BUSINESS COLUMN: How do you suceed?

Think about what have you learned from your father and mother.Their wisdom has been the foundation of your philosophy, yourbelief system, your personality, and your achievement. Theyinfluence and affect your attitude towards yourself and others.

Parents (and siblings) also influence your social habits andphilosophies. They shape your self-image and your self-esteem.

Along with your parents and siblings, you learn and developsuccess attributes from others, both alive and dead.

My parents have both passed on, but I have captured the essenceof what was good and great about them. Their lessons (even the onesI hated when they were first delivered) have been burned into mybrain and my psyche. They have helped me. A lot.

My mother Florence told me over and over, Get to Europe! And Ihave always followed her philosophy of, Buy the best, not thecheapest. My father Max was pragmatic, The secret of inflation:earn more money.

Many of my role models are alive, but I haven’t met them.They’re not necessarily role models for who they are, but insteadfor what they do, and how they have done it. Steve Jobs is at thetop of the list. Many of my close friends and relatives alsoprovide a constant source of wisdom and encouragement.

The articles and books I write are spurred from my ideas andwhat I have learned. I’m passing the condensed version of thatwisdom on to you.

I have several role models in business, sales, writing, andpersonal development. They’re the people I admire. Here is some oftheir legacy and their wisdom:

• John Patterson (sales and business success). Don’t sell.Create the demand to buy. Before you try to convince anyone else,be sure you are convinced, and if you cannot convince yourself,drop the subject.

• PT Barnum (promotion and public relations). Toot your own hornto attract attention and money. Whatever you do, do it with allyour might. Work at it, early and late, in season and out ofseason, not leaving a stone unturned, and never deferring for asingle hour that which can be done just as well now.

• Orison Swett Marden (success and persistence). Don’t wait forextraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make themgreat. Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them.

• Dale Carnegie (making friends and public speaking). You canclose more business in two months by becoming interested in otherpeople than you can in two years by trying to get people interestedin you.

• Napoleon Hill (attitude and goals). All achievements, allearned riches, have their beginning in an idea.

• Elmer Leterman (creativity and sales). Personality can opendoors, but only character can keep them open.

• Ayn Rand (writing style and philosophy). A creative man ismotivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beatothers. A desire presupposes the possibility of action to achieveit; action presupposes a goal that is worth achieving. I can’tresist mentioning this bit of her wisdom… Government help tobusiness is just as disastrous as government persecution. The onlyway a government can be of service to national prosperity is bykeeping its hands off.

• Earl Nightingale (the Strangest Secret). You become what youthink about all day long.

• Groucho Marx (humor). I find television very educating. Everytime somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read abook.

• Charlie Tremendous Jones (speaking and reading). The onlydifference between where you are right now, and where you’ll benext year at this same time are the people you meet and the booksyou read.

• Jocko Henderson (music and communicating). Put rhyme and songin your voice.

• Earl Pertnoy (life’s lessons). Antennas up!

These inspirational mentors have all passed on, but what I havelearned from them, and continue to learn from them by reading,studying, and applying their wisdom, has helped me to the place andposition I am in today.

I’m successful because I listen, I pay attention, I observe, andI have remained a student. And as I get further up the ladder, Istudy harder and work harder.

Take it easy is not in my lexicon. Never will be.

How about you?

Who motivates you?

Who teaches you?

Who inspires you?

Who helps you achieve?

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Little Red Book of Selling,and The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude. President ofCharlotte-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual salesmeetings, and conducts Internet training programs on selling andcustomer service at www.trainone.com. He can be reached at704-333-1112 or e-mail to salesman@gitomer.com. ©2011 All RightsReserved – Don’t even think about reproducing this document withoutwritten permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer .