By Ray Martinez, “Unbridled Inspiration”
Many of us have had the good fortune to meet or know someone who had a positive influence in our lives. For me, it was my High School English teacher, Mrs. Ruth Long, and my former boss, Mr. Norm Slomann.
Mrs. Long was a caring and loving teacher, who besides my parents, was there to teach me to treat people with respect and honor as well as ethics and principles.
Mr. Slomann, taught me my work ethic which has carried me into a successful businessman, even though he hired and fired me probably 15 times in the 18 years I worked for him. He saw the potential I had and never gave up on me, and although he never saw the results of that potential while working for him, he did get to know about it when I wrote my book “Performance Beyond Expectation.”
Those were personal influences in my life. Then there are others who I had the chance to meet who were great influences on me as well, such as the late Gary Carter, Hall of Fame baseball player, former Lakers coach Pat Riley (current G.M. of the Miami Heat, NBA) and then there was legendary basketball Hall of Fame Coach John Wooden.
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Coach Wooden developed the Pyramid of Success. The pyramid was not only developed for his players to give them direction on the basketball court, but also for general and basic principles to develop over the course of one’s lifetime.
Unfortunately, in today’s society, many of these principle are not used today because of a selfishness mentality. All people care about is, “What’s in it for me?” The truth of the matter is in order to be a great leader, you must live by a code of ethics and values in order to be successful.
There is no question that the world has changed and many feel that some of these principles are old, out dated and out of style, but after studying Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, these lessons in life are time tested and are true in molding one’s success in business and in life.
There are too many people in business who think it is OK to cheat their way to the top and make a financial fortune, but the reality is, it will all catch up to you in the end.
There is a principle I live by and it is, “Sometimes you have to stand for something, even if you have to stand alone.” Translation, “Sometimes you have to stand up for something, or you’ll fall for anything.”
Don’t make excuses like you don’t have the money, or your current living conditions effect the way you live your life and the way you treat others. I know what it is to live in the ghetto’s of Brooklyn, NY and then to have my mother have a vision to improve our lives by making a move to Southern California.
You’re mind is the most powerful tool you have in your body and you can accomplish anything you want in life. But of course it will come by hard work and no short cuts.
May I recommend that in order to start climbing the pyramid and achieving success, the first thing is to cut out anyone or thing that is hampering you from reaching your goal.
“You can always tell a successful person by the people he hangs out with.”
Secondly, define your goal or vision by asking where or what do you want to go or where do you want to be 3-6 months from now. In other words a short term goal, then when that is achieved, concentrate on a long term goal.
And third, take to heart each step on the pyramid, what you need to do to improve. After making those positive changes, you can start experiencing a steady climb to the top of success.
Go make a difference in the world, just like someone did for you.
