Achieving Authentic Success ® Introduction
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Achieving Authentic Success ® Introduction
I want to personally thank you for being a part of this Achieving Authentic Success® Workshop.
We put this material together in order to help you maximize your personal and professional opportunities.
If you are like me and most people, you are faced with a variety of personal and professional challenges, where at times you simply may want to just give up or quit. However, we all know and realize that giving up really is not the answer, if we truly are going to have a life of impact… and most importantly… giving up or quitting will never allow us to achieve our personal and professional goals.
During the course of this workshop you will learn about the 10 MAXIMIZERS™ “character-based” principles that I have developed based on my years of studies and interviews with hundreds of leaders around the world. If you can embrace these core character-based principles and begin to put them to work, you will find yourself beginning to achieve a greater level of performance and productivity in all areas of your life. Scores of leaders, professionals, managers and employees have demonstrated these principles in their lives and you can too.
As we begin this journey together it is critical for you to understand and agree that your individual character and behavior has a direct impact upon your Personal Leadership Effectiveness ™, which has a direct impact upon your performance and productivity in your personal life as well as in your professional career. In fact, if you are a leader or manager within a company, I’m confident that you will agree that a person’s Personal Leadership Effectiveness not only impacts their individual performance and productivity…but that it has a direct correlation to overall team efficiency and the profit achieved by your organization.
Before we leave this thought let me go so far to say that… an individual’s Personal Leadership
Effectiveness is critical whether you are the Chairman of the Board, President, Manager or simply a valued employee within any organization. And…it does not matter if you work for a company on
Wall Street or Main Street … or work for a public sector organization… or a government agency or community organization.
In ALL SCENERIOS your Personal Leadership Effectiveness is critical. In case you are thinking ahead of me….yes… your individual Personal Leadership Effectiveness does have a positive or negative impact on personal relationships, such as your spouse, your children, and your other key family and community relationships. IN FACT , whatever your vision, mission and purpose is for your life
(personally and/or professionally) you will never reach your full potential until you gain a clear and valuable understanding how to maximize your Personal Leadership Effectiveness.
If you are working through this material with a team of co-workers, I would really challenge you to see how these principles can be applied to make a better workplace and enhance your relationships.
Many people that we have partnered within the work environment have seen significant change in the attitudes and productivity of their team as a result of these efforts.
Dr. Ron Jenson
Author / Co-founder, Chairman Emeritus
Future Achievement International
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Achieving Authentic Success ®
O VERVIEW
A
TTITUDES
M
AKE
T
HINGS
H
APPEN
A CHIEVE P ERSONAL S IGNIFICANCE
X-O
UT THE
N
EGATIVES
B ELIEFS
I
NTERNALIZE
R
IGHT
P
RINCIPLES
M ARCH TO A M ISSION
C
OMMITMENTS
I NTEGRATE A LL OF L IFE
Z
ERO
-I
N ON
C
ARING FOR
P
EOPLE
E NERGIZE I NTERNALLY
R
EALIGN
R
IGOROUSLY
S TAY THE C OURSE
MERIT P
ROFILE
L IFE *A CTION P LAN
R ESOURCES
51
63
79
Introduction
29
35
36
40
42
44
46
4
13
14
17
20
25
26
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Achieving Authentic Success ® Introduction
O
VERVIEW
During this workshop, we’ll explore how your personal leadership effectiveness has a direct impact on your performance and productivity in your personal life as well as in your professional career.
You will learn how to build an authentically successful personal and professional life around a core set of universal and timeless “character-based” leadership principles.
This workshop is designed to help you develop useful and productive leadership skills that will enable you to begin maximizing your potential.
At the conclusion of this workshop, you’ll be able to:

Approach your personal and professional goals with more clarity and purpose so you can maximize your personal leadership effectiveness.

Refine, clarify and articulate a definition of success that is in harmony with the real you and will allow you to lead a balanced, fulfilled and significant life.

Complete the survey and interpret your personal MERIT Profile™ report to identify your character strength areas and development needs.

Craft a Life*Action Plan™ using the MERIT Profile information and the ten MAXIMIZERS as the principles to achieve authentic success in your daily personal and professional life.

