Taking Can’t Out of the Vocabulary

In surfing the Internet over the past couple of days I have been searching.  Searching for people who are in debt and instead of making excuses they are actually doing something about it.  I recently came across an individual who is unemployed, stated he owes more than $60,000 in student loans and cannot get on at McDonalds.  I find this hard to believe.  This person said he is waiting on a call back, waiting to hear from them, and I believe he is waiting and holding on to the same excuses.

Yes the job market is down.  Truthfully it sucks but there are jobs out there.  It is times like these that we are living in that people need to be thankful for having employment and making for damn sure they are doing whatever necessary to stand apart from the other employees.  I work in a production based non-factory atmosphere with a lucrative bonus structure for hitting numbers and exceeding budgets.  Before I was in management my motto as an employee was I was not there for the regular paycheck, I was there to make bonus checks.  This mentality helped me achieve more bonus money and paved the way for the company advancements I have earned.

With that said I have employees who openly admit to being satisfied with the regular paycheck and it’s not that great of money so it’s not like these people are receiving fat paychecks.  The drive and mentality of people are different with each individual spoken to and what motivates me is different than what will motivate you.  I grow increasingly tired of hearing people say they cannot do this or they cannot do that. 

Folks it is time to take the word “Can’t” out of the vocabulary banks.  If a person says they cannot doing something then they will never accomplish the feat unless by pure chance and coincidence.  Show me a person who uses phrases such as “I will”, “I can”, “I have” and I’ll show you someone who is more likely to be successful than the person who constantly gives up.

As for that $60,000 person in debt who cannot get a job even at McDonalds I have to call bull shit.  Jobs are out there it takes being proactive not reactive and sometimes we have to do jobs that are below us.  Until you have done everything in your power and exhausted all options do not say “I can’t get a job” be honest with yourself and everyone else and say the real reason, “I don’t want to work at XYZ place.”

Do you fail to plan or plan to win?

I came across an interesting article by Zig Ziglar today in regards to the tendencies of individuals in sales organizations.  According to the findings of Mr. Ziglar the top sales people are seated at or very close to the front while the bottom-feeders tend to arrive late or at the last moment and unprepared.  In the article he notes these low-producing people are also the ones who most likely squirm in their seats, leave early or talk to the person next to them.

He goes on to mention a great point.  These bottom-feeders are typically the same people who arrive at an athletic or entertainment event wanting the best seat in the house.  Generally arriving in plenty of time and are irritated when there are distractions from anyone else.

This is my friend sounds to me like a Piker who is someone who holds back, looking forward to vacation time and giving very little effort at work.  In my line of work I have one person that comes to mind while I was reading Ziglar’s post.  In fact most recently he was talking about his recent trip to a professional sporting event, how the tailgating before the game was fun, how he was drunk 3 hours before the game, the annoying person in front of him, and then the after-game party.  All of this coming from the same person who shows up 1-3 minutes before his scheduled shift and he wonders why he is having a hard time producing.

I cannot help but chuckle out loud as to how right Zig Ziglar is on this.  The individuals at my work who are successful have two things in common.  They do whatever it takes, every time.  They are the people who sit in the front, who continuously want to learn, unlike the above-mentioned individual, they show up early to meetings and generally are the last people to leave.  I leave you with the closing comments from the article:

“In short, these people are winners because they plan to win, prepare to win and expect to win.  That’s a good approach to life.  Try it and I’LL SEE YOU AT THE TOP!”