We’ve completed 2 months of our 90-day personal development/application project. If you’ve just joined us, you can go back to January 1, 2010 and start a new 90-day project of your own.

For today, go back over the previous 60 days and evaluate your progress.
One of the most satisfying things we can do is look at our own scorecard and see our gains as I mentioned on Wednesday.

I’d like to hear from some more of you. Let me know as you review your progress to date.
1) What’s worked for you?
2) What are you doing differently, more of, less of, better?

Success thought for today:

“Man would not have attained the possible unless time and again he had reached for the impossible.”
-Max Weber

Byron
byronethompson.com

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You’ll notice the strange spelling of the title of today’s post. It is an intentional use of a word to describe a different kind of interview.

I think my mentor Boo Bue coined the term when he was conducting management training programs for Dale Carnegie. It goes beyond the typical interview in that the kind of questions one asks and the areas of the person’s life being interviewed are much more revealing. Its value lies in getting to know another person in greater depth in a much shorter period of time.
It is not a vehicle that lends itself to the hiring process in business but is extremely valuable in deepening and strengthening relationships on the job or in a social context.
It can be very useful in putting others at ease and taking pressure off of you when meeting people for the first time and it is easy to do.

I watched Boo do this masterfully in St Louis with Mike Russell, President of the American Business Journals. The three of us were having lunch and in an incredibly short period of time Mike shared the details of his fascinating, inspiring life with us.
I bring this up today because yesterday I suggested you take people to lunch and ask their advice.

Here are some guidelines for getting to know people better.

1. Ask questions about their present job if they are working or major activities.

2. Ask questions about their background. i.e. Where did you grow up? Go to school? Family?

3. Ask value-based questions. i.e. Who are the people that have had the greatest influence in your life? What are some of the things that have dictated your values today? What advice would you give a young person today if they wanted to know how to achieve your level of success?

4. Be conversational. Do not make it a third degree. Talk about yourself a little but, mainly, let him or her be the hero.

Success thought for today:

“Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.”
-Dale Carnegie
“How To Win Friends and Influence People”

Byron
byronethompson.com

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Jim Rohn, an outstanding speaker who makes a lot of sense, gives this advice on getting advice:
“I believe poor people should take rich people to lunch and ask for their advice.”

When I first heard Jim say that I thought he just meant people who were financially wealthy. As I started to apply his advice I realized that there are people all around us who are rich in other, sometimes more important, ways.
Since then I’ve made a point of seeking out and listening to people of superior intelligence and character. (This was not difficult to do.)

Making a habit of doing this has profited me immeasurably. I’ve bought a lot of lunches but I’ve been more than adequately repaid. My return on investment has been greater from those meetings than from any other use of my time or money.
People are honored when you sincerely ask for their advice and more than once I’ve had the adviser insist on paying for the lunch. That helped a lot back in the early days when money was tight.
I’ve also discovered that the more accomplished a person is the more willing, even eager they are, to help others. They view it as a way of repaying society for all they’ve received.

I find myself at this stage in my life of wanting to be the adviser which is why I wrote the book, Build Your Dream: 12 Essential Tools for Successful Living, and why I write this daily blog.
So, my advice is to look for people who have achieved those things you value and ask him or her how they did it.

Success thought for today:

“Ask counsel of him who governs himself well.”
-Leonardo da Vinci

Byron
byronethompson.com

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Have you ever found yourself in a position or situation where you were having difficulty in controlling your attitude? I have. In fact it happened to me just this morning.

I got up early this morning as I have been doing since I started the 90-day success plan. I pour myself a cup of coffee take my journal and sit down to think and write.

I like it early in the morning here. It’s quiet and cool.

My attitude is normally very good as I bask in the serenity of this special time of day.

What happened this morning is my routine got interrupted and I allowed it to affect my attitude. I found myself fighting an unreasonable negativity that was robbing me of my enjoyment of my special time.

The reminder that was most helpful to me in turning my attitude around came from re-reading Emerson’s essay on Self Reliance. I know that there isn’t anybody else who is going to do it for me. I have a sign on the bulletin board in my office that reads; “If It’s To Be It’s Up To Me.”

I need that reminder, even though I consider the greatest victory in my struggle for Self to be that of assuming responsibility for all conditions in my life.

I wish I could say I am always one hundred percent successful in controlling my attitude. I’m not, but in this instance, being aware that the event wasn’t the cause of my upset it was my choosing to be upset that helped me to do it. It helped me to move on with the rest of my day with a lesson re-learned.

