Seven Rules for a More Successful Career
written by UltraJob
Rule 1: Motivation is the key to success.
The key to understanding personal motivation is in knowing what energizes you—
what kinds of activities, people, places, and situations are personally stimulating and
fulfilling—and then capitalizing on those motivations.
Rule 2: Success takes hard work.
Success takes preparation and hard work. Thomas Edison once remarked, “A genius is
a talented person who does his homework.” Bill Gates was a computer geek before he
was catapulted into the limelight. Michael Jordan was a hardworking and determined
high-school and college athlete before he became one of the greatest athletes of all time.
These men are rich, but they devoted themselves to their work, have been willing to work
hard, and haven’t been daunted by failure.
Rule 3: Learn from your mistakes.
Success depends on learning from mistakes and overcoming challenges.
It’s not enough to be ambitious. The world is filled with ambition, and the path to success
is littered with discarded dreams and disillusioned people who never achieved the
recognition or success they felt they deserved.
Rule 4: Follow your dreams.
Missions are the values or dreams that drive super-achievers to pursue excellence.
Rule 5: Honor your talents.
When Harvard University psychologist Howard Gardner conducted his landmark
research on multiple intelligences, he opened the door to a fuller understanding of human
potential. In contrast to society’s traditional emphasis on verbal and analytical abilities as
the pinnacle of intelligence, Dr. Gardner put forth a more expanded vision that includes
linguistic, musical, spatial, kinesthetic, emotional, interpersonal, and intrapersonal intelligences.
Understanding yourself as a multifaceted individual with many talents and possibilities
enables you to expand your vision of your own career potential.
Rule 6: Manage yourself.
There’s no direct correlation between success and mental health. You don’t have to be
a nice person to be successful. You can win the rat race and still be a rat. But if you
manage yourself well, you can win the rat race without turning into a rat. This involves
developing a good working relationship with your thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Rule 7: Take calculated risks.
Most of us were raised with rules and know the consequences of disobeying them. But
if those rules have taught you that it’s dangerous to take risks, you are limiting your
rewards. When building a career in the competitive work world, you must be willing to
take risks to reap the rewards you seek. Successful risk-taking involves knowing your risk
tolerance. What many otherwise ambitious careerists fail to realize is that not taking a
risk is also a risk. There’s a risk involved in not trying, and along with the risk of failing,
there’s the risk of regret.
The key to understanding personal motivation is in knowing what energizes you—
what kinds of activities, people, places, and situations are personally stimulating and
fulfilling—and then capitalizing on those motivations.
Rule 2: Success takes hard work.
Success takes preparation and hard work. Thomas Edison once remarked, “A genius is
a talented person who does his homework.” Bill Gates was a computer geek before he
was catapulted into the limelight. Michael Jordan was a hardworking and determined
high-school and college athlete before he became one of the greatest athletes of all time.
These men are rich, but they devoted themselves to their work, have been willing to work
hard, and haven’t been daunted by failure.
Rule 3: Learn from your mistakes.
Success depends on learning from mistakes and overcoming challenges.
It’s not enough to be ambitious. The world is filled with ambition, and the path to success
is littered with discarded dreams and disillusioned people who never achieved the
recognition or success they felt they deserved.
Rule 4: Follow your dreams.
Missions are the values or dreams that drive super-achievers to pursue excellence.
Rule 5: Honor your talents.
When Harvard University psychologist Howard Gardner conducted his landmark
research on multiple intelligences, he opened the door to a fuller understanding of human
potential. In contrast to society’s traditional emphasis on verbal and analytical abilities as
the pinnacle of intelligence, Dr. Gardner put forth a more expanded vision that includes
linguistic, musical, spatial, kinesthetic, emotional, interpersonal, and intrapersonal intelligences.
Understanding yourself as a multifaceted individual with many talents and possibilities
enables you to expand your vision of your own career potential.
Rule 6: Manage yourself.
There’s no direct correlation between success and mental health. You don’t have to be
a nice person to be successful. You can win the rat race and still be a rat. But if you
manage yourself well, you can win the rat race without turning into a rat. This involves
developing a good working relationship with your thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Rule 7: Take calculated risks.
Most of us were raised with rules and know the consequences of disobeying them. But
if those rules have taught you that it’s dangerous to take risks, you are limiting your
rewards. When building a career in the competitive work world, you must be willing to
take risks to reap the rewards you seek. Successful risk-taking involves knowing your risk
tolerance. What many otherwise ambitious careerists fail to realize is that not taking a
risk is also a risk. There’s a risk involved in not trying, and along with the risk of failing,
there’s the risk of regret.
