The present era is a mediocre era and a very distressed era. Some people are waiting for the opportunity that God gives them in life and praying for the extremely bright future that will appear in the future. Others often say that they hope that time can go back and return to the "good old days"-at that time, a haircut was only 20 cents. The air is fresh and pleasant, and life is simple but wonderful.
Today, if you pick up the newspaper and turn to the editorial page, you may see the following:
The world is too big for us. You go all out, but you always fall behind. You are always under pressure to keep up with others ... but in the end, you will lose your way, and scientific discoveries and inventions will continue to innovate, which will surprise you and make you feel at a loss. The political arena has changed so much that although you try to remember who came to power and who stepped down, it is always in vain. Everything is stressful. Humans can't bear more pressure.
This editorial reads as if it was written last week or last night. But it was actually written more than 50 years ago in/kloc-0, and published in the Atlantic Daily on June 1833. This is what many people call "the good old days".
What does it mean to you and me? What can we learn from it? I believe this simple and incomplete editorial, although it has been 150 years, can teach us all the secrets of success.
Napoleon Hill always likes to tell students the real situation outside the school when he speaks at seminars and graduation ceremonies in high schools all over the United States. And tell them that we will not be "melted" or "blown to pieces". These younger generations who will be our leaders tomorrow don't seem to believe what he said. Napoleon Hill told them, "You are the luckiest people in our history. You have seen more changes in a year than our grandfather did in his life. The so-called beautiful ancient times are actually not as beautiful as everyone said. " When they heard these words of Napoleon Hill, their eyes widened.
Napoleon Hill explained the so-called "good old days" to these young people, that is, those days in the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War. Napoleon Hill talked about horses that suddenly died of cholera in the streets of new york at the beginning of this century.
Napoleon Hill told them: "In those ancient days, we always bathed in a big wooden barrel with hot water heated by a charcoal or coal-burning stove. In those ancient' good' years, the water we bathed in was the same bucket of hot water left by people who bathed before us. If your uncle bathes in front of you, and-fate is good at playing tricks on people-he is a pig farmer, then your collar will not leave a circle of dirt, but you will leave a whole body of dirt, and the more you wash it, the dirtier it will be. In those' beautiful' ancient times, terrible diseases such as polio, diphtheria and scarlet fever were prevalent. People at that time had never heard of such a thing as Shaq vaccine. In the 1940 s and early 1950 s, in the hot summer, we were afraid to swim in the community swimming pool or go to the cinema because we were worried that we would be infected with polio, leading to paraplegia, disability and even death. " When Napoleon Hill told these young people this, they didn't even know what he was talking about. They have never heard that during the war, rationing was implemented, and stickers of A, B and C were put on the windshield of cars, and these notes were used to buy several gallons of gasoline every month.
Napoleon Hill showed them the headline of1857165438+10/3 The Boston Globe, and they were dumbfounded. The headline reads: "The energy crisis is in full swing", and the subtitle below reads: "Will the whole world fall into darkness? There is a shortage of gasoline. At the same time, I described to these American high school children the reaction of a typical American family when they first saw this title in the cold morning of June 5438+065438+ 10. " Hey! "Martha," a man might shout to his lovely wife, "have you read the newspaper?" It seems that we have encountered the worst energy crisis in history. "
These poor children began to understand and emphasize the dark side of the world. Judging from the way their parents, teachers and friends complain, the world seems to be getting worse and worse. They asked Napoleon Hill some questions about nuclear destruction and nuclear power plants. Napoleon Hill answered them honestly. Japan is a country that relies heavily on nuclear energy to generate electricity, and 60% of the electricity needed by the Soviet Union comes from nuclear power plants. Napoleon Hill himself hoped that the world would quickly enter the laser age, specifically the laser fusion age, because the current nuclear fission power generation is more dangerous. Napoleon Hill also believed that Paul Harvey, a famous newscaster, was right about energy. He said: "If the first product that uses electricity in the world is the electric chair, then we can't even plug in our toaster today."
When we look back at history, we can know that the best things can be found at the worst time. It all depends on what we are looking for.
The secret of success is to seize the present and not dwell on the past.
Every generation will lament that they live in the most difficult environment in history. They just want to complain about this cruel world, like an ostrich fleeing, thinking that burying their heads in the sand will never have to roll up their sleeves to solve their own problems. They can blame their elders or the government, and then play the most popular game in America-"hide and seek". In this game, everyone has to run hard and try their best to hide. The person who is caught must be an unlucky "ghost", and then find another person to replace him.
