Category: Lunar Letter (English)

Perseverance allows us to achieve our dreams and increases our confidence. In previous editions of the “Lunar Letter” we have talked about and referred to the formula:

C = EPPA²

Success comes from confidence and confidence comes from experience, preparation, perseverance and an excellent attitude. Today we will embark on an adventure in perseverance.

Many know the story of the Chinese Bamboo. The bamboo seed is planted, watered and cared for during one year and nothing can be seen. There is no sign of life. The seed is watered and cared for during an additional year and still nothing. The years pass and one wonders what is going on. Somewhere around the fifth year the Chinese Bamboo tree sprouts and then grows 90 feet in 6 weeks.

We know that the Chinese Bamboo was preparing for its incredible growth. During the five years nothing could be seen above ground, an elaborate system of roots was formed to enable the extraordinary growth in the fifth year.

Our success and confidence comes from the seeds we sow in our mind. We water the seeds of success and confidence with our actions and habits each day. Similar to the Chinese Bamboo, if we stop watering our seeds, they will wither away and die before we can see the results.

The secret many of us desire is to know how to persevere when we want to “throw in the towel” and quit. There is no easy answer and no magic formula. What we can do is to concentrate on the results of all that we do and be bold in the actions we take in order to achieve our objective. In the times we need it most, we can focus on the words of wise men who have persevered under the most difficult of circumstances:

“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.”
~ Winston Churchill

“It’s not that I’m so smart; it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”

~ Albert Einstein

“It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or how the doer of deeds could do better. The credit belongs to the man, who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

~ Theodore Roosevelt

By following these steps, we can be sure to put our best foot forward in all that we do and never have to look back wondering what might have been.

∞ Rob McBride ∞
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I was awaiting a call to set an appointment for an important meeting. The call came through and the person asked if I had time to talk right then. I was anxious to talk to the person, so I said, “Sure!” The truth of the matter was that I was in the middle of another project and getting ready to leave for another appointment.

I said, “Hang on just a minute.” I rushed downstairs, found a pen, paper and some notes I had written. I then ran back upstairs to the phone. When I got back on the line, I was out of breath. Perhaps 38 seconds had passed. Not an incredibly long time on a clock but an eternity when you are waiting for someone on the phone.

As I made a quick apology for my absence, the first question came like a rocket. “In addition to what you have already sent, what else can you tell me about the program and how it will specifically help our people?” As I tried to catch my breath and scan my notes, I started mumbling something but still did not have my breath. The few words I uttered, I am certain, made no sense. I was still trying to get my bearings.

Then like a machine gun firing into its weakened opponent, the next question drilled me without mercy, “What are some of the specific action steps you have generated with other groups taking the course?” My mind went blank. In spite of having given the course numerous times and have generated dozens of concrete examples, my mind was in a fog and, inexplicably, I was still out of breath! I tried to recover as I went along, but to no avail. I was being battered ruthlessly and it wasn’t a pretty picture.

A final question went straight to the heart. “What kind of follow up do you plan to ensure objectives are met and how do you plan on doing this while being several thousand miles away?” I continued to dig myself into a deeper hole, knowing the work I had put into the project was slowly being drawn into a dark whirling black hole.

As the call came to an end, I realized there was little chance of achieving my objective on that particular call. She said she needed to check with someone else and promised they would “think” about my proposal. Of course, as soon as I hung up the phone, all the answers came to me in a flash. I sent out a follow up e mail to elaborate what I knew but could not articulate on the phone. Nevertheless, the damage had already been done.

One week later on the follow up call, I received a polite e mail saying, “I spoke to our training people in New York. They want to review other programs in addition to yours so let’s put it on hold for a few weeks.” The final blow hit its mark relentlessly.

What happened? How could the disaster have been averted?

1) Always be prepared.
When leaving a message which implies a return call, be prepared to handle that call when it comes. Make sure that we have a clear concise presentation prepared in order to assure that all points are covered in a professional and thorough manner.

2) Take a call only if we are prepared and have all of the necessary resources at hand.
If we are not prepared to put our best foot forward, explain we are not in a position to talk at that time and offer to call back and set a mutually convenient time when we can devote 100% of our attention to the conversation.

While the most desirable scenario is the first solution, it is not always possible to make an effective presentation when we are running up and down stairs or in the middle of rush hour traffic talking on a mobile phone.

The key is to always be prepared. We never know when the call comes in that can make the difference between achieving our objective and getting the most deadly answer of all, “Let me think about it…” While being prepared takes time and energy, it is vitally important in today’s business world where we never get a second chance to make a terrific first impression.

