Five Tips on How to Succeed at Everything

Today I aim to do everything better than I did yesterday.  I want to be a better friend, a better father and husband, a better writer and businessman.  Here are five tips on how to succeed at everything.

1. Show up.
2. Do something.
3. Think timing.
4. Avoid battles.
5. Cut losses.

First, you simply have to show up.  You will never succeed unless you show up, whether in class, to a social event, or at work.  I have found I seldom learn a subject until I take a class, read a book, or consult an expert.  I have never met a new friend while I was watching TV in bed.  My writing career took off when I finally finished the book I had been working on for twenty years.

After you show up you have to do something.  Occasionally I find myself at my office, in front of my computer screen, staring into space.  One Saturday years ago I arrived at nine am, started playing a computer game, and suddenly realized that it was four pm and I hadn’t even thought about lunch.  You don’t have to do a lot, but you can do something useful every day, even if it is only making a written note on your calendar of what you want to accomplish tomorrow.  Get into the habit of doing something each day that will contribute to your success.

Think timing.  One morning I accosted my general manager just as she was dropping her purse on her desk, and I peppered her with questions about a problem I had been working on for an hour.  “Alan, you have to say hello first,” she said.  My timing was off.  Also, I find that I am better at solving difficult problems early in the morning, or, sometimes, in the evening.  I schedule easier tasks, such as meetings, in the afternoon.

Avoid battles.  Even if you enjoy fighting with people you are not going to win every dispute.  Why not reserve your time and energy for the more important struggles, those where the outcomes matter most to you?  And be careful to avoid falling into the briar patch of litigation, where your attorney will be the winner.  Five years ago I entered into a large business transaction without thinking it through.  What followed was almost two years of furious litigation that consumed one-third of my business time and most of my emotional energy.  It ended in a costly settlement.  My attorneys celebrated.

Cut losses.  You have limited resources.  I hate to lose, but should I spend my life trying to turn around a small loss, or should I allocate my time, money, and energy to a project that promises a gain.  Cutting your losses is especially important in relationships.  Surround yourself with people who are happy and contribute joy to your life.  Just as you will bask in the glow of their achievements, they will contribute to your own contentment and success.

You have created the life you live today.  You can design an even better life for all of your tomorrows.  I hope this blog will help.

Alan