Are you ready to commit to success? Are you truly ready to commit to doing whatever it takes to bring your vision to fruition? Many of us say that we are, but the fear of commitment to the hard work, the late nights, the challenges, and the unknown can prevent us from taking the leap and reaching our true potential.
Studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between engagement, productivity, and financial success. This concept does not just apply to big corporations. You are the CEO of your life, so, your individual pursuits should be no different. Getting engaged is the key!
What is engagement?
Engagement is much more than involvement or interest. Engagement is about giving your all. It is about your passion. It is your emotional commitment to achieving your goals. For example, an interested or involved person reads an article or attends a training, but an engaged person finds ways to apply the content to improve his or her reality. An interested person works an hour a day on getting closer to success, but an engaged person works every time an opportunity presents itself.
So how do I engage?
If you are feeling stuck, stagnant, or even if you are content with your status, there are three easy steps you can take to get on the road to becoming fully engaged.
- Define Success: In my book, Marketing You: Be Strategic, I stress the importance of identifying the factors key to your success. You say you want to be successful, but what does that look like for you? Each of us has our own individual definition of success. Before you commit to it, it is critical to define it.
- Identify the barriers: Once you have defined success, let’s examine why you are not there yet. What is getting in the way? In order to get around those barriers, we must first identify them. A great way to do this is a Personal Gap Analysis. The key in this step is honesty. Simply ask yourself two questions:
- “Where am I in comparison to where I would like to be?â€
- “Why am I not there yet?â€
This step is important in identifying what is getting in the way of success for you. Some obstacles could be your own fear, lack of education, know-how, or lack of experience. As a learning and development consultant, I encourage this and other self-assessment activities on a regular basis.
- Get Your Mind Right: At the start of a race, we often hear three commands “On your mark; get set; go!†Before we set off on this journey to engagement, we must be ready and prepared.
- On your mark: Get on your spot or in your lane. Know your starting point. Understand your qualifications and the value you bring. In addition, have a clear vision of where you are going. Then, set the appropriate goals.
- Get set: Get ready and be prepared for what is ahead. Have a clear, detailed plan for how you will reach your goals.
- Go: Take action. Planning is great, but an executed plan is better!
Make the decision at your core to hold nothing back. Give your all and be willing to do what it takes to get engaged and make success happen.
Tap into the power of you!
Using these keys will help to better position you for success. Do you have strategies that you have found to be effective? We would love to hear from you. Please post your tips in the comments below.
Kimberly A. Ferguson is a learning & development consultant, certified trainer, career development facilitator, speaker, certified educator, the host of The Strategic Minds Show on WBTVN, and a regular contributor for the Trenton365 Radio Show. Learn more about Kimberly via her website at www.kfergspeaks.com and follow her on Twitter @kfergspeaks