Napoleon Hill always said to these future leaders in speeches to young friends or in seminars: "The so-called good day is today. Because this is our life, our day, and the only time we survived in history. This is our time. I have never described the good side of life to you, nor have I told you the sad side of life. I won't instill too much optimism in you, but I just want to tell you that changes in life are inevitable.
So how can we seize today? We should believe:
Today, I will start work.
Just today, I want to make goals and plans.
Just today, I want to consider living only today.
Just today, I want to have a good exercise.
Just today, I want to improve my mind.
Just today, I want to rest my mind.
Just today, I will overcome my fears and worries.
Just today, I want to be liked.
Just today, I want to make her happy.
Just today, I want to be successful and outstanding.
Second, set the order.
All successful people set priorities for what they want to do.
Helen, Gerry and Brown, editors of Cosmopolitan, always keep a magazine on the desk. Whenever she wants to waste time doing something that doesn't directly contribute to Cosmopolitan, a glance at that magazine can help her get back on track. Brown said: "You may work very hard and even feel complacent at the end of the day, but unless you know the order of things, you may be farther away from your goal than at the beginning."
You must understand that all the items on your schedule are not equally important and should not be treated equally. This is a very important point, and it is also a place where many people who will become experts in time strategy will go astray. They will try their best to list all the schedules, but when they start to do something on the list, they can't deal with it according to their priorities.
The method of marking urgent matters is as follows:
(1) limit quantity;
(2) You can make two charts, one is a short-term schedule and the other is a long-term priority schedule. Bullets, asterisks or English A, B, C or Arabic numerals 1, 2, 3, etc. can be added. Except for the most important thing.
After determining what should be done, you must start to arrange activities or implement plans according to priorities. But most people prioritize things according to their urgency, not their priorities. This method is too passive, inactive and lacks initiative. Successful people must never work like this. How to work according to priorities? The following two suggestions are for reference:
1. Schedule a schedule every day.
Charles Schwapp, president of Bethlehem Steel Company, admitted that he had met Ivy Leigh, an efficiency expert. During the meeting, Ivey Leigh said that his company can help Shuwap manage his steel company better. Schwapp said he knew how to manage, but in fact, the effect was often unsatisfactory. He said, what I need is not to know more knowledge, but to give it better action. He said: "We know what we should do. If you can tell us how to carry out this plan better, I will listen to you. Within a reasonable range, the price is up to you. "
Ivy Leigh said that he could give something to Schwap in 10 minutes, which could improve the performance of his company by at least 50%. Then he handed Shuwap something, a piece of white paper, and said, "Write down the six most important things to do tomorrow on this paper." After a while, he said, "Now use numbers to indicate the priority of everything for you and your company." It took about five minutes.
Ivy Leigh went on to say, "Now put this paper in your pocket. The first thing tomorrow morning is to take out the note, do the first item, don't look at the others, and concentrate on doing it until it is finally completed; Then do the same as the second and third ... until after work. If you only finish the fifth thing, don't worry. You are always doing the most important thing. "
Ivy Leigh said, "Do it every day. After you are convinced of the value of this method, please ask people in your company to do the same. You can do this experiment as long as you want, and then send me a check, whatever you think is worth. "
The whole meeting lasted less than half an hour. A few weeks later, Schwapp sent Ivy Leigh a check for 25,000 yuan with a letter. The letter said that from the perspective of money, he learned the most precious and unforgettable lesson in his life. Later, it was said that five years later, this little-known factory became the largest independent steel enterprise in the world. Ivey Leigh's method contributed greatly, and it also made a profit of $654.38 billion for charles schwab.
People have a wrong tendency not to do things according to their importance. Most people prefer to do things that make people feel happy or convenient. However, there is no other way to use time more effectively than to do things according to their importance. Try this method for a month, and you will get the amazing effect of "three days without leaving". People can't help asking, where did you get so much energy? But you know, you know that you should focus on the most important place instead of getting energy.
2. Make a timetable for things in chronological order.
It is very important for your success to arrange a reasonable day. In this way, you can always focus on what needs to be done. But it is also important to arrange a week, a month and a year reasonably. Doing so will give you a grasp of the overall direction, let you see your grand plan and help you achieve your expected goals.
Stick to the beginning of each month, calm down and look at this month's calendar and main task list, then fill in these tasks in the calendar, and then make a timetable, so as not to inadvertently miss a deadline or forget a task.
Write down your goals.
