Transforming Yourself For Success Through Continuous Improvement, Embracing Change and Going the Extra Mile

“The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds,can change the outer aspects of their lives.”
-William James—Famous Harvard Psychologist

William James hit the nail on the head as far as I am concerned. Having worked with hundreds of companies and thousands of people as a business and sales consultant since 1983, I can attest first hand about a proven success formula. It is simply this… “People, companies and organizations that finally ‘get It’ and focus on—developing and maintaining a positive attitude in good and bad times; commit to embarking on a way of life of continuous improvement (the word kaizen in Japanese). They embrace change for the better for themselves (the company, organization, etc.), and seek out ways to go the extra mile for someone, whenever possible—cannot fail.”
If these proven principles are a fact of life, why do so many people fight embracing them? Well, I found one interesting quote from a famous and successful business consultant, Jim Rohn, with tons more experience than me, who summed it up in one sentence…. “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
In other words, if you are surrounded by people who are usually negative, resist change regardless of what it is, do very little or nothing in the way of continuous improvement, and think going the extra mile is “kissing up” to somebody and/or unnecessary, you need to make a change first in yourself, and then change the five people you are around the most, if they do not change too.

One time I was doing a seminar on customer service and read the above quote and paragraph. Immediately I was confronted by a participant who said…. “Do you realize how ridiculous that statement is? What if within those five people, your immediate boss, your owner and your spouse are just like you described? What do you do then?” I could sense immediately the anguish and discomfort of most of the audience present. Then all eyes were upon me for the answer because quite frankly, most of them were dealing with the same or similar situation but would never have brought it up.

“I wish I had a magic wand answer for you, but I do not. The truth will always bear out and what Jim Rohn has said and what I have observed in my years of business consulting, supports his statement and it stands firm. Remember, the first step in self improvement is to become aware of your shortcomings. Then fix yourself first by… stop doing what you should not be doing; keep doing what you should be doing; and start doing what you should be doing. So many people make the mistake of expecting others to change before they will and that is totally the wrong approach.”

One of my heroes, Zig Ziglar summed it all up this way…. “Your attitude in life determines your altitude in life.” It takes some smarts and savvy along the way, but that can be learned. It is up to you where you want to be and no one else. Now go for it.