You always say “Yes” to your success.
Welcome back. Let’s take your success train on down the track. Your totally terrific success tips are waiting for you. You’re the success train boss. You know what to do.
! You Focus and then TAP the PRIDE inside.
Let’s use this chapter to do some success work. Are you up to it? Sure you are so let’s get down to it.
Have you ever thought about “to it?” There’s up to it. There’s down to it. If you spy a package of cookies, you might get in to it. If we have time, we might get around to it. Okay, I hear you. We’re thinking about the success train. We better get back to it. Let’s do it. Let’s focus on your success.
Here’s the first thing I need to mention. Focus means you’re paying attention. Do you ever have trouble paying attention? Sure you do. Everyone has difficulty paying attention sometimes.
I have another secret for you. Check to be sure no one is looking over your shoulder. This is really secret stuff. It’s just between us. Be sure to zip your lip. Only the success train boss can know about this.
The problem isn’t paying attention. You always pay attention. The problem is paying attention to the wrong things.
Someone says this to you. “You’re not paying attention.” Has anyone ever said that to you?
If someone tells you that you’re not paying attention, Here’s the problem. you’re just paying attention to the wrong things. Think about this.
You’re at school, sitting in your classroom. Your teacher is telling the class some stuff about science. You’re just sitting there paying attention.
Here are some important questions. What are you looking at? Are you watching your teacher or looking at something else? Looking at your teacher is the best way to pay attention.
What are you listening to? Are you listening to your teacher or to other sounds? There are a lot of sounds in your classroom to listen to. Other people are moving around and making noise. Sometimes the lights make a buzzing sound. If you listen, there are a lot of things to hear. Listening to your teacher is the best way to pay attention.
What are you thinking about? There are a million things to think about. You can’t think about them all but can think about a lot of stuff. The best way to pay attention is to think about what your teacher is saying.
Do you get the idea? To pay attention, you look, listen, and think. That’s a start. You can do even better because your soooo smart.
You can focus. That means that you look, listen, and think but you do more. You focus on what’s important. If your teacher is talking, you focus on your teacher. If you’re reading a book, you focus on what you’re reading. If you’re playing a game, you focus on playing the game as well as you can. What do you do? You Focus, Focus, Focus. You always say “Yes” to your success.
You know that your success depends on Timing, Timing, Timing. When it’s time to climb aboard your success train, you climb onto it. Woops. There’s another one of those “to it” things. Did you see it? Climb on to it.
Timing is pretty tricky. You want to do things on time. You don’t want to be late. When it’s time to do something, you want to be ready.
Some people are always late. They are never ready on time. They run out of time before they get things finished. Did I mention that they don’t pay attention? They don’t pay attention to time.
They say, “I don’t worry because there’s no hurry. I’m having too much fun to get things done. You’ll just have to wait when I’m late.”
Do you know people like that? Sure you do. They don’t pay attention to time. They make things very frustrating for everyone else.
Here are some secrets you can use. They will help you with time. It’ll be great to never be late.
! Think about the things you need to do. Do them the first chance you get. You’ll have more fun after you’re done. You know how. Do them now.
! Give yourself more time than you think you’ll need. If you think it’ll take ten minutes to do some stuff, exactly ten minutes is probably not enough. Whether you’re doing your homework or cleaning the sink, things usually take longer than you think.
! Here’s a little tip I’ve saved for last. You can run out of time by going too fast. You rush through things and aren’t careful and neat. You think you’re finished but the job isn’t complete. You may want to pout and argue and fight but you aren’t finished until you do the job right.
What comes after Focus and Timing? Sure, you’re right. It’s Attitude. It’s not just any attitude. It’s the success attitude.
You already know about stopping to think about your goal. You have something you need to do. Before you start, you take a minute to think about your goal. You think about how you’ll feel when you’re finished. You make a picture in your mind about how things will be when you reach your goal. Once you have thought about your goal, you climb aboard your success train and get headed toward your goal.
You’re a great success train boss. Some people yell or argue or fight. They pout and frown and don’t do things right. You have the success attitude so you don’t sniffle or whine. You smile to yourself because you’re doing just fine. You have to do things you don’t like to do but the sooner you do them, the sooner you’re through.
What do you think? Was that a pretty interesting rhyme? Here’s another one about the success attitude. You can decide if it’s true for you.
I’m not a giant or a meek little lamb. I am me, that’s who I am. I’m taller than a cat and shorter than a tree. I’m the very best me you’ll ever see.
I like to laugh, I like to smile. I like to daydream once in a while. I’m growing up but I’m still just me. I’m the very best me I know how to be.
I always try to do my best. I’m good at a lot of things and getting better at the rest. Here’s the truth for everyone to see. It’s totally terrific being me.
I could tell you more stuff about who I am. I like spaghetti and strawberry jam. Here at last is the most spectacular part. I’m extra special because I’m soooo smart.
How’s that for a little rhyme? You can read it again anytime you want a reminder about the success attitude. I’m thinking about giving it a title. Do you think “ME” is a good title for that rhyme? Okay, thanks. That’s what its title is. It’s called “ME.”
Is it okay to move on to Persistence? We need to put it in here because your success depends on Persistence, Persistence, Persistence.
You focus on your goal. You never look back. You think about success as you head on down the track. How far will you go? How long will it take? You have enough persistence to go the distance before you put on the brake. You always say “Yes,” to your success.
Persistence is like fuel for your success train. You’re up to it and will stick to it until you reach your goal.
Do you know people who don’t have persistence? They aren’t up to it. They don’t stick to it. They have trouble doing a good job and reaching their goal.
We’re almost to the end of this chapter. We could quit now or keep at it until we’re finished. Okay, I hear you. You have persistence. We’ll keep at it until we’re finished. There are a few more important points about persistence. We’ll get down to it.
Let’s try to think of some little rhymes about persistence. Do you have time to help with that? Thanks. You’re totally terrific.
These are rhymes about persistence. I’ll start them and then you can think of good ways to finish them.
! You can’t get finished if you don’t start. You know that because you’re…. (How did you do? Did you finish the rhyme?)
! Did I finish the job? You don’t have to guess. I always say….
! I stick to it, yes I do. I stick to it until I’m…
! I’ll reach my goal. I’ll go the distance. I know it’s true because I have….
How did you do? Did you figure out a good way to end each of those rhymes? Great. I knew you could do it.
There is one more really important thing you need to know about persistence. Some people don’t reach their goal because they forgot. There were things they needed to do but they forgot to do them. They think “I forgot,” is a good excuse.
What advice do you have for those people? They use “I forgot,” as an excuse for not doing things they need to do.
What did you say? Are you surprised that I asked you for some advice? Sure I did. What advice would you give to someone who uses “I forgot,” as an excuse? You know a lot about persistence and can give people good advice. I know you can do it because you’re….
Congratulations. You made it all the way through this chapter. You used Focus, Timing, your success Attitude, and Persistence. You definitely say “Yes,” to your success.
Go ahead. Take a little break. When you’re through, there’s more in Chapter Four waiting for you.
Please send comments or questions to Gary A. Crow, Ph.D. GAC@garycrow.net || and visit www.garycrow.net.