By Lee Walters
Growing up in a middle class family of seven was a learning experience which caused me to reflect often about the whole issue of success and motivation.
Our family was a microcosm of the varying income strata ranging from wealth to low middle-class. I studied the motivations (or lack of) of those within these strata and here is what I discovered: somewhere in the life of those who strive to rise above is an underlying reason which causes them to need to excel. Their reason is governed by two factors, desire for more and fear of loss.
These types are, in a word, driven. They can not sit still until they achieve a certain goal and once that goal is achieved they create a new goal larger than the first. Those of us who want to succeed can learn from these motivated people.
I learned from my Uncle Charlie (the millionaire of the family) who gave me great advice. On one occasion I was visiting his factory and he shared some thoughts. He told me that since the Federal Reserve started creating mini depressions I could count on recurring booms and busts in the economy and should plan accordingly. As I look back on his business I see exactly how he followed this advice.
While the economy was booming he saved cash and when the economy took a down-turn he would get a great price on new equipment and a new building. This happened every time!!! It amazed me; others would be acting like Chicken Little saying "the economy will never recover this time" or "it could take 10 years to pull out of this one" but Uncle Charlie just kept on building right through the seeming worst of times. His business grew larger and better every time.
Uncle Charlie was one of the most honest and decent persons I have ever known and this was a great factor in his success. When he said he would do something he did it. If a customer had an issue he solved it. He stood behind his work! Everyone knew they could count on him.
Uncle Charlie grew up during the great depression and watched as people were laid-off their jobs. He decided the only way to avoid such an occurrence in his life would be to own a business.
He reasoned that business might slow down but he would still have some customers needing work. He was right. There is always movement in the economy...ALWAYS. It NEVER stops completely!
What motivated Uncle Charlie?
Motivation involves two things; desire to better our situation and desire to reduce discomfort. Some call it simply greed or fear. I think that is too simplistic...base, really. The term greed is far too negative in my opinion. To call Uncle Charlie greedy because he wanted to provide a great service for his customers and a great legacy for his family would be very, very wrong.
He became quite wealthy in the process and that was a result of excellence in all his dealings. His was a win, win, win, win, win...always win for everyone who knew him. If you dealt with him you were getting a quality product at a fair price. If you worked for him you were getting a fair wage (above union rates!). Complete honesty is what you got from Uncle Charlie.
Uncle Charlie just like everyone had to wrestle with desire for more and fear of loss. He recounted stories of equipment breaking down, or workers being unreliable and leaving him responsible for large work orders. Through it all he rose to meet difficult situations.
Desire for more and fear; there is always a battle raging between these two motivations. Sometimes fear motivation wins out and people do NOTHING. Sometimes the desire for more wins out and great things are accomplished. If anything is to be accomplished one must forge ahead and do it.
If Uncle Charlie had focused on fear he might have said to himself "a machine could break down or an employee could quit or I could make a mistake" and if he had let that fear take over, his business might never have been started!
But, Uncle Charlie was the type of person who once he got the idea he was going to do something it was going to happen. Here is an example; sometime during the 1930s he went to university to study chemical engineering. At that time the only chemistry textbooks were from Germany and were written in German! So, Uncle Charlie learned German and passed chemistry!
Only three in his entire class accomplished this. Oh yes, his family did not have much so he worked his way through school. HE WORKED HARD!
Uncle Charlie believed that there is a solution for every problem. He loved devising methods for production. He loved creating new more efficient systems. He loved creating products for his customers. He loved his family and taught them well. I remember meeting a woman who had met one of Uncle Charlies' sons and she raved about what a real gentleman he was. That instruction came straight from the top. I don't mean Uncle Charlie. I mean THE ONE above him.
I learned much from Uncle Charlie and I hope I am properly sharing the advice of this great man.
Let me quickly recap:
1. There is a solution for every problem
2. Our boom and bust economy is artificially created by the actions of the Federal Reserve. Plan accordingly: save during the good times and get bargains which apply to the growth of your business during the downturns.
3. See the big picture and do not let an occasional glitch stop you.
4. Focus on a positive outcome because your goal is just like every part of life; the vast majority is positive with a little adversity thrown in to spice it up.
5. Be honest in all your dealings and stand behind your work.
6. Constantly strive to improve.
7. Let Love be your driving force...for your family, customers, employees. . .do your best to treat everyone right.
Looking back I realize Uncle Charlie had some major things figured out. He has left this world but his business continues to grow larger and better.
Larger and Better...seems a good goal to me!
I hope sharing a little about Uncle Charlie helps you on your way to success.
He has certainly helped me!
Lee Walters http://www.online-business-builders.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Walters |
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