MAKING RIGHT CHOICES IN LIFE

Every day we are constantly faced with many choices. We must select these choices very wisely because the choices we make will adversely affect our lives and our future. The world always offers both good and bad choices but it is our responsibility to know the difference between the two. What distinguishes highly successful people is not that they are lucky or face fewer setbacks. We all face obstacles in our lives. Successful people have an ability to take a positive view that allows them to learn from setbacks and draw motivation from them. Successful people see all obstacles as opportunities and they believe that one has to fight and win a battle to be called a conqueror or a winner. Steve Jobs, of Apple, likes to say that had he not dropped out of college, the Macintosh computer would not have been as great a machine. He also credits his current success at Apple to having been fired by the company 14 years ago. And facing the possibility of death from pancreatic cancer has helped him focus on the things he has wanted most to achieve in life, he says. Many people give up in life because they only see the bad times and never keep their focus fixed on the potential end result. Usain Bolt is the fastest sprinter in human history. He set three world records at the Beijing Olympics in 2007, and he followed up last year by breaking his own world records in the 100-meter and 200-meter races while winning his first gold medals at a world championship. Reaching such heights has required exceptional motivation, critical thinking and focus. Bolt turned early setbacks into advantages, overcame all his relevant weaknesses and developed outstanding drive. Any manager can benefit from working to do the same in his own life. If a coach hadn't recognized Bolt's special gift of speed when he was a child, he might have stopped at being a reasonably good cricket player. That was the sport he started out in. Bolt was advised to concentrate on the 400-meter foot race. He had enough self-knowledge and self-confidence to quickly realize that his strength lay not there but in the 100-meter dash. That went against conventional thinking, for Bolt is six-foot-five, and people that tall are supposed to be best at a longer distance. The Olympics and recently concluded world championships have proved him right. He was perceptive enough about his own abilities to know when to accept feedback and when to ignore it. Can you say the same about yourself? In management training, you often find heavy emphasis on gap analysis, encouraging executives to focus on improving their weak points, or gaps, in their performance. That is almost always the wrong advice because it make you do things you don’t want to do. Peter Drunker said, to be successful you must do what you enjoy doing. Often the things we are bad at are the things we don't really want to do. A recipe for success is to do fewer of the things you don't like and concentrate on what you are good at. Very few people can do it all. And where they get into trouble is when they try to do it all. Think about the writer who really can't put up a great looking web site but still goes and sinks $700 into Adobe Photoshop thinking that maybe a great tool will turn him into a graphic artist. Guess what? It's highly unlikely that it's going to happen. But here is what happens when they try to do it all. They end up with a site that is either lacking in content or design and the end result is that they have a failed business because their weaknesses destroy whatever strengths they have. It's sad, but it's true and it happens way too often. -“Success will never be a big step in the future, success is a small step taken just now.” -- Jonathan Martensson Okay, so how do you maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses? Work on your strength making them even stronger. If you are a good writer, work on becoming a great writer. There is always room for improvement. In the meantime, concentrate on those strengths for running your business. That's where the majority of your time should be spent...not doing things that you're poor at or fair at best. Your weaknesses? Let somebody else do them. That's right. If you can't design a web site to save your life, hire somebody to do it for you. The money you spend will ultimately pay you back in the profits you make from a really great looking site. If you can't write, outsource your writing. Get a professional article writer to write your articles. Most business and organizations fail because managers don’t take time to collect adequate data to support their decision. With limited information or facts, managers are likely to make wrong choices and hence putting the organization in a risky position. To avoid making hasty decisions, Dr Randy Carlson, a radio presenter on intentional living, recommends people to ask the following questions before making very important decisions; 1. The MISSION question: Does this decision support my life mission? 2. The VISION question: Will this decision move me toward a life goal or toward solving a problem? 3. The INTEGRITY question: Will this decision affect any commitment or vow I have made? 4. God's REVEALED WORD question: Does the Bible speak to this decision or a potential consequence? 5. The COMMON SENSE question: Do the results of this decision make sense? 6. OTHERS FIRST question: How will others be affected by this decision? 7. The LEGAL question: Is it legal? 8. The COST question: What will this decision cost me? 9. The MOTIVE question: What do I get out of this decision? 10. The TIMING question: Is this the best time to make this decision? 11. The KNOWLEDGE question: Do I have enough information to make this decision? 12. The COMMITMENT question: Do I plan to commit to my decision? After going through all questions, chances are that one will make the right choices because throughout the process, both long term and short term effects are considered and one is also prepared for the challenges that may try to divert his/her focus. Many people get frustrated because they spend too much time and resources fixing problems they could have avoided if only they took their time before rushing into decisions. The decisions that you make today will determine the life you’ll live tomorrow. The three key factors for a successful life are patience, determination and integrity. Soldier of LoveSoldier of Love