I hope this bit of self-analysis is useful to you as you are working toward your own goals.

Success thoughts for today:

A POLITICAL VICTORY, A RISE OF RENTS, THE RECOVERY OF YOUR SICK OR THE RETURN OF YOUR ABSENT FRIEND, OR SOME OTHER FAVORABLE EVENT RAISES YOUR SPIRITS, AND YOU THINK GOOD DAYS ARE PREPARING FOR YOU. DO NOT BELIEVE IT. NOTHING CAN BRING YOU PEACE BUT YOURSELF. NOTHING CAN BRING YOU PEACE BUT THE TRIUMPH OF PRINCIPLES.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I CAN TEACH YOU, HONEST FRIEND, WHAT TO BELIEVE. BELIEVE LIFE; IT TEACHES BETTER THAN BOOK OR ORATOR.”
-Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

“NO ONE CAN BE IN PERFECT ACCORD WITH ANYONE BUT HIMSELF.”
-Arthur Schopenhauer

Byron
byronethompson.com

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We  stood in line for over an hour in the rain in Florence, Italy, before we were admitted to the Galeria dell’ Accademia. It was worth it, the place is magnificent.

Michaelangelo's David

Patricia and the other two couples we were traveling with walked around looking at the various exhibits.
I wandered off by myself and walked into a large room with a very high ceiling. When I looked at the far end of the room, about fifty yards away, I saw a sight that took my breath away. It was Michelangelo’s David, bathed in light. I, of course, was expecting to see it but nothing I’d read had prepared me for the impact that fabulous marble sculpture would have on me. Considered by many to be Michelangelo’s greatest work of art, it is awe-inspiring in its beauty.

Among the other sculptures of Michelangelo’s in that same room was an unfinished piece, one of the Slaves. That piece was more impressive to me in a different way. Because it was unfinished, we don’t know what Michelangelo saw in it and what it would have looked like when completed. We do know from looking at the evidence of his artistry, it would no doubt have been magnificent, maybe even greater than the David.

It reminded me very much of an art piece, a wooden sculpture, I have hanging on the wall in my office called, Man Emerging, showing a partial figure of a man coming out of the background. It was a birthday gift from Patricia that also always inspires me. It is a constant reminder to me that you and I are works in progress. We’re not yet, nor will we ever be, fully developed. We have so much untapped potential and that is the thrilling thing about life.

It is also a great reminder for us to be patient with one another and ourselves. When we or someone else doesn’t measure up to our expectations, let’s just say, “It’s a work in progress. The Artist hasn’t finished yet.”

Some legitimate questions we can ask ourselves are, “Am I satisfied with my progress in life at this stage in my development?” and ” What am I doing to become more of the person I’m capable of being?”
The answers to those questions, asked on a regular basis, will give us enough homework to last us a lifetime.

Success thought for today:

“I FIND THE GREAT THING IN THIS WORLD IS NOT SO MUCH WHERE WE STAND, AS IN WHAT DIRECTION WE ARE MOVING.”
-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Byron
byronethompson.com

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A professional, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is
“A skilled practitioner, an expert.”
I thought a lot about the significance of that word in a conversation I had with my friend Mal Caldwell over the weekend.

Mal flew for Delta Airlines for over 30 years until his retirement a few years ago. I said, “As a pilot you must have been impressed with the heroism of Captain Sullenberger for the landing of his Airbus in the Hudson River last January.” We were talking about the issue of flying safety.
Mal said, “ He was the perfect pilot for that emergency. He not only had the training and hours of flying time, he was a trained glider pilot.”
Then we talked about the fatal crash of the commuter airplane that went down over Buffalo just a month after Sully’s brave feat. The problem seemed to have been with pilot’s reactions to the stall that took place. They had not had the training and flying time to deal properly with the emergency.

This took me back in time to a flying lesson that I took from a doctor who was a weekend pilot. He was a professional in his medical specialty but not as a pilot. When we were in the air a very short time, he said, “You have to learn how to deal with a “stall”. So he instructed me to point the nose of the Cessna toward the sky and sure enough the plane lost airspeed. I don’t remember what I said but I do remember that it scared the bejesus out of me. I did learn how to handle stalls from that experience. I turned the controls back over to Steve and I have never tried to fly a plane again. I have handled stalls by leaving the flying to the professionals.

