How to Become a Real Person and Become Successful at it.
Yes. I know. I'm not there yet.
Though, I have been reading and applying much of the principles being taught.
John C. Maxwell said it best. A person of influence is usually a person that also has this thing called character. There is a dichotomy between credentials and character.
The one greatest fallacy I have found, a mistake or misconception that most people make is that they assume having many degrees or credentials such as those that are given to you when you've finished a 3 to 5 year course in a college or university will get you ahead in life. While obtaining such credentials will give you a better chance at a better job, it does NOT provide certain security (there are no secure jobs, only secure people), nor does it excercise your personal development as a leader or someone of influence.
A person of character will get farther ahead because of the people that he/she attracts to develop a certain group or community where everyone works together as a unit to achieve greater things than a single individual could ever achieve. That's one of the reasons why successful businesses requires business teams. Robert Kyosaki says, "If you're the smartest person on the team, then you have a great problem." The best thing to do is to have a team with different talents so that they work synergistically filling in all those gaps of what is needed to become successful. Imagine a team that excercises all their strength and not their weaknesses.
Let me give you an example.
Let's say I wanted to be a CEO of a company that is in large debt and my objective is to turn it around and make it profitable in two years or less. Now, this situation sounds no different than when Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of Britain in the World War II just as Hitler was taking over most of Europe.
While experience is necessary to turn around a nation or a company, ask then what kind of experience is required? Would credentials and getting degrees be enough? From what I have gathered in my reading and application to life is that those who have endured life challenges, people who have been ridiculed but have persisted in going on, maintaining their course no matter what, people such as this have character.
"Long before the mood is over, you do it anyway."
So why does this frighten certain people? Indeed, it's acutally more powerful than credentials. Credentials do not tell you who a person is and what they are made of. Character tells you everything about who they are and how they behave. For example, ask if a person has integrity. Do they do what they say and say what they mean?
If I became the CEO, what is the first thing I ought to do to start the process of changing the company? Give myself a 7-figure salary? Have I earned it yet? Obviously not. But if I were to invest a 7-figure dollar amount into developing the business and adding resources to it to get it to where it needs to be, wouldn't that be more productive?
The challenge most people would have in this situation is the fact that they would have immediate access to all these resources and all this power and authority - but they do not know how to use it properly and with a humbled, serving spirit.
To become successful as a person, at your life, you need to first influence those around you. Influence, not manipulate. (Read Dale Carnegie's "How to Make Friends and Influence People", as well as any John C. Maxwell book.) And then putting into action what is need to accomplish certain objectives with a group of people with all the necessary talent. If you just think about it, operate without your credentails, it will seem pretty simple. Not easy, but simple, if you ask the right questions all the time and find the answers with your circle of influence.
To become successful, build your character, not your credentials.
I must say, this type of information has been within me for a long time. And as I see myself writing all this out, that is indeed than plan I need to execute. All I need to do is find team members who want a better life for themselves, but those who are willing to do something about it.