Good Morning,
I’m a regular reader of Early To Rise. Today, Michael wrote an article that resonates with me and has a lot of relevance to today’s economic situation.
The article Michael wrote gives six “must-do” things to be successful.
1. Get up early and give your day a jumpstart by doing something meaningful… first thing.
2. Work as late as you have to.
3. Do at least 50 percent more than what is asked of you.
4. Volunteer for challenging assignments.
5. Educate yourself on the side.
6. Become better than anyone else at the essential skills you need to accomplish your goal.
You can see why it resonates with me. I’m up every day (except Sunday) at 4:30, and I work hard at being the best writer. Notice that – not just “the best writer I can be.”
One day, Charlie Byrne and Michael Masterson are going to be able to say that I have learned from them, worked on my skills, and have become a better copywriter than they are. That’s my goal.
So how is it that this relates to today’s economic situation?
In every economic downturn, businesses get weeded out. Strong businesses take over weak ones, and tough markets get cracked open.
Each of us is in business. We write copy, sell information products, and/or teach what we know.
So this is our proving ground. Which of us is going to work hardest, learn the most, and come out successful? Of course I don’t have a crystal ball to tell me who’s going to grasp success, but I can give you two examples from AWAI’s Bootcamp.
One is a fellow writer I met at Bootcamp 2007. JR and I were talking this year, and he was open and honest with me. He told me that – after Bootcamp 2007 – he thought he was going to leave me in the dust.
I appreciated his honesty. We talked some more, and I explained how I had taken the advice to make consistent, daily effort and used it to build success for myself.
Now JR knows he’s only competing with himself. I think he’s going to do a lot more to build his own success this year, and I hope he takes me up on my offer of e-mail support. (That’s a hint and a nudge, JR.)
The other example is a fellow I met for the first time at this year’s Bootcamp. To be honest, I never paid much attention to his name because he wasn’ very nice. The first time he shook my hand, he said “I’m gonna leave you in the dust, Conrad.”
He didn’t know what to say when I replied “Good. And I’ll help you do it.”
Later, at the Job Fair, he repeated his determination to outperform me. Unfortunately, he was standing alone between two unoccupied tables. I don’t know if he ever spoke to any of the employers at Job Fair.
So now you really have three examples.
1. Me. I took Michael’s advice, listened to John Forde, Jennifer Stevens, Bob Bly and all the other experts. I”ll keep working and reach my goal of being the best writer.
2. JR. He didn’t listen at first, but he’s listening now. I’ll let you know how he does at building his own success.
3. The no-name fellow. He seems to think he can get success by talking about.
We all have the same information – the same opportunity. So do you.
Are you going to roll up your sleeves and make your own success?
Read all of Michael’s article if you need help deciding.