Contribute to the Success of Others

"Our own success, to be real, must contribute to the success of others." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Have you ever noticed when you are trying to do things for yourself, you feel either the stress of failure or the desire to procrastinate, but when you are doing something for someone else, something without expecting anything in return, you have a greater desire to finish what You have started.

I like the idea of helping others. Many of the most successful people made their riches by helping other people get what they want. You can read about people like Henry Ford who wanted to help people get around faster without relying on a living creature. Horses get tired, but the automobile does not.

You can read about Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Edison who both were inventors who made things for people who needed glasses or light bulbs or pot belly stoves or a way to listen to the recorded voice. When you make a product or provide a service for a large group of people who need or want it, there will be a fortune waiting for you.

Zig Ziglar Always says "If you help enough people get what they want, You will get what you want." You could treat this statement almost like a law of life. It happens every time I see it put into use. The goal is not to think about the money. Spend your time thinking about how you can implement the idea. If the idea is valuable to people, the money will find it's way to you.

Pride in Your Appearance

You cannot climb the ladder of success dressed in the costume of failure. - Zig Ziglar

 I have spent a lot of my life not really caring how I look. I have always preferred dressing for comfort than for style or impressing other people. I have never really had people say anything about how I dress except maybe the ones who live in my house. I figure most other people don't care or they care and don't say anything. Either way, I think there is a time when one should start caring more about his or her own appearance.

There is a time when your appearance can hurt your chances for something you want. You have heard the old saying: You only get ten seconds to make your first impression. That is all the time someone needs to make up their mind about you and how you might be able to help them. If you are dressed like a slob, they are not going to believe you are going to be able to help them. They will think you are someone who does not care. If you don't care about looking like a professional, then why would you take your job seriously and do the work professionally?

It is one thing to dress professionally when you are working. Many people dress well when they go to work, but then they let things fall when they get home. For the most part, that is OK. Think about this though. If you thought you looked good all the time, would you be more willing to take chances when the opportunities arose? These opportunities could be anything.

Lets say you went to the store to get something. There is a woman at the checkout who doesn't give you a second glance because you look like a slob. If you were dressed presentable, she might smile at you, maybe even spark up a conversation.

What if someone came to the door to offer you some sort of service. If you are dressed like a slob, they would not take you serious. If you are dressed like you are someone who could help them, you might be surprised at what they might give you for free just because you held yourself in a professional manner.

When I worked retail, It was often someone would walk in in a dirty T-Shirt and shorts with holes in them. They would walk around and no one would help them because they didn't seem like they had money. I found on more than one occasion that if I helped these people, they would shell out thousands of dollars on things they were looking for. If he dressed cleaner and more like someone who had money, he would have received help right away and possibly gotten a better deal because of that top notch service.

Make sure you dress for success.