About 3years onā¦ and attending that very simple 2day course ā JCI Trainer is still proving to be one of the best decisions I ever made in my life as I still find lots of fun developing my skills, helping everyone I meet find purpose, new discoveries and fulfilment in their lives through Skills Development and training at JCI, at my company Yāems Group and in other areas of life. Just like I learnt a long time agoā¦ I have grown to become ever more convinced that there truly are essentially 2 things thatāll make you wiser in lifeā¦ The books you read, and the people you meet.
After last weekās Skills development Session at JCI Bamenda Royal on my friend Mungai Nfiās āBeating Procrastinationā, we decided as an organization to put in practice the concept of taking 21 days to develop a habit.
āDid you know that, if you do something repeatedly for 21days it becomes a habit???? ā Now You Know!
So we each picked 1 or 2 things we will try to make a habit and I decided to pick 1) Reading and 2) Meditating every morning. In that light, I decided to whip out my signed copy of Fon Amosā āNapoleon Hillās 17 Principles of Successā which Iāve been carrying around with me every time in my laptop bag for a little over 1year now and today has been one of the best mornings of my lifeā¦ Let me share a couple of things I learnt from these principles.
Principle #1 āDefine your Purpose
"The Starting Point of all human achievement is the development of a Major PURPOSE"
Principle #2 āEstablish a Mastermind Alliance Group
No man can become a permanent success without taking others along. A group of brains coordinated in a spirit of harmony will provide more thought energy than a single brain, just as a group of electric batteries will provide more energy than a single battery.
Principle #3 āKeep Applied Faith
You sure as hell can do it... if you believe you can... It begins from within you! Life has a way of developing strength and wisdom in individuals through temporary defeat and failure. This is the point where you have to have faith in your passion and in your God.
Principle #4 āGo the Extra Mile
Render more and better services than that for which you are paid, and sooner or later you will receive compound interest on compound interest from your investment or as Mr Fon fondly puts itā¦ always deliver more than expectedā¦ with passion.
Principle #5 āAssemble an Attractive Personality
When Ana asked Christian in the classic adapted screenplay ā50 shades of Greyā the secret to all his successā¦ he said to herā¦ ā...Business is about people, and Iāve always been good at peopleā¦ā I too believe that Courtesy is your most profitable assetā¦ and it is absolutely free. Your personality is your greatest asset or your greatest liability because it embraces everything you controlā¦ your mind, body and soul.
Principle #6 āCreate Personal Initiative
This is all about using Organized Individual endeavour to motivate you to action and to pursuing your plans. Those who organize their efforts naturally get ahead faster than those who drift without definite aim or purpose.
Principle #7 āBuild a Positive Mental Attitude
Staying positive as weāve been told countless times is paramount in ripping the benefits of the other 16 principles. Keep your mind on the things you want and off the things you donāt want. As the old proverb saysā¦ be very careful what you set your heart on, for you will surely achieve it.
Principle #8 āSeek Inspiration and Enthusiasm
My friend Franklin Ngalim always says, to be Inspired is greatā¦ to inspire is incredible. I believe when you get inspired about somethingā¦ you generate enthusiasm for that thing. Enthusiasm is a state of mind, it inspires action and best of all it is the most contagious of all emotions. If you want to get people join you to march into hell, be enthusiastic about your March into hell!
Principle #9 āExercise Self-Discipline
I especially love what Walter Wayland says in his definition of The True Gentleman ā āThe True Gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self-control is equal to all emergenciesā ā Self-control or self-discipline is taking possession of your own mind. It is managing yourself so that others wonāt manage you for youā¦ it is setting and living your and society accepted values. Without self-discipline, you are as dangerous as a car running down the hill without brakes or steering wheel.
Principle #10 āAccurate Thinking
Remember that worrying is not thinking. Thinking has powerā¦ is under your controlā¦ and must be used wisely. You must be able to organize your thinking. You must be able to carefully analyse information before accepting it, be it political, religious or any other type of thought.
