Drive and Perseverance (eBook)

Dr. Robert W. Stewart (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2018 | 1. Auflage
196 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
978-1-5439-4638-3 (ISBN)

Infos

We all make mistakes in life. No one has ever gone through life with a perfect record of decision-making. It's fine to get things wrong as long as you learn from those errors and make better decisions going forward. Recognizing destructive habits is difficult, and changing them can be even harder. It takes willpower, flexibility, and a real determination to change. Drive and Perseverance is a collection of stories that aims to teach readers how to focus on the positives, even in difficult times, and set a path forward and execute the plan. Each story takes an intriguing look at what it takes to pick oneself up from a failure and blaze a new trail towards success, and explores options for continuous self-improvement, realistic goal setting, building confidence, taking personal inventory, and aligning our true passions with our day-to-day careers.

Textauszug

Introduction

Every year, some of the most successful professionals in the world come together in one place. For three days the airport at Davos in Switzerland hums with private planes bringing in some of the most brilliant business and political minds in the world. Attendees include world leaders—the Presidents of the United States, France, and Argentina, and among others, the Prime Ministers of Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, and more. Others in attendance include the leaders of international organizations such as Departments of the United Nations, OPEC, the Organization of American States, as well as leaders of some of the largest corporations in the world, many you will recognize and some you won’t. Marissa Mayer, the former CEO of Yahoo, attends. As do Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, Dan Schulman, CEO of Paypal, Brian T. Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, and Dion Weisler, CEO of Hewlett Packard. For a half-week, the conference center located at a famous ski resort, a short train ride from the Matterhorn, buzzes with ideas, knowledge, and enthusiasm. People whose decisions affect the lives of millions discuss ways they can work together to make create jobs, build wealth, and ultimately make the world a better place. They get to know one another while learning from one another’s expertise, future plans, and past experiences – all in an effort to uncover ways to better support their shared goals.

It’s a place filled with not only wealth, but influence and power.

But the people who attend the World Economic Forum at Davos each year aren’t special or superhuman. They are people just like you and me. The briefcases carried alongside these professionals are filled with briefing reports not some sort of special brain power. They have twenty-four hours in each day, just like the rest of us. They still have to sleep and eat, and likely have families they feel guilty leaving and not spending more time with. They forget things, make mistakes, and suffer losses along the way. They feel frustrated when projects fail or people they’ve relied upon let them down. Some of the decisions they make run the risk of being wrong; and not all of their plans turn out as expected. Some of their ideas may never even make it out of a conversation over dinner at Davos.

They were likely told at one point or another that their ideas and goals were unreachable. And at times, they likely believed it.

Everyone who attends Davos, in short, is human: just like the rest of us.

So what has enabled these people to reach such great heights of the business world while many others struggle to get out of base camp?

The answer isn’t something tangible or one you can quickly ascertain. If you were to ask these individuals what the key to success is, it would likely be something they wouldn’t be able to easily explain or teach. When life happens and opportunities are presented the way one hopes, it’s easy to assume that the same thing is happening to everyone else, that if other people just did what you did, they too would achieve their goals.

But there are two primary difference between the people who receive invitations to park their private jets at Davos and influence the world, than everyone else.

It’s drive. It’s perseverance.

It’s the determination to push through obstacles, overcome errors, deal with doubts, and accept criticism, while constantly seeking ways to improve. It’s knowing where you want to go and understanding what it takes to get there. It’s a decision to always move forward even when the road ahead appears blocked and impassable. It’s an understanding that no path ever runs straight, that problems are only challenges to be overcome—and that every challenge delivers experience and lessons that make the next obstacle easier to beat.

It’s an awareness that while it may seem that there are only a few places at the top, everyone has a chance to carve their own niche and the secret to competing for those high positions falls between one’s determination and overcoming self-doubts.

There are no limits to success except those we impose on ourselves.

