The Secrets of Instant Success

You may be thinking what does this have to do with jobseeking or finding my dream job. Well, i will tell you. I have always been of the opinion that into today's world or indeed if you are going to be successful in your career you you need to think like a business person. Gone are the days when every aspect of our lives were centralised, in the olden days our forefathers thought like business people. They went out to the farm and had to be independent, catering for themselves and their family.

It was later on that we saw the advent of the social state where people became more dependent, and this in some ways has led to people not being able to look after themselves or their families, always looking out to someone else for a helping hand. There is nothing wrong in seeking help, but it has to be for the right reasons, and not to make you even more dependent. All good entrepreneurs have mentors but the focus is different, it is about helping business people to be better and not dependent.

If you want to have overnight or instant success you need to work with people, and understanding people is the beginning of attaining your dream goals. In life you will get criticised, told off and so on by your parents, boss or whoever maybe close to you at any particular time.

I like the story from Steven K Scott, American businessman who after graduating from University went on to lose or be fired from his next 7 jobs all while in his early 20s! He described an incident where he was working for a large $multi million dollar firm and while working in the marketing department, he had this dilema of going it alone to setup a business of his own or stay with the employer. The VP of the company turned to him after he put forward his idea, he said, "I don't believe you will be able to make a success of your business, the challenge and everything else you will face". He then thought how could he make such a statement, this VP cannot predict the future, and certainly could not predict his. Steven Scott highlights in his book 'mentored by a millionaire' that when people criticise you and give negative feedback, you need to qualify it, for example, Not Qualified (NQ) means they have no knowledge or experience to judge or pass on comment to you. Somewhat Experience (SE) means they have some experience. Very Qualified (VQ) means they have a lot of experience and knowledge in that subject.

In this situation, Steven felt his VP was very qualified as he was the vice president of a large marketing company, but Not Qualified (NQ) to predict his future, no man or woman on earth could ever do that, not unless he/she was God! And there is my point, you need to qualify those you get advise from and those that criticise, as this will help you in pursuit of your success. Beit in an interview, at work, qualify the comments and believe in yourself. By the way, Steven Scott has since gone on to setup a $Multi Billion dollar advertising/marketing business.

And for the secret of success? There is no secret no matter what you read about all the famous people, the celebrities and so on, besides sheer hard work, and belief in your power as a human being to achieve whatever you conceive.

See you soon.

Femi Yusoof