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Call me selfish (actually, don't), but the quotes I bring you in
the Quote of the Week newsletter are usually from my personal
collection of favorites: those that have had some impact on me. Perhaps
selfishly, I assume they may also strike you the same way. This week's
quote from publisher Malcolm Forbes (1919-90) was indeed significant in
my life, motivating a career change.
Based on my aforementioned assumption, I advise you to read no
further, unless you are, as my grandma would say, "pleased as
pudding" with your life and career at the moment. Otherwise, you may
find yourself writing out your two weeks' notice . . ..
Ric Moxley — Editor
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Success
follows doing what you want to do. There is no other way to be
successful.
— Malcolm
Forbes
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Key Point
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The
road to success is paved with . . .
Never
mind that — first, we must build the underlying roadbed: the
foundation. Forbes tells us that the foundation to success is desire,
without which we will never properly bulldoze the route to success.
Forbes formed his principles for success while on the road to becoming
publisher of one of America's most
successful business magazines. His experiences have shown him that we
will not succeed without the desire that comes from doing what we want
to do.
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Targeted
Themes
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Here are some topics and situations where this week's
quote can add value.
- Goals and goal
setting (related to choosing suitable objectives)
- Achieving success or
overcoming previous failures
- Success and failure
in business or management
- Education (why some succeed
and others don't)
- Teamwork (related to desire as a requirement for
all team members to succeed)
- One-on-one business
conversations (employee
coaching and evaluations and informal peer-level discussions)
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In
Speaking . . .
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If you are about to climb Mount Everest, are you more
likely to listen to my advice, or to the advice of someone who has
already climbed Mount Everest and survived?
Power-quotes and aphorisms, while inherently valuable, often have
lasting impact or poignancy because of the source (noted examples of
this from recent Quote of
Week issues include this
quote from Ann Frank and this
one from Helen Keller.) Such is the case with our featured quote
from Forbes. Whether you are speaking to a co-worker, a supervisor, or
a subordinate, you can add persuasive powers by backing your own words
with a quote like this.
Let
me give you an example. It was not so long ago when a good friend at
work ducked out of the office with me for a coffee break at a nearby
Starbucks. He used this quote from Forbes to introduce a concern he had
for me. In those words, I heard aloud what I suspect I already knew on
some subconscious level, but hadn't yet consciously accepted; I was not
happy with my job or my career. What if the coworker had said this in
his own words? I might not have taken it to heart. It's not that I
didn't respect him. But how much more I respect those words of wisdom
coming from a business magnate like Malcolm Forbes! Forbes learned this
lesson from his own efforts: from attempting success with lackluster
results, until finding success by doing something he enjoyed. This
featured quotation packs a hard punch because the incredibly successful
Malcolm Forbes said it.
Perhaps
it's your turn now; do you know someone at work who possesses
sufficient integrity to want excellence and success, but struggles
daily in cesspools of mediocrity? Maybe it's time for you to share this
bit of wisdom from Forbes: that success follows doing what a person
wants to do — that, in Forbes' worthy opinion, success may forever
elude your coworker if he or she doesn't enjoy the work.
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In Writing . . .
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Got a tough writing assignment? Consider this maxim from
Malcolm Forbes when your words are not smoothly flowing from mind to
manuscript. If there is no personal connection in the assignment for
you, you will not be happy (nor your readers!) with the results of your
writing.
Does
that mean that you must enjoy the writing assignment? Not necessarily.
If the subject itself is not your cup of tea, something related to the
task may be sufficiently enjoyable to motivate desire. If the
assignment does not interest you, maybe then the topic does. If not the
topic, then can you find motivation in what the document, if
well-written and persuasive, could do for your career? Or, do you enjoy
the fine art of word-crafting, or even a worthy subset of word-crafting,
such as using analogies or humor effectively? Focusing on the value of
one of these byproducts of the assignment may stir up enough enjoyment
to bring about success.
What if you cannot find a positive motivation to make the
writing assignment desirable? Consider employing an effective negative
reinforcement, like adding a deadline. Having once worked for H&R
Block, I am a first-hand witness to the motivating power of deadlines.
Block's business is built around the mysteriously significant date of
April 15. We all have several months to get our taxes done, right? So
why are most tax returns prepared and mailed
in the last 48 hours? Because deadlines work. So, if your writing
assignment doesn't have a deadline, give it one!
If success follows doing what you want to do, then tap
into desire, if not by doing precisely what you want to do, then by
using negative or positive reinforcement.
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Beyond the
Workplace . . .
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It is enough to consider that there may be no other way to
succeed than doing what you want to do. However, it was also Malcolm
Forbes who said, "When you cease to dream, you cease to
live." Desire is at the heart of success in everything, not just
business success. Unfortunately, life requires us to do many things
we'd rather not do. Before undertaking undesirable tasks seek to awaken
desire. It may take creativity, but you can do it. Here is an example:
We
homeschool our children. For a time, my daughter Meagan was having
trouble concentrating on her schoolwork. The result was either
unfinished or poorly finished assignments. We suspected it was attitude
based rather than signs of a disability. So, as an experiment, my wife
gave Meagan a challenge that we hoped would made the task desirable.
Rather than mandating the number of hours Meagan had to spend on her
schoolwork each day, my wife allowed Meagan to work at her own pace
with a given list of assignments. If she completed her assignments before
the standard end-time of her school day, and as long as the quality of
her work did not suffer, we would consider her schooling done for the
day.
The
experiment was a wonderful success. We had never seen such focus! She
not only completed her work in nearly half the time, but with fewer
mistakes and better results. What drove that success? Desire. Now, you
see, she wasn't just doing schoolwork; she was earning free time. While
fractions or memorizing prepositions did not necessarily become more
enjoyable for her, the necessary task of doing the work and doing it
well became desirable and success followed.
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What is
Your Favorite Quote?
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Is there a quote that has either served you
inspirationally in the workplace or has been valuable in your speech or
in writing? Write and tell us about
it. We may feature your quote in a future issue to
inspire others.
Also, please write and tell us how
our weekly quotes have enhanced your writing and speaking. Your
feedback helps us tailor our quote selections to your needs and often
inspires others as well.
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Let
WriteWorks Help
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Maybe you don't find a passion for language like those of
us at WriteWorks do. That's why we do what we do. If you want your
document or speech to succeed, let WriteWorks write it for you, or
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