Keep It Simple

 
One of the keys to success is
to keep it simple. Success is
often based upon simplicity.

If you have the opportunity to
choose between a simple idea
and a complex idea, choose the
simple idea. Simple ideas often
work better.

Most music is based on simple
ideas.

For example, Beethoven's Fifth
Symphony is based on a simple
musical idea that repeats itself
in many different ways.

So it is with many things. Usually
you have to simplify something to
the point where it will work.

Of course, you can make something
too simple. So, it is best to make
things as simple as you can but no
simpler.

Simple is better but simple enough
is best.

Too simple is bad and too complex
is bad.

Simple enough is just right.

Ed Abbott

Taylor Swift Practices100 Percent Commitment

 
I was at the grocery store
yesterday and I happened to
see a magazine with Taylor
Swift on the cover.

Taylor Swift is the 20-year-old
country singer who has been
enjoying great success lately.

As I recall, the name of the
magazine that she was on the
cover of is called In Style.

In Style magazine had an article
about Taylor Swift inside. I
browsed the article.

One thing that caught my eye was
something she said about commitment.

I'll paraphrase since I don't remember
precisely what she said.

Basically, she said she makes sure she
only takes on projects that she is 100
percent committed to.

That's a nice way to live your life, isn't
it? Take on only those things that you
are 100 percent committed to.

Certainly this attitude has helped Taylor
Swift.

She was named Entertainer of the Year at
the most recent CMA awards show in November,
2009. Of all the awards given to country
musicians at an awards show, I understand
this is the top honor.

It doesn't get any better than this. At
age 19, Taylor Swift was the youngest person
ever to win this award.

Back to commitment. Commitment is what
has gotten Taylor Swift where she is today.

She started passing out her demo tape on
Nashville's music row at age 11. By age
14, she had a development deal with a major
record label in Nashville.

By age 16, she had recorded her first album.

Commitment is who Taylor Swift is and
commitment is what has made her so
successful.

One more thought. Commitment derives from
love. You have to love what you are doing
in order to be committed to it.

Well, actually, it works both ways.

If you are committed to something, you are
more likely to love it. This greater love
then leads to greater commitment.

Commitment and love feed each other like the
fire feeds the flames and the flames feed
the fire.

Irrational simile, it is, but it works. Just
as flames and fire are pretty much the same
thing, so love and commitment are pretty much
the same thing.

Ed Abbott

Relax Your Way to Success

 
One key characteristic of successful
people is that they are relaxed and
confident. I've often noticed this.

I think this is especially true of
actors, singers, and other people in
the performing arts.

If you are a performing artist, tension
can be deadly.

Relaxation seems to apply to everything
else as well. A relaxed person is much
more apt to tap their creative resources
and can therefore find success in a more
natural way.

I've noticed something. I notice that
I'm generally highly competent at something
when I'm totally relaxed doing it.

Getting to that place where I feel competent
can sometimes be accompanied by tension.

Perhaps a shortcut to competence is to be
relaxed before you need to be. In other
words, why not start out relaxed?

Why not be relaxed, even though you are
learning something new?

Relaxation gets you there faster.

You remember better. You think better.
You act better. You feel better. You
do all of these things better when relaxed.

Of course, tension can have its place
too. Stage performers often say that
a little bit of stage fright is a good
thing. Why? Because it motivates them
to give a great performance.

So, relaxation can be somewhat of a paradox.

Taking steps to relax yourself can be very
helpful. Yet, you would never want to be
so relaxed that you didn't care.

Successful people seem to manage these kinds
of contradictions very well. They know how
to relax deeply and care deeply, both at the
same time.

There's a type of surrender that takes place
when you relax. You are relaxing yourself by
surrendering yourself to something greater than
yourself.

One of the great sensations of being in a stage
production is the sensation that you are participating
in something that is greater than your little self.

Your big self is overriding your little self. That
is to say, you are surrendering something little to
gain something big.

When I need to relax more, I sing HU. Singing
HU is a spiritual practice that brings better
attunement with God.

Anything that attunes you better with God, will relax
you.

Here's instruction on how to sing HU:

How to Sing HU

There are many many ways to attune yourself to God.

One way is through natural distractions. Taking a walk
out in nature gives you lots of things to see and hear
that will slow you down and relax you.

Natural distractions have a built-in rhythm. Attune
yourself to this rhythm and you start to relax.

For example, slowing down and taking care of a pet
can relax you.

