After having gone to the Firm Owners Convention in Orlando, Florida, I was lucky enough to be able to hear a speech given by Robert Stevenson on the 52 Essential Habits For Success.  I will add one habit to this blog on a weekly basis.  This is vital information to all professional people who would like to be successful, including court reporters, especially court reporters who want to be at the top of their game, such as the realtime court reporters.  Young, new, inexperienced reporters, as well as "experienced reporters" can gain from these 52 essential habits.

Jane M. Jones,
Certified Realtime Court Reporter Wisconsin

52 Essential Habits For Success, By Robert Stevenson

If you don't believe in yourself, why should anyone else believe in you?  Sure, you are going to make mistakes; that is part of life.  People want to be around confident people.  One of the most important traits of any leader is their confidence in themselves.  People don't want to follow someone who lacks self-confidence.  When you first start out, you may have to fake it, before you make it.  That is okay.  All of us at one time in our lives were young and inexperienced.  None of us were born with all the knowledge, experience and talents we would need to be successful.  These are all developed skills.  So relax and learn from your mistakes, realizing we have all passed this way before.  Have the confidence to tell yourself you will get it, learn it, or figure it out.  It might take you a while, but realize you know you have what it takes to do it.  Start believing in yourself, and others will start believing in you, too.

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Habit # 2
Act as if the World is Watching

Thomas Jefferson said, "Whenever you are to do a thing, though it can never be known but to yourself, ask yourself how you would act were the world looking at you, and act accordingly."  Even though that was said over 200 years ago, it is still great advice for today, especially in this technological world with people carrying mini video-recorders in their cell phones.  The next thing you know your actions are being shown on national TV or on the internet for all the world to see.  So, act as if there is a camera on you at all times and act accordingly.  The great philosopher Seneca said, "I will govern my life and thoughts as if the whole world were to see the one and to read the other."

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Habit # 3
Practice, Drill & Rehearse - Then Take The Initiative

If you want to beat your competition, then you have to be willing to put in the time to practice, drill and rehearse.  The great ones don't need someone telling them to practice.  They understand when they are not practicing, someone else is, and when they meet that person on the field of competition, that person will win.  Success comes to those who take the initiative to do more, stay longer and work harder.  The day you understand your success is dependent on you - your own desire, initiative and fortitude - is the day you start achieving greatness.  To the great ones, PDR is not a motto on some wall, it is a way of life.  Simply stated:

If you want to be the best at what you do, then practice more than the rest, and success will come to you.

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Habit # 4
Don't Be Afraid To Fail

It's amazing how much experience can be gained by making a mistake.  As Henry Ford once stated: "Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."  If you never try to do something beyond what you already know how to do, you will never get any better.  Failure is a major component to your success process.  You didn't learn to walk after your first try, or feed yourself, talk, ride a bike, or play a musical instrument.  There were a multitude of attempts before you became proficient at any of these.  Notice, I said attempts, not failures.  You need to decide that there are no failures in life, only results.  Failure isn't fatal unless you quit.  If you didn't like the results, then analyze what went wrong, learn, and then alter your method.  The failed attempt will merely teach you that your method was flawed; so correct it and try again.  Failure is something that happens to you; it's an event, not a person.

Habit # 5
Make Goal Setting A Habit

If you don't know where you are going, then how will you know when you get there?  The vast majority of people don't set goals and the vast majority of people do not reach their full potential, thus limiting their level of success.  I think you will find a correlation there.  You have got to decide what it is you want and write it down; some call it "thinking on paper."  You then have to decide what it is you will have to do to make what you hae written down become a reality.  The first two steps in making a dream become a reality are to write it down and then set a deadline.  Remember to be "SMART" about your goals:  Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.  Determining your goals will determine your actions which, when accomplished, will determine your success.  It has been proven that people with goals earn twice as much as those without goals; being successful starts with establishing your goals.