success

The Real Secret to Success Isn’t Really a Secretstring(54) "The Real Secret to Success Isn’t Really a Secret"

June 3, 2021
, , Success 2

Over my career, I have observed people with different personalities, backgrounds, and behavioral styles achieve success in life. Many times I wondered if there was a reoccurring theme running through their success stories that would clearly illustrate what creates success.

The Secret To Success 

When I was interviewing average business owners and entrepreneurs for my book, Masters of Success, I asked thousands of them what they felt the “secret” to success was. They generally told me things like: vision, goals, passion, persistence, and systems.

I then asked many highly successful people who had obtained great wealth or personal achievement in business, sports, or science. They generally told me that success involved things like: vision, goals, passion, persistence, and systems. Sound familiar?

This made me very curious. I was teaching at a California State University in the Los Angeles area. I asked hundreds of college students what they thought was the secret to success. These were all undergraduate students in business with little or no real-world business experience. What I found amazing was that they also said success involved things like: vision, goals, passion, persistence, and systems!

Everyone I interviewed or wrote about regarding the secret to success gave me virtually the same answer. If we all know what it takes to be successful, why are we not all successful?

What Makes Someone Successful

I have found that many people are looking for some mysterious and ever-elusive secret to success beyond what they already sense to be important. The truth is, there is no great mystery. In fact, very often “success is simply the uncommon application of common knowledge.”

When you hear successful people talk about the secret of their success, have you noticed that you rarely hear any real secret? What you do hear about is their unwavering adherence to some system or approach they believed in and followed with intensity and determination — an uncommon focus on something that less successful people simply take for granted or pay lip service to.

Even when the ideas are easy to understand, they often don’t get implemented. People think there must be something more. After I presented a keynote speech in Sweden years ago, a woman in the audience came up to me and said, “Everything you said makes so much sense. Much of it was about things that I’ve heard were important to do, but I never did them because they seemed too simple. I thought there had to be more to it than that, that the road to success was much more complicated and daunting. So I wasted valuable time looking for some secret”. Then she said, “I don’t understand why people often find it easy to make things so difficult. Myself included”.

Success comes to those who have not only a passion and a vision, but who also have a persistence and a commitment to perform the fundamentals over and over. They continue to work and learn until they can perform these fundamentals flawlessly. In the end, being successful is not about being different or having secret knowledge. In the end, everybody knows what the goal is and how to achieve it. This is common knowledge, and it’s been around for a long, long time. Success is about knowing these things and achieving them without giving up, making excuses, or getting sidetracked. 

secrets to harmony

Seven Secrets to Finding Harmony in Work and Lifestring(49) "Seven Secrets to Finding Harmony in Work and Life"

May 31, 2021
, , , Balance, Who's in Your Room 6

Would you like to know my secrets to achieving balance?  Forget about balance. It’s an illusion. “Balance” assumes that we spend an equal amount of time in all or most areas of our life. It is like the image of the “scales” where everything is completely in balance and equal. It assumes that we must spend a certain portion of each week devoted in some equal measure to every item important in our life.  As an entrepreneur, finding time for your family, your business, and your leisure time can be challenging. It’s difficult to do it all.

The problem with that is that almost no entrepreneur can actually achieve that. We tend to live such hectic, busy lives it is incredibly difficult to fit it all in. So, what do we do about this?  For me, it’s about creating harmony, not balance. This is more than semantics – it is a different way of looking at life.  While life can’t be fully in balance, it is possible to create a life that is in harmony with your vision of who you are and what you want to do. If that resonates with you, try these seven secrets to finding harmony in work and life.

1. Be Here Now

These are three simple words that will make a huge difference in creating harmony in your life. Wherever you are, be there. If you are at work, don’t be thinking about the time you didn’t spend with your family the night before or what you should be doing with your spouse or partner. When you are at home, don’t be thinking about the work you have to do at the office. My secret: Wherever you are, be there fully and completely.

2. Be Creative About How You Manage Your Time

Be creative and inventive in finding ways that you can accomplish what you need to do yet still allow you to spend time with the precious people in your life who bring you harmony. And remember, many tasks and projects have a finite timeline. You won’t always have to resort to this type of creativity unless you want to. My secret: Be creative and inventive in finding ways that you can accomplish what you need to do.

3. Integrate Various Elements Of Your Life

For many years, I spent a couple of weeks or more working remotely from my lake house in the mountains. During that time, I worked my normal hours but also had quality time with my family in a vacation setting. Sometimes I would have my staff join me for short retreats and workdays. It was a great way to integrate work-life into a leisure environment. During the last week or so of the stay at the lake house, I exclusively spent time with the family and didn’t think about work. My secret: Look for ways to integrate elements of your life whenever possible.

