Expect To Be Successful

By Deborah Gardner, CMP
Transformational Speaker and President, COMPETE BETTER NOW!

To survive in today’s world, you have to identify your skills, talents, and areas of strength. To effectively compete in today’s world, you have to take risks and move the bar to improve performance in all areas of your life. To be the BEST, you have to be committed to being the best—and that means having the right “game gear”.

I have spent many years studying successful people and analyzing those areas of skill, talents, and characteristics. What I learned is that there is one critical factor that can ultimately determine the level of success in every area of your life: EXPECTATION!

What do you really expect? Do you expect things to go right or do you expect to be disappointed? Do you truly expect people to believe in you? Do people respond positively to you? Do you see the good in every challenging situation and expect the best possible outcome?

Success is directly related to attitude. (Note the “u” or “YOU” they have in common!) YOU own your attitude and therefore, you must believe you will succeed in order to ever realize success. People respond to your stated (and unstated) beliefs and level of expectation. They can feel it when you walk through their door. They can hear it in your voice when you pick up the telephone. They can see it written all over your face. They can feel your energy. Stop right now and do a “gut-check”. On a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being “great” and 1 being “awful”), what are you feeling energetically right now?

Attitude is the starting point for all things. Beyond that, there are 5 key factors (or “gear”) that successful competitors bring to their game:

1) A dream (vision). More than attitude, what do you envision? What does it sound like, feel like, taste like and smell like?

2) A plan. More than intention, how are you specifically going to move the ball down the field toward that dream? What actions, what measurements, what timeframe?

3) Talent. They have the knowledge or training to execute the plan AND they continue to refine and sharpen their skill set.

4) Discipline. Are you willing to put forth the effort and do the necessary work in pursuit of your dream?

5) Resilience. Successful competitors don’t let “no” stop them in their pursuit of their dream.

With the right attitude and gear, you can expect your customers to be responsive to your services and love your products. You can expect your prospects to want to work with you. You’ll soon see wonderful things begin to happen for you and for others. With the right attitude, gear, and expectation, you can be a champion for your clients instead of yet another provider vying for their business. You become that champion when you expect your new prospects to become successful when utilizing your products and/or services.

Are you ready to jump into each activity and each day with excitement, enthusiasm, and expectation? Today, I issue you the challenge to greet each day with the right attitude by saying, “This is going to be the best day I’ve ever had! I’m going to realize tremendous progress in ___________ and accomplish ________________. (You fill in the blanks, but be sure to make it specific, measurable, and meaningful). Then, check your game gear and make adjustments, as necessary. When you apply conscious effort and expect success, you MAKE it a great day!