Billy Arcement’s

News From the Swamp

Issue # 31 March 2004

Bringing you ideas from The Results Group Office

on Swamp Road

“Working with business leaders to produce a culture of teamwork, productivity and profits.”

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Becoming The Best You Possible

I don’t believe anyone starts out in life to fail. Yet everyday, many do. The difference between those that fail and those that don’t is many times too small to measure. The sprinter who is able to deliver a final burst of energy a short distance from the finish line becomes the winner. The executive who spends time each day studying leadership so he or she might gain the proper skills to build their business becomes a winner. The parent who truly strives to understand the skills of raising children properly becomes the ultimate parent.

What is the common thread in these examples? In each case, the individual goes beyond what most are willing to do. We sometimes identify this technique as “going the extra mile.” That little extra makes winners out of potential losers.

Studies have shown that most people only use a fraction of the brain power with which they are endowed. Becoming the best you means tapping into all the resources at your disposal. Leaving it all on the playing field is what winners strive to accomplish. Giving it their best makes them winners. It’s when we leave gasoline in the tank that we don’t travel the distance we sought to travel.

Becoming the best you possible demands sacrifice, commitment, discipline, and focus on what we want to achieve. Being willing to give up to get (sacrifice) means you’ve prioritized the most important activities. Prioritizing makes commitment decisions easier to carry out and builds focus on what you want to accomplish. Discipline is the glue that holds everything together.

Not happy with your position in life? Truthfully examine the effort you’ve been putting forth in growing your position. Chances are there is a better you yet to be released. Remember that life moves on while we procrastinate. So, what are you waiting for?

Building Your Self-Confidence

When you want to learn the best information, go to the best source you can find. When it comes to self-confidence, there are few who display more in what they do than my friend, Nido Qubein. In one of his books, How To Get Anything You Want, Nido list ten steps to build your self-confidence. I’d like to share the list with you while offering a brief commentary on each one.

1. Decide what limitations you will accept. Be wise with your choices. Don’t stifle yourself with low self-limits. Be very realistic about what is a true limitation and willingly accept it.
2. Focus attention on your greatest strengths. Maximize the use of your gifts and talents––channel your efforts on what you do well.
3. Cultivate the faith within you. Be confident in your abilities––believe in your abilities.
4. Prepare yourself to be the best. Being the best demands that one prepare themselves. No matter how often I’ve done a presentation on a topic, I always spend hours preparing to deliver the message again. Taking the approach of preparing yourself before taking action pays handsome dividends.
5. Cultivate friends who believe in you. We all need encouragement. By having the support of believers, we can do more. Hang around those who offer encouragement, not discouragement.
6. Learn from your mistakes and failures: Don’t let them defeat you. Every day life offers profitable lessons. Only a fool repeats the same failure moves. Be prepared for mistakes but don’t let them place a wall around you. Turn failures into opportunities by mastering the lesson they teach.
7. Learn to accept constructive criticism and ignore petty criticisms. Constructive criticism is a great learning tool while petty criticisms usually grow out of jealousy. Distinguish between these forms of criticism and you will grow your self-confidence while not letting your detractors get the best of you.
8. Celebrate your victories. I often encourage audience members to compile a “Victory List.” This is a list of all the things in your life you’ve accomplished. Read the list often as an encourager. And, when you add a notch to your victory list, celebrate the achievement. Important milestones deserve a reward. Achieve, celebrate, reward––a great sequence to build self-confidence.
9. Cultivate a sense of humility. My personal belief is that the greater the leader, the more humble the person. All great leaders I’ve ever met in my life were humble. Arrogance is never practiced. If you regularly read my newsletter you know I just wrote about this point mentioned in two great books, The Serving Leader and From Good To Great.
10. Keep expanding your horizons. Making your life a perpetual learning experience carries great rewards. It keeps your mind sharp. It increases your ability to succeed. It strengthens your confidence in your abilities. Never stop learning and you will never stop growing and building your personal confidence level.

