Go back and revisit all of the things that inspired you, taught you, and
motivated you. Go back and read your collection of leadership books,
self-help books, watch your DVDs, or anything else from which you felt
you received a strong message that made a difference in your development. Find your old notes from mentor sessions, or interesting technical reading about your industry, or anything that interests you. Dust off old performance appraisals and make sure you have implemented the feedback.

What you choose to go back to is not as relevant as reinvesting the
time to reinforce past teachings. I personally dedicate at least an hour a
week to reference past material and review information I may have forgotten. I’m sure we have all heard the phrase from someone who has been around the block for a while, “I’ve forgotten more than someone else
knows.” Don’t let that happen to you.

You are a constantly evolving, learning creature. Some of the revisited
material may seem brand new, while others may simply be viewed from
a new and wiser perspective. Keep the learning alive for a better professional and personal future. Most of us are surrounded with learning
materials that are right at our fingertips. Be wise and use them.

I have written many times about investing time with mentors and
supporters, and surrounding yourself with great teammates. However,
only you can take the final step to transform your professional life. I am
grateful for everyone who has provided me enough guidance to inspire
me to make the choices I have. I believe everyone has a choice to transform
their life. I know, because I have. I, the cynic, did not believe in
myself—or many others, for that matter—early in my career. The twists
and turns of my professional life put me on a path to build my self-confidence and self-awareness. I am the same person, but with a brand new
outlook and the confidence that I can make a difference in my life and the
lives of many others. I can make a difference in my professional career.
I can make my business better. I can share my experiences so others can
prosper. I have finally learned to take a step back and invest for countless
steps forward.

Much of what you have read in this book seems obvious. I like to be
the king of the obvious sometimes, because if it was so obvious, then why
did it take me so long to grasp hold of much of it? My years of interaction
with professionals has proven that we are creatures of habit, and need a
little tweaking to find the good habits that make us better. Keep going
back to the basics that have proven to work and you can’t go wrong. Pick
out the ones that work for you. Keep learning from the past and strengthening  the future, but stick with the basics.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

MP3 Downloads of “From Fear to Success:  A Practical Public-speaking Guide” are available at Apple iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, Spotify, Omnifone, Google Music Store, Rdio, Muve Music, Bloom.fm, Slacker Radio, MediaNet, 7digital, 24-7, Rumblefish, and Shazam “From Fear to Success” MP3 on CD Baby

When I was in a position to support my business, I was responsible
for keeping the day-to-day components running smoothly. I found I had
a group of go-to people I constantly needed for assistance. There was one
person in particular who worked in technology that I found I was constantly calling to fix something. His sense of urgency and my sense of urgency were quite different. I had the constant need to ride him and follow up to get things done. I would stay on him, and he would quietly get to my requests in his own sweet time.

On one occasion, I really felt that my request needed to be prioritized—
although everything seemed urgent to me. He gave me the same
response that he gave me every other time: I would wait in line with the
other requests and he would get to it. I felt the need to sit down with
him this time and explain that I really needed him to get to my request
now. We sat together for an extended period for the first time ever. It was
not just a quick phone call or email request—we had a real conversation.
I explained my reasoning and rationale, which differed from past
terse requests, “I need it done now.” I hoped in doing this that he would
come to understand why my request differed in priority from the other
requests he had in his queue. He seemed to understand, and we were
able to work out a decent agreement that worked for both of us. I let him
know how much I appreciated him jumping on it, and thanked him for
the past work he had done for me. I clearly let him know that the work he
had done in the past was done with high quality and he should be proud
of it. I was not doing this because I just got what I wanted. I was doing
this because I felt we finally connected and he deserved to hear it.
Although he was taken aback to begin with, he saw the budding relationship as well and graciously accepted the compliment. He also thought it was a good time to provide me with some honesty of his own. He matter-of-factly said, “You’ll catch more flies with honey than vinegar.” I had heard this proverb before, but never directed specifically at me, but I got the point quickly.

Our relationship continued to grow over time. He continued to
increase his sense of urgency, when it made sense, and I started to get
more requests done without follow-up. He would move my requests up
the queue with a wink, at times. Although this lesson isn’t about being
someone’s favorite, it didn’t hurt. In reality, he wasn’t working faster,
showing more urgency, or even any favoritism, he just wasn’t intentionally
delaying my requests any longer. I had deserved the delays before
because I was not respecting the value of the work he did. It also took
an event in which I really needed something badly to force me to tell
someone he’d done a great job. Sometimes, people just need to feel valued
and appreciated. As a peer or a manager, we should appreciate the whole
value of what someone is offering, not just a single event. Don’t wait for a
particular moment to give a simple compliment and provide recognition.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

MP3 Downloads of “From Fear to Success:  A Practical Public-speaking Guide” are available at Apple iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, Spotify, Omnifone, Google Music Store, Rdio, Muve Music, Bloom.fm, Slacker Radio, MediaNet, 7digital, 24-7, Rumblefish, and Shazam “From Fear to Success” MP3 on CD Baby

I have known many people in the teaching profession who have dedicated
their daily lives to teaching children. I often hear how gratifying and rewarding it is to them as individuals. There is also a humbling pride I have witnessed in many school teachers as they watch “their” children grow throughout the school year.
I remember the first time I was asked at school in the fourth grade
what I wanted to be when I grew up. Possibly out of panic or the unknown,
I said I wanted to be a teacher. Being a school teacher wasn’t in my future.
I have found I don’t have the necessary patience. I have observed teachers—including my wife, who is a teacher by profession—who have shown
more patience then I could ever dream of.

I may not have met my fourth-grade goal of becoming a teacher, but
I have found myself teaching throughout my professional years. I have
gone from teaching cold hard facts, to teaching technical aspects of a
given job, to investing my time in teaching people how to increase their
confidence and improve themselves. I have presented to groups of people,
mentored one-on-one, and managed teams of all sizes. I have taught new
hires, new managers, tenured employees, and tenured managers over the
years. I guess I too have witnessed firsthand the humbling pride of watching others grow.

Watching people learn a new business and better themselves is
powerful. However, this feeling of pride is overpowered by the amount
of learning I find myself doing whenever I am in teaching mode. I have
begun to pick up on the common teachings of patience and humility
myself. There are so many things to learn as a teacher of others. I have
learned that I could be a better listener and ensure that there are two-way
discussions, even in a classroom setting. I have room to improve my
style, my delivery, and my preparation. I have learned that I do not know
everything, and sharing what I do know is intoxicating. I have learned
that as a teaching mentor, I can make a difference one person at a time.
I constantly learn from attendees in the classroom setting. I see an
eagerness to learn and a thirst to share ideas. I have learned that there
is no single best way to do something and that people learn at different
speeds. I have learned through the years that people learn in different
ways: some like books, some learn visually, and different generations
learn differently. I have learned that I need to vary my approach to be
more flexible and plan for the unexpected.

One of my biggest lessons is the recognition that I had things to
teach. I already knew I had business skills to teach that increased people’s
technical acumen. However, I found that I had a story to tell, and there
were people who wanted to listen. We all have our own background and
stories that can be shared. I found that my job satisfaction and success
increased when I shared my own lessons learned and best practices.
I found there is an audience to teach. It can be an audience of one or
an audience of one hundred. There is an active and willing group of people
who are willing to take the steps to be better, learn from one another’s
wisdom, and get the nuggets of information necessary to strengthen their
resolve and confidence—so that they, in turn, can eventually become the
teacher. It is a constant and progressive process.

I have found no better learning experience than humbly standing in
front of a group of people who want to be there. Whenever possible, seek
opportunities in your professional world to be the teacher. Teach someone
something—anything—and you will invariably be the student. Your
thirst to share will pay off in more knowledge for you to absorb. This
ensures a perpetual cycle of teaching and learning.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

MP3 Downloads of “From Fear to Success:  A Practical Public-speaking Guide” are available at Apple iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, Spotify, Omnifone, Google Music Store, Rdio, Muve Music, Bloom.fm, Slacker Radio, MediaNet, 7digital, 24-7, Rumblefish, and Shazam “From Fear to Success” MP3 on CD Baby