The Courage to Succeed

January 2007

You’ve read all the books, listened to the tapes, and attended the seminars. You most likely already know what steps you have to take to ensure your success. Knowing the right steps is a good beginning, but it’s not enough. Sometimes, it just takes good old courage, to succeed. I once heard that courage is not the absence of fear, but instead, it is the conquest of fear. Do those things that others, who are less successful, just don’t, won’t, or can’t do. In W. Clement Stone’s book, The Success System That Never Fails, he used the phrase, “Little hinges swing big doors”. I can close my eyes and picture it, can’t you? It’s a powerful image, isn’t it? In other words, it is the little things you do on a consistent basis that can and absolutely do make a very big difference in the attainment of your goals and dreams.

Take the C.O.U.R.A.G.E. assessment below to evaluate your strengths in 8 key areas that lead to success.

Using the descriptions below, rate yourself on a scale of 1-5, where a 1 means low or never and a 5 means high or always. Then read the suggestions that follow. They will help you create an action plan for improvement.

Commitment

To what extent have you pledged to yourself and perhaps to others, your goals, dreams, and desires? Are your commitments “top of mind”? Do you review them daily?

Organization

Are you getting accomplished what you set out to do each day? Have you put processes and procedures in place to ensure that the most important work gets done, everyday?

Understanding

To what extent do you practice the Golden Rule? Do you take the time to “walk a mile in the other persons’ shoes” to better understand where they are coming from?

Responsibility

To what extent do you believe that the “buck stops with you” and that you have the sole responsibility for your own success?

Activity

To what extent are you doing all of the activities that need to be done daily, weekly, monthly and yearly to guarantee your success?

Attitude

To what extent is your attitude aligned for success? Does your attitude act as a magnet for success?

Goals

To what extent are your goals personally meaningful to you and are clear and focused? Are they written down? Do they have a time frame for completion? Do you know what the benefits are for achieving your goals?

Excellence

To what extent are you a life long learner? Do you continually strive for excellence in everything you do, both personally and professionally?

Commitment

Do you…

1. Write down your commitments
2. Review your commitments every day
3. Write out affirmations about your commitments
4. Visualize the successful completion of your commitments
5. Share your commitments with others
6. Modify your commitments to adjust for new information or priorities
7. Develop fail-safe ways to carry out your commitments
8. Create/associate with a support group
9. Reward yourself for successful completion of your commitments
10. Once accomplished, create new commitments

Organization

Do you…

1. Make it a daily habit of organizing your day into tasks and then prioritize the tasks
2. Don’t leave it to chance, write down your game plan each day, including blocking out time on your calendar to do what’s required
3. Create an ideal work week schedule
4. Have others help to hold you accountable to your schedule
5. Determine what gets in your way of being organized
6. Develop systems that prevent roadblocks to your plan
7. Determine which tasks can be delegated and do so
8. Ask for help from others who you feel are more organized than yourself
9. Evaluate how well you kept to your game plan every day
10. Based on your evaluation and feedback from others, modify your plan as necessary

Understanding

Do you…

1. Apply the Golden Rule
2. Listen actively and sincerely to others
3. Put the needs of others before your own
4. Read books or take a class on understanding others
5. Assess “personality style” and modify yours accordingly before presenting an idea to others or going out on a sales call to a prospect or client
6. Debrief each sales call or interaction
7. Seek first to understand before being understood

Responsibility

Do you…

1. Cultivate the attitude that “the buck stops with you”
2. Proactively take action
3. Volunteer to do something that will make your agency, company, or organization better
4. Take calculated risks
5. Follow through and do what you say you will do

Activity

Do you…

1. Break down your goals into daily, weekly, and monthly segments
2. Track your progress everyday against those goals
3. Keep accurate activity records
4. Develop activity ratios
5. Develop an ideal work day and work week that includes the activities you have identified that support the achievement of your goals
6. Score yourself each day on how well you adhered to your ideal game plan

Attitude

1. Be positive
2. Listen to your self talk and correct if necessary
3. Surround yourself with positive people
4. Keep a success journal
5. Don’t dwell on past failures, the past does not equal the future
6. Write out affirmations that are meaningful to you
7. Develop an attitude of gratitude

Goals

1. Write down your goals
2. Share your goals with others
3. Your goals should be meaningful to you
4. Write down your goals as if you have already achieved them
5. Develop short, intermediate, and long term goals
6. Don’t be afraid to eliminate or modify your goals

Good luck on your journey to success.

InsuranceCoachU | Bob Arzt | 301.610.5624
10216 Sweetwood Ave. Rockville, MD 20850