If you want to know the priority of doing things, the key question is: can it help me achieve some important goals in life? Conrad Hilton, a famous hotelier, attributed his success to the magic of his goal. But before the goal is achieved, Conrad Hilton must write down his priorities. Let's tell a story about him.
The economic depression once hit Hilton physically and mentally. No one wants to travel since the 1929 stock market crash. Even a few people will never stay in the hotel that Hilton bought in the 1920s. 193 1, his creditors threatened to cancel the mortgage. Not only was his laundry pawned, but to make matters worse, he had to borrow money from the porter to make a living. Just then, by chance, he saw a photo of waldorf, which has been kept in his wallet. There are 6 kitchens, 200 chefs, 500 waiters, 2000 rooms, an affiliated private hospital, and a private railway next to the basement. He cut out the photo and wrote "the best in the world" on the back of the photo.
Hilton recalled afterwards: "This lost and chaotic day is really unimaginable." But waldorf's photos were treasured in his wallet from now on, inspiring him and keeping him from being depressed. When he had his own desk again, he put the photos under the glass plate of the desk so that he could see them at any time. When his career gradually improved and he bought a new big table, he still put Zhang Zhengui's photo under the glass plate. After 18 years, 1949 years and 10 months, things got their way, and Hilton finally bought waldorf. A photo gave Hilton a concrete prototype of a dream and gave him a clear and all-out goal. This photo is like a reminder card, constantly inspiring him to get closer to his goal step by step.
Homer Rice, like Hilton, is also a successful person who is motivated by clear goals. Homer Rice is the resident sports director of Georgia Tech's Yellow Jackets. Because of Rice's outstanding achievements, colleagues of NCAA set up an award in his name, which is awarded to the best sports director in China every year.
Rice once taught in a rural middle school in Kentucky, and then transferred to a larger middle school to continue her teaching career. There, he created a very brilliant record: 10 1 winning 9 losses, 7 draws, 7 wins, 50 wins and 5 consecutive championships! After achieving the goal, I will become a university coach, professional coach and university sports director.
How did he achieve such brilliant achievements?
First, Rice looked through all the books he could find on how to succeed. He found that many of these books have a common feature, and they all advise readers to fulfill your wishes, goals and dreams.
As a result, the young rice carefully marked the time limit and plan to achieve the goal. Like a miracle, Rice accomplished the goal he wrote down step by step. He himself was very satisfied with the result of the goal and told his players to do the same.
Rice is sometimes invited to give a speech. Once, he showed his classmates a set of 3×5cm cards, and then he smiled and told them: "They are all my goals, one by one, and I take them everywhere. I'll take these cards out for review when I board the plane. And my real pleasure is to achieve these goals. " He believes that the goal should be clear and definite, "and read aloud at least twice a day." He firmly believes that clear goals help to integrate them into the subconscious. He said: "Be patient, relax and keep confidence; It's yours, and you can't run away naturally. " This is his experience.
Make a practical plan.
1. Don't think about your memory.
I offer a good suggestion, that is, make a good work plan for the next day before turning off the lights, because:
Write down all your work. Only in this way can you sleep well. Otherwise, you will think before going to bed, "Don't forget! Never forget! "
After writing down your work, your brain has time to think about how to solve problems, not just memorizing them, but using the subconscious to solve problems.
The human brain is like a parallel processor. The work of the speaking part can run at the same time. Once you write these things down, the brain will move them behind the scenes and start solving problems.
If a thing is not worth writing down, it is probably not worth doing.
The timetable should be simple and clear.
Don't post your schedule everywhere. If your memo falls apart, there will often be many loopholes.
You should make sure that you can see what you want to do in at least one place, and you can check the progress in time, perhaps in the universal book you carry with you, or on the computer or in any other way. But remember: don't let them become your main method, or you will make a big mistake.
If you put your schedule and appointment records together, you'd better keep one in the office or computer in case one of them is lost or stolen, otherwise it will bring you unnecessary trouble.
In addition, it is very helpful for you to update the office copy every day.
3. Check the schedule regularly
Napoleon Hill personally thought that the calendar should be checked regularly.
The first thing to do in the morning is to check your schedule. If you make sure that all things to be done are listed on the schedule and check the schedule regularly every day, you won't "forget" that there are unfinished things in this plan.
Forbes II always keeps a card recording important events on his desk. He regards it as the center of the management system: "whenever I hesitate, I will look at this watch and think about whether it is worth shaking."
