Follow-up to Success

Emerson said:

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success.”

He really knew what he was talking about, didn’t he?  I was reminded of this Emerson quote from another blogger that I subscribe to – one of the very few I subscribe to – Jonathan Fields.  Check him out if you get a chance.  He has a wonderful style of writing, and in a down-to-earth way, he portrays everything that I feel is “success.”

Speaking of successful, I have a client who I really admire.  He is an environmental engineer by day, and kayaking instructor by (every spare second he has).  He is working and making the money that is required of a business, and also doing what he loves.  And in doing what he loves, he shares that love with other people, giving a lot of people a way to de-stress, stay healthy and learn something new.  He also does a lot of pro bono stuff for non-profit organizations and the like, too.  Isn’t that what we all want to do?  Do the stuff we need to do, but make a dent in the world.  To leave the world a little better . . .  We don’t have a lot of time here – live life to the fullest and be proud of what you do.

Just a little reminder as to what we should be striving for in our lives . . .

The Business Side

To be successful in business, you need a Virtual Assistant (you knew THAT was coming, didn’t you?).   If you intend to do most of the things to which Emerson was referring, you’ll need to have some help getting everything done so you can find the time to become personally successful. 

I know most that most business people use dictation equipment.  But for the ones that don’t, allow me to suggest that you do.  You need not sit down with notes and do formal dictation (lawyers).  Get yourself a hand-held portable or MP3 and dictate your thoughts.  There are hands-free or blue tooth models available that you can just sit in a cradle in your car.  If you’re like me, I think of the most interesting ideas and solutions and things I need to do when I’m driving in the car.  You can’t write them down – safely, that is.  So flip a switch and start dictating your thoughts, ideas, to-do lists – anything your mind wants you to remember.  You get back to your office and:

• plug in your hand-held device to your computer 
• upload the file
• email the file to me
• I type it and return it to you

Presto!  You have your thoughts written down right there in front of you!  Now it’s up to you after that step what you do with that information . . . 

I actually have a client who does just that.  Once he opens the emails and reads through it, he deletes what he doesn’t want, copies and pastes into another email what he wants me to do for him or tickle for him, and then saves the rest for later.  Taking it a step further, I then go into his email once a week and organize the emails into a real to-do list which he double checks that he’s taken care of everything he needed to for the week.

That, my friends, is organization.  And you haven’t killed one tree in doing it!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!  Talk to you soon!