Simple Secrets of Business Success
Ask just about anyone, and they are more than willing to offer you their secrets to success. Of course, not all secrets are of equal worth. So how can you know who to listen to and which advice to take? Is there some kind of secret decoder ring for unsolicited advice? You may think you can just look at someone else’s success and assume they have some dark knowledge you don’t yet possess. While that may be true, it’s just as likely that guy got lucky, learned on the job and made few enough bad calls to get where he is now. And, that, friends, is the first secret of business success. You have to keep failing before you succeed. By “failing” I don’t mean getting it all wrong and screwing it all up or pissing it all
away. I’m talking about getting it not quite right, learning what needs to be changed and improving on it. I’m talking about gaining wisdom with every endeavor … not just a war story to share with friends at the bar after work. Speaking of “after work”. There’s a key to success there too. While there’s much to be said for long hours and “putting your time in,” the best way I know to lose perspective is to make everything in your life about work. You need a balance. You decide what that balance should be, and it need not be “equal.” But you do need to set limits on your time, and learn to build breaks into your ambition. Confidence is key as well. But here’s the dirty little secret: bravado is not confidence. One is about personal assumption, the other is earned. Bravado can get you demolished in the marketplace while confidence comes from rising from failures and embracing lessons learned. You didn’t just “make it through,” you should have made it through that experience better, stronger and wiser. Not only will those experiences teach you perspective, they will offer you the confidence you need to go after your dream again. This time armed with the knowledge that one misstep is not the end of the world. Tired of all this talk of trying and failing? Want to skip those lessons? Then find a mentor who can teach you from their experiences. Word to the wise here, if that mentor is not willing to make you suffer and earn his or her wisdom, they probably aren’t worth your time. But if they are worth your time, you better be worth theirs. Bring value in all you do, and success will come. Gennady Barsky is a real estate mogul from NYC.