Success

What does likeability have to do with influence? Everything.

For instance, when was the last time you left your child with someone you didn’t like? How many times do you buy from someone you despise? When did you follow a dislikeable person’s instructions? How much do you listen to a person who pretends to be someone they aren’t?

Probably not much, if at all.

Remember the days when success meant graduating from college, finding a stable job, starting at an entry level position and rising within the ranks, and retiring with a pension that supports a lifestyle you’ve become accustomed to?

Sounds too good to be real – and it is.

When was the last time you swallowed what someone told you? Specifically, when "they" said you weren’t good enough or capable or too old? Did you accept it as gospel?

Sadly, people buy into the belief that what society, their education or even their experience has taught them is the end-all. They begin to agree that maybe they can’t, shouldn’t or will never.

Every morning you wake up is another chance for you to do or to be something different. It may be expressing an original idea, developing a new approach, or simply creating another perspective.

What happens when your core beliefs are negative? Nothing good.

Negative, or self-limiting, beliefs create barriers for you on several fronts. They lead to procrastination and laziness. Negative beliefs habitually destroy your hopes and aspirations.

Your morale suffers. So does your self-confidence and self-worth. Non-supportive beliefs make you lose your focus distracting you from your intended success path.

Success in any arena depends on your ability to make excellent decisions. Solid decisions follow the guiding principles of your heart and your head.

We are faced with decisions all day long:

• Saying "I do!"
• Making a purchase
• Believing what someone tells you
• Changing careers
• Starting a business

And the list goes on.

It’s commonly known that the acronym KISS stands for “Keep it simple, stupid.” Well, I’ve gone ahead and modified it to be a little more effective by saying, “Keep it smart, stupid.” The KISS principle, while it shouldn’t be used every time in every situation, definitely has its place in the world of business.

Where can you use the KISS (Keep it smart) method in your company?

Conflict is a fact of life. Getting comfortable with it is the hard part. Conflict is painful and when confronted many of us slip into some form of avoidance. That’s the first mistake. It doesn’t go away – it just grows. As the saying goes, dealing with conflict when it feels like a “pinch” is so much better than waiting until it grows and feels like a “crunch.” No doubt conflict can be destructive but it can also be constructive.

Is work-life balance really a myth? Is it something for men as well as women? YES!

Every now and then, I pop over and read the fabulous musings of Cali Yost. She’s an expert blogger on the work-life subject for Fast Company and hosts her own site at the Flex+Strategy Group. I like Cali’s content. And I agree with her: work-life BALANCE is something of a myth. She prefers the phrase “work-life fit.”

Power is the ability to bring about a change in one’s psychological environment.

Does this resonate with you? For someone to have the power to change your psychological environment, don’t you have to give them that power first? Or is this a psychological game people play?

All good questions. But the real question is this: when people attempt to use this power on you, do you recognize it?