Saturday, August 18, 2012

Success Not Guaranteed Because You Have Good Tools

Do you ever start strong on a project and then lose momentum as you progress over time and not really understand what happened? Does this sound familiar?

I'll give you a case in point: I remember feeling confident at the beginning of every school year at every age. I felt empowered as a child, as an adolescent, and as a college student, too, when I had my supplies and books in hand with the year straight ahead. It didn't matter how challenging I anticipated the year would be because I knew I had the time, talent and tools to perform.

Usually by the end of Day One I would have a pretty accurate sense of what was ahead, and after attending all my classes at least once I would be very certain about the year. To my chagrin, however, most years my confidence and enthusiasm would be tempered by reality at that point. Somewhat like the maxim "familiarity breeds contempt," after becoming familiar with what I had to do I felt more uncertain about my chances of success.

Having confidence and the right tools were essential to my progress. Figuratively speaking, having a sharp pencil and new Crayons seemed to be enough. Later, the correct calculators and computers and electronic readers and devices were standard equipment, but even when I had the best tools coupled with the finest resources it was not sufficient if I didn't have the proper knowledge to put it to use.

The best tools alone cannot replace knowledge and skill. It wouldn't matter if I had the best equipment running the best software if I didn't know how to effectively use it. I still was required to study and grow and know how to implement the information I had been taught. I didn't fully understand why I was not maintaining my productivity zeal until I realized why it was happening. I didn't understand the recipe.

My emphasis was wrong. I was putting the horse before the cart.

To be successful and "fire on all cylinders" a success driven person must work hard to capitalize. Staying ahead of technology - no, even to keep up with the trends in technology to be able to advance in knowledge to succeed - requires a continual devotion to working diligently over time without becoming permanently discouraged.

Winning in the world today is more difficult than ever before since we all have so many options available to us, and those options include wonderful tools to support our efforts. Our human contribution to the recipe is the subjective part, and using all the available tools makes the recipe effective.

Having the finest tools in the world does not guarantee success if you don't know how to use them. It's crucial to spend sufficient time learning how the technology and tools work if you want to realize the greatest possible benefit. When you follow the recipe of having the proper tools, persistence and positive attitude, you'll enjoy the success you are seeking.

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