July 2011 Good Ole Uncle Vic
July 1, 2011 By: Victor Brick
Hello, everyone. Happy Summer.
The answer to last week’s trivia question: What is the G-8? The G-8 is the Group of 8, the eight leading economic powers in the world. They include The United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada and Russia.
This month’s trivia question: It is the 148th anniversary of The Battle of Gettysburg, the battle that changed the course of the Civil War. Everyone knows the Confederate commanding general was Robert E. Lee. Who was the Union commanding general?
From time to time I am contacted by young people in and out of the fitness industry seeking advice on how to be successful in business. Why, I am not sure. I guess there is a great deal of truth in the saying, “Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment!” Using that definition, I have had more than my share of “experience”.
Recently I had a former associate (employee) contact me and ask me if I had any advice for him as he was preparing to start his own business. This is what I said:
- Be an avid reader. Three ‘must read’ books are Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill, Different by Youngme Moon and Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.
- Expect Ingratitude. Never take it personally. People are neither for you nor against you; they are for themselves. Along the same lines, do things for people that can’t possibly pay you back.
- Find a mentor. Your mentor should be someone you look up to who will be willing to help you grow personally and professionally. He or she must have done the things you want to do. You can’t have someone help you build a public company or balance a successful career with a family if they haven’t done so themselves.
- Start a mastermind group of friends who want to be as successful as you. Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone (the inventor of the pneumatic tire), Henry Ford and John Burroughs (successful industrialist) were probably the best example of the power of a mastermind group. They were great friends that met regularly to share professional goals and ideas as well as to enjoy each other’s company. And, in so doing, they pushed each other to accomplish great things.
- Keep balance in your life. Don’t let your business or career monopolize your life. You gotta care but not that much!
- Keep your sense of humor. Laugh about things now because you will be laughing about them two months from now anyway. Take it from a guy who has seen more ups and downs in his business than he cares to say. There were times we were a non-profit business even though we weren’t trying to be! Not to mention Lynne having brain surgery for a brain tumor in 2001!
- Do what you love and love what you do. If you love what you’re doing you will never have to work a day in your life.
- As motivational speaker Mike Lipkin says, “Procrastinate later. Kill King Kong while he is still a baby!” Do it now. Carpe diem.
- Another Lipkinism, “Live the perception you want others to have of you”. This is a full-time proposition. It’s what you do when others aren’t watching that counts.
- Finally, stay focused. Again, as Mike Lipkin says, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing”.
Thought For The Day:
“Ultimately, you will be judged by what you give back to society.”
Machiovelli’s The Prince
I really loved this article!