Use the MAXIMIZERS Weekly Cross Training sheet and HABIT formation form along with other tools to help you implement your success action plan.
Refer to the Personal Leadership Effectiveness benefits on pages 60-61.
Write down what you expect to get out of this workshop:
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Achieving Authentic Success ® Introduction
W
HAT
H
INDERS
/ H
ELPS
S
UCCESS
?
I NSTRUCTIONS : In your groups, answer the following questions and write your responses on a sheet of flip chart paper.
What hinders the success of organizations?
What helps the success of organizations?
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Achieving Authentic Success ® Introduction
S
UCCESS IS
… A
CTIVITY
– Y
OUR
D
EFINITION
In order to achieve authentic success, we must first understand what it is and is not. We may not be able to articulate our definition of success, but it exists. The media, our family upbringing, our peers/associates, and our various experiences develop and condition our concept of success over the years. The net effect can be either positive or negative.
I NSTRUCTIONS : Individually, answer the following questions, reflect on your answers, and then write your definition of success.
What was a situation that made you feel successful?
What were you doing?
What were you thinking and feeling about the success you experienced?
What contributed to your success?
What is your definition of success?
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Achieving Authentic Success ® Introduction
W
HAT
S
UCCESS IS
N
OT
You may have noticed that there was some overlap between everyone’s definitions. Whenever we do this exercise, this typically happens. Usually these definitions can be divided into five (5) elements of success. You may want to consider:
Think about the stories Wall Street provides. There are hundreds of
“successful” business people with enormous power along with broken marriages, failing families and ruined reputations.
An authentically successful person doesn’t have to sacrifice his/her family or integrity.
Materialism is the preoccupation with possessing things and money which are not bad if kept in perspective.
An authentically successful person is one who buys things that enrich life, not just fill up the garage.
Some people think that titles and roles define the success of a person.
An authentically successful person is someone who respects the positions that have been given and uses these positions to support others.
Being known and recognized – many people who have it can tell you that prestige can be very fleeting.
An authentically successful person keeps a balance of who he/she is, not who others build him/her up to be.
The process of self seeking short-term gratification. “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you may die.” (Aristippus 435-356 B.C.)
An authentically successful person builds a life around long-term impact and significance.
Building a life around self-focused pleasure is not satisfying in the long run. Our culture has defined success as the five items above. These things are neither good nor bad. Enjoy the rewards of your hard work, but through this workshop you are encouraged to expand your definition of success to include other significant areas of your life.
– Dr. Ron Jenson
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Achieving Authentic Success ® Introduction
Y
OU
W
ERE
M
EANT
T
O
…
Hundreds of top leaders around the world were asked, “At the end of your life, how will you know you succeeded?” Here is a sample of their answers:

If my kids turned out well

If I lived a personally rich and fulfilling life

If I positively changed lives

If I built meaningful and deep relationships

If I really loved my spouse

If I made a difference
None of these people said they would know they succeeded by their power, prosperity, prestige, position, or pleasure. When you pass away, the five P’s go with you to the grave.

What you accomplished

The lives you touched and people you have helped

How people describe you (kind, caring, etc.)

Your contribution to the world

Emotional / Mental

Physical

Volitional

Spiritual

Relational

Succeed in business but fail in relationships

Accomplish great things but live miserably

Succeed financially but fail in your marriage

Excel in business but burn out physically
You were meant to succeed authentically in all vital areas of your life. What are the vital areas of your life?
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Achieving Authentic Success ®
F
EEDING
T
HE
R
OOTS
Introduction
The taproot is the main root of the plant, usually more stout than the lateral roots and growing straight downward from the stem. Without it, the rest of the tree quickly rots and dies. Accordingly, in our lives we should focus on the roots, not on the fruit. We must focus on our character. Nourish your character and you will enjoy the fruit of an authentically successful personal and professional life.
Character is the combination of the essential qualities and nature of a person that is evident by behavior, reputation and attributes.
To authentically succeed, focus on the roots and not the fruit of your life:

Fruit – the results or outcomes of what you do.
 Happiness...
 Fulfilling relationships...
 Prosperity...
 Influence...
 Position…

Roots – why you do what you do.
 Use the MAXIMIZERS principles – to achieve authentic success!
 Focus on the ABC’s to feed the roots.
 Exercise these 10 non-negotiable principles into your everyday living.
To achieve authentic success, we must focus on the roots of our lives, not the fruits.
The roots in our lives can be defined by:
A person's pattern of emotions and actions that indicate one’s mental state and disposition.
A person's mental framework where he/she has formed opinions, judgments and acceptance of what is true.
The mental framework in which a person makes choices to act in a certain and consistent manner that is aligned with his/her attitudes and beliefs.
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Achieving Authentic Success ® Introduction
T
HE
R
OOTS OF
S
UCCESS
In this workshop you will learn how the 10 non-negotiable MAXIMIZERS principles serve as an operating system around which you can develop subsequent habits that will have a positive impact in your life.
We group these 10 MAXIMIZERS principles into three major categories. Quick definitions are:
Attitudes – what we think is what we’ll be
Beliefs – why we do what we do
Commitments – how we live our personal and professional convictions on a daily basis
Developing the right attitudes, beliefs and commitments will help you succeed personally and professionally. These MAXIMIZERS principles help you to succeed in an authentic way and are grouped as follows:



