Your Invincible Power

It is easy to fall into a routine, to get comfortable, to do the status quo. We all do it or have done it. There are many excuses to support this behavior or attitude. The one thing that you fail to do is to ask why things are not changing or improving. I remember seeing others getting ahead and saying “they are so lucky” or “their parents help them out.” But then I asked myself, what are they really doing different from me. They probably are making the same money as me, have the same education and skills as me. So what is it that they are doing different from me? I found out the answer is everything! They see life as full of opportunities and they see themselves as entitled to take advantage of those opportunities. They are willing to take chances, to try something without any guaranty of success. They are not waiting to see if someone else will succeed at it first. They are not waiting for something to land in their lap. They are thinking things through, adding up the risks and rewards, and making a calculated determination of how to proceed. They do what I was afraid to do. They take charge and move when others are talking themselves out of moving. They look at the result of their last adventure and see what they can do different this time. They learn from their failures and from their accomplishments. They build confidence with each new opportunity that they tackle. They never live the same day twice. My story… I was working in a job that I loved as the production manager, you will find out in another chapter how I became a production manager. I was having fun every day and I was working real hard. I had a hard working group of guys that loved what they did and were always there for me when I needed them. I treated them well and pushed them when needed, but I also knew how to relax and reward them too. The company was very busy and the product was in high demand. Then the economy tanked and the company went bankrupt. I was fortunate to be a key player at the company so I was directly involved in bringing the company back to life with an investment firm. There were many meeting and talks with guys in fancy pants and shoes. I kept confident through the whole process that the company would come back to life and I would be a key part of it. The company was bought out by the investment firm that was a minority owner previously. To my surprise they were not going to pay me what I was making before. They also changed my job asking me to go into sales even though I had little prior experience. The deal was to help bring the company back to profit and then there would be rewards. I understood this and excepted this as it was new owners and they had invested money so we could get it started again. I worked hard and long hours for straight salary (no commissions). I had a lot of pressure to bring results, find customers, win back former customers and expand the market with a new strategy. After a year and a half of building up the customer base we were on stable ground and breaking even. As we started to make money and increase the bottom line I felt it was time to ask for a raise. I was told “not right now, we need to see how the next few months go” so I waited patiently. After a few more months of strong sales I asked again. Each time we were doing as good as the last month or a bit better but always the answer was the same. “just hold on, be patient and we will look after you.” But I was not making enough money. I couldn’t live the lifestyle I was used to. I also noticed that the execs were buying cars and going on trips. The company had enough money to pay them a good salary. I had two options, keep doing what I was doing and hope something will change or take a different approach. So I decided to focus on getting a better job that paid more money and had more incentives but was still as fun as the last job. I didn’t know what exactly I would do or where I would find the job. As soon as I started focusing on finding a new job and improving my situation options started pouring in. I decided to change the way I did things and within a few months I was working at a better job for more money and the conditions were better than ever…