The Ah-Ha Moments are at an all time high right now. The questions that Gary is answering through this book motivate me to read more and read faster. It almost seems like he’s my mentor! Something that especially caught my attention is how we need to focus on our strengths.
“I never worry about what you don’t have, but about what you do. Because I believe in betting on your strengths. Everyone is different, and everyone will bring a different set of skills to the table.”[note]Page 40[/note]
While interviewing with Paychex, this is something I kept in mind even before I read this book. When it came time for me to talk about my strengths and experiences I’ve had, social selling and online engagement was exactly what my boss was looking for.
My strengths sure paid off! Taking a ‘social’ approach to sales isn’t something that’s hit the mainstream yet… People do it, but they don’t do it correctly. Convincing a manager to let you ‘social sell’, that’s never heard of it before, takes guts. He knows I’m capable of what I told him I can do… but he’s gotta see it. Right? There has to be an ROI. So… once he saw it, the encouragement to do more motivated me!
“Pumping everyone full of confidence makes for a more creative, risk-taking environment.”[note]Page 70[/note]
I’m sure we’ve all had bosses before that were really good about giving praise. And we’ve also had bosses that weren’t so good at giving praise. Whom did you like better? Not to toot my own horn, but I got some 1 on 1 praise the other day. Guess what! I’m even more motivated. Man, it feels good too.
This, right here, is one question that I absolutely love!
“What is the one tangible thing people can do to change the direction of their lives?
Hustle.”[note]Page 75[/note]
It doesn’t get any easier than that. Work your ass off. Want to know why I went from college football into international football? Hustle! If you’re going to brand yourself, be a successful entrepreneur or do something no one else has ever done before, the recipe is Hustle. You gotta grind! Wake up early and go to bed late. At the end of the day, you should be mentally exhausted. It’s one thing to be productive and it’s another thing to be running in circles.
“Hustle is not just working obnoxiously hard – it’s also working obnoxiously smart.”[note]Page 84[/note]
I’ve written about it before. There’s a difference between being productive and being busy. Busy doesn’t mean shit. Just because you’re on ‘the grind’ and busy all the time, doesn’t mean you’re actually getting anything done. Consider reevaluating how you ‘hustle’. You could find that you need to start hustling smarter.
Gary hits on a point not many people talk about; circumstances.
“Don’t ever let your circumstances determine your outcome. You are bigger and better than that. You can always control your own destiny. Use what you’ve got, find what you don’t, and make your dreams come true.”[note]Page 91[/note]
Stop using ‘but’ when explaining why you failed. No more cop outs. Stop giving yourself an excuse. If you want to do something, do it. Find a way to get it done. Guess what. This website didn’t develop itself overnight. I can’t tell you how many people I tweeted asking questions. I googled everything to figure out how to make it. Just because I didn’t know how to do it, doesn’t mean I can’t figure it out or ask for help.
Stop worrying about the outcome before you’ve even taken the first step. You’ll thank yourself later.
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