∞ Rob McBride ∞
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What is the value of experience? Experience can be a double edged sword. When we don’t have any experience, we may think it prudent to wait until we have experience to pursue what we most desire. On the other hand, if we already have experience, we may think that we already “know it all” and feel there is no need to continue to learn and take risks to achieve personal and professional excellence. Either of these ways of thinking can be dangerous to our well being.

The amount of experience we have or don’t have isn’t nearly as important as our ability to take action. We will fail from time to time, but the more we try and fail, the more successful we will become. Many of us know the story of Thomas Edison and all of us benefit from his inventions. After more than 2,000 attempts at making a light bulb, he finally succeeded. A reporter asked him, “How does it feel to have failed over 2,000 times?” Edison replied that he had simply learned 2,000 ways how Not to make a light bulb. Experience is important but not nearly as important as what we learn from our mistakes that we often make in gaining experience.

Think for a moment of the first time that we are attracted to someone who rocks our world and makes our knees weak. The question arises, “How can I approach the person to find out if they will go out with me?” We tell our friends of our new found love and they tell us, “Go ahead, what are you waiting for?” In some cases, despite the suggestions and ribbing we get from our friends, we do nothing. We think of the possible rejection and “chicken out.” In other cases we take action and put our best foot forward. Sometimes we are successful and sometimes we crash and burn. Nevertheless, by taking chances and taking action, we gain experience and confidence. The result is of this experience is quite evident. The successes far out weigh the failures and as a result there has been a population explosion on planet earth!

From the time that we are born, we are taught that “no” is bad. A scientific study concludes by the time children reach the age of eight, they have been told “no” over 100,000 times! We rapidly learn we should avoid “no” at all costs and get to “yes”. While this seems to make sense, the real world functions quite differently. We must be willing to fail and to learn from those failures in order to achieve what we most desire.

Let’s remember the following:

1) Failure is an event; it is not a person. When we fail to achieve the results we desire, we should ask ourselves, “What can I learn from what has just happened and what can I do differently next time?”

2) People who achieve outstanding success in this world are not the people who never fail but rather those who fail time and again but who learn from those mistakes to make tremendous contributions to society.

Experience has a tremendous impact on our confidence both on the upside and the downside. The more we learn from our experiences, the more confident we will be in facing life’s challenges. As we face challenges and look for solutions to the difficulties we encounter, we obtain positive experience leading us down a road of personal and professional excellence.

∞ Rob McBride ∞

 

The road to success has been studied for thousands of years.

How do we achieve it?
What is the secret?

Without a doubt, there are several ways to get there and each of us has a different definition of success. One thing that we do know for a fact is that confidence is a primary factor of success. People who have a high degree of confidence tend to be exceptionally successful. People who are not confident tend to struggle.

Success ultimately does not depend on how much money we have or how smart we are. There are people who have a lot of money but are miserable. There are also incredibly intelligent people who haven’t figured out what to do with their knowledge. Given a choice, rich and brilliant is a great place to start but unfortunately, it isn’t possible for all of us.

Confidence can be obtained by experience, preparation, persistence and a positive attitude. One way to express this mathematically is:

C = EPPA²

The product of experience, preparation, persistence and a positive attitude squared will give us confidence.

Of the four elements, one comes with time and the other three can be controlled. The only way of gaining experience is by getting out there and doing whatever it is we do. There is no substitute. Everything that we do is difficult before it becomes easy. Just think of going to work for the very first time. Terrified is a word describing the experience for most of us. Now it is done without even thinking about it. Often this is exactly the problem.

Preparation is entirely up to us. The more prepared we are for any encounter; whether it be professional or personal, the more confident we will be in handling the situation. Most of us wouldn’t dream of going to the beach with out being prepared with our swimming suit and a towel but how many of us routinely make telephone calls or go into meetings without being prepared? It happens all the time.

Persistence is another factor over which we have complete control. When we are attracted to a member of the opposite sex, what happens to our persistence? We invent every way possible to get that person to notice us and to be close to them. Yet in the work place when a client or a colleague tells us they don’t want our product or service, we often take them at their word and give up trying. Knowledge and persistence lead us to achieve things others believe are impossible.

Attitude is squared in our equation because of its importance. Often times a terrific attitude can overcome lack of experience, preparation and persistence. While all elements in the equation are important, an outstanding attitude can make up for deficiencies in other areas. A Harvard study concluded that 85% of all promotions in a company are directly related to the employee having a positive attitude. That is powerful information.

When thinking about what to do to be successful, we need only remember:

C = EPPA²

Zig Ziglar is fond of saying, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” Confidence will come to us through experience, preparation, persistence and a great attitude. This will enable us to help others get what they want and in turn get everything that we want out of life.

@RobMcBride
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