Usually there are about 20 things on Forbes II's card, including telephone calls, letters, faxes and short columns dictated by him. He once told me: "If you use a relatively fixed notebook to record what you want to do, it will never be solved."
Of course, what he said is a bit one-sided, but it is a very useful skill in managing other things.
Whenever you assign work to your subordinates, you should ask them to write down what you told them on the work schedule. In subsequent meetings, they should also be invited to bring a meeting schedule as a basis for advancing the report. Only in this way can you feel at ease and not miss some links in your work.
In industrial and commercial enterprises or society, "reliable" quality is very important.
Of course, we must also admit that a few people mislead others and make others believe that they are careless and have no organizational ability, and they can forget what they don't want to do at will.
Managers like to assign jobs so that they can focus on other jobs or things.
Step 4 limit the items on the schedule
The scope of the timetable should be broad, but it should not be like an encyclopedia, otherwise you will feel at a loss.
Li, a business management consultant, said to Schwab, "I can help you improve the efficiency of the company." Schwab asked, "How much is it?" Li said, "If it doesn't work, it's free. If it works, I hope you can pay me 1% for the savings. "
Schwab agreed: "That's fair, so how to do it?" Li said, "I need 10 minutes to meet every senior executive."
Li then began to meet all the senior managers. He told each supervisor, "Please write down six things you didn't finish today, but you must finish them before you leave the office tomorrow."
Executives all agree with this view and put the plan into practice. In this way, everyone is very careful about their work. It is because of this timetable that they have worked hard to finish the things on the list.
Shortly after the implementation, the company's benefits have been significantly improved. A few months later, Schwab wrote Li a check for $35,000.
After hearing this experience, Mary Kay began to write down six important things to do tomorrow before leaving work every day, and encouraged the salespeople to do the same.
Today, Mary Kay Cosmetics Company has more than 200,000 salesmen and printed 1 10,000 pink diapers. Every note says, "Six important things I must do tomorrow."
5. Pay attention to the date and time next to the planned project.
Napoleon Hill believes that a time diary is not always omnipotent, and it can only play a role if you really make up your mind to finish what is on the schedule. And the best way to make up your mind to finish what you plan is to limit the time to finish every job on the schedule.
Most people's work diaries are only used to record meetings and appointments, while Napoleon Hill used them to plan meetings and appointments.
Important work, like visitors and meetings, should be recorded.
6. Help your subordinates make a timetable.
Susan Traylor is the editor-in-chief of Jinghua Magazine. Like most executives, she has planned her own schedule. In addition, she has made a timetable for her subordinates.
Under normal circumstances, Taylor would hide in a holiday resort in New England on weekends, thinking about business planning, reading articles, newspapers and magazines, and sorting things out. When she comes back to work on Monday, she always brings a schedule of important people, which lists the jobs assigned to everyone. Things that should be done first will be marked in red, and things that should be done first will be marked in two. In addition, information needed to complete the work, such as business cards or related letters, will be attached to the schedule.
Napoleon Hill, one of the managers, is good at using time and writing the departmental timetable on the whiteboard, which is conducive to making adjustments at any time according to the development and changes of things, changing the priorities of things, and letting subordinates understand the importance of how he views a planning scheme.
7. Make a long-term plan
Successful people who can make good use of their time will make a long-term timetable.
At a national sales staff meeting, a reporter asked a chief sales staff, "What do you think is the most important sales strategy?" He replied, "My monthly schedule." He must know in advance which customers he will visit next month and be prepared for it.
In addition, some people even estimate how long it will take to complete each plan on their long-term plans, and then use weekly, monthly or annual plans to make daily plans.
Deborah Sharan is the editor-in-chief of Working Class. She plans the annual and monthly schedules by filing. The first two weeks of each month are fixed time for writing comments; Third, around, plan other activities, such as speeches; Then it will be the time for her to reply to the thank-you letter, or to do public relations contact and plan the future time. She always plans her work for the coming year in advance: write a book for several months, hold a seminar for several months, and arrange to try new things for the remaining two months.
In this way, Sharon has created a surprising number of works and won many supporters among his peers.
Use your head more than your feet.
When you are young, if you like playing chess with your father, you will find that if he doesn't let you go, he will always win. Why?
This is because you only saw one move, and he has set a trap. Because he has planned to eat two or three of your pieces in the next two or three moves, he would rather let you eat one, and it doesn't matter.
