Johnny, pay attention!”

Probably the most valuable lesson offered to you in school. But at the time you got it, you were either misbehaving, embarrassed, angry, or somewhere else in your mind daydreaming. Too bad.

Paying attention breeds new ideas. Paying attention is one of the fundamental steps in achievement. How much of an achiever are you? Want to achieve more? Want the formula? Well, there is no formula but there are elements to master.

This is part two of my eighth year anniversary column (#366 if you’re counting), and it’s about the secret of achievement and the characteristics of an achiever. It was spawned when someone asked me “Jeffrey, how do you do it every week for eight years?” (They were referring to the column.) Part one was last week.

Part two of my 22.5 achievement characteristics are listed below:

11. Risk it. A major element of achieving is risk. You have heard it said, “No risk, no reward.” I disagree. I say, “No risk, no nothing.” In order to succeed, you must take risks. Achievers risk. Do you?

12. Fall on your face. Risk can lead to failure. Failure is good. And a necessary learning tool of achievement. Have you failed enough?

13. Hang around other doers. People who “do,” inspire others to achieve. People who watch television don’t. What did you watch last night? What did you achieve last night?

14. Read about achievement. Study achievement and other successful achievers. Know their top qualities and rate them against yours. The student factor is a critical part of your expertise. To achieve, you must strive to be a notch ahead of everyone else. Who are you ahead of?

15. Ignore naysayers, idiots, and zealots. And there are a lot of them. People who will try to discourage you, or try to get you to become a nonachiever like they are. It’s easy to spot these people they’re drunk on the weekends. Want another beer or would you prefer a large glass of success?

16. Want it bad. This can best be described as the “burning desire” factor. Look at the people in your life that are “on fire.” You call them “achievers.” They want it, and they want it bad. In me there is always an inside fire blazing. How hot are you?

17. Be aware of (and be ready for) Divine intervention. You have a guardian angel. She is looking to see if you’re working hard and paying attention. She will present you with opportunities. It’s not about praying, it’s about working your butt off, and being a good person. AND, it’s about being positive, so that when the gift arrives, you recognize it. Do you believe?

18. Start today. It’s real easy to make an excuse to yourself. Putting off achievement is the easiest way to fail. What are you putting off? Why?

19. The BIGGEST secret is: the daily dose of achievement. Take small achievement steps EVERY DAY. I write every day for an hour. In eight years, I have 366 columns, 250 new column ideas, 500 seminars, and three published books. Books are 90,000 words. I don’t write books. I just write 1,000 words a week for my column and the book just shows up. Have you broken down big achievement into small pieces?

20. Feeding on past achievement. There is strength in the confidence bred by past achievement. Build on past success. What have you achieved so far?

21. Finish what you start, even if your ass falls off. The habit of completion is one of the hardest to attain. That’s why so few people are achievers. Be known as a reliable person who gets the job done. Quit much?

22. Plan to celebrate the same day you achieve. Reward yourself when you win and don’t be stingy. Celebrate BIG. It’s you, baby.

22.5 Think YES. You have a choice in the way you think. Becoming a “yes” thinker will lead to auto-achievement. “You become what you think about.” (Earl Nightingale) It’s amazing to me how many people think and talk in terms of NO. How do you think? How do you talk?

You have already had the best lesson of your life in the book, The Little Engine That Could. It has been providing the first lesson of positive attitude and achievement since it was written in 1937. Go buy a copy.

The passion of today and the uncertainty of tomorrow keeps my fire lit on “achievement level.” I am a 53 year old orphan. I just became one last year. The gears inside my soul have been put in permanent overdrive.

I have eliminated as much crap from my life as I can.

I don’t complain about my fate. I love my fate.

I value my time.

I believe in myself.

I have fun at what I do.

And I work at it every day without fail.

I study positive attitude. I am more positive about my attitude today than I was yesterday and it’s been that way everyday for the past twenty five years. The commitment to building a positive attitude is the same as the commitment to achievement daily.

Excuse me, I gotta go floss my teeth. If I could only floss my hair.

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