Six Sets of Questions to Ask Yourself

(If you dare)

By Chuck Sink

My early working years were spent misguided by my own assumptions. I passed by obvious wealth-building opportunities without recognizing them. I blindly continued to struggle needlessly. Today I apply the brakes and change course when I'm heading in the wrong direction.

Here is a vital piece of advice for you if you feel stuck in neutral or missing out on the success of which you are worthy:

"If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around." -Jim Rohn

Motivational speakers and coaches won't do a thing for you if you won't discover your own talents and offer them to a willing market. Perhaps more importantly, you must stop procrastinating. The best way to end procrastination is by scripting your character according to good purpose.

I spent many highly motivated years studying some of the best materials ever written on the subject of personal development and sales growth. I attended speeches and seminars, bought and listened to CDs, wrote out my goals and daily affirmed my future achievements. I worked very hard at the activities prescribed for success. But my achievements were temporary. I achieved spikes of success followed by demoralizing defeats and periods of lackluster performance.

Not until I discovered what my true motivations and talents were did I begin to experience sustained, measurable professional growth. I've been a talented writer all my adult life and didn't discover it until a few years ago. I wasted over 20 years leaving the talent dormant and under-utilized. I withheld value from the marketplace! Shame on me but you know what? This story is now integral to the value of my work.

Six to Fix

These six principles and sets of questions could have a high impact on your life and business performance. Dare you ask these questions of yourself?

1. Do you have the capacity to be completely honest with yourself? If you don't, you're doomed. Can you think about your own thinking and recognize when you are rationalizing your behavior rather than being an unbiased referee of your motives? The whole truth will set you free to accomplish your noblest goals!

2. Acceptance of people, places and things as they are, not as you would have them, opens deeper understanding of how the world works. Acceptance is not advocacy or approval. Do other people and situations disturb you often? Do you fret about injustice, politics, culture shift or coworkers? Focus on only those things over which you have control and leave the rest to divine providence. Try to accept this axiom: "Whenever I am disturbed, there is something wrong with me!" A very tall order, I know, but think about it. You are not the CEO of the universe! Temporary, justifiable anger is understandable and acceptable but holding grudges or harboring resentments is not. Revenge is never an acceptable motive because it is subjective and totally self-serving. Remaining angry at a competitor, customer, supplier or anyone else is bad business. You can't change them but they sure are affecting your thoughts and attitudes aren't they? Don't let them. Forgive them and let go or be dragged!

3. Script and build better character traits based on service to others instead of self enrichment. Is your character based on how good you look or how good you are? Can you believe that serving others is the only way to serve your own best interests?

4. Know what you're great at! Do you recognize what your unique, best-in-class talent is? What do you love to do? What tickles your creative imagination? About what do people compliment you the most? That is probably your key to a rich and happy life!

5. Get excited about what you know you can accomplish and apply the necessary discipline to keep yourself accountable for victories and defeats. Can you pull away from distractions and apply yourself to important work?Can you tell yourself the truth about whether you're procrastinating or moving ahead? Fact: procrastination is nothing but sloth in five syllables! You've got to get excited enough to look forward to working. It's called work for a reason but it will be fun if it's what you're best at!

6. Allow self-fulfilling momentum to kick in and turn a labor of love into labor you love. The brass ring of career success is looking forward to Mondays. Do you love your job? Is your work exciting, fulfilling and fun? Are you serving and making your customers better off?

Examine your beliefs and summon the courage to ask yourself these six sets of questions. You may save yourself years of disappointments. I'm finally experiencing the real meaning in the many great motivational books I've read: Nothing out there will get better until I do! Discover, fine-tune and build wealth with the tools freely given you at birth.

In the near future I will unveil an educational framework for sustainable organizational growth based on individualized moral imperatives. It will be the first of its kind that I know of. I'm especially interested in hearing from the audience on this idea.


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Comments

[Bryan Perkins]

Nice blog Chuck and I can totally attest to self honesty - to look at one self brutally - warts and all. From here we can start to provide the insight to 'go with our true desires and talents' as you mention.

A nice technique I use is a personal catch up - via a diary note - commenting on how things are progressing in both your personal and work areas. It's a chance to keep the bigger picture in perspective and reflect on where you've been recently - and most importantly - where you intend to go.

Keep up the good work.

Bryan
Paraparaumu
New Zealand