10 Keys to Personal Power

                                                                

                               


             The 10 keys to Personal Power                                  
                                      


   Key 1: Clarity:
               "Have vision. Determine what you want to be, do or have in life.  Have a sense of direction and know where you’re going.  If you do not have clear specific goals in life, you are doomed forever to work for others who do."
    From what I understood of the quote is that you must have a sense of direction, and always know what's next. You will be lost and fall behind if you don't know what you want to do. Those who do not know what they want are lost and follow what others do. You must create your own path and not depend on others. If you are constantly depending on others for guidance you will stay below them. Staying under your potential will get you no where and leads to unsuccessful habits. Brian Tracy states that " you are doomed forever to work for others who do", which is completely correct. Those who have no future goal will need to follow those more successful than them. If you have your own goal then you will build your own success. Those who are successful are their own bosses and make their own choices. You always need a sense of clarity when it comes to your future. With out clarity you won't know what will become of your life. 

                                            
"Clarity is power.- The more clear you are about exactly what is that you want, the more your brain knows how to get there." - Author unknown  

    Since I am an upcoming college student I will apply this to my life. I need clarity because my future starts now and I need to know where I want to take my life. I need to set goals and accomplish them. Finding clarity leads to great success, and this is what I strive for. I want to make my own goals, not follow others before me. 

Key 2: Competence

"If you commit to excellence, opportunities will always come your way. The harder you work, the better you get."

          This quote discusses the concept of working hard. When you put in effort, positive things always comes out of it. When your work shows more than enough effort, it reflects on who you are. You cannot get anywhere in the world without 100% effort. The doors will only open if you put in the work for it. If you continue on with this mentality you will only become better at it. Practice always makes perfect, this is why you always need to make time for things. Determination always leads to success. If someone is struggling with a subject in school they will just give up and fail. But if they are committed to getting it down they will excel and be better than they thought they'd ever be.   

                  

                               " The test of true competence is the end result"- L. Ron Hubbard

             I agree with this quote completely, because it is true. I always go above and beyond with all my assignments and it always brings great opportunities. If I didn't work hard throughout my academic years I would not be receiving the opportunities I am receiving now. There were many times I did not understand something and once I put all my time and effort into it I got a better understanding. 

Key 3: Concentration

"Make the best use of your time. Ask yourself “Is this the best use of my time?” before you start anything."

             This quote explains the importance of critical time use. You cannot waste your time on something that is not important. If you become lazy you will be unsuccessful. Productivity is key to success. You must create a schedule placing things that are important first, and the remaining time is for free time. 
                                   
"One great cause of failure is lack of concentration"-Bruce Lee
    
   I agree with this quote because it is true. If you don't use your time wisely you will fall behind. With all my classes and AP courses I manage my time around assignments, tests, and projects. If I do not create this schedule I cannot get anything done within the time its due. I rule out any unnecessary time such as being on my phone or watching TV. 

Key 4: Common Sense

• Train your mind
• think things through
• listen to your intuition
• learn from setbacks

        This quote teaches the reader of the values of common sense. Common sense is when you think things over and choose the right thing. It is always the first thing that comes to mind. These ideas come from past experiences or from what you know is the right thing to do. You gain new experience and learn from these lessons on what to do better next time.

                
     
" One pound of learning requires ten pounds of common sense to apply to it" 
   
   This quote is really good because it is a very valuable thing to know. Common sense is key. These are instincts within us, where we already know what to do. Without common sense you wouldn't get very much done. 

Key 5: Creativity

"Except the fact that every human being is a genius.  The hallmark of creativity is asking questions.  The people who are most creative ask the most questions."

      This quote is talking about letting out your inner creativity. Never be afraid to ask questions if you are confused. Many people fear asking a question in front of their peers, because they assume everyone will think they're dumb. In reality it is quite the opposite. Those who ask questions are ahead of the game. They get a better understanding and are successful. 

              

              "To live a creative life we must lose our fear of being wrong." - Joseph Shillong

       I can relate to this quote because I see myself as a very creative person. Whether it be in my writing, music, and or assignments. I always try to include a creative element to my projects. I use to be scared of asking questions in class but I realized I was holding myself back. By asking questions I understood the criteria rather than falling behind because I was too scared. 

Key 6: Consideration

"The quality of your relationships with other people will determine your success in life."

"Develop the people skills you need to become a better communicator.  Take courses in listening, speaking, etc."

"If you were to learn one new word a day, within 5 years, you’ll be the best educated person in history."

           This quote discusses the importance and power of having good communication skills. BY having great communication skills you can work things out with your peers, create outstanding presentations, and increase your vocabulary. By developing these skills you become an effective communicator. You get things done faster and efficiently. In the future for job interviews this skill is very important. If you cannot properly communicate with the interviewer they will not consider you for the job. To do business deals you must communicate with buyers and employees to understand and buy your product. With this skill you are placed in a higher ranking because many will remember the very sophisticated and intelligent way you spoke. 

