Imperative Success Habits

By: Ben DeGeorge

The semester is over and now I only have five months left in my college career before the real world hits me smack dab in the face. It is an exciting time right now. Not only because we are in the midst of the holidays, but also due to the fact that I will be traveling to Chile at the end of the month. This is another step towards my goal of visiting every country in the world.

After a fantastic record breaking year, it's easy to let down your guard and lose track of some of your success principles that have gotten you this far. Instead, I challenge you to use your thought time this holiday season to become better and reinvigorate yourself by working on yourself.

There are certain habits that all successful people must integrate into their lives and that everyone, even incredibly high achievers, can actively work on. Use these skills as you set new yearly objectives, give back to others and have fun!

Here is a short list of vital things for you to implement and master in order to make a bigger impact in your world. Begin to use these ASAP and refer back to this until you successfully use each concept every day.

And remember; Success is a choice.

1. Long and powerful eye contact. You need to be comfortable making eye contact with anyone, even people you do not know, for an extended period of time.
2. Taking up more room. Practice standing taller and bigger. People will notice.
3. Smiling at everyone. Keep your head up and smile!
4. Sitting up and smiling when answering the phone. Your goal for a phone call is not only to transmit information, but to be entertaining. The same concept goes for email. You are sending information wrapped in entertainment. Make people want to communicate with you!
5. Reading the newspaper every day. I read the local daily paper, several regional weekly publications and online newspapers. Success in anything is due to proper information management.
6. Take really good notes when talking with people. This not only shows respect, but also gives you a better ability to manage information that you encounter. I suggest using the Cornell note taking system.
   
7. Mimicking body language. If you are talking with anyone, mimic their body language. If they are leaning in, lean in too.
8. Write down goals and post them above your desk or on your mirror. This is very important. I highly suggest creating a vision board. Check out this site.
   
9. Reading. Read one non-fiction book a week.
10. Learn sales skills. Everything in life is sales. Pick up a few books on sales skills. This will take your ability to accomplish anything to a whole new level.
11. Watch 30 minutes less TV every night. Devote your extra time to planning and scheming.
12. Use other people's names more frequently. Using someone's name in a conversation is very powerful for that person.
13. Spend more time observing what other successful people do.
14. Send at least 3 hand written personalized notes every week. Don't just do it during the holidays. No one sends these anymore these days! It's amazing what kind of response you will receive when you send a nice note.
15. Thing Bigger! This is my #1 success guideline. Think VERY BIG in everything that you set yourself to doing. You might just get there. Make it a goal to become the best there ever was.
16. Merry Christmas Grandma and Grandpa. Remember the cough camouflage principle.

Never give up on your road to improvement. The minute you do, you will lose the incredible possibilities that are right in front of you.

Randy Schuster

“Randy has been a highly successful financial advisor consistently ranked in the top 5 percent of the profession by the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), the premier association of financial professionals. He has carved out a unique niche within the industry by focusing on the coordination of planning. Randy says, “I am the quarterback and the client is the owner of the team.” Recently, Randy completed his second book Turning Points. He is also the author of The Power of Habits.(Randy's Website)

BIW: How did you get to where you are today?

Randy: I grew up here in Rochester. Went to Brighton Schools and was exposed to a family business environment. It was a company called Marjax Sporting Goods. Very similar to the Champs stores you see in the malls. I was the third generation in the business which didn’t last much longer. We closed the doors in 1993. My kids were four and one and we were thinking about what we wanted to do in life. Family told us to move to Los Angeles or Florida, but we decided to stay in Rochester and build a business here.

I decided I really wanted to build a coordinated financial planning practice. This started in January of 1995. At the beginning I decided not to call on anybody I knew, which is kind of the opposite of what many others do. Instead, I called on the five counties outside of Rochester. After about four years of doing that, I had built up a significant amount of business so I decided to finally start doing business in Rochester.

My defining moment, if you will, was when I started cold calling. That’s a tough thing to do. January 3, 1995, I was making my calls in the morning. And, I ran across somebody who was rude on the phone. I took it hard. At that point I closed my eyes and visualized my one year old son playing on our unfurnished dining room floor. I had the phone in my hand and I said, “I can’t give up. I have to keep going.” But, by lunch time I didn’t have any appointments scheduled so I went up to this veteran in the business for help. He asked me, “How did you do?” I said to him, “You know, I didn’t get anybody. But, I’m very proud of myself because I made it through the morning.”

