March Read/5

Title: Winners Always Quit: Seven Pretty Good Habits You Can Swap for Really Great Results

Authors: Colan, Lee; Cottrell, David

Subjects: Success; Success in Business; Strategic Planning

Call Number: 650.1 C683W 2009

ISBN: 9780981924236

Number of Pages: 91 P

Book Description:

            Are you feeling uncertain about the economy and what it means for you? The rapid changes and multitude of inputs that surround us van be overwhelming. What should I do now? How can I ensure we can still win tomorrow? One of the most important questions to ask today is, What should I QUIT doing? We keep hearing that little voice in our heads telling us winners never quit. Unfortunately, that little voice does not always tell us what we really need to hear. If you want to buck the trend and conquer your competition, take advice from Winners Always Quit. Now is the time to trade in some pretty good habits for really great results. Successful people generally analyze, manage their time, get comfortable, strive for success and show interest. They all sound pretty good, right? Well, what you are doing today may keep you from winning tomorrow! This rapid-read book reveals seven pretty good habits you can swap for really great habits... and really great results! Learn how to quit today and you will never quit winning! Quit Taking a Ride . . . and Take the Wheel - Quit Getting Comfortable . . . and Explore the Edge - Quit Analyzing . . . and Follow your Intuition - Quit Managing your Time . . . and Manage your Attention - Quit Showing Interest . . . and Commit - Quit Moving . . . and Be Still - Quit Striving for Success . . . and Seek Significance (from amazon.com page).

My Read:

            “When we say yes to one thing, by default we are saying no to something else. The key to winning is to say yes to the significant things in your life.” (p76) Are you an “always” person or, to the opposite, a person of “never?” It’s a smart pick of the title the authors have that originally caught my attention to read this book and got me wonder how powerful words could become. The usual pictures connected to the word “quit” are basically gray and negative. Curiosity is piqued and questions are answered as readers turn the pages. I should say it’s a successful marketing tactics right from the book’s title and the book cover.

            The seven pretty good habits the authors listed in the book are:

1- Quit Taking a Ride . . . and Take the Wheel

            Do you ride or do you drive? If you choose to be a passenger, you might have all the comfort and pleasantness going along for the ride: you don’t have to focus on where the car goes, expect the unexpected, or handle a difficult situation but you don’t have the control of the wheel and the direction to the destinations. You don’t have options or choices. Being the driver, you focus on solutions, expect and face the unexpected, and you handle and have the situations in control.

2- Quit Getting Comfortable . . . and Explore the Edge

            Comfort zone is considered a safe place: you know where you are and comfortable being there doing things you are familiar with. And, yes, you are also limited and stuck in that place you think is comfortable: you stop learning and growing. Learning is uncomfortable: you are exploring areas new to you.

            The authors provide four comforting questions help readers to move forward: 1)Who else has done it? 2) Can I dip my toe in first? 3) How bad can it be? 4) How great can it be? After these four questions the authors tip the readers s few steps to change the uncomfortable moments to moments of growth. They are: Take comfort in your discomfort, study those who can beat you, and set your sights high. Higher goals help a person force changes, require tough decisions, and inspire bold actions (p29).

3- Quit Analyzing . . . and Follow your Intuition

            The subconscious has the ability to find the hidden relationships between things we know and things that we’ve forgotten we know. Ours subconscious mind has uncanny ability to find patterns in chaos- to conjure up a startlingly vivid vision of a thing that’s going to happen (p36). To make good decisions, the authors suggest: avoid obsessing over details, be in tune with your surroundings, and keep a clear focus on your objective (p37). Sometimes we delay a decision due to incomplete data or information. If a dire or urgent situation calls, a person might have to allow her intuition to kick in and make up her mind to have the problem resolved or fixed.

4- Quit Managing your Time . . . and Manage your Attention

            Upon reading this, the term “flow” swims in my mind. It’s a term Geoff Smart describes in his book, Leadocracry: Hiring More Great Leaders into Government. It’s a status of mind fully and totally engrossed in doing something. It’s like a flow going smoothly toward its destination. Attention keeps a person focused on tasks and helps a person achievement goals with firm purpose and defined meaning and commitment.

5- Quit Showing Interest . . . and Commit

            Basically speaking, one has to walk her talk!

6- Quit Moving . . . and Be Still

            All actions and no rest tire a person. One has to find time with oneself. Stop, look, and listen. The authors advise: get away from the problem and let your creative intuition do its work (p66). Creativity is a playful process; it needs recreation (p66). It may seem counterintuitive to put aside your work in order to accomplish something great, but great ideas often come when you’re relaxed and out of your work routine (p69). I strongly agree with the idea of giving the self time to reflect, relax, and be with self.

7- Quit Striving for Success . . . and Seek Significance

            The authors pose two questions to ask the self:

-What am I absolutely passionate about?

-Which tasks are easy and natural to me?

            “But with age sometimes comes with wisdom, and wise people know that true success, and life’s greatest satisfaction lies in helping others. That is where significance is found” (p75). As Brian Tracy, another successful author puts: successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others while unsuccessful people are always asking, “What’s in it for me?”

            The authors borrow the shell game of lobsters to state the importance of getting out of a person’s comfort zone and getting into the learning zone. A person has to shed the old shell to become stronger. The shedding process would lead a person to expose vulnerability and weaknesses. But the process is a must to overcome obstacles and cross the hurdles to reach goals and empower a person.

            Are you living in your comfort zone and how long have you been there? Are you willing to walk out the familiar and get into the zone that invites all kinds of opportunities and answers you don’t expect to have? If you never quit learning, you build your competence-and competence builds confidence. Confidence is key for winners. Observe, read, ask, listen, and learn (p82).

Reference:

Colan, Lee. Winners Always Quit:Seven Pretty Good Habits You Can Swap for Really Great Results. 2009. Print.

-Be the change you want to see in the world-Mahatma Gandhi

-Those who let things happen usually lose to those who make things happen-Dave Weinbaum

-If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living-Gail Sheehy

-If you put yourself in a position where you have to stretch outside your comfort zone, then you are forced to expand your consciousness-Les Brown

-Trust your hunches They’re usually based on facts filed away just below the conscious level-Dr. Joyce Brothers

-Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do-Dr. Benjamin Spock

-The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence, regardless of his chosen field of endeavor-Vince Lombardi

In the book, the authors introduce the Pareto Principle (80/20 Principle)