Success

Preparation & Expectation Reversed

Garth Beyer

Whoever said “Prepare for the worst but expect the best” was wrong, very wrong indeed.

However, something I agree with – that surely you do to – is that “Actions speak louder than words”. Wouldn’t preparing for the best, be best? Putting forth the effort and action required to prepare for something that will be in the top 10% of greatest accomplishments is what is important. You don’t want to prepare for the worst as discussed in an earlier post (Safety First: The Art Of Preparation) So why not prepare for the best but expect the worst? After all, our greatest moments of happiness arrive when something that was positively unexpected occurs. This means that when whatever you prepared for was a success, you will feel a billion times greater because you thought it wouldn’t turn out that great.

After this, it might be better to start saying that actions speak louder than thoughts too.

 

Stay Positive and Keep Doing Better Than Expected

Garth E. Beyer

Safety First: The Art of Preparation

Garth Beyer

While growing up one of the biggest influences in my life was my Uncle Chuck.  All I would ever hear him saying whenever we would do something together was safety first, safety first, safety first. Before we pull out in a car, before we lit fireworks, before we hiked, before we traveled, before we did anything it was safety first. This life lesson has been most prevalent in my life and I respect and admire my uncle for teaching it to me – even though it would often get annoying. Then again that just means it’s important enough to be repeated. And it was.

Knowing me, I have to improve every lesson I learn and change everything I listen to and try to incorporate it to fit my life just as you should do with everything you hear. However, this lesson I learned from my uncle of safety first has evolved itself into every aspect of my life in the form of preparation. The best process of safely succeeding and being safe if failure occurs defines preparation.

There has been no art more simplistic, straightforward and rewarding than the art of preparation.

“Let’s proclaim that art has no greater enemy than those artists who permit their art to become subservient to socio-political issues or ideals. In so doing, they not only violate art’s fundamental sovereignty, they surrender that independence from function that made it art in the first place.” – Tom Robbins

At the heart of “safety first” is preparation. At the heart of “preparation” is the transformation of oneself into an outlaw, a rebel. For the only successful artists are those who break the boundaries, status-quo and socio-pathetic expectations. Now, disaster disrupts thousands upon thousands of lives each week. What separates artists from the disaster is not preparing for the worst, but preparing for the best. Contrary to belief, in life there is always someone there to recover you when disaster strikes. The laws of the universe and connection to all things living incorporate “safety first” into all of our lives. This leads to the necessity of an  interrogation that will find out why so many people prepare for the worst case scenario when the safety net has already been placed. (It is beneficial to know that the safety net is placed as long as you accept the consequence of ill preparation)

As any art form that has ever been created, there are dozens of different ways to look at it. Preparation can compensate for lack of talent. Preparation creates confidence which results in the prevention of failure and assurance of success. Positive life impacts come when preparation meets opportunity. Know safety, no pain. No safety, know pain. By failing to prepare, you prepare to fail. Confidence is preparation, everything else is beyond control.

From now on, I expect and will hold you accountable to always prepare for the best. That is all your focus should ever be on.

Stay Positive and Safety First

Garth E. Beyer

Life’s Perfect Moment

Garth Beyer
Quoted from: http://priscellie.deviantart.com/art/Music-3952212

Can you recall the last time you listened to music? Specifically, do you remember a short segment of the song where the sound went shallow, nearly quiet and suddenly there was a breakdown?

You can find the use of breakdowns in all types of music: heavy screamo, flamboyant alternative music, dub step and if you listen closely, you can find the breakdowns that happen in a classical Mozart song.

If you can, I encourage you to take a moment now and play a song that you know has a very noticeable break down and try to relate how you feel during the transition. May I suggest “Action is the Anecdote” by And Then There Were None as it is the song that inspired this post.

Now, I can imagine that you will rock along with the song and as it prepares for the breakdown, you prepare as well. Since the music has nearly paused, you can feel your heart beat a couple times before the breakdown occurs. If it’s a great enough lead to a breakdown, you may even get goosebumps. As the breakdown occurs, it is as if you were just given wings. The experience involves getting built up with an extreme form of unknown emotion and anticipation that is only released when the breakdown occurs.