The sun, the sky, great bodies of water, living things
--- all these things are natural distractions. All are
relaxing.

Another way to relax is to do something nice for someone
else. This is something my mother taught me. Doing
something nice for someone almost always relaxes me.

However, when I'm really in a bind, I sing HU. Singing HU
seems to work when nothing else will work.

For example, I sang HU just prior to emergency surgery
to save my life. It totally relaxed me.

Not every situation is an emergency. I'll also sing HU
when I don't need to.

In general, I try to keep a relaxed attitude as I go
through my day. This keeps me from spending my energy
on things that are not worth spending energy on; for
example, worrying about something I can do nothing about.

Just remembering to relax can be helpful.

Sometimes, that's all it takes. Sometimes, all I need to
do to relax is to remember to relax.

In other words, relaxation is an acquired taste. You can
learn to relax just as you can learn to do lots of things.

Well, I'm kind of relaxed now. Writing relaxes me too.

Writing is a creative outlet. Creative outlets tend to
be relaxing.

Ed Abbott

The Determination to Succeed

 
Nothing succeeds like determination.
So goes the old cliche.

It's true. The determination to succeed
is often the determining factor in your
success.

I recall reading a book by Akio Morita,
a co-founder of Sony Corporation and
later, Sony's chairman.

He was writing about Sony as it was in the
late 1940s. World War II was over and he
and his partners were building their company
on top of the rubble of war.

They wanted to get into the business of selling
recording equipment. In particular, they were
interested in tape recorders and audio tape.

They had no equipment to manufacture audio tape.

Rather than let this stop them, they hand-painted
the magnetic material on to the tape backing.

I couldn't believe it when I read this!

Imagine sitting there hunched over strips of tape
using little paint brushes to paint the magnetic
surface on to the tape. It would take days and
days!

Most people would have said, "Impossible! I give
up!"

They were determined to succeed.

As I recall, he wrote that he could not believe
it either! He could not believe that they had
actually done that.

He sat there writing about things that he could
just barely believe had actually happened.

Not everything Sony did in the early days was a
success.

I remember the book had a picture of a rice cooker
the company had developed around that time. The
caption to the picture said the rice cooker never
worked quite right.

One more story.

While in college, I had a teacher who served in the
U.S. Military immediately after World War II. He
was stationed in Japan.

At that time, the local Japanese were collecting
beer cans from the G.I.s and cutting them up and
turning them into cigarette lighters that were then
sold back to the G.I.s.

Even though the cigarette lighters, fashioned from
beer can parts, were very clever, the G.I.s viewed
these home-made gadgets as a joke.

They were a joke that worked. The lighters lit
cigarettes.

My teacher, speaking from the perspective of the
1980's, said they never thought back then that those
cigarette lighters would one day turn into television
sets and automobiles.

See what happens when you are determined? You start
with whatever circumstances you find yourself in and
you build and build and build.

Life starts where you are.

The determination to succeed pretty much guarantees
that where you start out will not be where you end
up.

Ed Abbott

Getting Better Each Day Is Good For Your Morale

 
OK. I'm working on the following
article for my website:

How to Succeed

The basic premise? Getting better
at something each and every day is
good for your morale.

Why? Because if you get better at
something every day, eventually you
get there.

Build just a little bit of skill each
day and one day, you become very good
at what you do.

It's one reason I like blogging. You
don't have to build your blog all at once.

You can build it a little bit at a time, one
step at a time.

Ed Abbott

Finish What You Start

 
Here's another key to success:

Finish what you start.

This seems to characterize people
who succeed. When they start something,
they finish it.

Years ago, I recall recruiters coming
to Coleman College in San Diego, CA,
where I was a student.

These recruiters were from EDS Corporation,
a company founded by and run by Ross Perot
at that time. This was around 1984 or so.

Because Coleman College is a computer school,
the recruiters were there to recruit the best
students from each class. EDS is a computer
services company.

The application process for EDS took you all
the way back to elementary school. No one
could believe it!

What company cared about your elementary school
records? EDS did.

A primary thing they looked for is if you finished
what you started. Were you a finisher?

EDS examined your entire life, practically from
birth, to see if you completed the things you had
started. They were looking to hire winners.
Winners finish.

Country music star Carrie Underwood went back and
finished college after winning American Idol in
May of 2005.

She had one semester left and graduated in May of
2006.

Most people would have decided to forget college
and pursue the career. Who can blame them?

Carrie, million-dollar recording contract in hand,
went back and finished her final semester and got
her degree magna cum laude.

