Monday, September 30, 2013

Find Mentors you can emulate




“It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction.”–Warren Buffett
A successful American businessman and fearless investor, Warren Buffett has identified one of the most important tips of being successful: seek mentors.

Buffett’s quote emphasizes that a person must reach out to those who know more in order to be successful.

Selecting successful people to fraternize with provides you with wonderful role models, free education, and information about how those people excel. As you spend time with them, you’ll tend to copy their behaviors, become more motivated, and achieve your own success.

Known for his common sense approach to investing and managing money, Buffett has applied this same mantra when finding mentors to emulate.

How to Apply Warren Buffett’s Tip to Your Life

Spending time with people who have more knowledge, business savvy, expertise, and even creativity can rub off on you. When you choose to spend time with people you want to be like, you’re provided with a treasure trove of information about how those peers work and achieve their goals.

Hanging out with them presents the wonderful advantage to you of being exposed to information that will help you reach your goals. To be inspired, hang out with the best.

Seek and find at least one mentor in your professional field. Soak up all the information he offers. Listen well. Observe how he approaches work and life. Then try to apply what you see and learn in your own life.

If you want to be more successful, surround yourself with successful people whom you can learn from and model after. You’ll be compelled to be successful, just like them.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Open your eyes opportunities are everywhere



“The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity.”–Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand, a prolific writer born in Russia, experienced great success in her lifetime. Over 25 million of her books have sold and all of her books are still in print, although she died in 1982. Rand’s quote gets to the heart of the cultivation of success — recognizing opportunity and taking advantage of it. 

Her description of success being a ladder is apt because, in order to be successful, one must notice and take advantage of many opportunities throughout life. Her quote illustrates that each opportunity leads to another step up to the next opportunity.

Rand’s quote implies it’s rare to go from nothing to success in one step. Instead, you’re led to succeed through the opportunities you notice and take advantage of.

How to Apply Ayn Rand’s Tip to Your Life

  • It’s best not to expect success to come all at once with little time or effort:
  • Think of success as something you can achieve step by step.
  • Each step or “rung” is an opportunity.
  • In order to benefit the most, keep your eyes open to whatever opportunities come your way.
  • The more opportunities you recognize and utilize, the more likely it is you’ll be successful.
Some opportunities will be disguised to look like obstacles or will present great challenges to you.

Open your mind to the possibilities that these situations bring to you. As you tackle each situation, consider it an opportunity and find a way to use it to your advantage. Those opportunities will help you progress up the ladder of success.