What does this have to do with a perfect life moment? – Everything

It’s unlikely you can recall the last time you had the same experience in a life situation because life adds an additional step you have to go through.

Let me explain, everything is going smoothly in life until it begins to dim. You start feeling slightly depressed and things aren’t going the way you want, but nothing so bad that you can’t survive. As life flat lines at a low level, a surge of anticipation begins to seep into all of your nerves and before you realize it, your life’s scale instantly shoots up and out of the ordinary.

This moment never happens.

In life, the only way you can experience a sudden burst of happy progression is after hitting bottom – not flat lining above it. The closest analogy to this is to work off the saying the harder you fall, the higher you bounce.

The following three phase process would describe life’s perfect moment. Think of the first moment as a ball falling at it’s normal rate. The second phase is like magnifying the moment before impact that seems to last a life time. The third phase is the ball suddenly springing upward without hitting the ground.

However, in life the ball must always hit the ground in order to bounce higher then one could think possible.

Life’s Perfect Moment Is the moment when times get tough, a combination of excitement and anticipation overcomes all of your senses and you know that your quality and appreciation of life will – before you can fully comprehend – it completely amaze you. Why does this not happen? Why do we have to hit bottom? Why is it the only way for us to experience life’s perfect moment is in music?

Stay Positive and Defy Gravity

Garth E. Beyer

On a side note, while I was thinking about the ball analogy I realized something of key importance. Too often people will tell you that success is getting back up when you fall down. I say that success is taking the risks that made you fall down in the first place. Cheers

The Difference Between Paying Attention

Garth Beyer
Quoted from: http://vi.sualize.us/oj/

There is one huge difference between a person who pays attention and one that does not.

  • The one who does not pay attention has the excuse that it’s there first time trying something new.
  • The one who does pay attention succeeds the first time trying something new and get’s labeled as a natural.

When it comes down to it, getting labeled as a natural is rather, unnatural. People fail to see that you worked hard to pay attention so that you could fulfill the task without having to be told how to do it correctly.

Successful people do not fail to pay attention.

Successful people do not give the excuse that it is their first time.

Successful people take every opportunity to watch and learn how to do something the right way before even getting their hands dirty.

Most importantly, successful people don’t give a damn that their hard work goes unnoticed.

Stay Positive and Emulate Yourself To Success

Garth E. Beyer

The Success Journey With Views That Never Cease

Garth Beyer

I constantly strive for success, whatever “success” may be. I typically leave it up to the reader to decide what “success” means since we all have a different personal definition for it. Although, I bet that we can all agree that success is a journey, it’s never a destination we will reach.

Unfortunately, just as you would burn out repeatedly going after the same thing in life, the “same thing” in this case is the success journey.

So why would you go after something so universal that can never be achieved and that clearly is not oblivious to frequent spasms of exhaustion?

Happiness.

Too often people ask what happiness is and think that as soon as one feels truly happy, that happiness disappears. Well, let me share with you a little secret, or rather a big secret… actually it’s the biggest secret about the success journey and happiness.

Happiness is the periodic result of your journey to success. The more you succeed in the journey of success, the longer the happiness lasts. That realization you have that you are happy and after, when you no longer are, that is the universe telling you to get going on your success journey again.

My Personal Story: I strive for success, constantly, and I go as hard as I can at it. I’m often criticized for it too because (and I agree with) the word success is too broad. It has no definition. What exactly do you want to succeed in? Regardless, I go at it, whatever “success” is to me. Well, after I go on my success journey for a long enough period, instead of continuing and burning out, I pull back and reap the reward for my work: happiness. And when my true happiness expires, the success journey begins again.

 

Stay Positive and Take The Long Road, You’ll Be More Happy You Did

Garth E. Beyer

STANDOUT

Garth Beyer

I opened a can of chopped carrots to cook for myself and dumped it in the pot to heat up on the stove. To my incredible astonishment, there was a Lima bean in the can! How the heck?! It was a can of carrots… I still have no clue how a Lima bean could have gotten into the can of carrots. Though it will bug me endlessly until I figure out how this magic happened, the experience was a reminder – a reminder to Standout.