                   

  " A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes a difference" -A.A Milne 

     Communication skills is a very important skill that I use daily. In school there are many group projects such as the IDP where I need to communicate with my teammates to get the project done. We discuss tactics and ways to improve the presentation portion. If we did not use this skill we would not get anything done. I used this also when I was applying for schools. I talked to the counselor about colleges I should select and are withing my budget. By using this skill I got a better understanding of what the requirements I will need. Finally, I used this in my junior year. For my mock interviews. I talked to an interviewer from Kaiser and talked about my accomplishments and skills. One of the things she mentioned was my great way of communicating to her and the vocabulary I had. 

 Key 7: Consistency

"Dependable, steady predictable work is always superior to fast spurts of work."

Be consistent in your relationships, your family, friends, your boss, your work.  Be the person that people can depend upon.  That if you say you’ll do something you do it.."

   Becoming a reliable person makes good character and is one of the keys to success. This quote depicts how staying consistent develops great working skills and represents a good hardworking person. By doing so you become known as a good person they can all trust in. IF you are not consistent or dependable no one can trust you or they will look down upon you. If you are a person who always sets goals and accomplishes them then you will be a successful person. The more you continue on with this habit the will stay with you.

               

" We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each today" - Richard G. Scott 

    As a student I know that consistency is a important factor to become a successful student. There are many times I procrastinate on studying for a test or doing homework. I've learned by doing this I stay up late nights trying to catch up. Now that I start my homework earlier and creating a schedule I have no need to do this anymore. The more I followed through with this schedule the more productive and faster I got things done. By assignments and test scores come out better because I put more time and effort. I also get free time to do as I please. Rather than when I would rush to get everything done before 2 in the morning.     

Key 8: Commitment

"No success is possible without commitment.  The ability to commit yourself whole heartily is the basis of achieving all success."

"Become totally absorbed in your work.  Be totally committed."

      This quote discusses the importance of commitment. Commitment is important because it shows how much effort someone puts into their work. When someone has commitment it reflects on their work showing they are a successful person. Commitment the determination one has to accomplish their goals they have set. Without commitment you become a procrastinator and never get your work done. When one is committed to what they are doing they get done things done faster and they have fun with it. It also exceeds all expectations because you put all your energy and effort into this assignment. Commitment truly is the key to success.

                        

                                     

"Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans" -Peter F. Duccer  

    In every assignment or project I am committed to it full heartily. Along with that I have been fully committed to my hobbies. For example I have played the saxophone for about 6 years.I have also taken every advanced music class offered at my high school. With this many years of music it demonstrates how committed I am to perfecting and learning everything there is to know about music. Without being fully committed I would have stopped playing the saxophone a long time ago and would have learned nothing.      

Key 9: Courage

"The fear of failure is the single greatest reason for failure in life."

    

   This key covers the concept of fear. The thing that holds almost everyone back is fear. They are too scared to mess up and fail than giving it a try. By letting their fears get the best of them they will never learn to get over it. Facing your fears is the key to success. Never let fear get the best of you. If you do that you will never get anything done. By having courage you can get anything done with no complications. 

                

  "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of      fear" -Mark Twain  

  

  I can very much relate to this quote. I use to have a fear of public speaking. I let my fears get the best of me and I would hesitate to present or let my team mates do my part. Once I got over this fear I grew confident and presented greatly. I no longer stuttered or got nervous, I spoke loud and clear. Ever since I got over this fear I am successful in all my presentations. In every IDP I exceed in the presentation portion. I can now present in front of professionals, teachers, parents, and students.      

Key 10: Confidence

"You only get confidence by doing things over and over again ."

   Having confidence is key. By having confidence you never doubt yourself. You will know you can always do it. Thus, making you an over achiever. You may only gain confidence by developing the skill. You must continuously work hard and never think you cannot do it. Whatever it is that you are doing you must always have confidence in it. Believing in your self especially when something is hard to do you will master the skill. Once you master it you will stand out from the rest. Confidence reflects on whatever it is you may be doing. This skill will help one gain success easily. Others will hear how confident one sounds and think about how successful you might be. 

                  

 "Nothing can dim the light that shines from within"- Maya Angelou 

   Being a high school student along with being shy, self confidence was something I struggled with. I believed that every time I went up to present or turn something in I would be criticized. With this kind of mentality I always would hold myself behind from things I wanted to do. Now that I have gained confidence I no longer fear criticism but rather learn from it to become better. When ever I present an assignment I speak confidently and strong to show that I know what I am talking about. I never let anything put me down I always grow smarter and stronger. I have been told that there is a clear difference when someone is confident and when they are not. It is seen by their actions and they way they talk. 

 Reflection:
  Learning and understanding these 10 keys is very important. They can easily teach the way to success. If everyday you input one of these keys it is guaranteed that you will surly will become successful. I have been working on the confidence key. So that I can gain confidence in subject I am struggling with. By doing so I will no longer run from my problem of failing but rather better myself. I have also worked on the consistency key. This key is very helpful in my daily life. BY working on a daily schedule to get things done. If I am consistent with this schedule it will become a habit of getting my work done. Finally I have imputed being committed into my life. When I am committed to something I always work harder and efficiently on my assignment. These keys have truly greatly influenced my life. The other keys are also important and I try to incorporate them in my life as well.