Jeff Bezos on Amazon Business Strategy,

Jeff Bezos’ three key lessons for business success.

1. Customer Obsession: Bezos’s relentless focus on customer obsession is legendary. It’s not about revenue; it’s about delivering exceptional value to your customers. Develop a systematic approach to proactively engage with existing customers. Seek out their problems and find solutions.

2. Long-Term Thinking: Bezos’s long-term perspective is a cornerstone of Amazon’s success. You can benefit by ditching short-term tactics and prioritizing long-lasting customer relationships. Building trust and prioritizing your customers’ needs may take time, but it leads to sustainable, fruitful relationships.

3. Data and Experimentation: Bezos champions a culture of data-driven experimentation at Amazon. You should adopt this mindset for better decision-making and innovation. Experiment with new approaches and continually refine your methods based on data-driven feedback.


References:

  1. !https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/emulate-jeff-bezos-sales-success-tory-johnson-kmyuc

Measuring Success in Life

“How many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you?” ~ Warren Buffett

The More You Give Love Away, The More You Get

“When you get to my age, you’ll really measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you. I know people who have a lot of money, and they get testimonial dinners and they get hospital wings named after them. But the truth is that nobody in the world loves them. If you get to my age in life and nobody thinks well of you, I don’t care how big your bank account is, your life is a disaster.”

“That’s the ultimate test of how you have lived your life. The trouble with love is that you can’t buy it. You can buy sex. You can buy testimonial dinners. You can buy pamphlets that say how wonderful you are. But the only way to get love is to be lovable. It’s very irritating if you have a lot of money. You’d like to think you could write a check: I’ll buy a million dollars’ worth of love. But it doesn’t work that way. The more you give love away, the more you get.”

Warren Buffett, CEO and Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway


Source: Tom Popomaronis, “Warren Buffett says this is ‘the ultimate test of how you have lived your life’—and Bill Gates agrees”, CNBC,  Sep 1 2019. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/01/billionaires-warren-buffett-bill-gates-agree-this-is-the-ultimate-test-of-how-you-have-lived-your-life.html

Consistency is key to building better habits! Always be consistent, it will helps you a lot. Maintain progressive consistency.

According to Bill Gates, measuring success in life relates to:

  • ‘Did I devote enough time to my family?’ Money can buy you many things like financial freedom and control of your time, but it can’t buy you an extra minute in the day or the love of family and friends.
  • ‘Did I learn enough new things?’ It’s essential to maintain an incredible appetite for learning and yearning for growth. Lifelong learning is essential for continuous growth, success and happiness.
  • ‘Did I develop new friendships and deepen old ones?’ A number of studies have even suggested that there are valuable benefits in cultivating deep relationships. “Our relationships and how happy we are in our relationships has a powerful influence on our health,” Robert Waldinger, a psychiatrist and professor at Harvard Medical School, told The Harvard Gazette in 2017. “Taking care of your body is important, but tending to your relationships is a form of self-care, too.”

Source:  https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/06/bill-gates-measures-his-quality-of-life-by-asking-himself-3-questions.html

Time is Precious

”We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

Brian Tracy*, Chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International, posted recently the following Facebook post regarding time, mindfulness, and focus:

If there’s one thing that’s certain in life, it’s that time is precious. We only have so much of it to achieve our goals and fulfill our dreams,” says Tracy. That’s why it’s important to be deliberate about how you spend and invest your time, talent and treasure.

Tracy’s quote “Don’t waste time knocking on doors that won’t open for you” speaks to this idea. It reminds you that not every opportunity will be the right fit for you, and that’s okay. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, some doors simply won’t open for you.

Instead of wasting time and energy trying to force these doors open, it’s better to focus your efforts toward doors that are more likely to lead to success. This doesn’t mean you should give up at the first sign of resistance, but rather that you should be mindful of when it’s time to move on.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life,” stated Apple founder Steve Jobs. “Don’t be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

One of the keys to success is to focus on your strengths and pursue opportunities that align with them. When you do this, you are more likely to find doors that are a good fit for you and that will open with greater ease. This can lead to greater fulfillment and success in both your personal and professional lives.

Additionally, success is about taking action. As the famous quote goes, “The act of taking the first step is what separates the winners from the losers.”

Many people have brilliant ideas and big dreams, but few are willing to take the first step toward achieving them, writes Tracy. It’s easy to get bogged down by fear, doubt, or uncertainty. But those who are willing to take action, despite these challenges, are the ones who achieve success.

Focusing on your strengths, pursuing opportunities, and taking the first step can be daunting, but it’s also incredibly liberating. It’s the moment when your idea transforms from a mere thought into a tangible reality. It’s the moment when you gain momentum and start moving toward your goals.