I wrote a 500 character description of this picture for a scholarship test called “Frame Your Future”. The directions said to post a picture that described your future and write a 500 character description on it. Reading over my original writing, it was not good enough. Why? I wrote how it involved my future when my heart was telling me to write about how I could positively impact your future. I used the picture to describe myself rather than to provide a life lesson. While it was originally for a scholarship test, I would now like to expand it for your sake and have it serve its appropriate purpose.

Framing Your Future and How To STANDOUT

You would think that to Standout, you have to be different, unusual or weird. This was once the status quo of Standing Out, but is now a failure. The true definition of Standing Out is to be your true self – to be comfortable with who you are, to have your individuality open to all, to be the only person you should be – YOU.

But, there is still one factor missing in the definition of Standing Out. The most crucial aspect of Standing Out is to influence everyone in your life.

“The more you try to be different, the more you look like everybody else. The more you try to be YOUnique, the more you STANDOUT”

What Standing Out Is NOT

Standing Out is not being looked at in a quizzical manner by everyone that notices you.

Standing Out is not wearing the “dunce” hat.

Standing Out is not challenging everything that is said.

Standing Out is not doing everything that you are told you “should” or “should not” do.

Standing Out is not being the center of attention everywhere you go.

Standing Out is not to have a negative spotlight on you.

How To Successfully STANDOUT

To successfully STANDOUT, you must focus on your influence of others. There is no certain way to STANDOUT than to express your character, attitude and mental/emotional persuasion upon others. Here are the key ways to STANDOUT in the world and achieve all you want in life.

