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Everybody wants to get to
the top, whether it is the top of a career, a company, the earnings scale,
or the many other ways that we as individuals can define the “top” in
our own lives! But with so many people trying to get to the top, how come
so many people aren’t moving up? I think there are some fundamental
reasons why. Reasons that can be addressed and changed!
What
are some things you can do to get to the top?
First of all, define what the “top” means for you.
This
is extremely important because if you don’t know where you are going,
you will never get there! Some people don’t want to be the CEO of the
company. In fact, many think they are better off then the CEO even though
they don’t make as much money. Instead, they think they are at the top
because of less stress, weekends with their families, etc, and I see their
point. It doesn’t matter what others think is the top, only what you do,
since you are only gauging whether or not YOU get there! So where is it
for you? That is the first question for you to answer.
Be passionate about your goal.
Passion is the energy that drives us, or, as Alexander Pope said, passions
are the “gales of life.” Passion is the wind in the sales of work.
Find some thing you love and you will find something you can get to the
top of. If you don’t love it, you may still make it to the top, though
highly unlikely. And even if you do, there will be no joy. Let your
passion carry you, because it will carry you far! Thomas Fuller put it
this way: A man with passion rides a horse that runs away with him.
The will to continue in the face of hardship.
Another reason most
will not get to the top is because they simply refuse to scale the
mountains of hardship that separate them from the top. If you want to get
to the beautiful view from the top, you will have to climb over any
obstacles. Instead, many choose to stay at base camp!
One
would think that Bjorn Borg, one of the greatest tennis players to ever
live, would consider his skill his greatest asset. Instead, this is what
he says, "My greatest point is my persistence. I never give up in a
match. However down I am, I fight until the last ball. My list of matches
shows that I have turned a great many so-called irretrievable defeats into
victories."
Continue
until you get to the top!
Love people and treat them right.
What? Love people?
That’s right! Why? Because if you are going to get to the top, you are
going to need other people. Be a jerk and you will find people dragging
their feet on you. Treat them right and you will find them helping you and
even cheering you on!
Master
the appropriate skills.
Average skills will get
you to the middle. Top skills will get you to the TOP! This is most
assuredly true when combined with the points above. Are you achieving
excellence in the skills you need? Are you growing day by day, month by
month, year by year? You can always get better and getting better will
take you closer to the top! Even if you only improve a little, you can
keep improving that small amount and it will eventually become a big
amount! Demand the best from yourself and you will get to the top.
Remember the words of Jose Ortega y Gasset: "We distinguish the
excellent man from the common man by saying that the former is the one who
makes great demands on himself, and the latter who makes no demands on
himself."
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