Billy’s Thought of the Month

“Don’t let the world stifle your dreams. Press on!”

I don’t know how many of you have seen Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ. I believe his tenacity to move forward with this project is a prime example of someone who would not let the world stop his dream from becoming a reality. It doesn’t matter what you think about this biblical story. This point is not about religion. The bottom line is that Mel Gibson would not be deterred. And, that is the lesson I want you to capture. This project is proof positive that if you have a dream, with enough persistence, you can succeed. You are not gifted with a true desire without the ability to achieve it.

My second point does have a religious ring. If you believe in the story of Jesus, this movie must be seen. It’s tough viewing but life changing at the same time. You will walk out a different person.

Want To Be Successful? Try these ideas

I often ask audience members in my programs how they define success. The answers are as varied as the backgrounds of participants. But, there are common ideas that fit all definitions. Use the list to measure where you are.

1. Change your thinking. This is the most important step. To be successful, you start by thinking successful thoughts. It really is that simple.
2. Don’t let inertia set in. Successful people act on their ideas. They take care of business and complete tasks that must be completed.
3. Decide what must be done. Success is measured by achievement. Achievement is defined by task completion. Task completion starts with a list of tasks. A task list is generated by your decisions.
4. Save a portion of all you earn. Independence is directly tied to your financial security. When you don’t have independence, you limit your choices. Limited choices limit your income potential. Low income diminishes your savings potential. Start with 1% and work your way up as you can. Seek to put away at least 10% as a minimum.
5. Achieving success does not mean you have to sacrifice your values. We cannot be happy when there is conflict between our actions and our value system. Never put yourself in a compromising position. When you do this, you will never be truly happy with your success.
6. Bounce back from failure. Persistence overcomes resistance. Tenacity conquers troubling events. Refuse to be held down. Rapidly recovering from failure gets you back on track more quickly.
7. Being rich is a choice. The most frequent reason people don’t accumulate wealth is that they don’t ever make the decision to be wealthy. And, that takes me back to point one––the way you think. How much money do you need to live the lifestyle you wish to lead? Decide what that figure is and then, more importantly, make the choice to accumulate this amount of money.
8. Take 100% responsibility for your success. Society sometimes provides the wrong message to people. That message is that someone (government, friends, and family members) is coming to the rescue. Get ready for this truth––no one is coming to the rescue. If you will be successful, it is up to you. Certainly, you need the help of others but it boils down to the actions you take. It truly is more joyous to celebrate success when it is tied to our own personal efforts.

Checkout Billy

The Professional Speaker: Billy blends thought provoking ideas with his “Cajun Stories” to bring audiences a winning combination guaranteed to make your event a success.

The Management Consultant: Billy is the choice of corporate and education leaders who seek help with their own management style or who wish to provide coaching for their management team or executives on an individual or group basis by phone or on site.

The School Board Strategist: Billy is one of the premier consultants to work with troubled school boards or to help with strategic planning initiatives. He is also a seasoned presenter at school board association conventions.

The Author: Billy’s book, Searching for Success, is making a difference in the life of people around the world. His published articles impact the way business leaders think. Contact us to purchase your personally signed copy of Searching for Success.

Call us. We’d love to help! Go to http://www.searchingforsuccess.com to learn more about Billy’s programs and services. Our results are guaranteed!

Staying In Touch To Grow

Please notify us if your email address changes. Send your new address to barcement@eatel.net and we’ll update our distribution list. If you enjoyed what you’ve read, please forward this newsletter to a friend who might get a pointer or two from these messages. Send us their email address, to add them to our distribution list.

Children First! Spread the Word

Children First, my newsletter offering parenting tips, is growing nicely. If you know of an organization or group of parents who might be interested in reading this newsletter email me at barcement@eatel.net and place “children” in the subject line. The next issue goes out April 1.

Value Added Ideas

You may reprint content from this newsletter or from past issues. We’re also happy to provide you with articles from our archive of previously published articles to add value to your publications. Before you do, please send an email request to barcement@eatel.net and specify your needs.

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