Successful people have tried, and they will predict what is feasible and what is not, and how much time, energy and resources are needed. You can use paper and pencil to help you simulate every step of the plan, when and how much resources you need. Otherwise, it will delay the implementation of the plan and even ruin the whole plan.
"Think carefully and carry it out to the end" is a basic requirement, but it is often ignored by everyone. Maybe we have all seen poorly designed buildings or instruments, so we can't help asking, what is this? The reason is that designers lack psychological simulation programs.
Napoleon Hill will distribute the outline of each cadre meeting to everyone present before each cadre meeting. The outline of this meeting includes a series of questions such as meeting time, purpose, reference materials, difficult problems and objectives.
This realization can save meeting time and solve problems quickly.
We'd better think about what it takes to complete a task. For example, if you want to list the items of income tax deduction, all you need to do is sort them out. Some people with high achievements will allocate a specific period of time on the schedule to think about what to do.
If you think clearly, you don't have to fight alone. In fact, some activities or events also need collaborators. The role of this collaborator is to help you predict what is needed or what will happen soon.
1.
Mary Poole's way of dealing with trifles is to classify them. There are often thousands of notes, letters, sales letters and other things on her desk. Her way of dealing with such annoying things is to classify them.
Poole divides documents into three categories: the first category contains items that need to be dealt with immediately; The second kind of documents is not urgent but quite important; The third category is documents that can be read in your spare time. It doesn't seem to be an important skill to divide the documents into three categories, but the concept is still very important, but as soon as she picks up these letters, she will deal with them immediately.
Kay Coporowitz classified the documents into six files with different colors, and the company's internal notes and external letters were placed in files with different colors. Different organizations have different file colors. Once time is short, they will read the "must see today" document.
The classification method adopted by Kay Copolowitz shows that they all have a sequence. Of course, the location of magazines and letters that are put in the mailbox first or on the desktop is different.
Trinomial classification also shows that things should have a certain structure.
Your work should never be arbitrary and arbitrary. Most of us have noticed that a lot of time is wasted, which is an important part of your life, and life will pass away because of this seemingly insignificant thing.
Reading a letter and then putting it back without doing anything will only waste a few seconds, maybe 1 minute at most, but repeating 10 times a day will reduce people's effective working time.
If you find the faucet leaking but don't repair it, you will find that the water fee has increased greatly. If this goes on, hour after hour, week after week, month after month, quarter after quarter, year after year, you will find that this waste is amazing.
Coordination details
A large symphony orchestra harmoniously combines the performances of many individuals, sometimes as many as 100 people.
Every musician and all kinds of stringed instruments, wind instruments and percussion instruments have different responsibilities. They may practice playing separately, but once they play, they will be in harmony, because each musician has a complete score to tell them what others are doing.
As we all know, the function of music score will promote playing skills to a higher level.
The key to successfully coordinating anything is to make a soundtrack and then let the actors participate in the performance.
Stanley stanley kubrick, a producer who has made films such as Doctor Strange, A Space Odyssey 200 1 and clockwork orange, co-ordinates every link of the film every day, from travel planning to shooting details.
In this respect, he is very similar to Hitchcock, who will also plan every subtle and complicated link or detail in every scene.
The directors successfully completed the overall planning method: before shooting, they simulated the whole movie in their own minds, and then wrote the scenes in their minds. In order to ensure that everyone is ready for filming, it is necessary to plan and manage it more accurately.
Of course, not every director pays attention to details like Stanley stanley kubrick or Hitchcock, and some directors also allow considerable freedom of improvisation.
But it also proves this point, that is, carefully arrange every detail and complete the transfer from concept to film.
John wooden, the greatest basketball coach of all time, promoted the coordination technique to the realm of art. Wooden waited for nearly 15 years to win the first junior college basketball championship, and then won the 10 championship at the University of California 12, which is unprecedented in the history of basketball.
Then let's listen to how he trains.
"Every training has a precise purpose and a very precise time. You must train from one to the next and then to the next. This can't be interrupted, and you can't go back and repeat the previous training. "
"In fact, there is a personal training plan every day. You can estimate its accuracy and the exercise will end on time. This accuracy reduces the pain of practice. "
This detail-oriented approach is effective not only in sports, but also in other industrial and commercial enterprises. "
If one day you are responsible for planning special activities, advertising, promotion and other work, then a detailed plan to coordinate all the contents is particularly important.
If a considerable number of people participate in the activity, the work should be responsible at different levels, and a plan should be made to deal with the problem once it occurs.
If you don't like or are not good at making detailed and thorough plans, you can hire staff.