Personal Excellence

I've been on every side of business you can think of.  I've been up, I've been down, I've experienced great success and also failure. But there is NOTHING that has frustrated me more in the last 30 years of business, than hearing the complaint, "This just isn't working for me." I've heard it from small business owners, entrepreneurs, AND veterans who still can't make money with all of the "shiny objects" they've bought into. They get bitter because they think that having the latest, greatest tool will suddenly make them money.

Naturally we are compelled by nature to move through life. We could not remain stationary however much we wished. Every right-thinking person wants not merely to move through life like a sound- producing, perambulating plant, but to develop – to improve – to make money and be very rich and to continue the development mentally till we pass away.

This development can occur only through the improvement of the quality of individual thought and

the ideals, actions and conditions that arise as a consequence. Hence a study of the creative processes of thought and how to apply them is of supreme importance to each one of us. This knowledge is the means whereby the evolution of human life on earth may be hastened and uplifted in the process.

Personal excellence is perhaps the most important of all invisible and intangible assets that you can acquire. Achieving personal excellence in your business or industry requires lifelong dedication. But once you get into the top 10 percent of your field, you will be one of the highest paid people in the country. You will enjoy the respect and esteem of the people around you. You will be able to live your life the way you want to live it. You will enjoy high levels of self-esteem, self-respect, and personal pride.

Build Your Intellectual Assets

Each person has or can acquire three forms of intellectual capital. These require an investment of study and hard work, but they pay off in higher income for the rest of your life. The first type of intellectual capital you can acquire consists of your core knowledge, skills, and abilities. These are the result of

education, experience, and training. They determine how well you do your job and the value of your contribution to your business.

Build Your Internal Knowledge

The second form of intellectual capital that you posses is your knowledge of how your business

operates internally, in comparison to that of your competitors or any other business. Each business

develops a series of systems, procedures, methods, techniques, and strategies to market, sell, produce, deliver products and services, and satisfy customers. Each business has internal systems for accounting, administration, and financial controls. These systems take many years to develop and considerable time for a new person to learn. A person who knows and understands these systems intimately has a form of intellectual capital that is difficult for the company to replace.

Build Your Ability to Get Results

The third form of intellectual capital that you possess, and that is perhaps the key determinant of your earning ability, is your knowledge and understanding of how you can get financial results in a

competitive market. This includes your knowledge of your products and services and how to

sell them. It includes your knowledge of customers and suppliers and how to deal with them. It

embraces your familiarity with bankers, lawyers, accountants, and government officials and how

to interact with them effectively. This form of intellectual capital may take years to build, and it is extremely valuable to your organization. You first responsibility to yourself is to develop your earning ability to a high level. You do this by continually increasing your intellectual capital, by upgrading your ability to do your job, by becoming a valuable part of your organization, and by getting more and better financial results for your organization.