The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance ā it is the illusion of knowledge.
Principle #11 āControlled Attention.
I learnt a valuable lesson 2014 when I decided to stop being that brilliant kid whom you knew you could call to come and solve your every problemā¦ be it finance, marketing, IT, design, business, organizationā¦ though sadly enough with 0 emotional skills ĆÆĀÅ ā¦ and decided to focus my advancement in one area of FOCUSā¦ I have been able to grown tremendously in this particular area and I believe Iām on the right path to my Visionā¦ Remember, do not predict the futureā¦ create it.
Principle #12 āInspire Teamwork
Together, Everyone Achieves Miraclesā¦ Teamwork is the willing cooperation and coordination of effort to achieve a common goal. One of the best decisions Iāve ever made was try to build a team to help me drive my vision at Yāems Groupā¦ thanks to people like Mr. Bull, The General, Miss Pearson, etcā¦ weāve been able to go great lengths in developing our product and building our reputation. Itās just like with a good football teamā¦ like Real Madrid, or Barcelonaā¦ they rely more on harmonious coordination of effort than individual skill and itās like someone saidā¦ Individual Effort towards a common goalā¦ thatās what makes a team workā¦ a community workā¦ a society work.
Principle #13 āLearn from Adversity and Defeat
Steve Jobs after being fired 10years later from the company he built (Apple Inc.) took the time to remind himself what it is he lovedā¦ you know the rest of the storyā¦ he built NeXT and Pixar which eventually led him back to the top of Apple Inc. Every adversity or defeat you meet carries with it a seed of equivalent or greater benefit. I can relate to this statement and I believe it sincerely. While I donāt a fancy story as Steveās I remember I was able to learn Web programming during a period of my life when I was brought down by illness and was stuck at home for a whole month (hilarious story which you donāt get to hear though, lol!).
Remember, the two people who never get ahead are āThose who do only what they are told to do and those who will not do what they are told to do!ā
Whenever you fallā¦ Pick up somethingā¦
Principle #14 āCultivate Creative Vision
Creative vision is a quality of mind belonging only to men and women who follow the habit of going the extra mile. Creative vision is closely related to Faithā¦ note that those who have demonstrated the greatest amount of creative vision are known to have been men with a great capacity for faith.
We must be able to develop creative visionā¦ to believe in a possible unimaginable future and work our way towards that vision. We must be able to trust our gut and intuition for they already seem to know where weāre going.
Principle #15 āMaintain a Sound Health
Having all the money in the world is no use if you canāt get up in the morning to enjoy itā¦ after curing my backaches and headache with a sleep-eat-movie 1week vacation, I came to truly understand that making sound health a habit is one of the requirements for success. You canāt do any work if youāre lying on a sick bed or lying in the cemetery. Since your brain controls your body, know that sound physical health is dependent upon a Positive Mental Attitude. Establish sound, well-balanced health habits in work, play, rest, study and nourishment.
Principle #16 āBudget your Time and Money
You must organize your budget and time to achieve effectiveness in our every endeavoursā¦ we all have 24hours in a dayā¦ this means time management is not necessarily about managing your timeā¦ but managing your activitiesā¦ I have come to realize that when I draw my daily blue print and actually follow itā¦ I tend to have a very productive day. Every successful person budgets time, income and expenditures within his means.
Principle #17 āBenefit from Cosmic Habit-Force.
I like to think of this as benefiting from the natural order of thingsā¦ why was I born Nfor, how did I find myself here, why do I love what I doā¦ and how can I make the most of these occurrences? Thereās also the habits you create as you move along the journey of life. You are where you are and what you are because of your established habits, thoughts and deeds.
Remember, watch your thoughts, for they become your wordsā¦ your words, for they become your actionsā¦ your actions, for they become your habitsā¦ your habits for they become your characterā¦ your character for it becomes your destiny.