The following contains excerpts from the book, The Success Journey (John Maxwell).
At our music school in Midland, Texas we believe that music is more than sound, it is relationships. When discussing the subject of relationships, the subject of Leaderhsip also becomes relevant, and one of the most important questions to raise in leadership is to define success.
In this book the author centers the discussion around what a good definition of success should be and how to go about the process of achieving it. He defines success as: 1) Knowing your life’s purpose, 2) Reaching your maximum potential, and 3) Sowing seeds that benefit others. He asserts that success is not an event or a destination, but rather a daily attitude. If a person is accomplishing the three things listed above on a continual basis, then he is truly ‘successful’.
At our music school in Midland, Texas we endeavor to help each student identify their passion and unique skill-set. This goes a long way to helping them discover their purpose and potential.
In order to know one’s life purpose, Maxwell asserts that knowing how to discover your dream in life is the first step. He gives these suggestions in finding your dream in life: Stage 1, “I thought it” (a flash of insight); Stage 2, “I caught it” (an emotional connection); Stage 3, “I sought it” (it takes tenacity and work to pursue your dream); Stage 4 “A few shot it” (dreams are fragile at their onset, and may even be attacked by close friends or family members); Stage 5 “I got it” (success is achieved by inches, not miles. Most people are unaware of how close they are to achieving their dream); Stage 6 “Some others fought it” (you might be surprised at some of those who want to ‘light your fire’ and some who want to ‘put it out’); Stage 7 “I taught it” (a dream worth pursuing is worth sharing with others); Stage 8 “Others bought it” (people desire to follow a leader with a great dream); The greater the dream, the more committed you have to be to take the journey. The key to greatness is finding and developing your dream.
We teach students at our music school in Midland, Texas that daily incremental progress is the way to attain mastery of their craft. Instead of looking at events to define their journey, we encourage them to take pleasure in small successes each day.
Attitude is highly important in enjoying the success journey. No matter how much talent, technical know-how, opportunities, education, or work ethic you have, if you lack the right attitude, success is not possible. Yogi Berra said, “Life is like baseball, it’s 90% mental and the other half physical.” Seven signs of a great attitude: 1) Belief in self (some people succeed when others do not believe in them, but rarely does someone succeed who does not believe in himself), 2) Willingness to see the best in others (put a 10 on other’s heads), 3) The ability to see opportunity everywhere (Greek philosopher, Plutarch said, “As bees extract honey from Thyme, the strongest and the driest of herbs, so sensible men often get advantage and profit from the most awkward circumstances.”), 4) Focus on solutions (Just about anyone can see problems, but positive people see solutions. Most of the things worth doing in the world were declared impossible before they were done.) 5) The desire to give (Psychologist Carl Menninger said, “Generous people are rarely mentally ill people. I have also observed that they are rarely negative people.”) 6) Persistence (people who succeed in their dreams never let disappointment get the upper hand, challenges only spur them on to greater effort), 7) Responsibility for their own lives (successful people know that nothing positive ever happens until you are willing to take full responsibility for your thoughts and actions).
When we work with students who have stellar attitudes at our music school in Midland, Texas, the sky’s the limit with what they can accomplish.
To keep one’s attitude in top shape: 1) Claim your responsibilities, not your rights. 2) Associate with positive people (the only change that you will experience in the next five years of your life will come from the books you read and the people you associate with). 3) Find ways to release stress (exercise, etc.). 4) Take action to change your attitude (Dr. William Glasser said, “If you want to want to change attitude, start with a change in behavior. In other words, begin to act the part, as well as you can, of the person you would rather be, the person you most want to become. Gradually, the old fearful person will fade away.” If you wait until you feel like it to change your attitude, you will never change. You have to act yourself into changing: an act of your will, will lead you to action, and your positive action will lead you to a positive attitude.)
Being proactive is one of the main life-lessons we hope to instill in each student at our music school in Midland, Texas. Helping them gain a sense of autonomy is uppermost in our overall plan for their development.n
To be successful, we must spend quality time planning the journey of life. No one ever accomplishes anything of consequence without a goal.
One of the great benefits to having a teacher or a coach is that they can help set reasonable goals, those that are attainable, yet require growth to achieve. At our music school in Midland, Texas we help students objectively set agreed-upon goals that ultimately give them a sense of success.
How to create goals: ROADMAP- R: recognize your dream, O: observe your starting place, A: articulate a statement of purpose, D: define your goals (written, measurable, time-sensitive, achievable), M: move into action, A: adjust your plan, P: point to your successes and celebrate. Your aim is not to achieve all your goals, but rather to improve constantly. Always dream and shoot higher than what you think you can do.
Our goal for each student at our music school in Midland, Texas is to become autonomous in their ability to learn. This gives them the opportunity to pursue their own education and be life-long learners, challenging themselves continually to grow and achieve their dreams.