Now that's a finisher!

No wonder she's been one of the most successful American
Idol winners to date. She finishes. Whatever she
starts, she finishes.

Finishing is not just a matter of completing. It's
completing it, giving it your best.

Ed Abbott

Tom T. Hall's Two Keys to Success

 
A few months back, I was watching GAC
TV. GAC is a country music cable network.

Tom T. Hall was on. GAC was playing a
segment of him being inducted into the
Country Music Hall of Fame.

He talked about success at one point. He
was asked what it takes to be successful,
or something like that. I don't recall
exactly. It's been 4 months.

He said you need two things to be
successful:

1. Show up.
2. Answer the phone.

I've thought a lot about this. I think
he's right.

Showing up is important because it's
important to be there at the right time
and place for success and it's important
to do so consistently.

Answering the phone is important because
you don't get anywhere unless you are
talking to people and communicating with
people.

Also, it's important to answer the phone
because it's important to not be too
important to do so.

He said no one answers the phone anymore.
Instead, we rely on answering machines.

That's how I recall what Tom T. Hall
said 4 months ago.

Ed Abbott

Overcoming a Sense of Entitlement

 
Woke up from a dream about 3 hours ago.

I dreamt a friend from high school was
organizing a ride home for everyone. He
had a whole crew of people working with
him.

Basically, this friend was pursuing a mission
of giving people a ride home.

I was one of the people who got a ride home.
I thanked him for this.

I woke up realizing that being thankful is
one way to overcome a sense of entitlement.
This was one of my first thoughts upon awakening.

Entitlement can be a barrier to success. An
entitled person gets something whether they
deserve it or not.

So giving up any sense of entitlement can make
one more successful.

I try to approach each day this way. I'm grateful
for what God has given me and I don't necessarily
expect past successes to translate into present day
success.

Giving up on entitlement keeps me creative. I'm always
creating something new because I cannot afford to rest
on my laurels.

Enough for now.

Ed Abbott

Becoming First Cause

 
Here's another way to become successful.

Become First Cause in your life.

What does this mean?

I had a dream last night. I dreamt that
a red hot metal point was coming out of
the ground.

Oddly enough, the point was rather blunt,
not sharp.

Here's what I understand from this dream:

Basically, the dream is telling me that if
you can get back to First Cause, it will cause
many wonderful things to happen in your life.

That's the basic meaning.

I realize that dreaming about a red hot metal
point coming out of the ground would not mean
that to you. However, that's what it means
to me.

So what is First Cause? It is a return to
the arms of Divine Spirit. It's letting
Divine Spirit cause things in your life.

The point coming out of the ground was blunt
and not sharp because First Cause does not
cause one thing to happen, it causes many things
to happen.

A sharp point would have caused only one thing.
A blunt point causes many things.

This is really a dream about the wonderful ways
of Divine Spirit. Divine Spirit is "red hot" in
this regard.

There are many many ways to let Divine Spirit become
First Cause in your life. I'll give you one way.

Sing HU once a day. This is one way to return yourself
into the arms of Divine Spirit. When you do this, you
start working on First Cause.

Here's some instruction on how to sing HU:

How to Sing HU

There's so much value in all of this! I
need to write about this more!

Becoming First Cause in one's life is really
a way of taking charge. It's also a way of
letting God decide what is best. It's both
at the same time.

Lots of wonderful things can happen when you
become First Cause.

More later.

Ed Abbott

One Percent Success Every Day

 
OK. I said I'd show you how getting
better at something by one percent a
day can help you succeed.

I've done a little math.

Getting one percant better at something
every day works like compound interest.

• 
  In 90 days, you are twice as good at it
  
• 
  In 6 months you are 5 times as good at it.
  
• 
  In 10 months, you are 10 times as good at it.
  
• 
  In 1 year plus 100 days, you are 100 times as good at it.
  
• 
  In 2 years,you are one thousand times as good at it.
  
• 
  In 4 years,you are one million times as good at it.
  

Ever wonder how some people become such great singers?

They are good at it because they've been doing it a while.

Also, they are good because they do it almost every day.

Enough for now.

Ed Abbott

How to Succeed

 
This is a new blog on
How to Succeed.

The basic premise is this.
If you get better at something
by one percent a day, you eventually
succeed.

Get a little better at something every
day and you get there.

For example, become a little better at
the piano every day and one day you can
play the piano.

More later.

Ed Abbott