What does being a “stupid idiot” have to do with Systemic Success? EVERYTHING!
Born in New Orleans and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, I had my share of knocks and bruises… especially being one of eight children. I was in the middle of that pack with several older brothers who could be pretty tough on me, at times! If I made a mistake or did something they thought was less than perfect (like running the wrong way when playing neighborhood football?), I’d meet with an avalanche of verbal rebuke.
“Philip, you stupid idiot, what are doing!?”
I guess I’ll have to tell you about my little Italian grandmother from New Orleans. When she got mad at me for something, like playing with a “stinky dog,” she’d holler, “Philip, get in here, you little white roach.” You see, I was a stick-out among my Italian side of the family, because I took after my Swedish mother. I was very pale and blonde. Okay, maybe I was a “little white roach!” 🙂
I can tell you, when you think your big brothers hang the moon, and the smartest people you know, you have trouble thinking more highly of yourself than you ought. In fact, you begin to question your sanity. You may even come to believe you ARE a “stupid idiot!”
Straight Talk Can Lead to Systemic Success
Now before you start feeling sorry for me—thinking I had a terrible childhood, my brothers were just bullies, and my grandmother didn’t love me—well, that’s just not the case! Fact is, I had a wonderful childhood! My brothers and I managed to grow up, and I could tell you some heartwarming stories about Grandma’s love. Yes, I had a few bumps and hurdles to overcome, but when you’re one of seven boys and one feisty girl, you learn to speak your mind to survive. All that straight talk also gave me broad shoulders to face the future. Besides, I had a couple of younger brothers that I got to challenge and pass on a bit of my own “straight talk.”
So, I ask you again, what does being a “stupid idiot” have to do with Systemic Success? EVERYTHING!
By now you’re aware, in this life you WILL have your share of troubles and obstacles. And, sometimes you’ll think you are just a stupid idiot, as you see others succeed, while you seem to run in place, going nowhere. It’s easy to start feeling sorry for yourself.
Straight Talk or Excuses
In a tough economy, it’s harder to grow a business! You may have to make two to three times as many contacts with prospects, just to land a small account. But, SO WHAT!!
As a business professional, you hear a lot of noise out there. Experts tell you, you “need to do” this or that, go to this or the other seminar, and “learn how REAL successful, smart people do it.”
Listen… when I started my first business, I can tell you I really felt like a stupid idiot. I opened my shop in a small, 400 sq. ft. building, the size of a very small apartment. It was located in the back of a bank with some used, broken down equipment. I had very little money, no business cloths to make personal calls, and kept thinking, “What the heck am I doing?” I would look at other businesses with all their fancy equipment and think, “I don’t have a chance.” Even some of my closest friends were telling me how “stupid” it was to open a startup business in a bad economy.
Well, thank God, I didn’t give in to that way of thinking. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and plodding forward. So, how do you overcome the “I’m a stupid idiot” mindset?
Encourage yourself systematically!
- Start listening to those people who started out with nothing…who then built or became something.
- Begin reading everything you get your hands on, that has anything to do with sales and marketing, systemizing, organizing and living THE WAY you know you should.
- Take care of the things you have control of, like eating the right foods, getting the rest you need, spending time with your family, and listening to positive people.
In one of the books I read that changed my business life, the author wrote, “YOU’RE the problem, and YOU will always be the problem, until YOU change”. That was a wake-up call for me, because I needed to change. So I did! I did the things I mentioned above and my life and business began to turn for the better.
No, everybody doesn’t and shouldn’t get the trophy for MVP. But, we’ve been given a great blessing… we still live in a free country with lots of opportunity for those who are willing to step up to the plate, and keep swinging until they get a hit!
But then, a “stupid idiot” would never think to do that!
Did I mention? Great systems work!
[So you know… ALL of my brothers became very successful business professionals! The picture above is of two of them, who actually survived that not-so-politically-correct photo op]
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