Thursday, July 13, 2006

Giants


In the book The Art of Acting by Stella Adler, the legendary Ms. Adler notes that we live in a society that celebrates "smallness". She encourages her students to have substance, to have mass, to never be small.

The same is true in business. We work in a society that does not celebrate those who are larger than life. To achieve great success means that you will soon have a target painted on your back. The arrows will be sent your direction. The masses will attempt to make the very thing that makes you great appear trivial. The trials of victory is enough to keep some from trying.

To succeed you need to be bigger than those around you. You must resist any efforts to marginalize your accomplishments. Do not ever be small.

This is not as easy as it sounds. It is simple to hide behind closed doors and just do your work. Instinct will tell you to retreat to protect yourself from detractors. However, the prize only can be awarded to the competitor. And to compete, you must be actively engaged. Anything less is a one-way ticket to mediocrity.

On the sports field many men and women give 100%, but in the boardroom they do not. They become small. But in every company and every industry there are giants. What is your destiny? Do you have stature? Mass? Are you a giant?

A California Redwood tree is not meant to be a rose bush. While it takes years to grow, it is not meant to be small. If planted in the proper location, and given the right nurturing, the Redwood will become colossal.,... And it will never apologize for its towering size.

In your career you need the same things:

1. You need to be planted in a climate that will allow you to thrive. If you are not in the right place, ...move!

2. You need to invest time, as greatness does not happen over night. Allow your roots to go deep and wide (the network you build is part of that root system!)

3. As you grow, you cannot run and hide from the attention that you will draw upon yourself as you soar to the sky.

4. You must continue to grow for as long as you live. Those who stop growing will be cut into firewood.

Have A Great Day.

Thom Singer
www.thomsinger.com
thom@thomsinger.com

1 comment:

jeremy postal said...

One other important piece:
Redwoods grow in forests of redwoods...

Surround yoruself with giants!