Strengthening the Front Line

From the inside out

Outward success begins with healthy attitudes

By Emily Huling, CIC, CMC

If I asked you to describe what makes a person successful in the business world, you might answer smart, knowledgeable, winning personality, effective communicator, team player, hard worker. And you’d be correct. But what lies beneath those outward signs of success? What does an accomplished person have inside that creates and projects the qualities the world sees?

The concept of the power of inner self has existed for generations. Emerson wrote: “Great men are those who see that thoughts rule the world.” Shakespeare put it this way: “There is nothing either good or bad except that thinking makes it so.”

And one of today’s best sellers is The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. The secret is the law of attraction that says, “Like attracts like, so when you think a thought, you are also attracting like thoughts to you.” Simply put, by projecting positive thoughts and energy, you’ll find that positive things will come to you.

That’s all well and good, but how does it play out in the real world? What actions are needed once you make up your mind and are committed to achieving a goal?

Act as if you have achieved your goal. By acting as if you are where you want to be—respected, earning more money, advanced position, greater responsibilities, or whatever is important to you—you come to believe in yourself.

Jennifer was hired to be a commercial lines processor in an independent agency. Although she had some office experience and was savvy about technology, she had no experience in an insurance agency. She was pleasant, learned what was expected to do the job, and did it. The more she worked, the more she liked the challenge of insurance, the opportunity for advancement, and the culture of the agency. She passed her property and casualty licensing exam.

Instead of asking for more money or responsibilities, Jennifer took action. She volunteered to investigate document management systems and run reports to determine company service center compatibility. She did all of that while learning more about commercial lines service work. Her commitment and hard work enabled the department to restructure. Jennifer now heads the agency’s Select Customer unit, oversees the service center book of business, and is an integral part of the agency’s advancing technology strategy.

Believing in yourself is crucial to achieving success. But belief alone is not enough; intention and constructive action also are required to meet goals. Act as if you are already there and before you know it, you will be.

Let sleeping dogs lie. “That’s not fair.” Yes, in business there’s a lot that isn’t fair, and many of those situations you have no control over. Unfortunately, some employees are overly concerned about issues that don’t seem fair to them—often issues in which they may not know all sides of the story.

For instance, sometimes employees get worked up over coworkers’ work schedules. Technology professionals work odd hours. I can attest to that since my husband is in charge of information systems at a large retirement community. When the phone systems fail at 2:00 a.m. because of a storm, John is on the job. There is weekend work to upgrade systems. In other words, his job is 24/7 when necessary. The same is true for insurance technology staff.

Employees like this might be seen leaving early or coming into the office late. Fretting over how and when others do their job is counterproductive; and unless you’re their supervisor, it’s none of your business.

Instead of a being preoccupied with coworkers, achievers focus their energy on their own work and avoid gossip and negative conversation. When others attempt to entice them into such discussions, achievers rise above it by saying something like, “Everybody has a different job,” and walking away.

The inner game of success is not won with downbeat and destructive energy. Hateful or resentful thought is mental poison. The law of attraction will prevail. What you send out is what you’ll get back. Be certain your energy, thoughts, and words are positive.

Let life unfold. Life success is a combination of setting goals, taking action, and, at the same time, letting life happen. Realizing life cannot always be controlled or orchestrated to a particular outcome is a liberating feeling. Many believe, and I’m one of them, that there is no such thing as coincidence. Some events are just meant to happen, and they often lead to surprising and happy outcomes.

Charley, an established producer, was resisting his agency’s decision to change focus. He was comfortable with his accounts and his income. He never really thought he could earn more money. Producers were being asked to solicit larger accounts and give up handling personal lines and small commercial business. Charley was not happy with this prospect. He thought about leaving the agency, but starting over from scratch would be a daunting task.

Charley moved through anger, resentment, and fear. Eventually, he not only agreed to the new program, but embraced it in both thought and action. His change in attitude and behavior with what life handed him paid off. Charley is now a middle-aged rising star, with renewed vigor and greater success.

Here’s my own story of letting life unfold as it will. I was changing planes in Chicago when storms grounded all flights. Hours later, when we finally were able to board, the aircraft had changed so our seat assignments were no longer valid. To save time, we were asked to board without assigned seats. I ended up in a dreaded middle seat and thought about asking for a seat change, which I could do as preferred traveler. But I didn’t. I felt lucky just to have a seat.

I pulled out my work and placed it on the tray table, beginning my hundredth attempt to pull together my first book. The person to my right was looking over my shoulder and wanted to know what I was doing. I told him. He worked for a book publishing company and offered to help. Within thirty minutes we had reorganized the chapters, and he found a chapter title that became the book title, Kick Your “But.” And just like that, the book was ready to go to my publisher.

When our inner self remains open to new and different experiences, the world will offer us opportunities and challenges we otherwise would not have known.

Have a charitable heart. This isn’t about volunteer work or writing a generous check, although those are commendable deeds. People with a charitable heart are comfortable enough with themselves to allow others to be comfortable with themselves. Being together and exchanging conversation is relaxing and rewarding. Remembering names and details about people and being interested in their lives generates positive energy that creates a special synergy between parties. The first step in getting people to like you and want to be with you is for you to genuinely like and accept them.

I’ve known people who have had the privilege of meeting Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, and the Dalai Lama. They can hardly put into words the emotions they felt being in the presence of these amazing human beings who radiate acceptance of others.

So what are the inner workings of the successful person’s mind, heart, and spirit? With goals in place, achievers act as if they are what they want to be, they are open to a world of opportunity, and they view others with an open heart. We are all capable of using our inner power for greater success and happiness. We just need to do it. *