CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT Take charge of your life.

To take control of your life, it is necessary to choose and act appropriately. Take matters into your own hands. Go forward. Work harder to achieve the same level of success as your peers.

7. Develop a network of mutual aid: do not be afraid to call on family, friends, teachers, colleagues, and managers in your organization to help you grow.

8. Train your mind: train your mind to see the good in everything. Being positive is a choice. Happiness and quality of life depend on the quality of your thoughts.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

Continuous improvement is a journey of personal growth where you make consistent progress over the long term.

They are not random improvements.

Making continuous improvements is the key to being there for others and the path to success in your life.

Not only will self-improvement help you perform at your best by taking steps to improve yourself, but your overall well-being will also be improved.

People who prioritize self-improvement tend to have higher self-esteem and are also more resilient.

Here are some points to help you with continuous improvement, in order to take charge of your life:

1. Humility: at the heart of humility is a desire to serve and a dedication to helping others become great. Do not confuse humility with weakness.

In fact, it takes great strength of will and character to put the needs of others before your own, to admit mistakes, to be vulnerable, transparent, and fallible in front of your peers.

2. Happiness: this is a choice, not a result. Nothing will make you happy unless you decide to be happy. Your happiness will not come to you. It can only come from you.

3. Smile: be the reason someone smiles today.

4. Be positive: a negative mind will never give you a positive life. Be so positive that negativity doesn't want to approach you.

Ships do not sink because of the water around them. Ships sink because of the water entering them. Don't let what's going on around you get inside you and weigh you down. Positive thoughts keep you afloat, so don't let someone's negative energy and behavior weigh you down.

Remember to surround yourself with positive people who motivate, inspire, and uplift you, who will push you towards excellence. And stay away from people who try to downplay your ambitions, especially in these unprecedented times. Simple, be so positive that negative people won't want to be around you.

5. Be confident: believing in yourself is the first secret of success. It doesn't matter how you feel, get up, get dressed, show up and never give up.

Also, remember that you are so busy doubting yourself while so many others are intimidated by your potential. Believe in yourself!

6. Believe in yourself: you are braver than you think, more talented than you think, and capable of more than you imagine. You are someone and make sure your actions and behaviors are driven by your internal desires to

become the best version of yourself, not external expectations set by anyone.

7. Have dreams: surround yourself with people who have dreams, desires, and ambition; they will help you push and achieve yours.

8. Your comfort zone: the hardest part is getting out of your comfort zone.

But you have to let go of the life you're used to and take the risk of living the life you dream of.

You can't grow as a person unless you take on new challenges, face your fears, overcome something difficult, or do something you've never done before.

Also, to become a great person, you need to be comfortable with things going wrong sometimes because things won't go your way all the time.

Therefore, to become one of the greatest, you have to feel comfortable with being uncomfortable to continue growing. In many cases, the best things in life often lie outside of your comfort zone.

9. Control: you can't control everything. Sometimes you just need to relax and trust that things will work out. Let go and let life unfold.

10. Character: you can judge a person's character by how they treat people who can't do anything for them. The moment you think you have the right to put others down because you are better than them is when you prove you have no power.

People tend to make others feel what they experience themselves whether big or small. How a person labels, judges, and values the people around them give us insight into their personality and even their selfesteem.

11. How to address: I talk to everyone, the same way, whether he's the garbage collector or the president of the university. (Albert Einstein)

Too many people think that having a position of authority is their Godgiven right. They feel superior to those they employ or to the so-called lower levels of the organization.

Surely you have already noticed a certain level of arrogance manifesting itself in people in positions of power who seek to tear people down instead of uplifting them.

Smart people don't hit people with demeaning comments and never intentionally try to put people in an embarrassing or demeaning position. Instead, they show genuine personal and professional interest by asking, « How are you? » or « How's your family? » while listening and expressing real concern for the situation.

Remember that you can change a person's life, every day by how you address them. So never pass up an opportunity to encourage others, never pass up an opportunity to inspire someone.

12. Mistakes: if you only do things, you've already mastered, you will rarely, if ever, make mistakes. However, it will lead you to a most boring life.

A person who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. (Albert Einstein)

It's when we try something new that we make the most mistakes. However, it is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live with such caution that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you fail by default.

