K.I.S.S.
I’ve always loved this acronym – Keep it simple (stupid)
That’s what this site is all about. That’s what iSucceed is all about.
Too often people make things more complicated than they need to be.
Big businesses often fall victim to complexity, eventually to the point when it hurts them. At that time, smart corporations will drop those projects that aren’t that profitable and focus their energies on those that do. Computers may be able to handle a billion computations a second (or whatever it is they say they can do) and our brains can handle even more.
What they forget to mention is that human do have limits. Large amounts of knowledge can overwhelm us and paralyzes many. Some lose sleep, others lose weight, some suffer from psychological damage. In the end for our minds to keep at optimum efficiency, we need to focus on only a few tasks at hand and give them our full attention.
Or to say it another way, less is sometimes more.
Earl Shoaff, my mentor’s teacher, was famous for saying “There’s usually about a half dozen things that make about 80% of the difference.”
When I heard that I sat down and thought about everything I had learned and just what those half dozen things were.
After some deep thought, I came to the conclusion that the iSucceed formula is based on 5 pillars which are:
- Finance
- Marketing
- Self-Development
- Health
- People
The 1st, finance, could also be called money. Money, despite what we may have heard, is neither good nor bad. Money is simply a tool. And like every useful tool there is it can be use for constructive and destructive purposes. It all depends on the user.
But what cannot be denied is the importance money has in our world. Food, housing, entertainment, health, education, relaxation are all linked in one form or another to money.
Money gives us options that we would otherwise not have which is why we should all understand the fundamentals of money and how it works.
And no, I’m not merely talking about buying a Coke at the store. Most people haven’t got the foggiest clue just how the system works (perhaps by design?) meaning that they are at a disadvantage to those that do understand the inner workings.
The 2nd pillar is marketing. Marketing is the ability to get a product or service out there. Time and time again it has been proven in business that having the best product isn’t the main reason for success.
Marketing is your ability to appeal to a specific audience, hopefully meeting a specific need.
I knew one business here in Japan that invested 30% of everything they earned each month to marketing, spending somewhere in the range of $10,000 a month, while cutting corners everywhere else. And people came in droves.
Naturally, they fell flat in keeping customers, but getting them, no sweat.
Always remember the simple two-step formula for success in any business:
- Get customers
- Keep customers
The 3rd pillar is self-development which could be broken down even further:
- Time management
- Philosophy
- Language
- Attitude
- Action
These may seem simple, but mastering just one of them will single handedly revolutionize your life. The best news, they aren’t hard to learn. The problem, some take a lifetime to master.
The 4th pillar is health. What good is fortune and fame if you don’t have your health.
Being healthy means watching what we eat, exercising regularly, keeping negative influences at bay, regular trips to the dentist and hospital, and well, you get the idea.
Don’t forsake your health for fortune or fame, it’s simply not worth it. Your health is worth many billions of dollars to you.
Being healthy also means vitality, allowing you to achieve what you set out to accomplish.
Most of us are blessed with good health when we are young, but as we grow up we must take an active role in determining just how our body ages.
Never underestimate the importance of health.
The 5th and final pillar on my short list is people.
People can make your live a living hell or heaven on earth, so choose wisely.
Family is family, but everyone else we interact with in our free time we have allowed in. Sadly, I have seen some people let the wrong people in, and they have paid the consequences.
Personally, I’ve always chosen to have a small group of friends, that’s the way I liked it. As such I may not know as many people as say my mother, the social butterfly, but I trust those people in my inner circle explicitly. And I suggest people always develop these types of friendships.
That doesn’t mean we should stop meeting new people but just
Think quality, not quantity.
Invest your time and money into these 5 pillars will bring you greater happiness, success and enjoyment into your life and your business.
Life isn’t just about making money, nor is it about just having lots of friends. Life is about balance.
And that’s just what these 5 pillars provide; balance.
I trust you will have as much success with them as I have.
Adrian Shepherd