Many of us have bought into the fantasy of becoming an overnight success. We want it all to happen now.

Sometimes, your head is bursting with ideas, yet your career track isn’t keeping pace with your perception of your talents. You may be past the initial entry-level point, yet you still have a supervisor or a manager above you whose job you covet because you know you could do it better.

Take a moment to see your position from your manager’s view and look closely at it’s importance.

Slow down. Give yourself time to learn everything you can in this period. Realize this is a golden opportunity to make money and learn your trade. For hundreds of years, apprenticeships have been a time-honored tradition. Indeed, Publilius Syrus, an Assyrian slave in Italy in the first century BC, served an apprenticeship of sorts with a master who educated him and became his mentor. Publilius’s wit and talent were so remarkable that his master freed him. He became a writer of maxims like the one here.

Maybe you feel like a slave yourself on some days, groaning, “This career track is taking too long!” But when you start thinking like that, change your focus. Look at the larger picture and realize where you are now and what it’s going to take to get where you want to me. You’re not likely to become president of the company overnight.

“It takes a long time to bring excellence to maturity.” – Publilius Syrus

If you want to be the best at your job, you need to mature in it. Excellence only comes with time.

This is a great time to write down some objectives. Both individually and team oriented. How is what you are doing today, helping you help others you work closely with on a daily basis?

Bringing Excellence to Maturity is a post from: Geoff Snyder's Leadership and Team Collaboration Blog - Freedom to Think and Dream Big

Alright, so last week I refreshed on one of my favorite authors, Norman Vincent Peale. Dr. Peale is definitely the champion when it comes to positive thinking. He built an industry on his powerful philosophy, including dozens of books, thousands or lectures, over fifty years of radio programs, and the widely read magazine, Guideposts. But positive thinking alone did not make him such a success…underlying all was hard work.

“Nothing of great value in this life comes easily. The things of highest value sometimes come hard. The gold that has the greatest value lies deepest in the earth, as do the diamonds.” – Norman Vincent Peale

Dr. Peale’s hard work involved mining deep into believing in yourself in order to attain your dreams. Like miners who dig deep for gold, you also have to dig deep to find your own gold and diamonds…the priceless personal values that make you who you are.

Hard work to attain business goals require a lot of effort that few will ever notice. It often involves confronting you fears. For example, it’s hard work to remain positive when presenting a new business idea if it generates nothing more that an initial lukewarm response. Taking action and not giving up produces solutions.

Mine your inner values of perseverance and dedication to achieve your goals. If you think you can do it, you will do it. It may often be rough-going at times, but no one ever said success comes easy.

What methods do you use to keep positive when digging for your success?

Digging For Your Gold is a post from: Geoff Snyder's Leadership and Team Collaboration Blog - Freedom to Think and Dream Big

In the 1830s, progressive thinking was unfamiliar territory amongst America’s elite. Most intellectuals were members of social clubs where they forged their political, religious, and business alliances.

Having just published Nature, Ralph Waldo Emerson was emerging as a serious literary figure. Disgusted with the state of intellectualism, he and his contemporaries, including Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, and Bronson Alcott, formed the Transcendental Club of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1836.

“Don’t be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Talk about experimenting. The group met sporadically and kept out those who excluded any topic from examination. From morality to mysticism, the members explored new thoughts, ideas, and concepts previously uncharted. Emerson emerged as a great public speaker whose strong personal belief system gave him the courage to buck popular trends. As a result, he was well rewarded in a career that indulged his passion for provocative thought.

Focus on a vision and work on it from different angles. This will allow for experimentation during the process.

As a leader, you need to envision the future and experiment as much as possible. You just might find the answer you are looking for.

The More Experiments the Better. is a post from: Geoff Snyder's Leadership and Team Collaboration Blog - Freedom to Think and Dream Big

Although motivational words never hurt, sometimes you just have to step back and realize that it’s not just you who needs care and feeding in your daily work life. It might be time to start thinking about those you work with…your teammates, your staff, and your colleagues. You want to get the most you can from these people, because all of you want to deliver the best work possible.

Stay engaged with your team and it’s leaders. The big picture and strategy is the common objective.

I think when Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly, and they will show themselves great” he was expressing his belief that establishing trust in any relationship is the place to start. Getting others to trust you stems from your trust in them. This is a foundation of a good team. You can build on loyalty and trust and get spectacular dividends. Treat your colleagues to reflect your belief in them and their talents. Never miss an opportunity to tell them how great they are, and after a while, they’ll not only beleive it (becasue they are great), they’ll prove themselves great.

Pay close attention to your actions. Attitude reflects leadership.

Keep the team spirit high. You’re the catalyst in this equation. It is your task to bring out the greatness in others by treating them as valued players in your mission. Inspire them by your example, and they will in turn inspire others. It’s a winning formula.

How are you maintaining trust within your team?

Trust Your Team is a post from: Geoff Snyder's Leadership and Team Collaboration Blog - Freedom to Think and Dream Big

I was talking to a friend the last night who works in sales. Being that it was the end of the month yesterday, it was a good time to review how well his sales department did, as well as take note of what they could do to improve their numbers for next month. The conversation focused on building trust with both the sales team as well as the customer. I’m not sure how, but I some how got talking about the movie Boiler Room.

Ben Affleck plays a character named “Jim Young.” He delivers this pep talk to the new recruits in this movie about a group of stockbrokers working out of a strip mall “boiler room” in Long Island. He’s all fiery and passionate, and Seth Davis (played by Giovanni Ribisi) is hooked. He doesn’t know yet that the firm, JT Marlin, is a “pump and dump” operation. All he knows is that he might become a millionaire overnight.

Young’s ‘inspirational’ message offers a lot of truth. When you’re cold calling, someone is always going to close the deal. Make sure the person is you, and not the prospect on the other end of the line. You must be relentless to avoid being on the receiving end of a “thanks, but no thanks” sign off.

Of course, this is where we part company from the high-pressure, fast-talking sales techniques on display in his boiler room. For one thing, not many sales close on the first approach. The first chat is your opportunity to tip the balance, with you in control making the right points and asking the right questions. You begin to build rapport with the prospect as you explain how the solution you’re offering is the best one for his situation. And you hope that future meetings will build on that rapport and turn into trust.

If You Are Drowning And I Throw You A Life Jacket… Will You Catch It? is a post from: Geoff Snyder's Leadership and Team Collaboration Blog - Freedom to Think and Dream Big