4. Practice “Letting Go” And “Holding On”

It is not possible to “have it all.” Unfortunately, life involves making choices. Practice understanding what things to say no to and then letting go of them. Think about the things that are truly important in your life and hold on to them with all your might. My secret: Let go of the unimportant things.

5. Be Intentional About Who You “Let In Your Room”

Imagine that you live your entire life in one room and that room had only one door and that door was an “Enter Only” door.  Anyone who gets in is there for life. If that were true, would you be more selective about who you let into your room?  Everyone I ask that to says a resounding, “YES!” Well, luckily this is only a metaphor. However, when we do let people into our lives that are caustic or difficult, it is very difficult to get them out. My secret: Be more selective about “Who’s In Your Room”.

6. Set Firm Margins 

Life for people in this day and age is crazy busy. People will take up every spare moment in your life if you let them, so it is important to create a life that has “margins.” Build free time, family time, and personal time into the margins of your day-to-day existence. If you don’t schedule it, it won’t happen. You’ll be happier when you create margins. My secret: Schedule your time to relax.

7. Work In Your Flame, Not Your Wax (secrets)

When entrepreneurs are doing things they hate to do, they are in their wax – meaning they are doing things that are sapping their energy.  When entrepreneurs are doing things that they love to do, they are in their flame. They are energized and excited. My secret: Do those things that you love to do by staying in your flame.

The truth is that when you are 70 years old, you are not going to wish you spent more time at the office. You don’t need to be a workaholic to be successful. Focus on creating harmony in your life with my seven secrets. Be creative. Find ideas from these secrets that work for you and the life you live. Make the time and be innovative. Harmony is created where harmony is sought. 

Networking Group

Secrets of a Successful Networking Groupstring(40) "Secrets of a Successful Networking Group"

July 27, 2020
, , , , Mentors, Networking 2

To help your networking group be successful, I have identified four important tips to consider when inviting visitors, selecting new members, and encouraging mentoring by your experienced members. Please note that in BNI® we call our networking groups “BNI Chapters”.

1) Invite Qualified Visitors to Your Networking Group

In any strong networking group, inviting qualified visitors is important. These groups become stronger because they tend to select new members who are more experienced in their profession. Seasoned professionals are more likely to have an already established network. Therefore, qualified visitors quickly become “qualified members” because they are more likely to pass qualified referrals to their fellow members using their own established network.  Furthermore, inexperienced people tend to pass leads as new members while they are building their network. There is a big difference between a “lead” and a “referral”.

2) Induct Experienced Members to Your Networking Group

When giving referrals to others, you want to ensure that you are recommending someone who is experienced at what they do. This is a trait that is even more important to your networking group than inducting someone just because they are well connected to the community. Do not gamble upon inducting new members who are inexperienced in their professions even if they have sizable networks. Therefore, I highly recommend that all of our BNI chapters’ Membership Committees take the time needed to fully vet and assess the level of experience of all applicants before inducting them into your BNI chapter or networking group.

In a 2002 survey of networking group members, 74 percent of networkers owned their own business. Furthermore, about one-third of business networkers were older than 50 while only 10 percent were younger than 30 years old. This would indicate that the average age of a business person in a networking group is older and more experienced than some would expect. Therefore, I firmly believe that business professionals with more experience are more likely to benefit from joining a networking group and using our referral-marketing strategy.

3) Strike a Balance Within Your Networking Group

A successful networking group should strive to seek a balance between “old pros” and “newbies.” Groups with only experienced older members can become “stuck in their ways” of networking. They also tend to stop inviting visitors to the chapter. They either claim that they have already invited everyone they know over the years or they often do not perceive visitors as being as important to the business as they once were. Meanwhile, a group made up mostly of inexperienced people can be too frenetic as they tend to pass more leads than actual qualified referrals.

4) Encourage Mentoring Between Experienced and New Members in Your Networking Group

In a successful networking group, I have observed effective mentoring between the experienced members and the newer members. Therefore, networking groups become stronger when the experienced members take newly inducted members under their wing in a mentoring relationship. The mentoring does not need to be a part of a formal training structure. I suggest just scheduling a few one-to-one’s between these two members. Take a little time to coach the new members on the finer points of word-of-mouth marketing. It is a real win-win.

As entrepreneurs become increasingly informed and educated about the tangible benefits of growing their business using a structured word-of-mouth program like BNI, many of them are seeking out a local BNIonlineTM chapter to visit virtually during an upcoming Zoom meeting. Therefore, I believe this is valuable information for entrepreneurs who are considering actively participating in a BNI chapter. If you are already a BNI member on your chapter’s current or future leadership team, incorporate these tips to grow your BNI chapter as a successful networking group.

