Article 10: Bob Oros

Are You Putting Off Your Success?

This is the tenth in a series of articles that conference attendees will receive to reinforce what they learned at Soar Higher 2005.

To read the first article by Kristine Sexter, click here.
To read the second article by Bob Oros, click here.
To read the third article by Ron Meyers, click here.
To read the fourth article by Darren LaCroix, click here.
To read the fifth article by Carrie Perrien Smith, click here.
To read the sixth article by Mary Pryor, click here.
To read the seventh article by Tom Bach, click here.
To read the eighth article by Willie Johnson, click here.
To read the ninth article by Kerry Robertson, click here.
On November 16, Walt Pavlo was featured in USA Today. To see the article, click here.
Visit our conference highlights page by clicking here.

Bob Oros

Bob Oros, CSP, CMC is a professional speaker and author. Bob has presented in all 50 states and three continents and is the author seven books on sales and management.

Contact Soar with Eagles for more information on Bob at 479.903.0208 or carrie@soarhigher.com

According to a good friend and professional speaking coach, Kerry Robertson, a rabbit trail is when you lose track of where you are in your speech and head off to parts unknown. Then, after a 10-minute rampage, you come back and try to remember where you were.

The same thing happens everyday. You start off with a plan, something comes up, the time zooms by, and then you come back and wonder what you were doing before the interruption. However, without a plan you never come back. It’s simply one rabbit trail after another.

Here is another interesting fact. An airplane flying from Los Angeles to New York is off course as much as 97 percent of the time; however, the pilot keeps adjusting and making corrections. What if the pilot didn’t have an accurate and carefully thought-out flight plan? What if the pilot simply said “I am going to head east and see where I end up?”

Someone once asked Winston Churchill how long it would take him to prepare for a 10-minute speech.

He said he would like at least a month’s notice. When asked how far in advance for a one-hour speech, he said at least a week. When asked how long he needed to prepare for a four-hour talk, he said he could start now. He made an excellent point for planning. To make an effective 10-minute presentation takes careful planning and organizing.

If you ever doubted the importance of a carefully thought-out plan, you might consider what Napoleon Bonaparte had to say on the subject:

“If I always appear prepared, it is because before entering an undertaking, I have meditated for many days and have foreseen what may occur. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly and secretly what I should do in certain circumstances; it is thought, mediation, and careful planning.”

And, if you are undecided and unsure about what you want to accomplish consider this advice from General Chiang Shang, An Ancient Chinese General:

“Of the many harms that can beset an army, vacillation is the greatest. Of the disasters that can befall an army, none surpasses doubt.”

And, if you decide to wait and try to squeeze your planning time and goal setting into you schedule AFTER you return from your rabbit trails, you might consider this advice from General Douglas MacArthur:

“The history of failure in war can be summed up in two words: too late. Too late in comprehending the deadly purpose of a potential enemy; too late in realizing the mortal danger; too late in preparedness; too late in uniting all possible forces for resistance; too late in standing with one’s friends.”

Here is some good advice from my friend and personal coach, Mary Pryor.

“Completion of a project, reaching a goal, moving ahead on a new sales initiative — these things don’t happen if they’re postponed or ‘postponed until perfected.’ You’d never stay parked anywhere in your car until you could see green lights in all directions. My guess is that you climb into your car, start it, take it out of park, and (here’s the important part) you’d start moving forward!”

Are You Putting Off Your Success?

Bob Oros

Bob Oros, CSP, CMC is a professional speaker and author. Bob has presented in all 50 states and three continents and is the author seven books on sales and management.

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