Straight Talk for Success in 2009

Happy New Year. 

This is a special Sunday post.  As we begin 2009, I want to review my ideas on personal and professional success as described in Straight Talk for Success. 

Thanks to you, Straight Talk became an Amazon.com bestseller last year.  And, I’ve received offers from two publishers to write follow up books.  So be on the lookout for a Walk the Talk handbook called Your Success GPS, and a 42 Rules book, 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Personal and Professional Success later this year.  I’m also working with my friends at SelfGrowth.com to produce an eBook in which I will interview experts on the ideas in Straight Tal  and is tentatively titled The Official Guide to Success.

Straight Talk, the two new books and the new eBook are based on some common sense ideas about personal and professional success.

Successful people have five things in common:

1. Successful people are self confident.
2. Successful people create positive personal impact.
3. Successful people are outstanding performers.
4. Successful people are dynamic communicators.
5. Successful people are interpersonally competent.

Self confident people have at least three things in common:

1. Self confident people are optimistic.
2. Self confident people face their fears and take action.
3. Self confident people surround themselves with positive people.

People who create positive personal impact have at least three things in common:

1. People who create powerful personal impact develop and constantly promote their personal brand.
2. People who create powerful personal impact are impeccable in their presentation of self.
   3. People who create powerful personal impact know and practice the basic rules of etiquette.

Outstanding performers have at least three things in common:

1. Outstanding performers are technically competent.  They remain technically competent because they are lifelong learners.
2. Outstanding performers set and achieve goals.
3. Outstanding performers are organized.  They manage their time, stress and lifestyle well.

Dynamic communicators have at least three things in common:

1. Dynamic communicators are excellent conversationalists.
2. Dynamic communicators write in a clear, concise easily readable manner.
3. Dynamic communicators are excellent presenters – to groups of two or 100.

Interpersonally competent people have at least three things in common:

1. Interpersonally competent people are self aware.  They understand themselves and their impact on others.  They use their self awareness to increase their understanding of others.
2. Interpersonally competent people build solid, long lasting mutually beneficial relationships with the people in their lives.
3. Interpersonally competent people are able to resolve conflicts with a minimal amount of problems and upset to relationships.

I blog about one of the five keys to success every day, Monday through Friday.  On Monday, I blog about Self Confidence; Tuesday, Positive Personal Impact; Wednesday, Outstanding Performance; Thursday, Dynamic Communication; Friday, Interpersonal Competence. 

This week, I will review the basic ideas behind each key.  In the weeks to come, I will be using quotes and anecdotes to highlight these five ideas.  I really appreciated all of your support and comments in 2008.  My goal for 2009 is to make this blog more interactive.  I want to turn it into more of a dialogue, where we can all share ideas.  Please add your thoughts to what I write.  Together we can become a very strong learning community.

Thanks for reading.  I hope that 2009 brings you peace, love, health, happiness and prosperity.

Bud

Comments

[Madame Monet]

Wow, Bud, thanks for this great list! I'm going directly to Amazon to check out your book(s)!

Madame Monet

[Bud Bilanich]

Madame Monet:
The new books aren't out yet -- still writing. I expect they will be available by June.
Thanks for your support.
BB

[Sanjeev Sahgal]

Thanks for bringing in amazing clarity to these aspects for success in life. I really like the way you have pulled together the 42 rules!