We were on vacation a couple of weeks ago in Long Beach Island (my favorite place on earth) and I was watching my boys and their friends ride the waves both with their boggy boards and without (body surfing). Then as the hour approached 5PM and the lifeguards were ending their shift, they blew their whistles for the last time to let everyone know they were leaving. As they were leaving a new group of beach people came onto the sand. The surfers had arrived. As the beach became very peaceful and I was relaxing and watching the surfers do their magic. Again, I observed how they had to be at the top or crest of the wave to get the longest ride and end up on shore or they would get plummeted into the wave and tuned upside down. Not being a surfer, I thought they must prefer being at the crest of the wave versus being pummeled beneath it. This idea of riding the crest of the wave hit me, not only being important for surfers or my boys with their boogie boards, but in business as well. You are either thinking, she needs to get a life or asking what is she talking about?
In order to ride the wave, to shore, the rider has to be at the crest of the wave. In business we have to ride our success by trying to stay at the crest or at our best when it comes to our careers. Do you feel in control of your career (life) or do you feel like you’re being thrown from the wave? If we are honest, I think most of us would say that we have a combination of being high on the wave and yes sometimes rolling under the wave out of control. I began to think about why we end up under water and if there is a way to minimize our time spent under water.
It hit me. It all comes down to preparation and our willingness to get ourselves in the best position for success. Preparation, preparation, preparation! Think of a meeting or presentation where you were running late for or were unprepared for. How did it go? I’ll bet not so great. Think of a time when you were so prepared that the meeting or presentation seemed so easy and went the way you had hoped. The beauty and power of preparation. The more clear you are about what you want to achieve, small or big successes, the more prepared you are and the more success seems to come your way.
By being prepared you will put yourself at the right place and at the right time and will ride the crest of the wave. Ask yourself the following questions:
- What area of your life is throwing you off your wave?
- If you knew you couldn’t fail, what goal would you set for yourself?
- What can you do now to start preparing for this desired goal to become a reality?
- What do you need to do to place you at the top of your wave?
You know what it takes…preparation. So I challenge you to get up, prepare, take action and get on top of your wave. Enjoy the view from up there as it will be fabulous, and an exhilarating ride!
Please share your desires and how you can prepare to make it a reality and add to your success story. I’m here to help!
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