The Four F's

Most of my writing has been related to encouraging others to exceed and excel through practices and principles.  I have shared information about marketing, leadership, communication, team building, training, and a host of topics.  I have a passion for sharing information and for wanting to be the best we can be.  I get excited when someone contacts me about a posting and it energizes them to another level.  That my friends, is what it is all about. Now I want to discuss what I call the Four F's of Success.   I believe there are four key areas which in conjunction with other principles (leadership, communication, knowledge, determination, etc.), are keys to success not just professionally but also personally.  It is about who we are...and not what we are!

The first "F" is Family.  I have been blessed with a loving and caring family and I am so grateful.  Now family can be blood relation, married relation, or can be those that are close to you who are treated as family.   Family members are those that believe in you, and you believe in!  Family members are people you trust and confide in, and someone you can open up to.  I believe to be successful you need people like this who are there beside you to believe in you, behind you to encourage and push you, and in front of you if necessary to help filter the path and shed new light on your travels.  Sometimes they are the bearer of truth, even when we cannot see it.  It is difficult for us to be objective and see who we really are, and maybe don't want to see who we are.  Family can bring a bond that is supportive, enlightening, and a love that digs into our core and sole like nothing else.

The second "F" is Faith.  While I am a religious person and believe in a higher being, faith can play a part in different ways.   It can mean your faith from a religious standpoint, just as it can mean the faith you have in yourself and others.  Believing in yourself is critical to success, especially picking yourself up after something in your life has broken you down.  Believing and having faith in my abilities is important to what I am, but more importantly as to who I am.  A leader must have faith in others, for without empowerment there is not encouragement.  We build faith through our knowledge and experiences, often learning along the way how to build the foundation of success.  Personal faith and religious faith can be  intertwined, and often is with most successful people in business.  I almost added people in government to that sentence, only to think about things like "thou shall not lie, thou shall not steal, thou shall not commit adultery, etc,"  which rules out most of our government officials.   Believing in God, believing in oneself, and believing in others is all part of having the faith necessary to be successful not only in what we do...but how we do it.

The next "F" is Friendship, which also ties into respect.  Friends can be at different levels and mean different things to different people.  You can have close friends, distant friends, friends that are acquaintances, and friends that are like family.  Sometimes your family can also be your friend, as an example with my wife who is also my best friend.  True friends like family are not afraid to tell you like it is, and be there for you in both good times and challenging times.  A true friend will take your call at two in the morning, and also be one who is not afraid to call you at that same time should they need comfort and advice.  A true friend will not sugar coat something for your benefit, and is someone you may not always agree with but respect.  You can have friends at work or those that work with you, however, I would much rather have "respect" than friendship  from those who are business associates.  It does not mean they are not still friends in some ways, but it has a different processing and status related to friendship where respect is the focal point and intended result.

The last "F" is Fun.  I know too many business executives that live, breath, and eat their jobs...and it shows.  They are so tied up with power and success, they forget how to live life and how important others are to their success and happiness.  Most of the time I find that these individuals are missing in the three previous F's (Family, Faith, and Friendship), and therefore cannot  maximize this element.  I remember my Dad telling me, "If you do not enjoy what you are doing, do something else.  For your lack of enjoyment will transfer to those working with you and for you, and it will burden your ability to be as successful as you can be."  I hear the wise words of my father resonating in my head often, and unfortunately find it too late to thank him for what at one time I did not understand...and now cherish.  Fun is taking life to the maximum!  It is finding things you are passionate about and enjoy and doing them.  It is sharing your passions with others, and about getting inner satisfaction.  As an example, "I am a property manager and leader."  While this is something I do professionally, it is also something I enjoy and have a passion for.  Even though doing what I do takes long hours, sometimes extended travel from my family, facing significant and new challenges, and sometimes when you do your job you are the least liked, it is rewarding in some of those same ways.  For the diversity of my profession means I never have two days exactly the same, I am constantly learning from the experiences I am faced with, I am stronger from the challenges I face, and the reward from knowing I am fair and consistent in my dealings (my ethics) no matter what others will think because I am at peace with myself  gives me joy.   It also means having a life outside of work, finding out what brings you happiness.  Everyone that knows me understands my passion for diving and magic.  Being a professional magician and having the ability to provide wonder and amazement is fun and exciting.  Being a diver allows me time to hear nothing but my bubbles for hours at a time.  No cell phone, no pager, no computer, no telephone, just my bubbles and nature to bring me to a peaceful state. 

Being the best and always striving to exceed and excel takes many qualities and traits.  It takes knowledge, drive, determination, ethics, abilities, passion, and a strong inner core to be successful in business as with in life.  It is these four "F's" I believe are the building blocks to that strong inner core, which can be the foundation to your success...no matter what you do.