YOU CAN HAVE YOUR CAKE &
EAT IT TOO!
By Rich "MR POS" Wilkins
While sitting in an airport recently waiting
for a connecting flight to my home city, I observed a young
salesman across the concourse in front of a gift shop flying
a toy glider plane. I became intrigued with this young man
as he was having a great time, plus he was selling a lot of
glider planes to business people walking through the concourse.
As traffic slowed down, I began talking with him and he shared
several things with me that reinforces how important it is
to build a positive belief system, especially in life. This
young man was thirty years old, has a Bachelor of Science
Degree in Engineering and a Masters Degree in Business. As
he started building a POSitive belief system in himself he
began thinking about what he always wanted to do in life -
fly airplanes. However, because of health restrictions he
wasn't able to qualify as a pilot so he decided to design
his own plane and fly it in airports. Yes, it was a glider
airplane that sells for six dollars and he averages around
three hundred sales per day. What's interesting is that he
only works four days a week, six hours a day! If you want
to do some calculating he is making an extremely comfortable
living and is doing what he loves to do.
Needless to say, I was very impressed with this young
man I had met that day. He helped me further understand how
important it is to believe in yourself and what you are doing.
This principle, BELIEVING IN YOURSELF is the foundation for
life success. I encounter so many people as I travel around
the country who simply have not built a belief system that
is POSitive towards themselves and others. Everyone that I
encounter regardless of their age or profession has tremendous
potential! My friend from the airport is another reminder
that there is tremendous opportunity for us when we believe
in our own abilities, have the desire to move forward and
see the big picture life has to offer.
Why is it that some people believe in themselves more than
others? I wish I could give you a definite answer to this
question. However, I have found that there are some common
characteristics of highly successful people that help them
to build and reinforce a POSitive belief system.
People who develop confidence and believe in themselves
have a strong PURPOSE in life. That is, they understand what
they value , and their purpose is to identify what is important
to them and the people they choose to surround themselves
with. They are constantly surrounding themselves with people
that can fulfill their purpose and understand how to relate
to other's purpose in life.
A second common bond they have is a POSITIVE ATTITUDE
towards failure. They see failure not as an obstacle but as
a stepping stone to success. They learn from their failures
to bring more value to their future. People who are confident,
don't take failure personally, they see it as an exercise
to improve upon.
The third common bond successful people have in building
a POSitive belief system is understanding the importance of
concentrating on long-term personal and business relationships.
People who believe in themselves make it a rule to always
put others in the #1 position and themselves in the #2 position.
They see serving others as an opportunity to build long-term
personal and professional relationships.
Believing in yourself is the first step towards empowering
any success process. Confidence in yourself while serving
others provides others with a great example of how to move
forward toward success. Keep in mind what my friend Zig Zigler
has been telling people for years, "You are born for
achievement, engineered for success and endowed with the seeds
of greatness."
