This year has forced so many important conversations that many of us have avoided. There have been conversations about how to handle international events like this pandemic, how we got to where we are (in a negative context), what “essential” really means, how economics work and how we can avoid having such a significant portion of people around the US negatively impacted without viable options or good plans, and how to better protect our futures and supply chains.
But one of the biggest things we’ve experienced this year is going back to basics. This is something I talk about often, and in one of the newsletters I read the woman was talking about college educations and education in general and what’s really important and what we really use. All of these are things that I debate on a regular basis personally, because I don’t know that I really get a whole lot of benefit from my college education (other than a piece of paper that says I graduated). Maybe it would be different if I wasn’t someone who liked to read and learn on my own time, and didn’t regularly visit the library, read lots of educational blogs and emails and watch educational content on TV.
But time and again I’m learning that what is really required when it comes to success is communication, effort, teamwork and a willingness to learn. Things like reading, basic math skills, and general health and nutrition knowledge are also important, but most of us don’t need the advanced or detailed knowledge that doctors, lawyers or scientists do.
So if you’ve been challenged by success this year, I encourage you to go back to basics. Do research, read books and listen to audios on topics that interest you and you think or know you can make a living through. Make an effort to improve your relationships and build your network so that you not only feel more confident when you are approaching someone for a potential sale, but you’re also better connected and can both support others and have them support your success. Work on your communication skills so that you’re more confident, more eloquent, as well as able to get to the point as quick or with as much detail as possible. Limit your number of projects so that you can give solid effort and focus to what you’re working on. And make a more consistent effort to support both the physical community and virtual communities that you find yourself in. What success basics have helped you this year?