Moving Along the Pathway to Success

By Lydia Anti

In life there are two categories of people: the dreamers and the achievers. Dreamers dream how they will one day be successful, but they never take the necessary steps to make their dreams become a reality. Achievers, on the other hand, make an effort to look for the right people who can make their dreams come true. They take the necessary steps to achieve their dreams by seeking and gathering information in the right places to enable their dreams to flourish. Achievers become successful people; they get things done, and in doing so, they make things happen.

In this book, I will show you how to develop your abilities, talents, and skills and challenge you to look at some of your daily practices in all areas of your life, which might include habits that could affect you on your pathway to success.

Be Diligent

Do your tasks effectively when at work, as that can open doors of opportunities, which will enable you to get to the next level in your career development. It will help your manager to have confidence in you and confidence that the work will be done when you are on duty.

There are various types of workers. There are the hard workers who give 100 percent when they are on duty. Then there are the workers who do their work but do not put in any extra effort. If you try to give these workers a bit of responsibility, they refuse and say it is not their job. Finally, there are the workers who need constant prompting or they will derail everything.

Do you want to attain a promotion at work? Start by showing up on time. Taking on extra tasks and completing them satisfactorily will draw your manager’s attention to you. Your manager will realize you are pulling your weight. When a time for a promotion comes, who do you think your manager will promote? You, of course! You have earned the opportunity to be promoted through your hard work, so you deserve what you get.

A little bit better with your work contributes in making all the difference in getting the success you need.

How’s Your Attitude?

Attitude contributes a lot to an individual’s development and success in life. I have seen people with the highest of qualifications, Ph.D.s and other degrees, but because of their attitude, they work in an organization but never develop.

These people have more educational degrees than their bosses and thus act superior and are disrespectful. However, they forget it is the same manager they disrespect who may present them in a positive light and reveal their potential to senior management in the organization, which can lead to their promotion. It also may lead to being short-listed when they apply for another vacancy within the same organization. It is also this same manager who will give them a reference when they leave the organization.

Your intelligence, knowledge, skills, and academic qualifications will take you to the palace, but your attitude will determine whether the king will enjoy your presence daily or throw you out of his court.

Your attitude will determine whether you are promoted or remain where you are.

Be Competent!

Although a good attitude can open doors, you need to be competent in your field of work. In fact, you need both competence and a good attitude to be efficient in your chosen field. There are some job opportunities that require you to acquire a university qualification. For example, before you can practice in the medical field in the capacity of a medical doctor, you need to attend medical school and obtain a medical degree and the appropriate licenses. In such a situation, your attitude alone is not enough. You need the necessary qualifications and the experience to be able to do the job effectively.

Your Words Can Make You or Break You

Have you ever had an experience in which a very good friend all of a sudden stops seeking your company and phoning you? Did you ask yourself if you’d said something to offend her? Did you betray her trust? Did you gossip about her? Think about it, and you’ll know what you did, won’t you? You see, a lot of questions answer our worries.

Take a close look at your professional relationships. Be honest! Are you all of a sudden having a hard time with your colleagues or your boss? Could it possibly be something insensitive or cruel you’ve said? Were you a gossip? Were you unsupportive of a colleague? It is possible you alienated your friend through your inability to control your tongue. In the same way, word reached your boss about something insensitive that you said about her, and she has started picking on your vulnerable areas in your job. Ask yourself questions and you will find the answer.

Focus and Organize Your Tasks

When doing tasks, focus on them and learn to complete one task before jumping to another one. First and foremost, you have to know what you want to do. Then you must plan what you want to do. Organize every task you are about to do, prioritize them in order, write them on paper, and number them according to their priority of importance. Then give them time limits for completion. For example, assuming you are on duty at work today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the tasks below are your tasks in the dairy for the day, you can prioritize them as follows:

Task 1: Check diary for business commitments of the day = 10 mins.

Task 2: Answer e-mail = 20 mins.

Task 3: Make important phone calls = 20 mins.

Task 4: Write a proposal for a business meeting = 2.5 hrs.

Task 5: Lunch break = 30mins.

Task 6: Staff meeting at 1 p.m. (expected duration) = 2hrs.

Task 7: Meeting with Mr. Thompson at 3.30 p.m. (expected duration) = 1hr. 20 mins.

Closing time: 5 p.m.

These are some of the issues discussed in “Develop the Keys to Successful Living” to enable members of the staff team to reflect on their work practices and to enable them to change some of their behaviors and attitudes and to focus on their work to enable them to enhance career success.

Lydia Anti is CEO of Lydia Anti and Associates and author of “Develop the Keys to Successful Living.” She is a trainer on career and personal development, leadership, and management. For more information, visit http://lydiaantiandinspirations.com/.