  • Remain Naive: Often our parents, mentors and elders (do we still have elders?) say that we are naïve because we are ignorant of the possible consequences. My friend rewrote the definition of “naïve” when we were getting ready to move out on our own. “Naïve: inexperienced? … more like..ones dreams haven’t been crushed by society.” It is not that others can’t see the positive, the life lessons and growth that is created through being naïve, it is only that they still have not learned from their mistakes. You know that you have not learned from your mistake if you encourage others not to make the same mistake. I once argued with my dad that if I listened to everything he said and did not do the opposite or make my own mistakes what would I have learned? How would I have truly grown? I would not be me.
  • Ask Yourself: Does it empower all, without conditions and favoritism? Is everyone loved, forgiven and accepted eternally?
  • Do Things Differently: It is my motivation to find a new way to look at everything I read,see and hear. The easiest way to do this is to challenge everything! Learning is a competitive matter between yourself and the source of the information you are learning from. You must find a way that, what you are learning, could be improved. What is the information you are learning, missing? Once you discover that which was not taught, act on it. It is then that you begin to do things differently and you succeed in doing so because instead of waiting for the next step in the lesson, you created the next step. There is always room for improvement.
  • Think Outside Of The Box: This is very similar to doing things differently. Thinking outside of the box requires you to break status quo but, rather than challenge your mind, you have to become mentally creative. (Which may be challenging, but it’s a different type of challenge) Thinking Outside Of The Box also requires you to think about every situation in the one way that very few in the world do – as a life lesson.
  • Character: is the single strongest determinate of your future. Character is the soul of our soul, the heart of our heart, the mind of our mind and the creator of our future success.  When you read about successful people, you will often read countless characteristic words. Collectively, what do they define? Character                    Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved. – Helen Keller
  • Dress For Success: In addition to dressing your attitude in the finest garments of value, integrity and positivity, you must have the appearance of the successful. It is as much of a personal mentality as it is an impact on those who judge you (which is everyone). At work where the dress code is casual, I decided to begin wearing a suit and tie. On the third day I met the new executive director who I did not think would be in the office for another week. I was dressed for success and outdressed all the others in the office. You can never be overdressed or overeducated. – Oscar Wilde  Another tip on dressing for success, is the basis of this post, to STANDOUT. Who do you think Stands Out most in the picture? Obviously the guy in green. (Me) Dressing for Success does not mean dressing in blue, black and white every day. If you were to attend a business growth seminar for all the CEO’s of the Fortune 500 companies, you are going to want to Standout among the others dressed in bland and so-called “professional colors”.
  • Be Early: It PAYS to be early
  • Seek Advice: I have to honor Oscar Wilde again for saying “I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself.”  While you may use the advice someone gives, it is just as important as to have advice to pass on. When I say to seek advice, I do not mean it in the sense of finding out what advice people have to offer you, but to partake in opportunities which produce advice you can pass on to others.
  • Speak: At every opportunity, make suggestions, voice possibilities to make improvement, ask questions, and participate in every discussion whether it is focused on your area of specifics or not.
  • Public Speak: “One of the greatest individual steps you can take in improving your self image is to learn how to public speak. People automatically give speakers credit for intelligence they don’t necessarily have.” – Zig Ziglar
  • Do More Than Is Required: We learned from above that there is always room for improvement. Well, there is always time and strength to do more than is required. I always say “Go as far as you can see, because once you are there, you can see just a little bit further.” The common thought is that there is nothing better than knowing you had done a good job. I would regularly feel this when I finished painting a room or the exterior of a clients house when I was in the Painting business. Near the end of my painting career I began making more people happier and even earning an extra few dollars. How? By also painting the closet when all that was asked was for the room to be painted. By putting a new coat on the downspouts when I was only supposed to paint the siding. Make this your newest thought, there is nothing better than knowing you did a good job, and a bit extra.
  • Lead: I have to point you toward John Maxwell for the most powering explanation and advice on leadership.
  • Bring The Energy: everywhere you go. Every meeting, every class, every get-together is unbelievably boring when it lacks energy. More importantly, every meeting, every class, every get-together is undeniably life progressive when it has energy. It is up to you to STANDOUT and be the one who brings the energy. Someone mentioned a friend who works at Starbucks with her that is completely energetic every day and exploits the energy with co-workers and customers. However, another co worker or customer might get annoyed by it. There are two responses I have. 1. This friend positively effects infinitely more people with the energy than the opposite. 2. It is not that his energy is annoying, it is the attitude of the one being annoyed. Please do not be the one who is annoyed – be the one who brings the energy. You can’t climb to the top without stepping on a few fingers, it’s better to do so with positive energy than in a negative way.
  • Find Your Passion and Live It: Nothing is more difficult in life than narrowing your interests down to one subject, your passion. When you do this, you have conquered the world. The next step is a form of constant progression – practice your passion.
  • IF: <<read and live it.
  • Health: Referring back to the initial picture in this post, do you know which is packed with more nutrients and vitamins between a carrot and a Lima bean? What is a man if he makes 10 million dollars but suffers a heart attack and loses his health in the process?
  • Positive Attitude: I saved the best for last, also the reason for my signature at the end of each post. There is not a successful person living that does not have a positive attitude. Absolutely no one has achieved a thing without first thinking that they may be able to. There is no victory if there is no thought of it. There is a reason I am writing a book called Infinite Positivity. Stay Positive.

Make your future to  Stand Out among the rest, just as the Lima bean does among the carrots. As a result you will always be on top and successful.When you Stand Out, you stand on top. All of success is about Standing Out in a positive way. The only way to get there is to also be the spoon that stirs the contents in the pot, rub your positive behaviors off on others and influence them. Be the one that prevents others from being burnt.

I have always said, we learn nothing by doing nothing, we learn everything by doing and wishing we hadn’t.

Only thing stopping you from being who you want is yourself.

I began to really Standout when I decided that I just want to make things and be creative, even if no one else loves it.

My statement: We need a positive revolution, one where more is given that you want, then what we are currently doing which is giving less of what you don’t want.

Fall into boundaries that life forces you and join everyone or begin prioritizing what you want and need and not what others want or expect from you.