Networking Fundamentals

Networking Fundamentalsstring(23) "Networking Fundamentals"

July 9, 2020
, Networking, Networking Tactics, Online Networking, Success 3

What is the one secret to success?  It is a question I receive often. The one secret is… there is no “one” secret.  Therefore, how can entrepreneurs achieve success? To be successful, there are four networking fundamentals that a business owner needs to focus on.

The Networking Fundamentals to Grow Your Business

  • Be Selective
  • Continuously add people to your network
  • Seek Engagement
  • Share Stories

The Secret to Success

Over my career, I have observed people with different personalities, backgrounds, and behavioral styles achieve success in life. Many times I wondered if there was a reoccurring theme running through their success stories that would clearly illustrate what creates success. Therefore, when I interviewed average business owners and entrepreneurs over the years, I asked them what they felt their secret to success was. They generally told me things like vision, goals, passion, persistence, and systems.

I then asked many highly successful people who had obtained great wealth or personal success in business, sports, or science. They generally told me that their secret to success involved things like vision, goals, passion, persistence, and systems. Sound familiar?

Everyone I interviewed or wrote about regarding the secret to success – from Buzz Aldrin to Erin Brockovich, from average businesspeople to undergraduate college students – gave me virtually the same answer. So if we all know what it takes to be successful…

Why are we all not as successful as we would like to be?

The truth is there is no great mystery. Very often, “success is simply the uncommon application of common knowledge.”

When you hear successful people talk about the secret of their success, have you noticed that you rarely hear any real secret? What you do hear about is their unwavering adherence to some system or approach they believed in and followed with intensity and determination. Successful people focus on the goal and work through or around everything else. In sports, this is called “keeping your eye on the ball.”  They do this with a passion and a vision.

Success comes to those who have not only a passion and a vision but who also have persistence and commitment to perform the fundamentals over and over, continuing to work and learn until they can perform these networking fundamentals flawlessly. In the end, we already know what our goals are and how to achieve them. This is common knowledge, and it’s been around for a long, long time. Success is learning and practicing the four networking fundamentals.

More Business Through Networking

Want More Business Through Networking?string(38) "Want More Business Through Networking?"

June 4, 2020
, , , , , Classic Video, Networking, Video Blog 6

In this classic video, I explain a proven way to get more business through networking.  I also discuss the results from a survey I conducted.

Everyone wants to be successful in or at something in their life. Success is determined largely by hard work, but also by good choices. Everyone feels like they deserve better at some point. Get over it. The most successful people plan their work and work their plan. They put serious effort into making good choices and carrying them through. Therefore, if you spend more time doing one thing, you will get more business through networking.

The Secret to Getting More Business through Networking

I’ve been asked time and time again by people all over the world what I consider to be the secret to getting more business.  I can, without a doubt, say that there is, indeed, one thing you can do to get more business from your networking efforts.  However, do you know what it is?  The answer may surprise you . . .

Watch the video and then take a minute to leave a comment if you have the time . . . I’d love to hear what some of your guesses were in regard to what the “secret” to getting more business through networking was going to be.  Chances are, some of the guesses you came up with are pretty good networking tactics as well and it would be great to get a conversation going about them!

success

Success Is Not An Entitlementstring(29) "Success Is Not An Entitlement"

July 11, 2019
, , Success 4

Everyone wants some degree of success.  They might want it in different forms, but I’ve never met anyone who didn’t want to be successful in or at something important in their lives.  This is good because I believe that everyone’s entitled to pursue success; but, success itself is not an entitlement.

It is largely determined by our hard work and our choices.  I know many people who work hard but make bad choices.  It’s amazing how many of them think they deserve to be more successful because they feel like they’ve worked so hard.  On the other hand, I don’t know very many, if any, successful people who have made good choices but didn’t work hard.

Working hard is only the first part of success.  Making good choices is the second part.  It truly takes both to achieve success at whatever you do.

When I was the CEO for BNI, I knew that the choices I made were important to the business.  The decisions I made impacted hundreds of employees, franchise owners, and associates as well as hundreds of thousands of BNI members around the world.  I remember back then talking to a good friend and mentor about some tough decisions I had to make and my concerns about them.  He gave me some great advice.  He said, “Not every decision you make has to be a good one.  Just make sure that you make more good ones than bad ones and when you make a bad one – minimize the impact by fixing it quick.”

