Being Clear or Being Tough by Blair Singer

Is it true that to be successful in business you have to be tough? If that is true, does that also mean that if you are not a ‘tough’ person that you will not succeed? I don’t think so. Is there hope for that genuinely nice individual or are they destined to be run over and taken advantage of by those who are supposedly tougher and stronger?

While going into the New Year suggests setting goals, what is equally important is knowing what it takes to turn those goals into reality...

Many years ago, Robert Kiyosaki and I were in the teaching business together in Southern California. For various reasons, the owner of the company for whom we were training, closed the business. Robert and I were faced with choosing new paths for ourselves. Robert decided to continue pursuing the teaching business, and I had decided to go back into the airfreight trucking business.

On a semi-overcast morning, Robert and I were running on the beaches of La Jolla, and I voiced my concerns to him. I told him that the trucking industry was ruthless and full of challenges. I questioned whether I would be ‘tough’ enough to make it in the business.

I remember that he turned to me as we were huffing and puffing along the sand and said, “Blair, it’s not about being tough....it’s about being clear.”

Those words have stuck with me ever since and have been the source of great strength and great success. Those words allowed me to accomplish what I set out to do without compromising me.

In other words, you do not have to be a tough guy. You can, but it’s not required. What you do need to be is clear. Clear on your rules; clear on your objectives; clear on your decisions; and clear on whom you surround yourself with. You must have a Code of Honor that spells out the context of your business, your relationships and your life. Your Code of Honor ensures you remain “clear.”

In all of my businesses, I have had to make tough decisions, but I did not always have to be tough. Just clear that it either works or it doesn’t...it either supports the mission and team or it doesn’t...it either operates by the Code or it doesn’t.

When faced with choices, you have to have more than a ‘gut’ feeling in order to make them. Part of the problem is that most people cannot distinguish between their intuition and their emotional reaction. (Subject for next article!)

You have to have clear guidelines or a Code. Does that mean that every decision, choice or action is black and white? Of course not. But it gives you clarity of purpose, intention and direction.

It’s okay to be nice. It’s wonderful to be nurturing and supportive. But if you are not clear...if you are wishy-washy...then you will become part of someone else’s clarity...their direction and their whims.

In your life, be clear on where you are going, what the rules are and how you are going to play. There is a part of you that knows. There is a part of you, that as Jack Nicholson would say, is ‘crystal clear.’ It will lead you to wealth in all parts of your life.

So for 2006, don’t worry about being tough. Just be clear. You may make mistakes and that’s okay, but be clear that you made them and then correct.

Be Awesome!

Blair Singer
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