Stay Positive and Why Fit In When You Were Born To STANDOUT

Garth E. Beyer

Myth: Speling Doesn’t Matter For Bloggers & Writers

Garth Beyer

FALSE

A common piece of advice from great Bloggers, Marketers, Salesman and Writers is that spelling and grammar should not be a priority.

People like Jeffrey Gitomer, Seth Godin and countless others encourage you to blog and write your heart out without a worry about the spelling or grammar because it means nothing compared to the content you are providing. So many successful people think they can get more attention by suggesting to others that they do not need to focus on spelling, but do you notice… they never make any spelling errors themselves? They re-read their own material over and over until it is perfect, because they know the second golden rule of a life well lived –

Everything Counts.

Have you ever read a novel and found that one word that is misspelled? I bet you wonder if anyone else noticed it too, but then you shrug it off. Without realizing it, you have just been pushed back – taken out of the story for a moment. But then, later in the novel you find another mistake and you think, did this author even read this over? This is his heart poured out, his focus, and countless hours of time in this novel and he lets two misspellings go by? Or did he not care enough and simply had his editor try to catch everything? Doesn’t he think his information is important enough to share with other close and personal friends that could have read the novel before its release and found the errors?

Spelling Is Crucial!

It is unfortunate that the consistent effort that a person puts into a goal is not seen by the majority of their peers. Only the end result, the achievement, goes noticed. How do you think we got the term “an overnight success”? I guarantee you, it was not overnight. Why do we believe the novel we read was the absolute greatest? Because it was flawless. The author knows that everything counts, especially the little things like 1 spelling error in a book of 650 pages.

Words, grammar, and spelling are the tools of the trade and should be used correctly. Using them incorrectly is like a carpenter using a sledgehammer to drive in finishing nails. It can be done, but it will leave big marks in the wood and leave the user’s hands bruised and battered. – Michael Barbagallo

The days in which content and messages are only related to a few people each day are long gone. Now, a single message could be sent out to one person or one billion people in a day. A single misspelling could be noticed by (depending on your number of followers) thousands of people. What do these people think? “Does this author even care? And he calls himself a Writer?” Basic errors in grammar, mechanics and spelling are harmful to your reputation, your brand and your credibility.

Interested in more (pardon the reference) sledgehammering of grammatical errors? The Price of Typos

I look at it this way, Scucses is not Success. You cannot be a successful writer, editor, copy writer, journalist, ghost writer, blogger, and so on if you do not put in the effort to have everything in order.

Here is a bonus from SpellDoctor.

Why Spelling Matters 

No matter how you look at it, success in spelling leads directly to success in our overall use of the language. Spelling matters.

Developmental, Practical and Personal Matters

  • Spelling Supports Reading Comprehension. Spelling skill goes hand in hand with efficient word decoding and solid reading comprehension as well as unlocking new words and the understanding of the phonological structure of words.
  • Spelling Supports Effective Writing. Because confident spellers are adventurous with language, they are able to create richer more persuasive essays.
  • Projected Image. Spelling is part of one’s projected image. Like it or not, it is one of the means used by society to judge a person’s literacy.
  • Presentations. Many presentations involve marker boards. Spelling errors can be very embarrassing if committed during a presentation. The fear of making an error can lead to a limiting of word choices and a lessening of the impact of the intended message. (I have been victim to seeing a professional speaker not know how to spell “education” or “management”. Regardless that it was on the spot or not, spelling is an extreme key factor in presentations)
  • Employment Opportunities. A survey of major American corporations indicates that 96% of employers consider spelling, punctuation, and grammar to be “extremely important” or “important” factors when making hiring and promotion decisions. In 2005, The National Commission on Writing for American’s Families, Schools, and Colleges reported that 80% of employment applications are negatively affected by misspellings.
  • Attention To Details. A commitment to spelling teaches us to have high standards and pay attention to details.
  • Self Esteem. Strong spelling builds one’s self esteem. We are saved from that nagging worry that we may be judged as unintelligent.

Stay Positive and Know That Success Is The Greatest 7 Letter Word That You Could Use In Scrabble

Garth E. Beyer