Success comes before work only in dictionaries
William J. Bond

Successful people seem to come out on top. They get the promotions at work, they get the awards for achievements, they travel to distant countries, they get special treatment from others, and they are the envy of others.

Some people claim success is just luck or being at the right place. What do these successful people know about themselves and about life, which should be shared with others? I have pondered this very question for the last 30 years, and have spent much time and effort to answer it. Let’s look at how the successful people get that way.

Successful people get to know themselves. They examine what they enjoy doing, what talents they offer others, and work hard in whatever is meaningful to them. I know a golf professional, Ted Murphy, who has worked hard during the last 20 years of his life teaching golf skills, especially to teenagers just learning the game. Many of these lessons are given free because Ted wants to hand down these skills to others. Successful people get to know their skills and merrily pass them on to others.

Have standards. Too often standards are compromised at work, school, and even at home. Successful people have high personal standards and demand standards from others around them.

Go the extra mile to serve others. An elderly nun was dying in a poor country, many miles from her home. This nun spent her whole life in the missions, bringing hope and help to the poor. On her deathbed, the priest giving her the last rites said, "Are you afraid to die, Sister? " The dying nun replied, "No not afraid Father, ashamed to die, because I didn’t do enough for God." Here is a woman who spent 55 years of her life working for God, and she still felt her efforts were not enough. This is a common characteristic of successful people. They never stop trying to do more to serve others — go the extra mile.

Do the little things. They return telephone calls, thank others, write letters, or take the extra effort to communicate to others.

Are persistent. I have a friend who is a writer. He has written articles, books, and manuals for over 20 years. He sends his work out to publishers, and most of his work is returned. In the beginning of his writing career, he was so shocked by repeated rejections that he felt like quitting. He just wanted to go into another field. But the longer he stayed, the stronger was his conviction that he could make it. Soon he was sending out his rejected manuscripts to other publishers on the same day he received them. He started to believe in himself and his work. He is one of the top writers in his field today.

Like themselves. Oscar Wilde once remarked, "When you love yourself, you start a life-long romance." I don’t mean conceit, but a caring understanding about your true worth. When you like yourself, this special feeling will be an important part of everything you do.

Want to win. Successful people have a winning attitude in everything they do from the simple game of cards to the competition for the supervisor’s job to the race for the vice-president’s position.

Dream big things and accomplish them. Everyone dreams, but only a small portion of the population takes the necessary, continuous action to turn dreams into reality. A successful performer once said, "The elevator to success is broken. You must take one step at a time to reach the top." The dream might be to reach the top of a particular field, career, business or industry. Think about reaching the top. See yourself reaching it. Take the necessary action to move closer to the top each day. Success appears before work only in the dictionary.

Know that success carries responsibility with it. People will look to you as a role model, from members of your family to associates at work to members of your social organisations to members of your church or synagogue. Take the responsibility offered from your success and become a role model to others. The world needs more of them.

Have heroes. A successful teacher told his students about his two heroes. One was his mother, an immigrant from Ireland, who worked as a maid for $ 5 a week. The other was his father, who had only an eighth grade education and worked as a labourer to raise a large family. This successful teacher never discussed the classics at the dining room table — never discussed Plato, Socrates or Aristotle — but learned the work ethic, honesty and concern about others. Successful people build on the solid foundation offered to them by their heroes. AF

Remembering names can be easy
Lynn Curry-Swann

Have you ever noticed how hard it can be to remember a name? You meet a new customer or co-worker. An hour later, you meet them again. They remember your name; you don’t remember theirs. A few simple strategies will turn this around for you.

Look at the person when you hear his name. Don’t be shuffling through paperwork to get it ready. Don’t look just at the person who is introducing the new person to you. Don’t let your attention stray from the introduction. Pay attention.

Because memory is very associative (one thing links with another), a good trick is to look at the face as you hear the name. When you see the face again, you may remember the name more easily. The sound of the name may become linked with the face.

Say the person’s name out loud early in the conversation. Memory relies on repetition particularly "loud" repetition. If you repeat the name soon after you first hear it, you increase your chances of remembering the name by 30 per cent. You capitalise on the power of repetition even more if you can use their name in conversation, "John, where did you say you’re from?" or in closing, "It was good to meet you, Chris. Feel free to call if you’ve got questions."

Saying the name out loud helps most; however, if you can’t, say the name to yourself. By the way, if you didn’t quite catch the name, ask the other person to repeat it. You can’t remember what you don’t hear.

Write down the name. If you’re very visual. You’ll remember the written name long after the sound of the name. Often your memory will form a snapshot of what it sees.

Don’t try to cram. If you think back to cramming for tests in high school, you might remember that you often forgot much of what you learned moments after you took the test.

Slow the instructions down. Although our memories have a huge capacity, when you force-feed your mind, only some of the knowledge sinks in. Thus, if you’re meeting a large number of people in a short period of time, slow the instructions down.

How? By engaging each person in a short conversation. During the conversation, say the person’s name out loud and look at him.