A Bridge Guide to Success - Group Therapy (best self help books to read TXT) 📗

INTRODUCTION

Success. Ah, the Holy Grail of social standing. What is success? Well, we have yet to determine that. I have talked with several people while “researching” for this book. All of them have had their own ideas about what success is, and how to attain it. One of my favorite responses during all of these discussions came from Jon ‘maddog’ Hall, Executive Director of Linux International. He said, “success is all in perception; it’s in the eye of the beholder.”

Now, I want you to think about what this man is saying…. Success isn’t this magical thing that just happens overnight. It doesn’t just show up on your door with a UPS sticker. And it’s not something you can count. It’s a mindset. It’s a way of life. Not a standard of living, a way of life. Do you feel successful? Do people look at you and see you as a success? Well, I’d say you’re a successful person. However, you had a reason to visit our website and actually purchase this e-book, so I’m guessing you’re not answering yes to those questions…..yet.

Okay, gang, we’re taking a little trip to Successville. Population: YOU. Want to come with us? We’ve got candy, get in the van.


CHAPTER 1

Managing Your Assets

Not those assets…. That’s a whole other book. The assets that we’re going to discuss in this chapter are your:
Time
Mind
Heart
Body
Relationships
Experiences

This theory has been pushed upon my classmates and I over the course of the entire semester by our Management professor, Aaron Griswold. Along with having an MBA, he’s also owned and sold several businesses. The guy knows his stuff. He’s been there, done that. I’ve learned many things from him, not only in a business sense but in life as well. I now consider him as not only a teacher, but as a friend and a mentor. Now, I will be passing this knowledge along to you.

Not only will I explain to you why these are considered assets, but I will also provide you with tips on how to use them to their full capacity both effectively and efficiently. “Learn many things, you will”, as Yoda would say.

TIME

Time management is one of the most underrated qualities in society today. We have so many excuses as to why we are late. We have so many things that can distract us and lead us down that wretched path of procrastination. Everyone finds themselves in these situations. However, to be more successful, you should really try to limit the occurrences of these situations.

The government has decided that everyone’s time should be worth a minimum amount of money for every hour. They call it minimum wage, I call it a reason to increase the price of your time. Think of your time as money, as it truly is. Now, each day you have a determined amount of money that you have available. In case you aren’t following along, we’re about to discuss how budgeting your income and managing your time are exactly the same thing.

Time can be invested into performing tasks that you can benefit from later. If it wasn’t, then why would you go to class each day? You’re spending that time learning new concepts, ideas, or vocational talents so that one day you can look a person in the eye and say, “I want $___ for every hour of work”. And much like monetary investments, there is the concept that the more you risk, the more you can potentially gain (or lose, if you want to be negative about it).

Tips for Improving Your Time Management Skills

Make lists. By making a list, you are setting goals for yourself. Attainable goals only, please. This will save you and I a tremendous amount of stress, anxiety, and headaches. Keep the list fairly shortened as to not become overwhelmed by your future endeavors. Check off each task as you complete them. This will not only give you a sense of accomplishing something, but will also give you incentive to complete more tasks. You’ll become so focused on completing the task at hand that you’ll forget about all of the other tasks that lie on the horizon.
Do NOT procrastinate. I had a guy once tell me, “don’t wait, procrastinate”. Sounded like an interesting concept. NOTE: Do not fall victim to believing something just because it rhymes. Do you know what that guy does? He flips burgers for minimum wage at McDonald’s. Don’t be that guy. Instead, grab your clock by the horns. Don’t sit around and wonder where your time went….tell it where to go! *Same rule applies to money, as well. Get off of Facebook when you’re trying to accomplish something. Those ‘friends’ of yours probably don’t even like you, much less care about your little farm. You probably have a smartphone, everyone does these days. Download the TweetDeck app, in order to get your social networking fix on the go (but not behind the wheel) and still be able to focus on the goals that you have set. Because if anything is going to get in your way, it shouldn’t be your friends.
Deadlines. Nobody likes them, everyone needs them. Deadlines cause you to become stressful, therefore increasing your heart rate and your adrenaline. Adrenaline, as most of us know, is your own personal fuel reserve. Use this trick to your advantage by setting a goal, determining a deadline, and by all means completing that goal by the specific timeframe in which you were aiming. Don’t feel bad if you finish ahead of schedule. This just means you have a window of to either prepare for your next goal, or spend more time on improvements if any are necessary.


