I had the great pleasure of attending the Colorado Business Hall of Fame this past year in Denver Colorado and was left with a memorable impression of what it takes to be successful in today’s business climate. It is the same elements that have always equaled success in life:  faith, family, friends, fun, hard work, determination, perseverance and being true to yourself and your vision.  These were among several characteristics the inductees spoke about that yielded their eventual success.  

            Key word being eventually, each of the inductess introduction videos and speeches highlighted the point that there is no such thing as overnight success. Each individual and their representative companies have rooted themselves into a core process in which they seek to be the best at and have the mentality of doing what it takes to generate success, primarily predicated on ensuring they are serving their customers to the best of their ability and have the right people in place to make it all happen. 

The other thing that struck me about these individuals was the degree to which they wanted to be contributing members of their communities or regions. Each had a passion that they dedicated their time, treasure and talent to and as a result they have left an enduring impression on the lives of countless individuals.

So what were my 3 primary takeaways?

1)      Focus, Focus, Focus:  Focus on the task at hand, be completely in each moment   and seek to make consistent strides to your end goal.  Unfortunately, we all get wrapped up in events, activities, misdirection, so you need to actively direct yourself via a journal, daily or weekly accountability calls, or some other tracking method where you can go back and see your results and from there determine what you need to work on to get you going in the right direction.

2)      You can’t do it by yourself. You need a core group of people who care deeply about you and what you are trying to accomplish. Whether it be family, friends, associates, your secretary or all the above and then some. Who is there to support you in good time and in bad? Who is there to be your confidant, your sounding board, devil’s advocate, or the voice or reason?  

3)      Following your passion = success: everyone measures success in different ways but it struck me that each of these people being honored were passionate about what they did and success was a byproduct of their passions being realized.  When you have a passion for what you do, it hones your spirit, mind, body, and emotions  and all four of these elements work in concert for your benefit. Everything syncs up and propels you everyday toward achieving your goals and objectives.

Bottom line, events like this serve as a great reminder that belief in yourself, faith in your product or services, effective networking/relationship building, giving back to your community, and a hardcore dedication to the task at hand, will almost always garner the success we seek.