The second most important success secret

If you’re lucky, as I am, you have and will be blessed in your lifetime with encounters of special people that will share the kind of knowledge with you that can many times change your life. These people might be friends; associates; someone you meet on an airplane or at a meeting and sometimes total strangers. Some of my greatest life lessons and most powerful business lessons have come from these “mentors” that I was lucky enough to meet on my life journey.

In my business coaching practice I see, hear and deal with all kinds of business situations. In this challenging economy, I have seen many businesses that are struggling. Some make it, some won’t and many don’t. Most of the business owners that I work with are people with education and solid life experiences yet in too many cases the troubles that they and their businesses are facing are caused by single issue, and that issue is the SECOND MOST IMPORTANT SUCCESS SECRET!

I met one of my important “Street Mentors” in the late 1970’s. He had a PhD yet had the ability to teach in ways that anyone could understand. It was a homespun mix of practicality and grizzled experience that quietly and profoundly said, “you better listen to me because I might know what I’m talking about!”

After all these years, I still think of his one phrase that I still repeat to my clients; customers and seminar and workshop attendees and is The Second Most Important Success Secret. He would say, “I don’t believe in the old line that says KNOWLEDGE IS POWER! It’s simply not true. Here’s the way it should be stated, KNOWLEDGE IS NOT POWER…..APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!” He would go on to say that, “I’ve seen many educated derelicts! Knowledge is nothing unless you put it to use!”

Henry Ford, Founder of Ford Motor Company once said, “You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do!” In today’s marketplace, talk is cheap. You’ve got to go to work. You must apply the knowledge that you have and apply it with a plan. You’ve got to apply the GOYA principle. It’s a simple and very scientific principle. GOYA means Get- Off –Your- Ass! Go to work and apply the knowledge; experience and passion to creating a business that thrives in any economy. And if you don’t know how to do it remember this truth! The footprints of success are already laid! Find the people in your industry that are the leaders; that are successful and making things happen. Study what they do; study how they work; study how they do all aspects of their business……then COPY IT!

Industrialist, Andrew Carnegie once said, “As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do!” GOYA and get to work and understand that someone is watching you all the time; Employees, investors, bankers, suppliers, competitors, they’re all watching to see how bad you want success and how smart you are about getting success. Employees will follow the leader, good or bad. Investors, bankers, suppliers, will decide if they want to partner with you and competitors will either disregard you or understand that they will need to pick up their game to compete.

Be Great!

Coach Dan

Would love to connect at [email protected]. Visit my website at Real World Business Coach