In conclusion, this is a powerful reminder to be mindful of where you invest your time and energy. By focusing on opportunities that align with your values, strengths and passions, you can increase your chances of success and fulfillment. So, it’s important to be smart about where you “knock and keep pushing forward toward the doors that will open” for you, writes Tracy.

“My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.” ~ Steve Jobs


Source:  https://facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02yGDH61Cd1RKimgr4crwkf2RwQPNWyPvAqS96e4cNzxL8EZXBfPF3SPNBHbwSoZ79l&id=100044268887586&mibextid=qC1gEa

*Brian Tracy is Chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International, a company specializing in the training and development of individuals and organizations. Brian’s goal is to help you achieve your personal and business goals faster and easier than you ever imagined.

10 Rules of Success According to Oprah

Oprah Winfrey is known as one of the most successful individuals globally and her estimated net worth is almost $3 billion! To her degree of success and power, it took a lot of perseverance and wisdom.

Here are the ten rules of success according to Oprah Winfrey.

  1. Rather than overwhelming yourself with the big picture, ask yourself what the next right move is. It’s easy to feel intimidated by everything on your plate, so instead of facing such an enormous proposition, take things one step at a time. Make the best next move you can, then make the next move, and then the next one, each time going as carefully and as thoughtfully as you can. Success isn’t one giant leap — it’s a series of baby steps. And, if you make one misstep, understand that your life and your career won’t be defined by that one mistake. You have more steps to take, and you’ll arrive at success eventually.
  2. When you see an opportunity, take it. Success has been a result of grace and blessings, but there’s also been opportunity. The key to being successful is to recognize when opportunity is in front of you and seize it.  “Luck is preparation meeting the moment of opportunity,”
  3. Forgive yourself for your past mistakes. You’re not the person you were five, ten, twenty, or more years ago. A lot of wisdom just comes with age, so don’t beat yourself up for youthful transgressions. You didn’t know any better — but you know better now! Look at those past mistakes as teachable opportunities, learn as much as you can from them, and then move forward.
  4. Never stop improving yourself. This means continually working on your personality, your skill set, and your network so that you are in the best possible position to make a difference. You always need to be improving if you want to get ahead. If people are saying that about you, take it as a compliment. You’re doing a lot, and others are noticing.
  5. Go as hard as you can. Recognize and take responsibility that you have control only over your own performance. You can’t control what others are doing. All you can do is the best you know how, all the time. It’s like a race: you just run hard until you read the finish line, and all you can do is make yourself run more quickly, not make your competition run more slowly. That’s what brings you success: building yourself up, not looking behind you to see where your competition is.
  6. Don’t just dream — believe. It’s OK to have big dreams for yourself; we all do. But if you’re going to be successful, you’ve got to do more than dream. You have to believe that the life you aspire to lead will one day be yours. Winfrey always knew that she would live a big, fulfilling life; she had that strong belief in what her future held. Do the same, and hold firmly to that belief, even in the most difficult of times, and you’re likely to get exactly where you want to be.
  7. Remember that people are more alike than they are different. We’re all seeking the same thing, We all want to reach our fullest potential. Sure, we all go about that in different ways, because we all have different skills and different passions, but at the end of the day, we all just want to be true to ourselves and be, the “truest expression” of ourselves.
  8. Find your purpose in life. If you’re going to be successful, you need to figure out why you’re here on Earth. Most entrepreneurs already feel like they know their purpose, but if you don’t, stop! Put everything on pause, take some time for genuine soul searching and self-reflection, and find your purpose. Find your why!
  9. Keep yourself grounded and centered. It’s easy to get lost in your work, and it’s easy to let your ego inflate, but if you keep your focus, stay compassionate, and always seek to understand and connect with others, you’ll improve your chances of success substantially.
  10. Try to remember that everything will be OK. If you’re aiming for big time success, you’ve got to be patient and take the long view. Yes, it’s natural to be a little scared, but never lose faith that everything will work out just fine.

Source:  https://moneyinc.com/10-rules-success-according-oprah-winfrey/

What is Success

“You are the only one who knows whether you have won.” John Wooden

The best definition of success I’ve read was written by legendary UCLA men’s college basketball coach John Wooden who knew and achieved extraordinary success on the college basketball hardwood. His definition of success was:

“Success is peace of mind that is the direct result of Self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.”

As you can see from Coach Wooden’s perspective, each person is the only one who can ultimately determine his or her own success.

It’s up to you and every individual to become as good as you can become with your respective gifts and talents you’ve been given and in the environment you find yourself.

The author Napoleon Hill (Think and Grow Rich) dedicated his life and professional and career to understanding the work ethics and ethos of highly successful people like Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.

