Several lessons not only in business but also in life. Set yourself a goal to be the best, prioritize and find balance. Enjoy your lifestyle.
Don't aim to be the cheapest. Set a goal to be the best. People who only pay attention to price are not the best customers. Companies that rely on low prices rarely produce a quality product. Everyone can offer you a product for a couple of cents less. And any company can lower the price. But when you lower the price, you are lowering something else: the quality of the product, the service, and your integrity. Don't underestimate the customer's willingness to pay a little more to get a little more. Peace of mind, confidence, contentment, and pride in owning are worth the money that many people are willing to pay.
Treat people better than you want them to treat you
The golden rule is wrong. It's not enough to treat people the way you would like to be treated. Treat them better. Your expectations may be quite low. My level of expectation when I work with people is pretty low. For example, when they serve me food in a restaurant, it is already a holiday for me. Thus, you may be willing to accept a lower quality of service than your client. Don't judge what others want by what you yourself want. Strive to give more than is expected of you. Be nicer than is expected of you. Serve people better than expected. Surprise people by treating them better than they expect of you.
You cannot make a good deal with a bad person. This is an important point. I tried to make a good deal with a bad person, and nothing came of it. Bad people become bad because they do bad things. You don't have to fall prey to your own expectations, hoping to be the only one who gets a good contract. And if you tried, but got burned, then this is your fault, and not other people's fault. One day I wanted to sell a house to one person, and when we were signing the contract, I had a bad feeling about it. He gave the impression of a flattering person. But I really wanted to sell the house. As you may have guessed, the deal failed, I lost money and was very unhappy with myself. I've learned a couple of useful lessons. First, you need to trust your intuition. If you have a strange feeling, give up on your idea. Second, the snake will always try to sting you. Don't blame the snake - that's its nature. Blame yourself for wanting to get close to her.
Friends and relatives must pay in full. When I was selling phones, a friend of mine asked me to install a phone in his office. I set a price and, since it was a friend of mine, I offered him a discount. He politely declined, stating that he wanted to pay the real price. I asked him why he refused, and he explained to me that by paying the full amount, he buys himself the right to complain if something does not suit him. If he buys at a discount, he will no longer be able to complain. I learned this important lesson. By the way, you can use it when you work with friends or family members. Tell them you want to leave them the right to complain about a product or service by asking for a real price.
The most important lesson in work and business. Do what you have promised, when you have promised, and as you have promised to do. There are no exceptions. No attempt to shove responsibility onto someone else. Just keep your word. Point. Be the kind of person your employees and customers can trust in all cases, without exception.
Do what you have promised, when you have promised, and the way you have promised to do it.
Choose your priorities
Are there any things in your life that just need to be done that you really want to do, but you did not have time for them? Admit to yourself that you will never do these things until they become your priorities. Think about what really matters to you. In other words, prioritize.
Is this your health? If so, then you will remember this and do what makes you healthier: eat right and exercise. Nothing can stop you. Not your job, your favorite TV show, or any other excuse. You will have enough time to become healthy because you will take the time to do so.
Maybe your priority is to spend more time with your family? If so, then you will remember this, and you will have time for your loved ones. Nothing will stop you.
Let's face it. It is only natural that sometimes we do not want to choose any priorities. For example, sometimes there is no desire to pick up children from kindergarten, meet with a plumber and perform a bunch of other duties. I'd rather endure a beating than a meeting with a plumber. They are always late and never call to warn about it. Usually they come the second time, because they cannot do everything properly the first time. All this pisses me off! However, life requires me to do it from time to time. Have you encountered this? We'll have to come to terms. There are no other tips here. Just humble yourself and do whatever it takes to get the job done.
There are many responsibilities in life. Nothing can be done about it. I have them, you have them - things from which we are not delighted, but which must be done. Welcome to life. The question is how to do all of this so that you still have time for what you want to do.
Just stop saying that you are running out of time. There is enough time. Now is the time to take care of all those stupid things that need to be done. By the way, the point is not at all about these stupid things that supposedly prevent you from doing important things. The point is that you have allowed all of this to take over your life without prioritizing.
You have enough time to do what really matters to you. There is no need to despair. Yes, time flies fast, and as we get older it flies even faster. But you will never have enough time to do absolutely everything. However, you have plenty of time for the really important things. And if you really want to, you will definitely find the time for this.
Success is balance
Many years ago I found my own definition of success: success is when you are what you can be without sacrificing anything else in your life. This definition is based on balance. It doesn't make sense to be the world's best salesperson and be in poor health. There is nothing sadder than making a fortune but sacrificing your family on the road to financial success. Never sacrifice one area for another. I think Tom Hopkins once said, "It's stupid to be rich and sick."
Despite the fact that I am an adherent of balance, I am just as realistic about balance and about achieving success in different areas of life. To achieve balance, you must first feel the imbalance. In other words, if you are bankrupt and need money, then you need to feel the imbalance in order to achieve balance later. Most likely, you do not have the opportunity to relax, you cannot devote enough time to your family. You must work. I understand you. I can even justify it. For a while. But not for long. At some point, you still need to pay attention to all other areas of life again. When we focus on work, we lose perspective and all other aspects of our life suffer. Over time, we get used to the fact that we rarely see our children, do not play with them, we get used to ignoring our physical form. And before you know it, your relationship with your family will deteriorate, you will find that you are sick, and then you will feel tired, alone and old. Yes, you are rich and you have a large office, but what is the price of that? Be careful. Work hard, but not hard enough to lose your life.
The converse is also true. Enjoy life. But don't forget enough to lose your livelihood. Balance is the key. Imagine your life as a spoked wheel. Each spoke represents an area of your life: health, intelligence, spirituality, relationships with people, financial situation, career, family, fun and play, time for solitude, friends and civic duty. With this in mind, answer the question: Is it easy for you to travel? Are all spokes touching the road at the same frequency? Or maybe some of them are located asymmetrically?
Strong growth in one area means that you will pay a little less attention to another area. But the key word here is not much. Do not completely abandon one area of life in order to succeed in another. People who do this, and I'm sure you know a few of these subjects, usually limited and boring, and their life is dull and joyless. They betrayed themselves, those who are next to them, as well as the whole world around them, because they do not live a full life.