Wow!  This was great advice.  It’s advice that squarely hits the point about working hard and making good choices.  Not every choice you make has to be on the mark.  However, enough of them do in order for you to get the kind of results you want.  Some of my biggest lessons in business have come from my losses, not my successes.  Generally, neither had much to do with luck but instead, with the choices I made or the commitment I gave to the project.

It is not being lucky

For most of the 30 plus years of running BNI, I didn’t feel very lucky or incredibly successful.  It took time, effort, hard work, and fairly decent choices before I felt any modicum of success.  The problem is that many people want to go from point A to point Z and bypass all the challenges in between.  They work hard, therefore “deserve” the success they want.

Success is not an entitlement.   It’s not a “right” or a “claim” that we should have.  Oh, people have the right to “pursue” success – but that’s it.  Success is most often earned. It is not handed over because you are entitled.

I remember years ago when my son was nine years old I asked him, “Trey, what’s the secret to success?”  He said, in a young boy’s slightly bored sing-song tone – “the secret to success without hard work and good choices is still a secret, Dad.  Can I go out and play now?”

‘Full-Calorie’ Networking vs. ‘Networking Light’string(72) "‘Full-Calorie’ Networking vs. ‘Networking Light’"

May 28, 2015
, , BNI, Networking, Networking Prep, Networking Tactics, personal story, Success, System, Video Blog 2

A while back, I published a blog about networking and, in it, I mentioned that the networking organization I founded, BNI®, is structured around weekly networking meetings.  In response to that blog post, a gentleman wrote to me saying how much he loved the idea of networking meetings and everything about the concept of networking for business appealed to him, but that he just absolutely didn’t want to have to commit to going to a meeting every week.  He proposed that a once-a-month BNI meeting would be much more appealing.

In this video, I detail my response to this gentleman’s proposition of monthly, as opposed to weekly, networking meetings–in other words, his suggestion that networkers should have a ‘Networking Light’ option as opposed to going for the ‘Full-Calorie Networking’ system.

Suffice it to say, opting for ‘Networking Light’ has never done anyone any favors, and my secret to success in business and life (which I share in this video) has a lot to do with never cutting corners or skimping when it comes to my daily recipe for goal achievement.

I’d love to hear your feedback on this video!  What has your experience been in weekly networking groups vs. networking groups that meet much less often?  Please share your thoughts in the comment forum below.  Thanks!

Success: The Uncommon Application of Common Knowledgestring(53) "Success: The Uncommon Application of Common Knowledge"

June 14, 2012
, , , , , , , BNI, Mentors, Success, Video Blog 2

In this short video by Applied Transformation, Inc., I talk to Roger Green about how I came up with the idea that success is the uncommon application of common knowledge, and explain why I’m such a firm believer in the concept.

If you aren’t buying it just yet, think about this . . . everyone I interviewed some years ago about the secret to success–from Buzz Aldrin, to Erin Brockovich, to average businesspeople, to undergraduate college students–all gave me almost the exact same answer.  So, if we all know what it takes to be successful, then why is it that we aren’t all as successful as we’d like to be?

What’s your take on the secret to success?  Is your recipe for success the same as the answer I heard repeated from each person I interviewed, or do you have different ideas about how success is achieved?  Please leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Why Word of Mouth?string(18) "Why Word of Mouth?"

May 27, 2010
, , , , , , , , , , , Business, Marketing/Sales, Networking, Networking Prep, Referrals, Word of Mouth 4

One of the most important things I’ve learned over the years is that the secret to success–without a little bit of hard work–is still a secret!  Word of mouth marketing is a solid foundation for building any successful enterprise and, like anything else that brings great rewards, it takes time, effort, and dedication (a.k.a.–a “little bit of hard work” ;-)).

Developing a word-of-mouth marketing program is an effective, potentially lucrative way of generating more business.  The reason I said it takes “a little bit” of hard work is because it’s not even hard work when you consider the alternatives:

1.  Increase your advertising budget

2.  Develop an effective public-relations campaign

3.  Pick up the phone and start cold-calling

The first two alternatives can be ridiculously expensive and the third is time-consuming and frustrating.  However, a structured word-of-mouth marketing program is also personally empowering: it’s one of the few things that you, or someone who works for you, can do (other than cold-calling) that directly affects your success.  Why wait for people to walk in your door?  Why sit idly by, hoping that your existing clients or customers will refer you to others?  With a structured word-of-mouth program you don’t have to wait for the results of your last PR campaign to kick in.

A word-of-mouth program will give you control and allow you to take ownership for the business development of your company.  Such a program has worked for thousands of people in all types of businesses and will work for you as well.