Success in Life

Posted & filed under Culture.

When I asked my wife what comes to mind when she hears the word ‘ELevate,’ her reply was, “Inspired and willing to improve.” After pondering on these words a bit, I began to think of life and how many times it can be difficult to elevate ourselves to a desired level of success. We all have that one friend that always wanted to be one particular thing in life. They took all the right steps and got to their “dream spot” with what seemed to be little effort or resistance. Why is it so easy for these people and not others?

Thinking on ‘inspired’ and ‘willing to improve,’ I turned to the one thing I know best and that easily demonstrates people who are able to elevate themselves: sports. We all had the privilege of hearing George Hill speak at the kick-off event in January. What a treat! He mentioned that he didn’t initially see himself having a future in basketball. However, his coach told him that if he focused and gave up a few things, he would eventually reach a point where he would reap the reward for what he had sacrificed. George dedicated many hours to perfecting his craft and is now seeing what his coach said come true.

Along the same lines of George Hill, when I think of an example of ‘willing to improve’ I think of two of my all-time favorite athletes, Kobe Bryant and Peyton Manning. Kobe Bryant demonstrated over a 20-year career that he was dedicated to his craft. Amongst many other things, he was known for arriving to the gym at 5:00 AM to arrive before everyone else, studying game film at halftime to play better the rest of the game, and practicing his moves without a ball to mentally prepare and teach his body technique. Peyton Manning was a student of the game of football and knew exactly what the opposition would do on every play. The one thing that links these two athletes is they were inspired and were never satisfied with just being good enough. They wanted to be the best.

Each one of us at EL plays an important role in the overall success of the team/company. While it may not be necessary to wake up earlier than needed, we can find different aspects in our daily routines to improve. As an Account Manager, I have found the importance and need to continually study and learn new techniques in order to sell better. My coaches always used to say, and George Hill touched on it as well, that if you are going to do something, you might as well do it full speed.

If each member of the team goes full speed and gives 100% (110% doesn’t exist) on a daily basis, there is no limit on how high we can elevate together. Paying attention to the details can go a long way in separating mediocrity from greatness.

 

“Thoughts lead to actions. Actions create habits. Habits build character. Your character is what determines who you will become.”

 

Whatever you think about is what you’ll end up doing. Your thoughts are what you will become. Each day we can choose to better one aspect of our lives. Over a lifetime of daily focus and willingness to improve, we can develop into whatever type of person we aspire to be. Be GREAT!

-Josh, ECS Fuel Senior Account Manager