Leverage is clearly illustrated in the sport of pole vaulting. There’s no fancy machinery, just speed, a catapult, and the determination to succeed. The same is true of leveraging your personal success. You don’t need to look outside yourself for something you don’t have; you’re already equipped to be successful. I have worked with various individuals over the last 15 years of coaching success that doubted that they had what it takes to succeed. Most of us have been told that a number of times. However, taking the natural gifts we have and working daily to grow and add to our skill set will make anyone a success. It just takes someone willing to do the work.
Identify the things that bring the most benefit, reward, and productivity, and make them a priority.
Leverage Your Time
We all have the same amount of time each day. If you feel like you do not have enough time, remember this: You don’t have a time problem, you have a prioritization problem. Identify the things that bring the most benefit, reward, and productivity, and make them a priority. Everything else will spring off of those or they may not get done. You might determine that reading 10 pages of a growth book five days a week will lead to new principles and growth activities. While that will lead you to tread a book every month, it may cause you to spend less time on other personal things during the day that bring less results. That is leverage.
Leverage Your Success
What you have achieved until now is just the springboard to more success. For some, natural abilities have brought them quick success. The ability to connect with customers quickly and getting them to laugh and instantly relax has brought great success. When the challenge to go even higher arrives, it takes a much more focused and difficult path to develop the skills that don’t come naturally.
Rick Honeycutt played high school baseball at my alma mater and was a natural. From early on he could dominate both pitching and hitting. However, when he went to the major leagues, he struggled. He had to make a choice. Settle for where he was or be determined to work harder than he ever had to develop success that only few attained. He was rewarded with two World Series rings and a second career as the pitching coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers. When you are presented with a path that demands hard adjustments and disciplined practice, walk that path and leverage what got you to where you are and enter a new growing season in the major leagues.
Leverage Your Connections
Reach out to others in your industry and your dealership that are successful and seek knowledge from them. There are great treasures in their experiences and wisdom, and they are normally more than happy to share it. Personal growth expert Jim Rohn was right when he said you are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with. Chose those that challenge and inspire you. Be willing to admit at every stage of your career that there is more to learn and more growth available. I recently read an interview of a successful multi-millionaire. He made a statement that we all can learn from: “Do you know what is beside the bed of every successful person I know? Books, and a lot of them!” They know one of the main keys to success is learning from others. How convenient that it is written in book form for us to read. Connections, whether in person or in book form, will leverage you like the spring action of the pole the pole-vaulter uses. Upward and forward to more success.
Rick McCormick is the national account development manager for Reahard & Associates, which provides customized F&I training for dealerships throughout the U.S. and Canada. He has more than 20 years of auto retail and finance experience.
