Bono on Pushing Your Luck

 

“When you stop taking chances
You’ll stay where you sit
You won’t live any longer
But it’ll feel like it”

–Bono (1960 – )
Irish music artist and activist
from ‘Summer Rain’

“Diligence is the mother of good luck.”

– Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790)
American statesman, scientist, and printer

luck: noun: a force that makes things happen

You want more luck? Be the force that makes it happen…

  1. Prepare. Work hard to be ready for the opportunities that are important to you. Research. Practice. Perfect.
  2. Be awake. Pay attention to the people, events, and things around you. Evaluate logically and trust your gut instinct.
  3. Take action. Put yourself out there. Explore. Be vulnerable. Make contact with people. Take risks.
  4. Expect positive results. Optimism improves your chances. If (when) you fail, embrace the lesson and continue on, smarter.

That’s it. Now go be lucky (and sell something).

Kunin on The Folly of Passivity

 

“One is responsible for
one’s own life. Passivity
provides no protection.”

–Madeleine Kunin (1933 – )

Swiss-American diplomat and politician

Sometimes, if we don’t have success after repeated attempts to do something, we can lose confidence and eventually give up trying. It’s called “learned helplessness” (we learn to be helpless).

Sales check: Any areas where you and your team have stopped trying (or try, but with little commitment) because prior repeated failures and/ or a perceived inability to succeed has trained you not to try? In prospecting and customer contact efforts? In motivating and improving team attitudes and cooperation? With customer care improvement initiatives?

If so, what can you start doing today to minimize any “learned helplessness” that may have set in?

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Salk on The Risky

 

“Risks, I like to say,
always pay off.
You learn what to do,
or what not to do.”

–Jonas Salk (1914–1995)

American biologist

Developed the vaccine for polio

Always seeking certainty before taking action can severely limit productivity. In some cases, the evaluation and search for certainty is more costly than a potential failure due to action.

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