Write Your Own Success Story
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Joe Cirulli agrees. He is the owner of the successful Gainesville Health and Fitness Center in Florida. Early in his life, exercise was a priority, an essential part of his day. So he followed his interests and put his talents to work by starting his own health club. While many other clubs have folded around him, he has experienced enormous success—his membership continues to grow, and he is able to keep his club filled with the best equipment and the most knowledgeable professionals. When Joe was twenty, he worked as an assistant manager and a sales representative for a health club. One of his responsibilities was to train new sales representatives for the club. He worked hard to prepare them for their jobs only to have to compete with them once they were trained. He remembers talking with the vice president of the company about his frustration. The vice president, a person Joe respected, advised him to keep on putting his best efforts into his work. “Right now you may not see the benefit of your hard work, but one day you will.” Joe followed his advice. Less than five years later, his skills at training people in the health-club industry paid off—he was able to put his expertise to work at his own club. “Knowing how to motivate employees to do their best, to care about the quality of their work, and to care about our customers has had an enormous impact on the success of my own company.” Joe believes the secret to his success is giving 100 percent of himself in everything he does. “Success is the culmination of all your efforts. There are thousands of opportunities for people who give their all.” How do you arrange to have the most options when you leave college? Plan, develop foresight, and take charge of your life, and you will become one of the lucky ones. Most important, decide that you want to succeed—and believe it. Charles Garfield, a clinical psychologist who has spent his career studying what motivates people to superior effort, says that the drive to excel comes primarily from within. Can “peak performances” be learned? Yes, says Garfield. High achievers are not extraordinarily