2017: A Year of Challenges!

2017 is fast approaching and will soon be upon us. The year will certainly have challenges. Just as the early part of the century tried us, so will this year. The century was off to a bad start with the Y2K scare and the horrific events of September 11, 2001. As time went on we had close, divisive elections and one of the greatest economic downturns in our country’s history. Now again we are faced with a divisive election and the global threat of terrorism. Despite all of the negatives many have managed to both survive and thrive. What are some things we can do to have a better chance of succeeding in 2017 and beyond?

One of the great lessons of the first seventeen years of the century is to expect the unexpected. Whether in the business world or our personal life things just don’t always go the way we thought they would. The unexpected could be a fire, a storm, a prolonged illness, or even an unexpected windfall, but as we have seen in the past, the unexpected will happen. Certainly our recent election produced the unexpected! History tells us we will see many more this year.

Once we have had the unexpected happen we need to “roll with the punches” or as Charlie Rich sang “so on and on I go, I keep on rolling with the flow.” If we can change and redirect the unexpected we must do so, if not we have to adapt to the change and continue moving forward. If we are stiff and resist changing times we delay our movement towards solving our problems. As a nation we need to pull together and move in the same direction for the good of all concerned.

Preparation is another key to success as we move into 2017. We must keep preparing for the direction our efforts will take us and also prepare for those “unexpecteds” as they happen. We don’t need two plans, but rather we need plans coming from our preparation efforts that must be both specific enough to lead us and flexible enough to move in the direction or directions change takes us. If we can anticipate some of the issues that we might face we can escape being reactionary and thus save a lot of time in the process.

Preparation gets us ready to face events and working the plan or following through puts us in position to gain outcomes. Once the plan is worked and outcomes are achieved we can fine tune the plan so that the goals of the plan can be met. If there is a shortfall adjustments need to be made and we once again need to “keep on rolling with the flow.” Seldom does a plan work out exactly the way it was formed.

One final thought for achieving success in 2017 is to have patience as the year unfolds. Events and happenings in our life can get us too optimistic or too pessimistic about results. New leadership will hopefully provide direction that will solve problems. Things can start bad or good and can go the opposite as the year unfolds. If we apply the thoughts we have discussed and give them time to work we have our best chance of positive results and a successful 2017, individually, collectively, and as a nation.

"Wearing Out or Rusting Out?"

“Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made:
Our times are in His hand
Who saith "A whole I planned,
Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!'' Robert Browning “Rabbi Ben Ezra”

These opening lines from Browning’s poem remind us that all of life is important, not just the first part. Someone once told me “I’d rather wear out than rust out.” Life is in the doing. He was so right! We can continue to do something with our lives or we can just set around, rust, and become old in every way. Too often in our society we settle for a very passive lifestyle in front of the television. Health issues come or worsen, the rust out process begins.

As we grow older we can’t do everything we once could. We can however do some things better as a result of experiences along the way. We can help others benefit from the knowledge gained and stored for use another day. In that way our ideas pass on to a new generation. Our opportunity to wear out rather than rust out is enhanced by following a number of rules.

First, growing older doesn’t change the person you are inside. The battles of life have made you smarter and tougher. The old axiom “work smarter, not harder” comes into play here. The energy level may be lower, but the tasks take less time as a result of being able to anticipate problems and having the ability to finish them in a timely manner. Focusing on the task at hand can allow us great results in far less time.

Next, growing older does not keep us from being able to enjoy life and its challenges. In his book “Man’s Search for Meaning” Viktor Frankl wrote of the importance of purpose in life. As we age we need to focus on what we want to accomplish with the balance of our years. This may be work-related, new interests, or just taking time to enjoy the simple things in life. Several years ago my wife, Sharon, and I spent several days searching out and taking pictures of the stone bridges in Cowley County. What a great time we had!

Finally, these “golden years” are best spent and shared with someone or several someones. Sharing our dreams and living them with others leaves a legacy that lasts well into the future. For about ten years Sharon and I had the privilege of sharing trips to various locations with our four youngest grandchildren. Eventually jobs, boyfriends and girlfriends, and other activities ended the “Grandkid trips”, but Sharon and I have continued the adventure of travelling. I would much rather finally “wear out than rust out.”

"Keep On Keeping On"

Sometimes we are our own worst enemies when it comes to trying to accomplish tasks. Often we get enthused, start, and when the task becomes too hard, we move off to something else. Focus is lost and the task delayed or forgotten. A wise man once told me to succeed in sales I needed to “keep on keeping on.” His obvious success made me heed his advice.

At first glance “keep on keeping on” seems simple, but it can be a daunting task. Often Murphy’s Law “if it can go wrong it will” gets in the way and discourages us. We have to learn to discipline ourselves to stay on task. Anything less wastes time and dooms us to failure. We have to be mentally tough and stay on task.

One attitude that hinders our progress is the “go along to get along” position many take. We get upset when our children yield to “peer pressure” and yet we fall victim to the same position. Others get discouraged or “They decide to go a different direction and so we follow their lead and get derailed. It is much more difficult to get back on track than to just keep things going in the first place.