ake Things Happen
chieve Personal Significance
-Out the Negatives


nternalize Right Principles
arch to a Mission





ntegrate All of Life
ero In on Caring for People
nergize Internally
ealign Rigorously
tay the Course
A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds.
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Achieving Authentic Success ® Introduction
D
EVELOPING
C
HARACTER
– R
ATE
Y
OURSELF
Rate yourself according to where you are right now on each of the MAXIMIZERS.
LOW HIGH
Make Things Happen
Achieve Personal Significance
X Out the Negatives
Internalize Right Principles
March to a Mission
Integrate All of Life
Zero In on Caring for People
Energize Internally
Realign Rigorously
Stay the Course
I take charge of my life as a difference maker.
1……..……………....……..5………….….……….……….10
I live my life with a sense of destiny.
1……..……………....……..5………….….……….……….10
I embrace problems as positive opportunities.
1……..……………....……..5………….….……….……….10
I center my life on bedrock principles.
1……..……………....……..5………….….……….……….10
I passionately pursue my mission.
1……..……………....……..5………….….……….……….10
I keep all vital areas of my life in balance.
1……..……………....……..5………….….……….……….10
I put others first and serve them.
1……..……………....……..5………….….……….……….10
I cultivate my character and behavior.
1……..……………....……..5………….….……….……….10
I keep adjusting to needs.
1……..……………....……..5………….….……….……….10
I will never, ever, ever quit.
1……..……………....……..5………….….……….……….10
Which character traits do you have that can help you succeed?
Which character traits do you want to develop?
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Achieving Authentic Success ®
Page 12
Introduction
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Achieving Authentic Success ® Attitudes
D EFINITION : A person's pattern of emotions and actions that indicates his/her mental state and disposition.
We begin with the Root Attitudes:
Make Things Happen how to change habits and develop your personal disciplines
Achieve Personal Significance how to build a strong self-image
X-Out the Negatives how to deal with fears, problems and other difficulties
Here are a few quotes to reflect upon:
“Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.”
– Lou Holtz
“How we think shows through in how we act. Attitudes are mirrors of the mind. They reflect thinking.” – David J. Schwartz
“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” – Epictetus
“A bad attitude is the worst thing that can happen to a group of people. It’s infectious.”
– Roger Allan Raby
“Everyone has the power to make others happy. Some do it by entering the room, others by leaving it.” – Unknown
“No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you.” – Althea Gibson
“It’s not your aptitude but your attitude that will determine your altitude.”
– Jesse Jackson (adapted)
“This is the precept by which I have lived: Prepare for the worst; expect the best; and take what comes. “ – Robert E. Speer
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Achieving Authentic Success ®
Attitudes
This principle addresses self-discipline, the “ability to regulate conduct by principle and judgment rather than impulse, desire or social custom.”
So, let’s look at the actions you can take to Make Things Happen on a daily basis:

Be proactive, not reactive.

Become disciplined, work hard and go after what you want.

Focus on those things you can control – right attitudes, right beliefs and right commitments.

Don’t focus on the fruit or the results – you have limited control over the results.
What proactive role could you play in overcoming the gap between the stated hindrances and empowerments of success for the organization?
What could get in your way of being effective?
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Achieving Authentic Success ®
A
N
A
PPROACH
T
O
C
HANGE
H
ABITS
It is also important to develop good habits. You can use the following acrostic to help.
Attitudes
H

What habit do you want to build? Ask yourself:
 What one thing, if you did it consistently and persistently well, would significantly improve your professional and personal growth?
 What one thing, if you did it consistently and persistently well, would help close the gap between the company’s values and reality at work?

It is easier to create a new habit than break/stop an old habit. So, look for new habits to replace bad/old ones.
A

Why do you want to build this habit?

How much better would things be if you develop this habit?

Pain – What do you stand to lose if you don’t build this habit?

Pleasure – What do you stand to gain by building this habit?
B

Develop a feedback mechanism – a simple chart where you mark when you are successful, when you aren’t, when you fall back into a bad habit, and when you’re victorious.

Get an accountability partner – to encourage, support and keep you honest.
I

Meditate or reflect on your day.

Memorize truths you can call up when failing or frustrated with the process.

Sayings and old adages are very helpful like “we don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
T

Many psychologists tell us to practice the habit for 21-days for it to become truly a habit, something we do without thinking.

Making that something a real part of “who” you are.
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Achieving Authentic Success ® Attitudes
D
EVELOP
D
ISCIPLINE
This activity gives you the chance to explore your disciplines. In the space provided below, answer the following questions to reflect on opportunities for growth.
In what area of your life would you like to become more disciplined?
Why is this important personally and/or professionally?
What has kept you from this discipline in the past?
What actions can you take this week to begin building this discipline?
What do I know about myself that may challenge my ability to build this discipline?
By applying the principle “Make Things Happen,” you become a difference maker – a good first step towards achieving authentic success! Use this affirmation to remind you of the essence of the principle “Make Things Happen.”
“ I take charge of my life as a difference maker.
”
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