How well do you perform repetitive yet very meaningful activities? Now I'm talking even simple stuff like paying your bills promptly or filling your quarterly or annual income taxes. Do you just get by in the nick of time, but in a panic at the last moment? Or do you consider yourself well prepared and very confident that if you did it, it was done right and done promptly? How about when you take part in extremely important negotiations; speaking presentations; or activities like closing on a house or a business? Were you well prepared for these events? Did you do some research and study before entering into important negotiations? Were you totally prepared for your speaking engagement or presentation? Did you read the contracts you were about to sign on a home or business ahead of time? In my opinion, your preparedness throughout life can make or break your future success. Everyone can survive making some critical mistakes during their lifetime. However don't get in the habit of making critical mistakes often, unless you want to face lots of unnecessary pain and suffering. Remember, you are responsible for all of your actions.
In this week's lesson we will discuss the benefits of "dotting the i's and crossing the t's," in all meaningful activities that you must engage in. Just imagine if your accountant were sloppy and made an honest but costly mistake on your tax return. Because you trusted him or her, you never checked their work. Take one guess, who the IRS holds responsible for an accountant's error? Because you are responsible for all errors relating to you, it's your responsibility to double check everything from your dinner check at your favorite restaurant to every bill or invoice you receive both personally or in your business.
Life is full of small errors which can eventually lead to defeat; misery; and even death. Dotting the i's and crossing the t's can turn out to be the one of the best strategies you will ever practice during your entire lifetime. This practice can quickly boost your career to new heights; make you lots of money; bring you lots of joy and satisfaction; and create a much better lifestyle for you and your loved ones. Being prepared and investing a few extra moments before hitting "the send button" so to speak, can often make you look like a genius instead of a jackass. Its practice can produce consistent positive results which can serve as building blocks for your confidence and self esteem.
If you ever did any public speaking during your career, you will be able to appreciate this example of dotting the i's and crossing the t's. I have hosted many client seminars over the years and arriving to both strange and familiar venues hours before these seminars were to start always paid off handsomely in developing my professional reputation. I never knew if the audio system will be working properly the day of my seminar or if the video equipment I rented would show up on time. Then there's the caterer whom I was dependent on to come through, as well as my staff and the delivery of other support materials. Being conscientious and after hosting enough of these events, I always created a checklist of all the things that could and do go wrong, along with a backup plan in case of an emergency. This insured that regardless of what happened behind the scenes before the event, everything would still proceed professionally from my client's perspective.
Applying this strategy to all facets of your life will make most things run smoother. I must add here that you must be prepared to live with your reputation from some family members, friends or peers who do everything at the last minute or not at all. They will create many special names for you that you may not appreciate. However these same people never complain about the benefits they receive from your practice of dotting the i's and crossing the ti's.
It's been said many times that "life is full of trade-offs." My take on this statement is as follows: You can invest the time to be prepared for all the challenges you must face in life and then battle those challenges from a strength position; conquer them; and enjoy the fruits of your labor and victory. Or you can play games or watch TV during that precious preparation time; be unprepared for the challenges when you face them; and then suffer the consequences of poor or mediocre performance. You decide which path makes the most sense.
When you see or hear about an individual who has achieved extraordinary success in their field of endeavor, you can bet that individual traded off lots of their free time to develop the skills necessary for their high levels of achievement. I'd be willing to bet that they dotted the i's and crossed the t's every day. Or they may have been fortunate enough to hire someone else to do it. If you want to achieve a high level of success in life, follow the lead of winners. Be the best prepared on the field of play and your chances for success will go up exponentially. Don't let the critics drag you down to their level. Then enjoy the juicy fruits of your labor. That's when life is really sweet!