Helping Yourself - And Others - To Be Successful

Helping Yourself (and Others) Be Successful
 
There are so many great sources available that can help us in our lives.  With the Internet – and especially your Smart Phone – there is no real reason not to constantly be on a path towards improvement!

I’ve been making it a point to do more reading.  I’m working on 2 books now and I need to finish one of them (for a couple of reasons) before I start a new one.  Reading 2 books at a time is something that I need to do and I know I can.  I’ve also been finding some great articles that are making a huge difference with me too.  One recent one is titled “7 Ways to Help Yourself (and Others) Be Successful” found at Success Magazine.   Click HERE for the article - a great read!

Here are the 7 points with a few thoughts about each:

1. Give Back:  If everyone asked “How can I help” instead of “What can I get?” – we would all see a much different world around us.  Has there ever been a time throughout the time of our lives where this concept has been needed more than now?  I love the point in the article that we stand on each other’s shoulders to elevate us to our ultimate accomplishments.  We can’t be successful on our own.
2. Surround yourself with people smarter than you:  BIG POINT here – Success is largely a factor of the people you make a part of the journey.  Guess what?  It’s our choice who we let into our lives.  There has to come a time where we look to distance ourselves from those that don’t add value to our lives, those that cause us distractions, heartache, problems, etc.   We also need to look for those that are good for us, they do make a difference, they do add value to our lives, they look to help and encourage us.
3. Find a mentor:  Mentorship is a service and it is one that we need to find for ourselves and look to provide to others too.  It’s a great idea to never stop seeking help from those who are where you want to be.  A great by product of serving and helping others is that it helps you become a mentor yourself.  Don’t ever let a goal become more important than helping others.   Always do more than others expect from you.  Under promise and over deliver, blow them away with what you bring to the table.  Always try to look to get them excited to work with you.
4. Be an influencer:  The main point about being an influencer is that they look to help others without expecting anything in return.  They always look to have win-win situations with others that they are working with.
5. Celebrate others’ success:  It really comes down to attitude as to how we can be happy for the success of others – especially those that we care deeply for.  When that happens and we get to embrace the success of others, we get the benefit of greater satisfaction.  We feel fulfilled instead of bitter.  Our excitement, energy, motivation and drive to do better ourselves is multiplied due to us celebrating the success of others.  A very powerful tool that not too many people use.  Here was a HUGE point I found:  “Beyond seizing an available opportunity where possible, our sense of embracing others’ achievements helps to expand our own willpower.”
6. Spread positivity:  A very interesting observation about our subconscious is really motivated by emotion, not by reason.  A strong point made was that positive emotion trumps negative emotion every time!  Positive things are much easier to transfer to others than negative ones because they create lasting change.  Positive realities, ideas, thoughts, attitudes, etc. = lasting change, movement forward, going after things, growth, etc.   Negative realities, ideas, thoughts, attitudes, etc. = NO change, stagnation, going backwards, getting worse instead of better.   There are plenty of studies out there that that positivity is not only better for the person carrying around those thoughts & ideas, but also for the other people that they encounter.
7. Find your motivation:  Many times people see successful people and they think, wouldn’t it be great to be like them.  They have no clue.  Successful people see each day as another opportunity to improve, to get better, to move closer to accomplishing their goals.  They will tell you that more you accomplish, the more you will want to keep working hard to make things happen.  Motivation comes in many forms.  We need to find those forms that connect to us and know that we will need it every day, just like taking a shower.

Any thoughts? Questions? Ideas to use these points in your life?  Would love any discussions & comments you want to have.  Let me know.