1. Be enthusiastic. It makes you stand out in the crowd. Winston Churchill once stopped to talk with two guys working on a construction site. He said, “what are you doing?” One said, “I am digging a damn ditch”, the other worker said, “I am building a cathedral sir!”

2. Be committed. Stay until the job is done, not until the clock hits a certain hour. People who are truly committed are rare. You find them in amongst the 5% range and always in the winner’s circle.

3. Be involved. The game isn’t played from the sidelines; it’s played on the field. Fear and lack of self-esteem keeps us from being involved. Armchair quarterbacks don’t make the award ceremonies. People who are involved and committed have more fun and feel more engaged and complete than those who stay on the edges.

4. Be a starter. Don’t be afraid to be the first one in. Someone has to lead. Learn everything you can about the enterprise you are in. All you have to do is run a little faster, know a little bit more, and network a little more effectively.

I know some of you have financial challenges this past year and feel more like survivors than achievers. So if you don’t think you are achieving and feel more like you are surviving, Jim says in his book, “survival is about attitude, creativity, guts, and putting your boots into action. Accept the losses, and the pain, and dare to move on to the bigger, better, and more prosperous and health-filled days. Give survival a chance!”

Sometimes life has cycles of great achievement and other times it is more like surviving. What I do know is the ones who make it through the cycles are the ones who exhibit the above behaviors as success is not final and failure is not fatal if you will change.

Again, be enthusiastic, be committed, be involved, be a starter.

#BobbyBrown