Monday Mornings with Madison

MODELING

One of the easiest way’s to succeed is to model yourself after someone who has already done what you would like to do. When I coach people I always ask them to name three people who have succeeded in their chosen field. I am amazed to see that most people cannot answer this question.

To be successful in any field requires one or more of the following:

  • A clear blueprint of how it will look like when it’s done
  • A massive action plan
  • The right mindset about yourself and about your field
  • Strong beliefs about anything related to that field
  • Strategies on how to overcome obstacles
  • Management of your time and money

If you had to go out and learn all of this by yourself, it would take years and you would get discouraged many times on the way. On the other hand, you can study the top people who have succeeded in this field, and learn from their mistakes. So you can anticipate and plan for those mistakes / obstacles before they arrive.

Almost anything you can think of has already been done by someone else. It does not matter if your goal is to be a great sales person, to be financially independent, to be a good father or mother, etc. There are people out there who have succeeded at it, written about it, and are willing to talk to you and give you tips and encouragement along the way.

Here are some of the ways that you can model someone who has succeeded in something that you want to do:

  • Read their books or listen to their tapes. In every industry there are books and tapes by stars in the field. They will share their experiences with you—how they got started, the obstacles they faced along the way, how they overcame those obstacles and the good feeling of reaching the top. This will reinforce your commitment to be the best.
  • Seek out someone who has succeeded and ask him (or, her) to be your mentor.  People who have succeeded in life are often willing to help someone else succeed. It gives them inner satisfaction and pride. Some of them will volunteer to mentor you along the way, while others, who don’t have the time to do this, will give you an hour and share their advice with you.
  • Ask them if you can shadow them for a day to watch them work, or volunteer to help them in their office so you see what it looks like to succeed. Depending on which field you are looking into, there may be different opportunities to do this.

As simple as this advice is, most people don’t do it. While there are different reasons why people don’t use this simple but powerful secret of success, the most common ones I have heard are:

Why would they share their secrets with me, when they know that I can and want to compete with them?”
Answer: most successful people have overcome the fear that someone will steal their secrets and compete with them. They have realized that in order to grow they have to stay focused on serving their clients and doing the best they can. They don’t worry about competition. Most successful people love to talk about their business and help someone else succeed.

“What worked for them might not work for me.”
Answer: True. But, at the same time, you can always learn from them. Then you can pick and choose what fits your situation. Almost always you will learn a lot and speed up your way to success.

“What do I do if they reject me?”
Answer: You move on to the next person, or you can ask them how they handled this type of rejection when they were getting started. There is a good chance that you will get the appointment if you ask this question.

“What do I do if after meeting with them I realize that I have to change the way I do things?” (This objection is something that no one would say, but many people think it.)
Answer: Change is difficult, but so is the failure to change. The real question is, “If there is something that you should know about being successful in your field, when would you like to know about it?”

Meeting with those people will help you realize that there is a simple map to follow in order to succeed. If you are committed to reaching your goals, you can start working on each step of the journey. It’s simple, but not easy.

EXERCISE OF THE WEEK.
Create a list of ten people that are successful in your field. Then research the best way to reach each of them. You can just call or email some people on your list and ask them for help. With others you might have to find someone who knows you and knows them, and ask for an introduction.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK.
Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle. Abraham Lincoln

QUESTION OF THE WEEK.
Do you want to be right or successful?

© 2008 – 2011, Keren Peters-Atkinson. All rights reserved.

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