Early in my insurance career I read a book by insurance millionaire The W. Clement Stone, “The Success System That Never Fails” where Mr. Stone stated “Success is achieved by those who try and keep trying.” Whenever I’m inclined to quit or just delay a task I’m reminded of words of wisdom and “keep on keeping on. Maybe Norman Albright said it in best way when we were at coffee one day and he said “No one has endurance like the man that sells insurance.” That statement about endurance is true of anyone wanting success.

When the task seems difficult we also end up procrastinating. Putting things off will serve to allow the task to become bigger and increases the procrastinating. A better way to handle large tasks is to break them into smaller tasks and move the job towards completion. I remember hearing “by the yard it’s hard: by the inch it’s a cinch.” It is certainly easier to handle smaller tasks that yield momentum.

In reality if we learn the lesson of “keeping on keeping on” we will set ourselves apart from the most of those around us. Earl Nightingale, the great motivational speaker of yesteryear, estimated that only 5% of the total population would continuously do the activities necessary for success. That puts them in exclusive company. Determining to “keep on keeping on” is a great starting place.

"It Might Have Been!"

The great American poet of the mid 1850’s, John Greenleaf Whittier, penned some thought-provoking words when he wrote “the saddest word of tongue or pen are these words: it might have been.” Surely these words have haunted all of us at one time or another. Why do we end up in the “might have been’s” and how do we overcome and gain success?

One of the attitudes hindering accomplishment is our feelings of inadequacy. We simply don’t see ourselves being able to do what we need to. My Grandpa told me “he who hesitates is lost.” Lack of confidence keeps us from starting, or we start and stop and never get going again. In his book “Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude” W. Clement Stone wrote “Success is achieved by those who try and keep trying! We’ll never know until we try!
Closely related to feelings of inadequacy is just the simple fear of failure. Our ego often can’t stand the thought of failing! What will others think of us? How will I recover? Reality is that anyone ever accomplishing anything of note failed-often many times. Disney did, so did Lincoln, so must we! It really isn’t how manty times we fall, but how many times we get back up and keep trying. Babe Ruth struck out over 2000 times, but we remember him for his 714 home runs in the dead ball era!

We often get resistance to what we want to accomplish. Accepting “no’ can stop us from reaching our goals. We then stop asking and we drop into that “might have been” mentality. Instead we should regroup and continue to ask. The first step in getting to yes is asking and then adjusting until we finally get to yes! My original Prudential Manager Paul Hutsey used to say each no received is the key in getting to the next yes and the yes is what makes a difference. Accepting no forever put us in “it might have been!”

No matter which of the attitudes hinder us the result is the same: it might have been! It might have been! It might have been! Having to say those words about something truly important is worse than failure! Teddy Roosevelt, our 26th President said on several occasions “Far greater it is to have won great victories though checkered with defeats than to take company with that great host knowing neither victory nor defeat!” Teddy was right, so too was Whittier, and Stone! Let’s stay away from having to say or think, “it might have been.”
Contact Chuck at: chuck.wright@sckans.edu

The Power of "No"

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary the definition of the word “no” is“ used as a function word to express the negative of an alternative choice or possibility.” Rather a simple definition of one of the smallest, and yet, one of the most powerful words in our English language. We use and misuse this word on a regular basis so we’ll take this time to visit about “the power of no."

Several years ago when I was in Wichita one of my agents came forward with a request I knew couldn’t be complied with so I told him no. In the next few weeks he would alter the request slightly and come back repeatedly. After several encounters I replied “what part of no don’t you understand?” Years later when Lorrie Morgan recorded the song “What Part of No “ I felt I might have missed a great opportunity! Truth is my agent understood “no” he just didn’t want to accept that answer.

One of the real powers of the word no is to know when to use it and then sticking by the decision. Parenting is one of the places where misuse of the word occurs regularly. We can vary from saying no too often to saying no and having our children work their way to yes by playing their parents against each other. At other times children just use the method of keeping at it until they get their way.

When we moved to Winfield in 1976 I had a brand new experience. I had never been involved in a community before and soon found myself member of many civic organizations. All were good, but ultimately I had to learn to limit myself by invoking the power of no. The process took some time but eventually I could balance work, family, church, and community involvement. No had become my friend.

In sales one of the biggest obstacles to overcome is the fear of rejection. Trainers try to remove or reduce this fear by convincing sales people the customer is not rejecting them, but they are rejecting the product. However, the sting of “no” would still remain.

My mentor Paul Hutsey had the most convincing take on dealing with no. He regularly would remind us that with every no we were closer to the next yes. So then we could handle the noes while working toward the yeses that would spell success. That idea fit well with his basic concept that to be successful in sales we had to be willing to fail (take no) 90% of the time. The worst thing that could happen is not to ask because then nothing will happen. When you ask the door of possibility opens for the next yes!