I regret that lost opportunity. I’ve talked to friends who have their pilot’s licenses and some even own their own planes. They derive a lot of satisfaction from flying and have used them in their businesses to great profit.
In retrospect, I wish I’d have sought out a professional for my flying lessons.

Success thought for today:

“Expertise can always be hired.”
-George E. Reedy

Byron
byronethompson.com

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Let’s make today a time to take action.
We’ve been discussing ideas for more successful living for the last several weeks.
Our assignment for today:

Step 1: Review the blogs for this past week and ask; “What actions can I take this next week to implement the ideas suggested in this past week’s blogs?”

Step 2: Take those actions.

People will judge us and hear not what we say, or what we know, but what we do. If we want the world to hear our true voices we must live our beliefs.

Success thought for today:

“Action is Eloquence”
-William Shakespeare

Byron
byronethompson.com

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I have a beautifully framed, inspirational poster hanging on my office wall. It was a retirement gift from two of my key employees.
The words there mean a lot to me because of what it tells me about the way in which they perceived me.

It reads:

“He pressed. He grew. He gave, even when it hurt.
He celebrated his competencies & he turned his failures into opportunities.
He cared, reached, climbed & enjoyed his view.
He played as hard as he worked.
He listened. He laughed, rested & learned to give comfort.
He lived with intention.”

I don’t know that I always measured up to that level of behavior but I’m honored to think that they thought that highly of me. Thank you Dianna and Christine.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines intention as:
“A course of action that one intends to follow.”
“An aim that guides action; an objective.”

Here’s the lesson I’m taking from the experience of revisiting the pleasurable memory of their gift and all the great times we had together:
I’m going to use those inspiring words as an aim that guides my actions from this day forward. At least that’s my intention.
I would hope that you would too.

Success thought for today:

“We determine how we are remembered by the way we live our days.”
-Mary Anne Radmacher, author of the inspirational poster on my wall.

Byron
byronethompson.com

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I received an email from one of my best friends in Europe yesterday with some very good news. He has been working on a new job now for three weeks and is doing very well. He is currently traveling from country to country, operating out of England, as the European Sales Manager for an energy supply company. He is experiencing a great deal of success and reports that he is very happy and will soon be operating out of his home in the south of Spain.

Brian had been out of work for over a year after he closed his real estate office near Malaga, Spain. During this time I was on the phone with him frequently and sent a copy of my book to him. The most important thing I was able to do for him during this time was to give him encouragement. I reminded him of how successful he’d been in the past and that he would be again in the future.

I remember how much it meant to me when I was really down and others were encouraging to me.
We are all at different places at different times. How does the old saying go?
“Sometimes we’re the bug and sometimes we are the windshield.”
My whole point in this blog is to encourage you to encourage others. Think Karma.

Success thought for today:
“Give Honest Sincere Appreciation.”
-Dale Carnegie

Byron
byronethompson.com

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I have a wonderful gift given to me by my daughter, Michelle, many years ago. It is a money clip, or I should say what is left of a money clip. One half of it has been long lost as I broke it by snapping it open one time too many. The remaining part, with barley a legible inscription on it, is kept in my desk drawer where I see it almost every day. I like to look at it because it reminds me of her. We live far apart now and I don’t see her as often as I’d like so it is special to me.

The philosophy on it has been one I’ve attempted to live by and it has served me well. It is one that is enabling me to live my dream and I think it would do the same for you.

When we first bought our house on the Oregon coast, the previous owner had left a little note written in calligraphy on the refrigerator, which said:
“Happiness in Life Consists of Savoring What You Have Rather Than Longing for What You Don’t Have.”

I could see the wisdom in that and took it to heart. I’d seen too many people who were leading lives of frustration and stress trying to “keep up with the Jones’s” not realizing that the Jones’s were, too many times, trying to keep up with somebody else and were also feeling frustrated and stressed out.

That attitude is consistent with the attitudes shared by the wealthy people Dr. Thomas Stanley interviewed and reported on in his book, “The Millionaire Mind.” Those people tend to live modestly and spend less than they earn, preferring instead to invest and let their money work for them. This is the same advice given in “The Richest Man in Babylon”, a book I recommended in “Build Your Dream: 12 Essential Tools For Successful Living”

So when Michelle gave me the money clip, it was a great ongoing reminder of what I really wanted.
Thank you Michelle.

Success thought for today:

“I’d like to live like a poor man—only with lots of money.” *
-Pablo Picasso
* The inscription on Michelle’s money clip.

Byron
byronethompson.com

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