Forgetting A Debt Doesn't Pay It

Denial is an interesting phenomenon and perhaps relatively common because escape is easier than change many times. Managing risk means facing those risks, not ignoring them. Pretending problems do not exist will not solve those problems. Only when you face your issues and deal with them will you stand a chance to solve them. Don't stick your head in the sand! Remember; forgetting a debt doesn't pay it.

See Failure As A Verb

Try to look at failure from the perspective of it being a verb rather than a noun. If we view it as a noun we tend to think of failure in terms of identity, as something we are. When we think of failure as a verb it is an experience we are going through, not a permanent condition. Successful people are those who have dared more, failed more and hence learned more than ordinary people have. Do you want to be successful? Try, fail, try again and never give up!

Business Or Busyness?

Are the things you occupy yourself with driving your business forward or are you just keeping busy spinning your wheels? A lot of people mistake activity for action and busyness for business. It is so easy to get caught up in being busy that you never get anything of significant value done. Don't be like that! Stop being busy and start focusing on doing the right things (the actions that drive your results).

Get Yourself Mentors

It is a good idea to have mentors with greater experience to teach you what you need to know and show how to go about certain things. This does not have to be formal. I have learned a lot from every boss I've had and they are many. So on a basic level it is very easy, just let everyone be your mentor! There are things you can learn from good examples as well as bad ones. From good examples your learn how and from bad you learn how not to do things.

Win Or Be Right?

The world can be divided into two categories of people; positive people who expect to succeed and negative people who expect to be right. Don't argue with negative people! Let them have their way. A great way to silence the person who always want to be right is to simply say: "My dear friend, you may well be right!" The question for you on the other hand is: "Do you want to win or do you want to be right?"

Aikido Negotiation Tactics

Aikido is a martial art based on principles of high integrity. In Aikido, you defend yourself against attack, without harming yourself or your opponent. Aikido is designed to use your opponents force against them. You simply redirect it, guide it, and diffuse it. This principle works very well in the context of a negotiation. You can use the force of your counterpart's arguments for your purposes without even upsetting them. In both negotiations and Aikido there are moves that allow you to evade and redirect the attack.

Replace The Payoffs

When we look into the behaviors of ourselves and others we have to understand that these behaviors are there for a reason; that there is an emotional payoff attached to them. This is why it sometimes is difficult to change bad habits with new ones. In order to change a poor behavior you need to figure out a way to replace the emotional payoff and switch it to the new behavior you would like to establish. Ask yourself; is there another way I can experience the same payoff?