My friend Steve Oroho shared these principles of success at a speech earlier this week. Considering he retired at age 38, I think he knows what he’s talking about. I thought I would share them with you as well:
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On these occasions I would love to come up with just the right words that would guide and energize you to be the best you can be. However a long time ago I realized it was not the sensational that makes most people successful. As I looked back over my career, experiences and people I have met, I would always find myself going back to some very fundamental principals that I believe help us to be successful.

1) Have faith because sometimes things happen for a reason. When I was in the early part of my senior year in high school, I visited my oldest brother, Jim, at Saint Francis College, located in a small town in the coal mining section of western part Pa. During my visit the director of guidance asked to talk to me. In our discussion he told me that if I wanted to attend Saint Francis, I was accepted. I hadn’t even filled out an application. A little different than the stressful process most students go through today. So, I decided to go to St. Francis, and study accounting. Why accounting? To be honest, I really can’t give you a good reason other than I was good in math, but that just got me through the first day.

I loved my time at Saint Francis. The winters were cold, and snowy, but the spring was absolutely beautiful up on Loretto Mountain. I studied hard and did well.

Most importantly, that is where I met my wife, Rita. We were married two months after graduation and this year we celebrated our 29th year of marriage, and we have five terrific children, one grandson and a granddaughter on the way. Seems to me I was meant to go to Saint Francis — so, have faith, some things happen for a reason.

2) Experience is king, find a mentor. Formal education is critical, and it will accelerate your capability for achievement, but there is no substitute for experience. Find someone you connect with, someone who has a good reputation, and you can trust. A good mentor will teach and challenge you to be better.

3) Work hard – the harder you work the luckier you get, be the go to guy.

4) Build and protect a good reputation. Your reputation is your brand. Establish a good reputation; it goes everywhere you go, but before you do.

5) Be grateful for what you have. If you focus on what you have, I believe you will see that there are many opportunities available for you. If you focus your life on what you don’t have, you will never have enough, and you will never be happy. Focus on what you can accomplish, and how far you can grow.

6) Be an optimist. If you believe it, you can do it. If you think it can’t be done, you have already decided the outcome. Believe in yourself. Be positive.

7) Have good character. Integrity, honesty, respect for others, a sense of fairness, a caring attitude are all characteristics of people we admire. We hear stories everyday about corruption, greed, someone taking advantage of another, and the destructive effects they have on our society. We have witnessed in the last few years how the dishonesty of just a few destroyed some of the worlds largest businesses – Enron, Worldcom, and Arthur Andersen to name a few – and the devastating impact it has on many families that never, ever participated in any wrongdoing. Remember, actions you take usually impacts others. Character is about doing what is right even when no one is looking.

8) Have a thirst for knowledge. Establish a desire to learn and to use the resources available to you. We have a terrific college and I encourage everyone to take advantage of its resources. Get involved with continuing education classes, talks or seminars. Look for companies that encourage you to continue your education. It helps the person and it also helps the company. Cultivate your thirst for knowledge now.

The workforce environment has changed dramatically over the past 25 years. Rarely will people retire from the same company where they started their career. The advice I give to you is to stay marketable. My rationale is twofold. From an employees perspective you never know what may happen down the line. You may run into a bad environment, or a bad boss. If you keep yourself marketable you can keep from “getting stuck in a job” – either by moving within the company, or to another company. From the company’s perspective, if their employees are staying at the top of their game the chances of the company’s ability to grow and be successful will be greater. I never heard of a company being successful by limiting the ability of its employees to learn and grow.

9) Lastly — Don’t be a Quitter. As one of our greatest inventors, Thomas Edison said, “many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Interesting quote from someone who tried 1,000 different combinations before he found the right materials for the light bulb. Also, echoes the words of one of my favorite poems “Don’t Quit”

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow–
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out–
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit–
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.
- Author unknown

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