From his life’s work, Hill determined there were more than a dozen elements of success demonstrated by exceptional business and civic leaders that anyone can embrace and practice. A few of those elements are:

1. They have a definite aim in life.

Hill likens having just a vague aim to succeed to being a ship without a rudder. “Bear in mind that both your definite aim and your plan for attaining it may be modified form time to time… The important thing for you to do now is to learn the significance of working always with a definite aim in view, and always with a definite plan,” Hill writes.

2. They are self-confident.

To be capable of setting ambitious goals, you need to believe you can follow the plans to achieve them. And when you believe in yourself, others tend to believe in you as well.

3. They practice self-control.

Hill says that he did not start to become successful until he learned that he was working against himself whenever he gave into anger or arrogance. “No person ever became a great leader of others until he first learned to lead himself, through self-control,” he writes.

4. They are focused.

Successful people are able to concentrate their energy and skills toward specific goals without becoming distracted by irrelevant issues.

5. They are persistent.

Those who are able to achieve success are not stopped by the inevitable nonstop challenges and setbacks that are in their path to attaining their goals.

6. They are resilient.

“When you begin to realize that failure is a necessary part of one’s education, you will no longer look upon it with fear, and lo! the first thing you know, there will be no more failures!” Hill writes. “No person ever arose from the knockout blow of defeat without being a stronger and wiser human being in one respect or another.”

7. They work hard.

Hill says that this sounds simple enough, but it’s important to remember that even if you achieve your greatest goal, you need to continue pushing yourself or risk losing everything you worked for.

8. They are empathetic.

Hill’s favorite philosophical maxim is The Golden Rule, which states, “Treat others the way you would like to be treated.” He uses it as the final rung of the ladder to true success.


References:

  1. Wooden, John, and Carty, Jay, “Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success”‘, Revell Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI, 2015, pg. 12.
  2. https://www.businessinsider.com/the-magic-ladder-to-success-2014-8

Warren Buffett Defines “True Success”

“True success’ in business and life has nothing to do with money.

In an interview, legendary investor Warren Buffett offered his definition for “true success.”

“Well, I’ve said many times that, if you get to be 65 or 70 and later, and the people that you want to have love you actually do love you, you’re a success,” Buffett said in the Yahoo Finance interview.

Buffett doesn’t believe money or power or social status makes a person successful. “I know people who have a lot of money, and they get testimonial dinners and they get hospital wings named after them. But the truth is that nobody in the world loves them,” said Buffett. “If you get to my age in life and nobody thinks well of you, I don’t care how big your bank account is, your life is a disaster.”

Buffett offers three pieces of advice for people looking to succeed in business and life.

  • Invest in yourself, and in particular, try to improve your communication skills. “If you can’t communicate to somebody, it’s like winking at a girl in the dark,” Buffett quipped.
  • Take care of your mind and body. “You get exactly one mind and one body in this world. And you can’t start taking care of it when you’re 50,” he said.
  • You should associate yourself with others who “are better than you are.” He added, “Basically, you’ll go in the direction of the people that you associate with. And you want to have the right heroes.”

Key takeaway — the amount you are loved — not your wealth or accomplishments — is the ultimate measure of success in life. “The problem with love is that it’s not for sale,” Buffett explains. “The only way to get love is to be lovable. It’s very irritating if you have a lot of money. You’d like to think you could write a check: I’ll buy a million dollars’ worth of love. But it doesn’t work that way. The more you give love away, the more you get.”

The most important lesson of a life well-lived, according to Buffett, has nothing to do with wealth and everything to do with the most powerful human emotion: love. 

“Basically, when you get to my age, you’ll really measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you.

I know many people who have a lot of money, and they get testimonial dinners and they get hospital wings named after them. But the truth is that nobody in the world loves them.

That’s the ultimate test of how you have lived your life. The trouble with love is that you can’t buy it. You can buy sex. You can buy testimonial dinners. But the only way to get love is to be lovable.

It’s very irritating if you have a lot of money. You’d like to think you could write a check: I’ll buy a million dollars’ worth of love. But it doesn’t work that way. The more you give love away, the more you get.” Warren Buffett, The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder


References:

  1. https://money.yahoo.com/warren-buffett-definition-success-174700744.html
  2. https://selfmadesuccess.com/warren-buffett-success-quotes/
  3. https://app.landit.com/articles/buffets-5-step-process-for-prioritizing-true-success
  4. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/13/billionaire-warren-buffett-says-this-is-the-only-measure-of-success-that-matters.html‬
  5. https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/warren-buffett-says-it-doesnt-matter-how-rich-you-are-without-this-1-thing-your-life-is-a-disaster.html