6 Tips for a Successful Life

Michael Crom - Gannett News Service, recently wrote '6 job tips for young, new workers' that was published in my local paper the Honolulu Advertiser.

When I read these tips I saw that they were not just for the young, and not just for the workplace. These tips are great practices for all of us if we want to be successful in our life.

1. Have a positive attitude - who wants to be around or do business with a whiney complainer? The glass really is always half full and the more that you focus on what is working, the more things will work.
2. Dress appropriately - image is important in our culture. Sure, it would be great if people only formed their opinions based on your stunning personality and super smarts, but that is not the fact. Ensure that your image suits your profession, your age, and the message that want to get across.
3. If you don't know ask - how do you know something unless you ask? Put your ego aside in order to get something done correctly, which will often save you both money, time and often, pride.
4. Own up to your mistakes - I call this personal responsibility. When you take responsibility for your errors, then you are claiming your power, since the only person you have control over is you. When you blame others, you are only giving away your own power.
5. Listen - you have two ears and one mouth and should use them in that proportion. It is a basic human need to be heard and understood, so you will become sought after as a friend and business associate if you are a good listener.
6. Project confidence and competence - if you don't know what this means, look around you and find someone who you think projects these qualities. Notice what they are doing - standing up straight, answering questions directly, stating their opinion clearly - and begin to try it on for size.

Perhaps you are already a pro at these essential life practices. But maybe you are not so good at one or more. Find a role model for yourself - someone you know in life or even a celebrity or well known person. As you develop your own way, it is helpful to think of that person and what he or she would say, or how they might act in order to get some idea of how to begin to walk through your own life differently.