Does it seem like some of your colleagues have been granted access to “the secrets of success?” The truth is, there are no secrets. There are simple principles of personal effectiveness that have stood the test of time. At EDSI, we have not only seen these principles adopted and embraced by the most empowered, successful people but we have used them in our work with countless clients. It is time for you to learn about these principles and hopefully consider incorporating them into your approach to success.

Embrace Your Personal Responsibility. No one is responsible for your life circumstances except you. It is true that people and events will impact you in ways you cannot control, but ultimately you are the only person who can decide what you will do with the experiences you’ve had, the dreams you strive for and the actions you take each and every day.
To be responsible quite literally means that you have “independent decision-making control to respond” to the events of your life. This ability to manage the conditions and events in your life at any given time and to decide if those circumstances are working for you or not is ongoing. You always retain the power to take action and to change circumstances that aren’t measuring up to your values and standards.

Let go of the past. They learn from the past and let it go. They live each day in the present, with their eye on the future they wish to create. When something bad happens, they take in the facts, analyze the situation, invest their power and take responsibility to address it in a way that compliments the life they want to live.
You are so powerful! Don’t give your power to the past—to people who have hurt you or to the experiences that undermined your self-confidence. Invest yourself in the belief that you can handle anything that comes your way and then take responsibility to handle it.

Master the Art of Adjusting to Change. One thing is certain in life—everything must change. Nothing is static. In fact, right now every area of your life is evolving. This truth really puts some people in a tailspin, and there is good reason for that. It is a basic human need to feel secure. We need to feel physically, mentally, and emotionally safe in order to live at our highest potential. A common strategy used to create this sense of safety involves establishing a level of predictability in your day-to-day experience. The problem is that the very nature of change shakes this predictability up.

Effective people accept the inevitability of change and consciously decide how they will embrace and manage it when it arrives. The key to successfully taking this approach requires you to identify the essence of what you value in your current circumstances and to incorporate those qualities into the changing conditions you’re dealing with.

Within every circumstance of your life—those you love and those you don’t—there is a kernel nature that impacts your perception of that event. When the winds of change begin blowing in your life, make time to connect with the essence of the circumstances that are evolving and make plans to infuse your new conditions with those core characteristics.

Stay Focused! The quality of your life is directly related to what you focus on in any given moment. Focus directs your attention and clarifies your actions. Effective people are masters at establishing and maintaining focus. They focus on their dreams and the results they want to create. When they encounter a problem, they focus on solving that problem so that they can get back to moving toward their goals.

Establishing focus requires that you acquire a clear vision about what you want and what you have to do to get there. It also requires that you clearly define your priorities and manage your time and energy in accordance with those priorities.
Effective people are willing to say no. When they make a commitment, they follow through on that commitment unless they are presented with a true emergency, and before making a commitment they carefully evaluate whether or not that promise will support or detract from their present undertakings.

Surround Yourself with Empowering People. Nothing will sabotage your efforts to live a healthy, balanced, fulfilled life more surely than being surrounded by people who don’t support your desires and values. The most difficult choices will be that of nurturing relationships with those who sustain you and identifying and terminating relationships with those who aren’t willing to support your growth.

Your relationships have the capacity to lift you up. They also have the capacity to keep you stuck or tear you down. Surrounding yourself with people who support your growth is an incredibly powerful way to create a lifestyle that pulls you toward your highest potential. Surrounding yourself with people who don’t will almost certainly undermine the very change that you’re attempting to make.

Your commitment to surrounding yourself with supportive people and clearly asking for the kind of support you need sets you up for success. Your willingness to develop relationships with people who share your values and interests increases your chances of success still further. Your resolve to end relationships with people who won’t support or who undermine your attempts at change ensures your success.

Leaders with the most impact are those who can build and successfully manage great teams. Every day, we help our clients and colleagues achieve their highest levels of professional presence and personal effectiveness. That includes everyone on the ladder, from company presidents to project managers, to staff members. Contact us at 800-282-3374 to find out how we can help you impact your own productivity and the productivity of your entire organization.