SELF IMPROVEMENT

Self Improvement Before Team Improvement - This is the story of how Nokia became the world’s producer of cell phones. As Illustrated by John Maxwell

It all started when the hundred year old company, now a huge conglomerate began losing money, having passed through a lot of ups and downs. About that time in 1990, a young executive was asked to take over an unprofitable division: mobile –phones, his name is Jorma Ollila. He was so successful at turning this division around that he was made the president and CEO of the company in 1992.

Subsequently, he was met with the challenge of turning the entire company around with a two headed approach. Believing that the company’s greatest potential lay in communications technology, he began to divest other interest. Second, he realized that for a technology company, human resources were more important than natural resources. Ollila says that today “The technology cycles are shorter. We must build on our discontinuities and turn them into our favour”

Ollila believes in constant self-renewal and has made his personal goal of self improvement the corporate goal as well. “Continuous learning entitles everyone at Nokia to develop themselves and find ways to improve their performance,” says Ollila. “And what’s true for the individual is just as true for the whole company.” To improve the team, improve the individuals on the team. Ollila’s philosophy of individual self-improvement helped turn Nokia into a $20 billion global telecommunications system.

Additional Information:

The Nokia people are always self-improving, and are therefore ready to face new situations. “People who are constantly improving themselves make three processes an ongoing cycle in their lives:”

1. Preparation
Self-improving team members think about what they can do to improve themselves in the present, not in some far off future. They look for today’s potential learning moments, and they seize them. At the end of the day, they think about what they have learned and what they need to learn more about tomorrow. In this way, they become deliberate and continuing learners, which prepares them for challenges.

2. Contemplation
People who have greatly influence the world have spent considerable amount of time alone – contemplating, meditating, and listening. “Time alone is essential to self-improvement.” It allows us to evaluate our actions, to make adjustments where they are needed, and to plan for improved future action based on what was learned in the past.

3. Application
Now is the time to start applying what you have learned; don’t keep putting off that difficult change. Maxwell says change generally comes when: 1) people hurt enough that they have to, 2)they learn enough that they want to, and 3)they receive enough that they are able to. The goal is to keep learning so that you want to change for the better daily.

Furthermore, to become self-improving….
· Become highly teachable; learn and adopt the attitude of a learner, not an expert;
· Plan your progress. Adopt two levels of learning. First, choose an area that you want to improve and select books, lectures, conferences, experts to speak in the coming months. Second, create learning moments each day so that you learn something new everyday.
· Value self-improvement over self-promotion: “Make your next career move based on how it will improve you personally rather than how it will enhance you financially.”

Maxwell concludes with an anecdote of Charles Lindberg, the great Aviator. He says that Lindberg’s historic solo flight across the Atlanta was not a solo endeavour. It took the collaboration of others to make it happen. But, when it was time for the pilot to make his thirty-three hour flight, he was ready. A friend of his tells a story that shows that Lindberg had begun years earlier “just practicing” staying awake all night so that he would be ready when the opportunity to make that monumental flight presented itself. We all have much “practicing” to do to be ready when our big moment comes.

Success Is a Partnership

There is an old cliche that behind every successful man, there is a surprised mother-in-law. In most, if not all, cases, success is a direct result of the efforts of the individual and the support and encouragement of others. Like the fellow says, when you see a turtle on a fence post, you can rest assured that he did not get there by himself. When you see an individual climbing the success ladder and reaching the top, you can rest assured he did not get there entirely as a result of his own efforts. In virtually every case, each person had hope and encouragement from others. Nathaniel Hawthorne is a good example. He was discouraged and had a broken heart when he went home to tell his wife that he was a failure because he had been fired from his job in the customs house. Upon hearing the news, she startled him with an exuberant exclamation of joy. "Now," she said triumphantly, "you can write your book!" To that, Hawthorne responded with the question, "What are we going to live on while I am writing this book?" To his surprise and delight, she opened a drawer and drew out a substantial sum of money. "Where did you get that?" he asked. Her response is classic: "I've always known you were a man of genius," she told him, "and I knew that someday you would write a masterpiece, so every week, out of the money you gave me for housekeeping, I saved part of it. Here's enough to last us for a whole year." From wife Sophia's trust, confidence, thrift and careful planning came one of the classics of American literature: "The Scarlet Letter." This story of success can be repeated a few thousand times -- or make that a few million. It happens all the time. If this is your story in life, I hope you're careful to give credit to those who assisted you because if you do, I will see you farther up the ladder to the top!

Success Is a Partnership – Zig Ziglar

Simply Motinspiration

The reason some people don't go very far in life is because they sidestep opportunity and shake hands with procrastination

Mean Old Woman

An old man and woman were married for years, even though they hated each other. When they had a confrontation, screaming and yelling could be heard deep into the night. The old man would shout, "When I die, I will dig my way up and out of the grave and come back and haunt you for the rest of your life!" Neighbors feared him because of the many strange occurrences that took place in their neighborhood. The old man liked the fact he was feared. To everyone's relief, he died of a heart attack when he was 68. His wife had a closed casket at the wake. After the burial, she went straight home and began to party as if there was no tomorrow. Her neighbors, concerned for her safety, asked, "Aren't you afraid that he may indeed be able to dig his way up and out of the grave and come back and haunt you for the rest of your life?" The wife put down her drink and said, "Let the old man dig. I had him buried upside down."

What are the reasons why People are not taking Action to start their Business

This question was asked online and the following are selected out of about seventeen reasons listed :

· Lack of capital
· Lack of education
· Lack of ideas
· Lack of mentor
· Lack of technical know how
· Fear
· laziness

In as much as one or more of the reasons above may be the reasons why some people have not started in business, some other reasons among this same list would still be the reasons why some other people have not yet started their own business too. But, the most deadly reason that is not listed above is procrastination.

If you have not started something, you would have one thousand and one reasons why you have not started. But, the moment you have been able to start, you have conquered procrastination and will only be facing challenges that will be appearing as stumbling blocks but are surmountable. With determination and perseverance, you will climb these blocks and use them as your stepping stones to success.

According to Napoleon Hill, people who do not succeed have a common distinguishing trait. They know all the reasons for failure, and have what they believe as effective alibis to explain their failure or lack of achievement. He's also of the opinion that alibis cannot be used for money. People want to know only one thing - have you achieve success?

So, my people let's wake up and take that action, we should not be afraid of failure. Don't say what if I fail, say instead what if I succeed.

If you have not read Napoleon Hill's 'Think and Grow Rich', you can at least look for the book and check the list of 55 famous alibis compiled by a character analyst on the last 6 pages. These alibis are now made obsolete by the master key you would have in your possession after reading the whole of the book.

The master key is powerful and it is the privilege of creating, in your own mind a burning desire for a definite form of riches.

The best way to move or push yourself to take proper action at the right time, is to be fully determined and focused. Your power and ability to take action despite all odds, is what makes you a determined and focused person. There is this saying that I believed so much in, and I have been using it as a very strong guiding principle for some time now. And this is “whatever you love or strongly desire, you would definitely find time for it” In essence, you will make it possible. Check out this statement and confirm it’s truthfulness. Let us consider this scenario, you were going for an appointment or rather a deal that would fetch you a very huge some of money in your business, you were almost at the venue of the appointment and suddenly remembered that you have forgotten a very vital document required to complete the deal, won’t you go back to pick the document? Your answer is as good as mine.

Let me leave you with this quote "Life is a checkerboard, and the player opposite you is time. If you hesitate before moving, or neglect to move promptly, your men will be wiped off the board by time. You are playing against a partner who will not tolerate indecision"

Take Action Today..