MIND

So many things can be said about one’s mind. I’ll just make this as easy as possible for you. Your mind controls roughly (just throwing a number out there…..) 110% of everything that you do. It is your very own personal CPU. Relaying information from the sensor to the receptors. But, I could write an entire library about how important your mind is in every aspect of your life. Instead, I’m just going to provide you with a few bullet points on how to improve your mind (in various capacities) as painlessly as possible.

Learn new things.
Remain positive in your abilities and infinite potential.
Try to understand things from another’s perspective, even if you disagree or do not understand
Practice mental toughness by continuing forth as the struggles greaten.

The more positive mindset you have, the more willing you are to learn new things from various vantage points and you are more likely to carry on through any form of adversity that you encounter.


HEART

A vital asset (pun intended) that is very difficult to summarize. Heart is an intangible asset that either makes or breaks an individual. You’ve heard it on multiple occasions, that, “he has the ability and the potential, but he lacks heart”. What is heart? Heart is the fire that burns inside of you whenever you are doing something that is of utmost importance to you. Most often referred to as: desire, or determination. Heart is the reason why some people are said to have a “never say die” mentality. It is the difference between being successful and having the potential to succeed. I don’t know if I can give you any tips upon how to improve your heart, other than diet and exercise; and I’ve heard that Cheerios go a long way as well.

Oh, sorry, my facetious is showing. The only thing I can honestly tell you, is to find something that you believe in strongly and use that as the reason behind everything that you do. You are only as strong as your desires, remember that.


BODY


Much like the mind, your body has a great amount of versatility and infinite potential. Of course, as far as growth and development are concerned, there are certain limitations but that is irrelevant here. What I am going to do, is fill you in on several ways that you can, not only improve your body’s performance but also to increase your range of physical abilities.

Learn how to perform physical tasks.
Complete a workshop class such as pottery or woodworking.
Become more active. Run, swim, play a sport.
Eat healthy.
Do not give up if you fail at something. Try harder.
Take up a physical hobby such as kayaking, or mountain climbing.

By keeping your body active you are not only improving your skills set and adding to your already astounding potential; you are also honing your skills that you already have, as well as maintaining your physical well being that is just as important of an asset as any.


RELATIONSHIPS

“It’s all about who you know.”

Very true. Being successful has a lot to do with the personal connections that you form and maintain. We go through our lives each and every day walking by “strangers” (more on that in a bit) without even giving them a second thought. Just a simple “Hi” could lead into a better job, a new friend, or anything of that nature. Think of each person that you meet as a brand new shiny opportunity. Now, take advantage of that opportunity. Say hello. Introduce yourself. If they respond well, then do not hesitate to insert yourself into conversation, keeping it casual at first and slowly begin to purge for details. Where do you work? What do you do? What are your hobbies?

If you start getting the feeling that you could use this person in your life, in one capacity or another, then do not be shy about exchanging contact information. Once the information has been given, thank them for their time, and part your separate ways. Whenever you contact them, be sure to include your full name along with where you met and what you discussed. Keep in touch with these acquaintances until the time comes that you need them for something.

Always be willing to do favors for someone, because there may come a time where you need a favor from them. Use your relationships wisely and they can take you many places. Through each contact you make, there is a chance that they will introduce you to even more individuals in which you can utilize (not exploit) for your benefit.


EXPERIENCES

The most unique asset that you have, lies in your experiences. There is no person on this planet who has accomplished, learned, endured, or encountered the exact series of things that you have. This is a very important thing to a lot of people. It is why we ask questions, and why we can answer questions. (“I’ve been there, done that”) We look to others who have done the things that we wish to know more about.

I’ve always suggested that a person keep a social circle that includes all walks of life, all levels of education, and most areas of general interests. This practice not only provides you with a constant welcome change of pace in your day to day life, but it also gives you access to almost everything you’ll ever need to know in order to become successful. Let’s say that you’re doing a research project for class… you’re not very familiar with the topic, but a friend of yours has a great deal