Dear Achiever Colleagues,
What does it mean to be an Achiever?
What are the characteristics of the members of this group? Or, the characteristics of the people who have achieved great things in their lives, their relationships, or their careers?
One characteristic has to be the relentless
pursuit of knowledge. But, not for knowledge’s sake. Achievers want knowledge so they can get an edge. Something that will help them be just a little better. In fact mega consultant, Dan Kennedy, says that there are a group of people who can’t stand the idea that there might be something out there that they don’t know, that could be the difference maker in their business or lives.
That’s why Achievers tend to be readers and tape junkies. (Zig calls this our University on Wheels. I am always excited when I get into an AE’s car and they have some CD or tape series in the player. And really excited when it’s one of mine.) I also find that Achievers will also return again and again to material they think is valuable.
Another ingredient of the Achiever is a vision. They have a clear idea of where they are headed. I actually believe that many Achievers visualize their achievements long before they have actually happened. Denis Waitely (whose book the Psychology of Winning changed my life) says that,
“we are always moving in the direction of the things we are thinking about most.” Think things will be bad? They become bad. Think things will be good? Guess what. Self-fulfilling prophecies. I should write a whole article on this subject someday.
But having a vision means little if that vision isn’t reduced to the action steps you need to take today. Writing down your goals. Or, as Marshall Sylver says,
“write down your plans.” He says that plans are more powerful than goals. Think about it. What is more powerful? If I say,
“my goal is to have dinner with you on Saturday” OR
“my PLAN is to have dinner with you on Saturday?” Which do you think is more likely to happen?
Achievers take their longer term vision and put in writing what they need to do next to accomplish that. I think that writing down goals may be the most critical step because it starts you to be committed to action.
I’m writing this today because of a conversation at lunch Saturday with Lou Castriota, Jr. Lou is the Local Sales Manager at a TV station in Harrisburg, PA. He was part of the audience for a speech I did Saturday in San Antonio. So when he sat down at my table, asking questions about what I thought were the best sales organizations in our business, I was impressed. Certainly exhibiting achiever characteristics, don’t you think?
I didn’t know the half of it. You see, Lou had moved to Harrisburg from a job at a TV station in Baltimore because he has a vision. His vision is to build a center for Special Needs children that will serve as a model for the entire country. A place where multiple disciplines of treatment can be practiced. He calls his center
Leg Up Farm. And moving to Harrisburg was critical because it allowed him more access to state decision makers since Harrisburg is Pennsylvania’s state capital.
Lou had a dream. A dream to create a program where horses could be used for a therapeutic riding program. He started planning. And then, six months later, his daughter Brooke was diagnosed with special needs. From his experience with Brooke came the vision for
Leg Up Farm.
The farm hasn’t been built yet. But it will be. I have no doubt of that. Because of how determined Lou is to see that it is built. In the past few years, there have been setbacks. Three separate times the grant money to do just the plan was turned down. But then it got ok’d. A woman donated the land, a part of her farm, to build the center. The state approved the use of tax credits for donors. Just six weeks ago, the town approved a change in the zoning to allow
Leg Up Farm to be built. Now Lou and his supporters wait (and lobby) for a major appropriation from this year’s state budget. And if it comes,
Leg Up Farm will be built in the next year.
It has taken years from Lou’s original vision to get to this point. Years. And the center is still not built. They’ve experienced setbacks. And may again. But Lou was very clear when he talked about how they have been able to get from the dream to where they are today.
“Stay totally focused on accomplishing just the very next step.” Lou said that it would have been impossible if all he thought of was how was he going to get the farm built. So he stayed focused on the next step. Get the first grant . . . incorporate . . . get charitable IRS status . . . find the land . . . get the zoning. Take the next step.
I hope as you read this that you can feel my emotion. Here is a guy just like you and I. He’s even in our business doing exactly what we do. He and his wife got dealt a real challenge with Brooke’s condition. But he turns that, one step at a time, into a program that will make a huge difference for other children like Brooke.
What is your bet? Will Leg Up Farm be built? I’d bet huge money that it will be.
A dream . . . a vision . . . the next step always . . . action. An Achiever.
By JIM DOYLE, The Achiever's Circle