Monday, March 2, 2009

Keys to Success: Expect It

This is the ninth in the ten part Keys of Success series. A new key is posted every Monday.


A few weeks ago, we had the Super Bowl. At the beginning of the game, every man on that field and all their teammates on the sidelines had one thought in mind: winning. Every Cardinal, every Steeler went out there expecting to win. Last year, John McCain and Barack Obama faced off in the race for the presidency. Both men expected to win.

Granted, there can only be one winner. The Steelers won the Super Bowl and Obama won the election. But the Cardinals and McCain didn’t go down without a fight.

Winning isn’t everything but the expectation is. No one enters a race or steps on a field without expecting success. A successful mindset assumes success. Successful people expect success.
Mistakes happen. There are setbacks. There are defeats; but, the successful person considers the bumps and the bruises part of the process. They know that the success will come. They can deal with losing a battle because they know ultimately, they will win the war.


If you are prepared, if you are ready to put in the work, if you have the vision; then there is no reason why you shouldn’t expect success. Go into every interview expecting to get the job. Make the presentation with the intent of wow-ing your audience. Expect your business to succeed. Expect to get the good grades. Expect it … and then follow-though.

The expectation alone creates the mindset but the follow-through is critical. Prepare for the interview. Work on that presentation. Study.

Expectation + Follow-Through = Success

McCain and the Cardinals didn’t win, but they got a heck of a lot further than any other candidate or any other team. They might not have reached the pinnacle of success but they still managed to climb pretty high. Expect success and you will still end up a lot further than settling for failure.

In fact, if you expect failure, don’t even waste your time with a feeble, half-hearted attempt.

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