If a thing is very common and easy to get, we say it is ‘a dime a dozen.’ And that is exactly what talent is.
Let me explain.
In a recent seminar I wrote at the bottom of my white board, in small writing, ‘talent’. And next to it I wrote the word ‘low’. I then proceeded to write in large letters at the top of the board the word ‘high’. And then beside that word started to write what I felt were much more important qualities in a life. Words such as: positive in speech and action, a ‘can do’ spirit, patient, attends to detail, teachable, people skills, servant, excellence, never having own agenda, willing to work for a common goal, non-offensive, co-operative, understanding, willing to learn, does what is asked to do, keeps their word, character, honesty and integrity.
I then went on to explain for the next hour why, as an employer, I placed all those qualities far above talent. And particularly as I franchise my business – I am not going to be looking so much for talent first and foremost, but will in fact be looking for far higher qualities in my applicants.
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I have often heard the statement that it takes twenty years to become an overnight success. Having lived for more than twenty years myself, and as I look at the lives of those who are successful around about me, I have come to believe this statement more and more and more.
Most successful men don’t hit their straps until their fifties. I know for certain that that was the case for the famous French artist Monet. I know it from the example of my friends who own one of the fastest growing coffee franchises on the planet. And there are many other examples that I could cite.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t experience success at an earlier age, but it does seem to me, that those whom I know, who have developed long lasting success; that is both sustained and exponential, have spent many years being developed in the darkroom of their lives. They have spent that time being prepared for future outstanding success, and throughout that preparation they have been expanded greatly on the inside. Because of that process they can handle the expansion of their lives that is now openly visible for all to see.
This is why I spent many years reading and studying. I knew for a fact that if I was going to do anything of great significance in this life, I was going to have to prepare myself. I recall spending many hours locked away in the basement of the Newcastle University, many years ago, reading the original works of Ralph Waldo Emerson. The books were so old that the pages were beginning to crumble in my hands. But all I knew was this – my mind was being expanded by the power of the thoughts that Emerson had written onto the page, and even though I didn’t understand much of what he wrote in the English language of the 19th century, I knew for one thing that I was eating liquid gold that was expanding me on the inside.
And that is why I mostly read books written by some of the greatest philosophers who have ever lived. I also love to read the biographies of great men and women – where I can get inside their minds and study them.
Just the other day I was fortunate enough to purchase the complete works of Abraham Lincoln – The War Years by Carl Sandburg and The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln – 13 volumes in total. I recently acquired the complete works of Winston Churchill’s The Second World War. My most treasured volume though is still the Bible.
By reading these classics I continue to associate with great men and women, while at the same time expanding my mind, and in doing so expanding my capacity. I know that I can now step forward into the future with confidence that I will be able to fulfill the dreams that have been in my heart for decades.
You too can do the same.
A time of peace comes after a time of war. It is usually a time of great celebration for the victor, but because it has also taken the loss of many lives to secure that victory, it is also, in fact, a time of great sadness for those who have lost loved ones.
Once the tickertape parades are over and the medals have been pinned on the proud chests of the courageous, then everybody turns back to their own homes with the intention of getting on with a normal life. But for many, life can never be normal again, because there is now a chair in their house that will always remain empty, or there is a life, once vibrant before the war, now shattered forever. War didn’t just happen on the battlefield or in the trenches, or in the desert or in the jungle. For many of the families of returned soldiers, the greatest battles are just about to begin.
It is time to rebuild broken lives and to renew relationships; to re-establish that which had been uprooted and to now strengthen the bonds that had been weakened through warfare. Even though life’s battles come to an end, it may still take years to recover from them. Even though peace is declared, the true sense of peace will take much longer to catch up.
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My grandad, whom I always knew as Tom, never talked much about his wartime experiences. He served in the RAAF during the Second World War.
When he returned home from leave there were times when he was struck down with sickness and the children would stand at the end of his bed and watch as his body shook violently from side to side. And then there were the times when he would scream out in his sleep as recurring nightmares would flood back.
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I came across a great quote by Will Rogers recently: ‘ Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.’
There is so much truth in this quote. We must continue to move forward. We must never stand still. This is true in business. This is true in life.
And how do you keep moving?
Well here are five simple ways to keep you moving:
- Surround yourself with a team of people younger than yourself. The great thing about youthful individuals is that they have no understanding of the word impossible. Before they’re told that they can’t, they have.
- Surround yourself with a board of reference which is made up of more successful people than yourself; those who have already achieved what you would desire to achieve.
- Make dreaming a key part of your daily habits.
- Wake up every morning with a thankful heart.
- Speak positive words only. And as a recent speaker whom I heard said: For every current view of the situation you have, create a better view of that same situation. It will change your life.
