Success Tips from a Puzzle Master

by Barbara Winter

For the past year or so, my granddaughter Zoe has been known (to her family) as The Puzzle Champ of Capistrano Court. She frequently dazzles the adults around her with her skill as putting a puzzle together in record time. I've studied her technique and theorized that her success is due to two things. When she's working a puzzle, she's completely focused. She knows her goal and heads for it. Her secret weapon, I thought, was her unwillingness to spend time with something that's not working.

The moment she realizes a piece she's selected doesn't go into the chosen spot, she discards it and moves on. I've never seen her struggling to make a piece fit in the wrong place.

Zoe's puzzle techniques are equally useful for our business success. Staying focused is always critical, but abandoning what's not working may be even more important.

Now at the ripe old age of 4, she is whipping together 100 piece puzzles that are quite complex. As I sat watching her the other day, I asked her why she thought she was so good at doing jigsaws. She gave me one of her patient looks and said, "Practice. I practice alot."

It's all too easy for adults to forget what Zoe already knows: nothing important gets done without on-going, long-term commitment to practice. In fact, the most successful entrepreneurs--or athletes or musicians or hairdressers--know that it's only when they make the things that matter most a daily priority, will they evolve, grow and improve. Focus. Don't waste time on what's not working. Practice. Just like The Puzzle Champ of Capistrano Court.

Pay Your Dues

TRYING TO GET WITHOUT FIRST GIVING IS AS FRUITLESS AS TRYING TO REAP WITHOUT HAVING SOWN.

The Bible states that we reap what we sow. The most fertile soil in the world is barren unless seeds have been properly planted, cultivated, and nurtured. The relationship between giving and getting is constant in everything you do. To succeed in any endeavor, you must first invest a generous portion of your time and talents if you expect ever to earn a return on your investment. You have to give before you get. It’s all a matter of attitude. You may occasionally be disappointed if you are not rewarded for your efforts, but if you demand payment for your services before you render them, you can expect a lifetime of disappointment and frustration. If you cheerfully do your best before asking for any compensation, you can expect a bountiful harvest of the greatest rewards life has to offer. - Napoleon Hill