Now that’s a very audacious goal in the title itself ‘How to become a big potato anywhere.’ My circle of (younger) close friends convinced me a year ago to put up the post “Resilience | My Journey To Becoming A Big Potato”. They wanted to know what I had to do to climb to the top 1% of the corporate ladder i.e. what we had affectionately termed the “big potato status“.

Life At The Top ~ Visiting Matsushita. With H.E. Lim & Top Matsushita Executives

That post was an easy task because all I had to do was to recount what I had done during each of my five major overseas assignments. They were the strategies which I had adopted successfully. They contributed to my job performance and my climb up the corporate ladder.

However, I am not sure whether the same factors for success will continue to prevail in the future. My son Lawrence has often reminded me that the world has changed a lot over the past 30 years. This uncertainty will weigh on what I post here on ‘How To Become A Big Potato Anywhere’.

Sharing My Belief – The Most Powerful Success Principle Is Within Us. It Is Our Attitude. KL 2011 Seminar

I do, however, subscribe to what Bill Gates Sr. wrote in his book ‘Showing Up for Life.’ He said, “I don’t care if you carry a banner or if you …………., but each of us has an obligation to speak out on behalf of the things we believe in and make life on this planet a little better.”

Resilience & My Three Simple Steps For Success

I believe that the factors/principles to achieve any goal/success are similar. Your goal can be one of these: become a ‘big potato’, lose 12 kg in weight, build a $2M retirement fund, adopt a healthier lifestyle, etc

What exactly do I mean by Resilience? Think about the Transformers. A good mental picture of resilience is the “Transformers-like power to return to the original shape and form after being attacked.” I have a dedicated post ‘Resilience For The Rocky Road Ahead.‘

Resilience is thus your best friend and it makes a winning combination with the following 3 simple steps to success. Yes, keep them simple. Someone said that complexity is the enemy of execution.

1. First Change The STATE You Are In

I love books and enjoy spending times at any library, including the library onboard the Oriana! Books give me food for thoughts, and thoughts are things!

“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” ~

~ Mark Twain

Many books have been published and many more will come – books that capitalise on success and its related topics. Philosophers have long dwelled on the mental state. In his seminal book, “Think And Grow Rich”, Napoleon Hill used a clever title. Deeper reading reveals these two (yes, just two) principles (call them secrets if you like): 1. Thoughts are things 2. Definiteness of purpose. Many people have broken the codes to these two principles/secrets and achieved success and financial freedom.

Get In State To Bogey! SIA Surabaya Launch Party

It is important that you start with this step – changing the state you are in or get into the right state. The state may refer to your mental state (happy, sad, positive) or your body’s physical state (energetic, lethargic, trim, fit). Self-help books will teach you to play at high energy levels. They are giving the right advice.

Just remember it’s your frame of mind and you’ll need to get into the right frame (state) before entering step 2.

2. Then Keep Telling Yourself The Right STORY

Yes, I remember this from a management development class: ‘Winners win in advance.’ Olympic athletes are taught to mentally playback the scenes when they did their best times or jumped the farthest. We are not all Olympic athletes, but we can keep telling ourselves inspiring stories.

We are not all Olympic athletes, but we can keep telling ourselves inspiring stories. So you can narrate your own inspiring story to yourself.

Werner Berger – Because I Can – Everest Ecstasy

My friend Werner Berger always tell himself this: ‘Because I Can’. At 76, in November 2013, he set a new climbing record. Here’s my tribute post for Werner: Because I Can | A New World Record

3. And Finally Adopt The Right STRATEGY

Some words of advice here. People fail when they focus first on the strategy. The right sequence is to get into or change your current STATE and the keep telling yourself the right STORY.

You may not find the right strategies the first time round. Persevere. Learn. Find go-to people who can help. Always have resilience in you, no matter what obstacles come your way.

“Those who know, do.

Those that understand, teach.”

~ Aristotle

And lastly, I invite you to subscribe to my blog for more insights : retiredowhat.com. I share 🙂