A number of years ago, as I was getting ready to self-publish my first book, I went to lunch with the president of a financial company who had booked me to speak at his company’s annual meeting. As we ate, we discussed my new book, Shattering the Glass Slipper, in which I debuted the concept of the Seven Powers. He told me that this was exactly the type of information he wanted his employees to hear and asked me if he could order 150 copies of the book for me to sign at the meeting scheduled for less than eight weeks away.
I thought about it for a moment, did some quick math in my head, and then said, “Sure, I’ll have them ready for the meeting!”
I had a few challenges that I had to overcome before I could do that. I had never published a book before, so I didn’t know how to properly format a book. I didn’t have any cover art. I hadn’t even written my acknowledgements page at that point.
Even so, I was able to get the book finished on time and everyone at the meeting went home with their own autographed copy.
I told one of my friends about the challenge of getting the project completed and I remember him saying, “Man, I’d be scared to make that promise. What would you have done if you hadn’t been able to deliver?”
I answered that 1] I wouldn’t have promised if I hadn’t been reasonably sure that I could deliver, and 2] I would have found a way to make it work because I had given my word.
The bottom line for me, though, is that I am not going to shrink from a challenge just because there is danger on the road.
Excerpted from The Seven Powers of Success; Unlock You Strengths, Unleash your dreams. © 2013 Charles Marshall. www.charlesmarshall.net
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