Stovall - Todays the Day!: Winners Wisdom to Succeed in Every Situation

This book is dedicated to two people who have made my pursuit of being a columnist possible. First, Ralph Schaefer, Business Journal editor, who encouraged me to write a single article and then told me to just do it every week, and I would be a columnist. And, last but never least, this book is also dedicated to my friend and colleague Dorothy Thompson, without whom none of my readers would ever have heard of me.

Contents

Introduction

A s a blind person, I live in a different world than those of you reading the words on this page; however, that doesnt mean that I dont see. Several years ago I recognized a universal ritual among most sighted peoplethat of reading a daily newspaper. Most busy individuals find a few moments in their hectic day to scan one or more sections of a local, regional, or national publication.

But most newspapers are filled with horrific headlines, terrifying financial information, and obligatory obituaries. What if this daily ritual happened to include a small dose of goodness? Several years ago I began writing a regularly syndicated column entitled Winners Wisdom to try to bring a little fresh air to these few moments most everyone shares.

The world we live in is made up of all kinds of people, but everyone ultimately falls into one of two categories when measuring success: winners or losers. I want to be a winner. And I believe you do too. So Ive compiled ninety of the Winners Wisdom columns Ive written and placed them in this book, Todays the Day .

Each entry is short; Im just trying to add a little fresh air to the day. But short doesnt mean shallow. I hope you will read these reflections as invitations to see and do: an invitation to see the wisdom Ive seen and an invitation to act on it in your own life. And become a winner!

Todays the day!

Todays the Day Entries

The Wisdom of the Snapping Turtle

W hen I was eight years old, during one of my journeys into the woods, I successfully captured a rather large snapping turtle. I immediately brought him back to my grandparents house, selected an appropriate box, and made him my official pet. Because I was being particularly quiet, my grandfather came onto the back porch to determine what mischief I might be pursuing. I showed him my prize turtle and explained that it was now my pet.

My grandfather took a pencil out of his shirt pocket and poked the turtle under his shell until he extended his head and promptly bit the end of the pencil completely off. Then my grandfather turned to me and asked me a question that remains with me even today. He asked, Now that you know what your turtle can do, if you stick your finger in there and he bites it off, is it your fault or his?

As an eight-year-old, this was very simple. I knew that if I allowed my turtle to bite off my finger, it would be my fault. I am very pleased to inform you that as of this writing, I am still in possession of all ten fingers.

Many of us as adults forget the wisdom of the turtle, and we get bitten time after time. We dont fail because we dont know what to do. We fail because we dont do what we know. Sigmund Freud said that insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over but continually expecting a different result. If you keep sticking your fingers in the turtles mouth, you will continue to lose fingers. If you want a different result in your life, take a different action. Starting now.

Todays the day!

Activity Versus Productivity

M ost of us work very hard. We get up each day and spend eight hours or more doing something we call work. If you talk to the most successful and the least successful persons you can find, they will probably tell you they are working extremely hard. If this is true, why are so few people actually getting the results they want from their hard work?

Quite simply, they confuse activity with productivity. Just because youre doing something doesnt mean youre really getting anywhere. We have all seen hamsters running around on the little wheel in their cage. They create a tremendous amount of activity but no productivity.

Recently, I did some consulting for a sales organization. These sales people work solely on commission, so the only productive thing they really do is talk to new people about their products and services. Before our training session, the average salesperson told me they were working very hard for eight to ten hours every day. Once they learned that their only productive task was talking to new people about their products or services, we conducted a simple experiment. Each salesperson was given a stopwatch and instructed to keep it in their pocket and click it on only when they were talking to a new prospect, either on the telephone or in person. We discovered that the top wage earners were actually productive only three hours per day. The average and below-average producers were far less productive.

If you want to be more successful, earn more, or reach your goals faster, simply separate activity from productivity and commit at least half of your workday to productivity. The difference will amaze you. Your destiny awaits.

Todays the day!

Someday Isle

A ll of us had wonderful dreams, goals, and plans when we were teenagers or young adults. But at some point reality sets in, and we let our dreams and goals slip further and further back into our minds. We actually ship all of our dreams and goals to a mythical place I call Someday Isle.

Someday Isle is a picture-postcard kind of place where the weather is always perfect, and everything is always wonderfulexcept nothing ever happens. And now, every time we think of those long-forgotten dreams and goals, we say to ourselves, Someday, Ill do this; someday, Ill do that. But someday never comes.

General George Patton said that a good plan violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week. This applies to each of us as we go through our lives. Please remember that the biggest dream you ever had in your life is still alive and well. It will return to you from Someday Isle as soon as you make it a priority in your present-day life.

Your destiny is too wonderful to delay any longer. Make the commitment. Take the steps. Pay the price.

Todays the day!

Being the B.E.S.T.

I n our society, we revere those who are the best at what they do. Chants of Were number one! are heard frequently. You will never hear, Were number two, or Were not great, but were better than we were last year. If we want to be the best at whatever we do, we have to break it down into its individual components.

B is for Balance. It is the element that keeps our lives stable. Weve all heard about superstar athletes, multimillionaires, and movie stars who wreck their health or family relationships in their quest for greatness. No matter how much we achieve in one area of our life, if we lose the overall perspective that we are multifaceted beings, we can never be successful.

E is for Enthusiasm. This is the first thing we receive when we enter this world as the doctor slaps us on the backside, and it is the last thing we give up before they close the coffin lid. I have had the privilege of interviewing superstars from the worlds of entertainment, sports, and politics, and the one thing that each of these individuals has in common is a tremendous passion and enthusiasm for what he or she does. If you dont feel that kind of daily passion as you pursue your life goals, you need to get either a new career or a new attitude about the career you are currently pursuing.