That little bit of self talk changed my entire mood. My goal that day was to get five appointments and within two hours of lunch I had them! So, that’s how I got started. Today, I have a junior producer and a support staff of five which helps me out.

My give back is writing books. I got thinking about my children and I wanted them to know that you can do anything in your life. So, I decided to write short stories on business leaders in Rochester and their defining moments. That book is called Turning Points and it was recently released. Through that we’ve donated thousands of books through the Hillside Work Scholarship Connections program. These kids want to read the book. That has been a rewarding experience.

BIW: Now, you also wrote another book, The Power of Habits. Tell us about that.

Randy: This is a blueprint to anybody who wants to be an entrepreneur. No matter what you do in your life, you are in sales. So these skills apply to anyone. I’m pretty proficient in practice management type issues. The book is designed after Ken Blanchard’s One Minute Manager. It’s easy. Simple. Big print. But, it gets the point across.

I took my experience in financial services and expanded it to meet any young business person’s role. Also, there are a lot of neat motivational quotes in there from different people. And, in the back there is a recommended reading list of books that have changed my life.

The chapters of the book are as follows; Habit of Activity, Habit of Time, Habit of the Calendar, Habit of Keeping Score, Current Inventory Pipeline, Habit of Referrals, Habit of Communication, Habit of Strategy, and the Habit of Thinking Big. It’s about a one hour read.

BIW: How do you define success?

Randy: I think it’s important that you start your own personal library. I started with a book called The Magic of Believing by Claude M. Bristoll. That opened my eyes to the fact that you can do anything you want in life. Then I began reading a series of books like Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and a good one today is The Success Principles by Jack Canfield. You’ve just got to keep reading and educating yourself.

Napoleon Hill spent twenty years studying Andrew Carnegie, who was one of the wealthiest and most influential people in the world during his time. Also, you might want to read Success magazine. It’s only $19 per year and they send you some great audio interviews as well.

Learning is a lifelong experience. It doesn’t stop when you finish college. And, you’ve got to combine those things with what you’re doing in life. So, I define success like this. You can do anything you want in life as long as you have the heart, the passion, and the desire. You also have to maintain unlimited thinking. And, you can listen to what other people are saying, but it is up to you to accept it. Take their criticisms with a grain of salt.

We have three things in common; we’re all going to die, we’re all going to pay taxes, and we all have 24 hours in a day. How we spend the 24 hours in our day defines us. That is what makes everybody different.

You have to create your goals. The things you want to do in your life. Not just financial goals, but career goals, relationship goals, lifestyle goals. You can change your goals but you have to write them down. Nothing happens unless you write things down.

BIW: If you could meet any three people, who might they be?

Randy: Well, I just met 35 people writing my recent book Turning Points. But, I don’t really have aspirations of meeting any one person. You do have to continue to be connected though. I met 35 wonderful people in a six month period of time. In order to meet who you want, you simply need to connect the dots.

You can meet anybody you want in life. Figure out who you want to meet and why and then connect the dots. For me, I want to meet people that are consistent with helping me achieve my goals or visions.

BIW: As a big reader, how do you integrate the information you read into your daily habits.

Randy: I use a good old fashion yellow high lighter and I highlight things I want to go back to. And, I actually study these books. I’ve got a quote database that is personal to me of things that have stuck out to me in each book and I go back and read through them. One idea might be to create a screensaver out of the quotes.

BIW: What is the next step for you?

Randy: I want to keep doing what I’m doing; help people achieve their financial goals. I enjoy it so I want to continue to do it.

BIW: What are some challenges you faced?

Randy: Well, the story of coming into this business is one because eight out of ten people do fail in this business. Some people can’t handle the rejection, but that is a part of life.

I was learning disabled as a kid, so I didn’t take a “normal” high school class until I was a junior. But, I had the power of perseverance and the ability to look through what other people said. Things like, “Oh, this person can’t do that.” But, I don’t believe that. If you want to do something you can. Take the word No for example. By definition it means, “Not yet.” It is a temporary setback. That is what it is all about.

The rejection in my first year was plentiful. I made 12,225 dials. That only translated into about 100 meetings. Thousands of people rejected me. But, I was able to begin a business this way. You’ve just got to deal with it and find a different way to succeed.

BIW: What are some of your final words of wisdom?

Randy: Think big. Follow your dreams. Don’t ever link yourself to what other people might expect of you.

www.RandySchuster.com