So I was visiting CNBC today and came across this blog entry - How Rich People Think by Steve Siebold.
It's a must read, especially during a recession.
You can see an interview with Steve below.
What impressed me about his blog was that he's right. I mean, it's really not rocket science, but it's precisely because it's so simple that it's profound.
Rich people are folks who get up every morning and ask themselves "What problem am I going to be a part of solving today?" They develop the skills to solve those problems and then go out in to the world and apply those skills.
There are basically a few crucial skills / insights that you need in life that you simply won't get from education. In my opinion they revolve around money, happiness, purpose / passion and resilience. There are no courses in these things really, despite the fact that over and over they are talked about as being essential to success.
In fact, the more educated you are the more you probably lack these skills and insights - as they all revolve around an entrepreneurial attitude and being in control of your own destiny.
Most people in the world get an education and then seek out security. A 9-5 job where they basically do what is required of them and punch out at the end of the day. Because they are at the whim of their one employer, they often in the back of their mind fear losing their job. As a result, money becomes something to hoard as a security device, as opposed to something to be used to pursue one's passions and to become an active participate in solving various problems we see in the world around us.
In all the jobs I've ever held, I'd like to believe that I've done them passionately. Which is to say I never really thought about what I was getting paid, or whether I was doing the minimum to keep my bosses happy. I throw myself in to the cause full force and see how much I can accomplish.
I find a lot of organizations suffer from the same issues that Steve describes as being epidemic among individuals.
How many organizations right now are focused on saving instead of earning?
How many are boosting the bottom line through capex/opex margins instead of innovation?
How many are worried about their debt as opposed to how to increase earnings?
How many are hoping that through M&A, the investment community (debt) or external funding they'll 'weather the storm' - as opposed to focusing on taking action to be the best organization in the marketplace?
The implications of this for PR are important, because organizations and clients often have this fear-based thought process when communicating with their publics. And PR folks are hesitant as well to up-play announcements for fear of losing credibility and being seen as over-hyping things.
But when drafting an announcement you have to really think to yourself, are we pushing out a message that basically says "Hey folks, we're surviving, we haven't drown yet," or are you pushing out a message that says "We're executing on our passion and vision and here's the latest and greatest in that evolving story."
If you keep this in mind, you'll see that at least 50 percent of news releases are written with the prior mentality in mind. Items just get toss out there as one-offs instead of being connected to the organization's over-arching vision.
I liked Steve's blog entry because, much like the book Good to Great, it reminds us how easy it is to operate from a mindset, which will seeming logical, is actually counter productive to achieving success. A 'play it safe' communications strategy designed to merely keep an organization 'on the radar' as opposed to becoming a visionary and thought leader is not the best action to take, and yet, it's often the most common.
The same things that hold us back as individuals are the same things that hold back an organization's PR efforts. Want to be the best you have to think and behave like the best do - you have to have passion, know what you stand for, solve problems and actively engage with the world around you.
I'd also like to think that smart PR folks who craft messages that embody these things are also playing a significant and active role in helping organizations see themselves, and commit themselves, to excellence!
It's a must read, especially during a recession.
You can see an interview with Steve below.
What impressed me about his blog was that he's right. I mean, it's really not rocket science, but it's precisely because it's so simple that it's profound.
Rich people are folks who get up every morning and ask themselves "What problem am I going to be a part of solving today?" They develop the skills to solve those problems and then go out in to the world and apply those skills.
There are basically a few crucial skills / insights that you need in life that you simply won't get from education. In my opinion they revolve around money, happiness, purpose / passion and resilience. There are no courses in these things really, despite the fact that over and over they are talked about as being essential to success.
In fact, the more educated you are the more you probably lack these skills and insights - as they all revolve around an entrepreneurial attitude and being in control of your own destiny.
Most people in the world get an education and then seek out security. A 9-5 job where they basically do what is required of them and punch out at the end of the day. Because they are at the whim of their one employer, they often in the back of their mind fear losing their job. As a result, money becomes something to hoard as a security device, as opposed to something to be used to pursue one's passions and to become an active participate in solving various problems we see in the world around us.
In all the jobs I've ever held, I'd like to believe that I've done them passionately. Which is to say I never really thought about what I was getting paid, or whether I was doing the minimum to keep my bosses happy. I throw myself in to the cause full force and see how much I can accomplish.
I find a lot of organizations suffer from the same issues that Steve describes as being epidemic among individuals.
How many organizations right now are focused on saving instead of earning?
How many are boosting the bottom line through capex/opex margins instead of innovation?
How many are worried about their debt as opposed to how to increase earnings?
How many are hoping that through M&A, the investment community (debt) or external funding they'll 'weather the storm' - as opposed to focusing on taking action to be the best organization in the marketplace?
The implications of this for PR are important, because organizations and clients often have this fear-based thought process when communicating with their publics. And PR folks are hesitant as well to up-play announcements for fear of losing credibility and being seen as over-hyping things.
But when drafting an announcement you have to really think to yourself, are we pushing out a message that basically says "Hey folks, we're surviving, we haven't drown yet," or are you pushing out a message that says "We're executing on our passion and vision and here's the latest and greatest in that evolving story."
If you keep this in mind, you'll see that at least 50 percent of news releases are written with the prior mentality in mind. Items just get toss out there as one-offs instead of being connected to the organization's over-arching vision.
I liked Steve's blog entry because, much like the book Good to Great, it reminds us how easy it is to operate from a mindset, which will seeming logical, is actually counter productive to achieving success. A 'play it safe' communications strategy designed to merely keep an organization 'on the radar' as opposed to becoming a visionary and thought leader is not the best action to take, and yet, it's often the most common.
The same things that hold us back as individuals are the same things that hold back an organization's PR efforts. Want to be the best you have to think and behave like the best do - you have to have passion, know what you stand for, solve problems and actively engage with the world around you.
I'd also like to think that smart PR folks who craft messages that embody these things are also playing a significant and active role in helping organizations see themselves, and commit themselves, to excellence!
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