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Your attitude is more important than your aptitude

This is a great time to be alive. There are so many positives around us and there have never been more opportunities and possibilities for ambitious people to achieve success.

I believe that ninety percent of your success in life will be determined by your attitude, and only ten percent by your aptitude. So it stands to reason that if you find ways to positively manage, develop and improve your attitude then you are ninety percent of the way to personal success.

I urge you to take full advantage of the opportunities that surround you today. This week I am going to suggest a few practical ideas that I believe if practised will offer you the opportunity to send your career skywards. These are the behaviours that all managers wish every employee knew, and these are the behaviours that will get you earning more and promoted faster.

  1. Take responsibility for your own career
    Write your own career script rather than waiting for someone to write it for you. Go the extra mile and work well beyond your job description. Confidently build your skill level and continually look for    ways to make yourself more valuable. Identify and focus on your strengths.
  2. Focus on your career goals
    Develop absolute clarity about the goals that you wish to accomplish in your career. Without goals you have no direction and you will end up going nowhere. You must decide with clarity what you want to achieve and why. Your goals should have a clear result and purpose, backed up with effective action plans. Write your career goals in a journal and ensure that you do something each and every day that moves you towards these goals.
  3. Ask for what you want
    The future belongs to people who ask with clarity for what they want. Don’t be part of the majority who sit back hoping that things will improve. Ask in a courteous and polite manner, but persistently ask. This will effectively communicate your ambition, intent and leadership potential to your boss.
  4. Develop the ability to communicate in a powerful and persuasive manner
    Can you effectively and quickly capture your listener’s attention and get your message across? Can you write clearly, persuasively and with impact? Get books on these subjects and improve these stand-out skills. The good communicators tend to attract the best jobs and projects.
  5. Commit to continuous learning
    Take courses, read books and journals, and continuously learn and develop new skills. The quest for never-ending improvement will give you motivation, energy and drive. This learning attitude will always show in a person’s performance.
  6. Guard your reputation
    All successful business and personal relationships are based on trust. Your character and reputation is your single most valuable asset - guard it as sacred.
  7. Stay abreast of business trends
    Do regularly read the business section of your newspaper or business magazines? Can you identify three trends that will have an impact on your industry over the next two years? What are the potential threats to your industry or profession? The ability to anticipate trends is a superb business skill.
  8. Develop a positive attitude
    Your attitude at work will always determine your level of eventual success. People who are cheerful and optimistic will always be liked more than the moaners and groaners. It is vital in the workplace that you get on with your clients and colleagues. The best team players are those who display a supportive and positive demeanour.
  9. Create a successful image
    People do and will always judge you on what you look like. Make every effort to look like the winner you are at work. Create your own personal vision statement that purposely declares that you are a remarkable individual with a great future.
  10. Always treat people well
    Treat all people in the manner that you would wish to be treated. The more people that like and respect you, the bigger your chance of success.

And finally, commit to small increments of improvement every single day. You have abilities, talents, and strengths that you haven’t begun to reach for – you have unlimited power within you. Use this power.

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