13. Fix errors: Although many errors are minor and do not cause much ripple in the world, some errors hurt others and should be addressed quickly and in full. Here is a process for dealing with any errors whether professional or personal:

a. Acknowledge the error: don't add to the mistake already made by ignoring it in the hope that it will go away.

Whether you missed a customer order or forgot your spouse's birthday, ignoring the failure won't make it seem less important, it will just make you look unintelligent.

Be honest. Acknowledge directly and briefly, but honestly, that you lacked judgment. State specifically what you did and mention how much you regret the action.

b. Accept your responsibilities: the automatic response of human nature is to jump into a self-defense mode. At no time, is this response stronger, than when we are forced to acknowledge our own shortcomings.

Resist the urge to find someone to blame, even if it's justified. There are always extenuating circumstances, and most of us don't intend to be wrong.

But not all good intentions change the fact that you made a mistake.

Don't point fingers or use circumstances to come up with an excuse, it only makes it seem as if you care more about getting out of trouble than actually fixing the problem you've caused, even unintentionally.

c. Apologize: those three little words « I'm sorry » should be heard by the person who bears the brunt of your mistake. « Please forgive me » is fine too.

This demonstrates that you understand that this person has a choice whether or not to forgive the mistake. She recognizes that you need to be forgiven. And that puts the blame on the offended person, forcing them to either accept the apology, and therefore move on, or choose to ignore or deny your apology and leave you with nothing else to do.

Nobody wants to be the bad guy and refuse to accept an apology.

However, if you don't acknowledge your wrongdoing and ask to be forgiven directly by the person who was hurt, the person who was hurt will not have to make that choice to forgive and move on.

d. Offer a convenient way to redeem the error: in some rare cases there is really nothing you can do to compensate for what has been done. Maybe you accidentally hit a neighbor's dog with your car and killed it?

Offering to buy a new puppy isn't going to fix the situation, so don't get bogged down any further. However, in most cases, you can think of a way to redeem yourself.

If you have broken, lost or otherwise damaged property, you must offer to pay for the damage.

If you have hurt someone close in your life, you might offer to go and seek help together, such as from a medical professional. If you don't know what to give, just ask, « What can I do to make it up to you? »

e. Give the other time to think and respond: the deeper the wound, the more difficult it is for a person to forget about it.

Don't force an immediate response. People need time to reflect, process, and let go of feelings of being hurt and offended.

Acknowledge your responsibilities in person and apologize, then offer a way to make amends. For example, you might say something like,

« I'll give you time to think about it. » Offer another specific time to talk, so you don't forget to continue the reconciliation process.

f. Listen and respond: during the initial conversation and during the follow-up, take the time to let the other person speak.

Sometimes what people need most is to share how hurt they were or the repercussions of the mistake that was made.

This part of the exchange isn't fun to listen to, but it helps people sort through the feelings and get to the bottom of it, which is where you both need to get to correct the error and move on.

g. Do what you said you would do: most importantly, if you offered a way to make up for the error and it were accepted, act quickly.

If you don't do what you said, you'll only bring up the error again in an even more unpleasant way, and it'll be nearly impossible for you to be taken seriously when you try to apologize again.

However, situations must always be put into perspective. Remember the famous philosopher and Scotch drinker Ron White's suggestion: « You can't change fools. »

The people who insist that they never make the same mistake twice, are the people who always make the same mistake twice. And, in fact, they never stop making the same mistake.

14. Trust the process: sometimes our lives have to be completely turned upside down, changed and rearranged to relocate us to where we are meant to be. Sometimes when things seem to be falling apart, they fall into place.

The best thing you can do is not to think, wonder, or obsess. Just breathe and trust that everything will be fine.

15. Breathe: you have already experienced, you have been so frightened, uncomfortable, and anxious and you have survived. Breathe and know that you can survive this too.

I know this is all unbearable right now, breathe, keep breathing, this too will pass, I promise. Everything will be fine for you.

16. The competition: I am not in competition with anyone. I have no desire to play the game of being better than anyone. I'm just trying to be better than the person I was yesterday.

You can spend your whole life competing with others, trying to prove you're somebody while feeling like a nobody. However, you don't have to prove your worth to anyone.

You were created for a purpose. Your life has meaning and when you develop the confidence to follow your heart and your dreams, you are now in competition with yourself to become the best version of yourself. Nobody else!

