’s lives.
I’d love to hear what attitude for creative vision or aspect of organized thought speaks to you and how you’ll implement it. Please comment below so you can help others of us get those ideas going too! And if you feel this has helped you, pass it on to help others!
By the way, I’ve developed a “You Are Here! Success Map” that measures where you are at in business based on 9 aspects of a successful business. You can download the assessment here.