Over the last two and a half decades working in management and leadership at both small and very large organizations, I have seen the drive and perseverance required to create and sustain strong and thriving companies. I’ve been blessed enough to speak with people who have accomplished glittering careers which have allowed them to achieve everything ever imagined. I was fortunate early in my career to have fantastic mentors who, like trusted friends, have given great advice to help shape my path. Some of these mentors are now retired but continue to provide me with support and guidance today. With great honor, I will share many of their lessons with you in this book.

Throughout my leadership career, I’ve also seen the many blows that can strike a company, often causing times of uncertainty and instability. I’ve seen the loss of direction that can lead a once-dominant business into the long grass. I’ve seen the doubts that can unsteady a business while its competitors race past to the finish line, and listened to executives blame others instead of understanding where they went wrong and how they limited their own potential.

In short, I’ve seen both the benefits of building a successful business—one kept vibrant through sustainable practices and strengthened by smart management—and the price paid when those practices are ignored. There are few things more disheartening than seeing a business with a powerful concept, good product, and dedicated leader overextend to the degree that it eventually collapses and dies. In this book, we’ll explore how to retain and build drive and perseverance so you can take your place at the top table, however that table appears to you.

We’ll start by examining the strengths and weaknesses of your greatest competition—you.

Just as no two people are ever entirely alike, the same is true for businesses and careers. Businesses must compete with other firms offering solutions to similar problems but they all start from different places, have different advantages and challenges, and aim to accomplish different goals. I’ll explain how to assess yourself and establish standards that have true meaning and purpose to you as an individual.

I’ll then talk about the difficult moments. Every business has setbacks, just as every career has periods that cause people to feel stuck and frustrated. Everyone has bad days and sometimes long periods of time that feel stagnant. And, like a marathon runner hitting the wall, every successful business, executive, and entrepreneur finds a way to power through those times. I’ll describe what I’ve seen observed resilient leaders do during those times and reveal how they found the strength to persevere and reach better times.

Much of that strength is derived from personal motivation, not simply from the banter of a charismatic boss or the threat of punishment by a ferocious leader.

True meaning—and true motivation—comes when we recognize and fulfil the duties that we have both to ourselves and to others. It’s that sense of duty that I’ve seen drive successful businesses and careers, and deliver a deep sense of wellbeing to the people who fulfil them. Throughout this book, I’ll help you uncover, or better develop, your personal sense of drive while evaluating the importance of having both long and short-term goals.

It’s important, however, to be mindful of the fact that setting a specific goal doesn’t mean you’ll reach it… at least not immediately. Every destination, whether it’s a thinner waist, a corner office, or a downtown skyscraper with your name at the top, takes time to reach. I’ll explain how to set realistic long-term goals, and how to use those goals to make real short-term achievements.

In Chapter Five, I’ll help you identify what makes you special… because you are special. We’re all special. We all bring something unique and powerful to the table, whether it’s a strong forehand smash, a talent for communication, the ability to spot gaps in the market, or anything in between. John C. Maxwell is well known for identifying seven steps, which I’ll later review, that can enable anyone to take the strengths each person possesses and put them to work. I’ll show you how to climb those steps, and what you need to do to reach the summit of whatever mountain you may be climbing, now or in the future.

There is one characteristic that’s common across successful businesses, professionals, and those with charisma and a contagious character: confidence. For many, regardless of individual strengths, this characteristic doesn’t come naturally or immediately. It’s built and strengthened through experience and understanding, and it’s vital for growth and progress. It what a powerlifter feels as he grips the bar, a gymnast feels at a meet, and a boxer feels when he steps into the ring. Without confidence, it’s impossible to compete. Throughout this book, I’ll help you identify ways to develop a healthy confidence level.

Confidence can be a bit like sugar, however. While you need a regulated amount within your bloodstream to provide energy, if you overdo it, you can find yourself running in circles before crashing.

Entrepreneurs also need courage to face the risks involved in building a business. Ambitious business leaders have to take bold...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 31.10.2018
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Beruf / Finanzen / Recht / Wirtschaft
• ISBN-10: 1-5439-4638-0 / 1543946380
• ISBN-13: 978-1-5439-4638-3 / 9781543946383