For many of us, December is a month of hectic schedules and holiday gatherings, loosening the reins, indulging in the goodies, and skipping the healthier parts of our routines. It is also the time when we make promises to do better in the New Year!

 

More than New Year’s Resolutions

 

Admit it – we all know it. We’ve all done. Truthfully, we do it every year. Make a resolution, then keep it a month, a week, a day. Okay! Until we open our eyes on January 2! It may be something small or something big. It is as regular as the coming of a new year. The truth is that making a resolution simply isn’t enough.   Resolve is at the center of success, but you really have to reach out and G.R.A.B.™ for success! You have to have Gratitude, Resolve, Attitude, and Belief if you are going to make it all the way to the goal!

 

To Succeed You Must Start!

 

Where does success begin? It begins inside each of us and with the first step a dream.  It is important to have the dream. It is just as important to pursue the dream! No dream has ever come true just being a dream. That is only where everything begins. All of the wishing, hoping, planning, researching, and preparing in the world won’t make it happen, if you don’t actually take the step to start.

 

There will be obstacles and challenges. There will be detours. You will need help. No one does it alone. First we have to dare to dream, then we have to GRAB™ for the dream and dare to do. We also have to be appreciative of those who teach us, lead us, guide us, and help us along the way.

 

Gratitude First

 

Start where you are. Before you do anything else – even before you open your eyes in the morning – think of the things for which you are thankful. Greet each new day with gratitude for what you have and what you have accomplished. It may not be what you planned. It may not be what you asked for. It may not be everything that everyone else seems to have. It may be what you need, however. Begin the day with thankfulness for all you have!

 

No Place for Comparisons

 

By nature we compare. We measure how we are doing by what others have or have achieved. If we have more, we are doing well. If we have less, we wonder why we aren’t doing better. Even when we exceed the goals we set for ourselves, it still isn’t “enough” sometimes. We forget gratitude for what we have, what we have achieved, the work we have done, and what others have done for us. Focus on the accomplishments, both small and large, you make each day. Use them to position yourself to GRAB for more!

 

Resolve to Prove Them Wrong, Over Come “NO”, Change the Channel

 

Whether things are going right or going wrong, keep in mind that things are going. Success isn’t always about having a smooth road. Sometimes detours and unexpected stops create the most opportunity and, ultimately, the most rewarding journeys. Some things don’t work out. We may not get a “yes” the first, second, third, fourteenth time we try to develop a product, start a business, star on Broadway! We don’t “fail” until we stop. Resolve to keep going. Not trying again, not doing, not starting over, not knocking on the next door – that is failing.

 

So what if you don’t make a million dollars in your first business? Few have. Not an overnight success? Few are. Missed out on the real estate boom? So what? Make money with what you know! Don’t know how to start a business? Read books about it. Want to be a singer and can’t sing…okay, you have to get real on that one – sorry!

 

I remember an elementary school teacher telling our class no one could ever be a straight A student. I can still recall my thoughts and feelings – “Yeah, that’s what you think. I’ll show you.” I had resolve. Prove them wrong. Have attitude.

 

Attitude Check – Keep It Positive, Assertive, and Yours

 

We’ve all heard of reality checks. I work hard to have a daily attitude check. It is my daily reminder to make sure that both my actions and my thoughts are keeping me on the path I have resolved to take.   Some days I need help because, as I said earlier, no one can do it alone. How have I defined success? Where have I set my sights for success? Am I working on those things which will keep me focused on what I need to do to succeed? Are my energies focused on success, not what others are doing, have done, or have achieved? I’m out to GRAB my success by doing the right things! Am I grateful for the people who have helped me? For the opportunities that worked? For the things that didn’t?

 

Belief – the Third Dimension of Success

 

Our minds are incredible. The thoughts we have guide our actions and our perceptions of the world. Our belief in our own success is a significant part of achieving that success. We do need more than the usual two-dimensional approach – the “dream” and the “reality” of making it happen. When we add belief in ourselves, the third dimension, then we can GRAB on to success with much more power and go so much further.

 

The G.R.A.B.-itude Checklist

 

  1. Every morning and every night, first thing and last thing, list all the things you have to be grateful for. The things which happened, the things which didn’t.
  2. Create a success list – a running record of the big and little things you have done. For example, the first sales call, actual sale, first published article, the first time you said “No” when someone volunteered you for something you didn’t want to do!
  3. Create a list of why you have the resolve to succeed! These are the reasons why I won’t quit and no one can make me!
  4. Create an Attitude Check List. Whenever you are losing perspective on your accomplishments, your progress, and all the success already achieved, do this:
  5. Call someone to check your attitude for you! (Create a list a few people who will encourage you and get you back on track, or allow you to vent and then kick you back on track).
  6. Work on fill-in-the-blank with things you enjoy, things which motivate you, whether volunteer work, a hobby, creative things related to your dream
  7. Review your success list!
  8. Take a gratitude “time out”, pray, and/or meditate.
  9. Do something fun!
  10. Remind yourself you fail only when you aren’t willing to GRAB™ for success!

 

Success is a journey which we choose to take. We meet interesting characters along the way. We may get discouraged at times, but we can ask for help and encouragement from others. If we don’t succeed on the first attempt, then we try again. We learn. We grow. We have Gratitude, Resolve, Attitude, and Belief™ that we can and will succeed. Then we do succeed.

 

Copyright ©2007 F.O.C.U.S. Resource, Inc.

All Rights Reserved

 

 

GRAB for Success – Gratitude, Resolve, Attitude, Belief™ is a trademark of F.O.C.U.S. Resource, Inc. a leadership and motivational workshop program created and written by Lea Strickland MBA CMA CFM CBM, the founder and CEO of the company. Lea is an national business consultant on leadership and strategic business issues and is the author several books including Out of the Cubicle and Into Business a resource for the person ready to GRAB the dream of owning her own business. She can be reached at Lea@focusresourcesinc.com or 919.234.3960.

 

 

 

 

 

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