Sometimes you may doubt yourself, feel fear, but the truth is that you are more powerful than you think.

However, you will need to reprogram yourself to get rid of your fears and doubts, in order to reconfirm your self-esteem and self-confidence.

17. Support others: when you see something beautiful in someone, tell them.

It may take a second to say, but for them it could last a lifetime.

18. Appreciate: spend the day appreciating every little thing that happens to you, and you'll end the day feeling deeply grateful for your life.

When we take the time to let people know we appreciate them, it encourages them to keep doing even more. This is precisely why gratitude is the ultimate gift that keeps on giving.

Remember that a simple « thank you » makes the recipient feel important and valued, which boosts their self-esteem and helps improve their selfimage.

19. Always be polite: politeness is the practical application of good manners or etiquette so as not to offend others. It is a culturally defined phenomenon, and so what is considered polite in one culture can sometimes be quite rude or simply eccentric in another cultural context.

To be polite is to be aware of the feelings of others and to respect them. We don't always notice politeness, but we usually notice rudeness or inconsiderate behavior.

Many of the points raised may seem obvious, in most cases they are common sense, but too often social mores are overlooked or forgotten.

Take the time to read the following points and think about how being polite and following social etiquette can improve your relationships with others.

Always use common sense and try to behave in the most appropriate way possible, taking into account any cultural differences:

a. Say hello : greet people appropriately, make eye contact and smile naturally, shake hands or hug when appropriate, but say hello, especially to colleagues and other people you see every day.

b. Be approachable: don't push people away just because you're having a bad day. Make time to chat: maybe talk about the weather, ask about the other person's family, or talk about something that's making headlines.

Make an effort to strike up a light conversation, show some interest, but don't overdo it. Stay friendly and positive and pick up on the other person's verbal and non-verbal cues.

c. Try remembering: things about the other person and make appropriate comments. Use her spouse's name, date of birth, any significant events that have happened or are about to happen in her life. Always be aware of other people's problems and difficult life events.

d. Always use « please » and « thank you »: be sure to thank people for their input and always include « please » when asking for something.

If someone offers you something, use « Yes, please or NO, thank you. »

e. Use suitable language: be respectful of gender, race, religion, political opinions, and other potentially controversial or difficult topics. Do not make derogatory or potentially provocative comments.

f. Learn to listen attentively: pay attention to others while they are talking, don't get distracted in the middle of a conversation, and don't interrupt.

g. Be assertive: when this is the case, I respect the right of others to be assertive as well.

h. Respect other people's time: try to be precise and to the point in your explanations without seeming rushed.

i. Praise others for their accomplishments: congratulations should come across as genuine, it can be difficult if you feel jealous or angry.

j. At work: be polite and helpful with subordinates, co-workers, bosses, visitors and customers. Respect and recognize the positions, roles and obligations of others.

Recommended reading and references

We suggest that you consult the works identified below in order to learn more about the particularities contained in this chapter.

BLANCHARD, Kenneth & JOHNSON, Spencer. THE ONE MINUTE MANAGER. Berkley Books. ISBN 0-425-09847-8.

BENNIS, W. & NANUS, B. LEADERS: THE STRATEGIES FOR TAKING CHARGE. Harper Press. ISBN 0-06-015246-X.

BLIWAS, Ron. THE C STUDENT’S GUIDE TO SUCCESS. MJF Books. ISBN: 13:978-1-56731-952-1

DAVENPORT, Thomas H. & PRUSAK, Laurence. WORKING KNOWLEDGE. Havard Press. ISBN 1-57851-301-4.

GEORGE, Bill & All. FINDING YOUR TRUE NORTH. Jossey-Bass publisher. ISBN 928-0-470-26136-1.

HOPKINS, Tom. HOW TO MASTER THE ART OF SELLING: How to Persuade Others Positively. Champions Press. ISBN 0-938636-03-0.

RYE, E. David. 1,001 WAYS TO INSPIRE. Your Organization, Your Team and Yourself. Castle Books. ISBN: 0-7858-2094-9

MICHAELSON, Steven. SUN TZU FOR EXECUTION. How to use the Art of War to get results. Adams Media. ISBN: 13:978-159869-052-1