The Foundational Success Factor

I ended yesterday's post with a cliff hanger (I'm surprised any of you were able to sleep last night from the suspense of it) and a question: What is the biggest factor of success?

I think there are a few key factors, but I believe there is one that is absolutely foundational. I'm convinced that we could have 47 other success factors nailed and still fail because we lack this one thing.

What is it?

Character.

It doesn't matter what job we're doing, if we display strength and depth of character, we will set ourselves apart from everyone else because good character is rare.  

Here are three ways to exhibit the kind of character that's necessary for success:

• Be Reliable -- We need to do what we say we'll do, be where we say we'll be, and be there on time.  I see the impact of this characteristic (or lack thereof) in my business when I talk to people who are looking for a new cleaning service. The most common reason they give for wanting to find someone new is that their previous service was unreliable. The cleaning lady was supposed to be there every other Tuesday at 9:00am, but they never knew if she'd really show up.  Customers won't put up with that kind of performance for long. Neither will employers. If we prove our reliability, we'll quickly find ourselves gaining favor with the people who matter in our business.

• Do Every Task With Excellence -- Excellence is accomplished in the details, so we can't cut corners or take short-cuts. No job is insignificant. Every little thing counts, so it's necessary to give our best to every task, no matter how small or unimportant it seems. A guy named John W. Gardner said, "Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well." (I'll bet he had all kinds of excellent accomplishments). When we give the extra effort to do things well, we set a standard for excellence that shows in everything we do. 

• Be Faithful in the Little Things -- At Bloom, when we interview new people, we always tell them that we're looking for people who are faithful in the little things. We want people who are willing to work hard and prove themselves over time. People who are humble, have a willingness to learn, and can be trusted with really big things because they've shown themselves to be consistently trustworthy with really small things. (Jesus tells a pretty good story about this in Matthew 25).

These are just a few ways we can show ourselves to be people of strong character in the workplace, but I really believe living these things will set us apart and help us move forward.  

Do you agree that character is foundational to success? 

What's the Biggest Factor in Success?

Last weekend, I had the privilege of speaking to an amazing group of women at a conference hosted by the Bethel Foundation, which is an organization that provides lots of fantastic resources to single mothers in OKC.  I was asked to speak about career opportunities, a topic that sounded relatively easy to me at first, but proved to be more difficult the more I researched and prepared.

Naturally, I shared the vision of my own company (Bloom Home Cleaning) and our heart for providing a business opportunity for women and a community to help them succeed in every area of life (physical, emotional, spiritual). But the truth is, there aren't a lot of realistic opportunities for women who have little money for a start-up venture and/or lack a high level of education or specialized skills. I love that Bloom is a realistic opportunity--there's no start-up cost and anyone who's willing to work hard can do it--but it's not for everyone.

I did come up with a page full of career resources, but the more I thought and prayed about what to say to these women, the more my heart screamed, "Give them hope!" Being a single mom is more difficult than I can even imagine, so I wanted them to know that they can succeed and that someone believes in them.

So, instead of going over a list of potential careers and jobs (they got that as a hand-out), I spent the time talking about three things that I believe directly affect a person's level of success in their job, no matter if they work at McDonald's or they're a CEO of a Fortune 500 company or they're a starving artist.

I want to share those thoughts with you, too, and see what you think. But I'm going to break it up into a few separate posts so it's not so long. You're welcome.

Tomorrow, I'll give you the first thing on my list. In my experience, it's the single biggest factor when it comes to succeeding at any job. It's the Big Mama. It's why some people get promoted and others get fired. And in my business, it's how we keep customers.

Any guesses as to what it is? What's the first thing you would tell people if you were asked to speak about career opportunities? hmmm. maybe I should've asked that question before I gave my little talk. :-)

One Word 2011

I can't believe 2010 is gone! I'm sure I feel this way at the beginning of every year, but last year seemed to blow by in a turbo-speed blur more than any other. Is this because I'm getting older? I'm going with NO on that, but it probably does have something to do with the fact that my babies are growing into full-sized humans right before my eyes, which is bittersweet.

I've never been good at keeping New Year's resolutions, so I stopped making them a few years ago. But I do like to look back and reflect on things -- the highs and lows, the moments where God showed up in a big way, the things I accomplished, and the things I'd like to improve -- then allow my heart to hope and dream for even bigger things in the year ahead.

So when I came across OneWord2011 on Kevin's blog, I decided it was exactly what I wanted to do. The idea is to choose one word that will shape you for the year. One word that can serve as a filter in every area of your life instead of making a list of resolutions that will be abandoned by this time next week, leaving us to feel like failures (again!). And I already had a word that had been resonating in my heart, so this felt like the perfect thing.

My one word is actually borrowed from my 7 year-old's latest Sunday school lesson, but I think that just makes it even better because she and I will be growing in it together .

My one word is determination.

According to Corban's take-home papers, the definition of determination is "deciding it's worth it to finish what you've started." 

That's what I want to be in 2011. A finisher. Not a sloppy finisher, but one who finishes well.

This word applies to so many areas of my life...

I'm determined to be more generous. I want to give like crazy this year and stop trying to hold too tightly to things that really don't matter.

I'm determined to speak from my heart. As an introvert, it's easy to think wonderful things about the people in my life (I do it all the time), but it's not quite as easy to say that stuff out loud to the people who need to hear it.  This year, I want to speak more words of encouragement and affection, especially to my sweet husband and kids.

I'm determined to be a better mother.  I did ok as a mom in 2010, but there is one glaring error that took me smack out of the running for Mom of the Year. I did not throw a party for Corban's 7th birthday. I have all kinds of excuses for why I didn't, but none of those matter to her. All she knows is that it's January and her birthday was in November, for crying out loud! BUT it's a new year and I'm determined to throw that girl a party. And that might actually put me on the short list for MOTY 2011 because she'll be the only kid who will have TWO birthday parties in one year.


I'm determined to whip our budget into shape.  We've been taking baby steps to financial peace for years (yes, I heart Dave Ramsey), but I'm determined to make a budget that really works for us and pay off the rest of our debt.

I'm determined to grow my business. I want to coach more women and clean fewer homes. There's a whole lot of stuff that has to happen for me to be able to do that, but I'm learning as I go and have great support and mentoring from Lance and the rest of the Bloom team.

I'm determined to chase a new dream. A new dream took hold of me in 2010, so I'm determined to take some practical steps to see it come to life. Sorry for being vague about this one, but I'm not ready to be accountable for it to all of cyberland just yet.  New dreams can be very fragile, you know. :)


Those are just a few of the things I'm determined to do this year. And I'm confident God will give me His grace to do them because...

"God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that he won't stop before it is complete..."  Philippians 1:6

What hopes and dreams are in your heart for 2011? Do you have one word? 

Celebrating Sylvia

This morning, I got to hang out with my new friend and co-Bloomie, Sylvia. Sylvia is full of joy and exuberance. She's one of those people who constantly beams and you can't help but be affected by her attitude and love of life. She has overcome a lot of obstacles in her life, but you'd never know it by just being with her. She's very transparent, though, so if you got to have a cup of coffee with her, she'd be more than happy to tell you her story. It's a story that includes a really rough childhood, which led to some really big mistakes, which made for even rougher teen & early adult years. But the greatest thing about Sylvia's story is that she didn't let anything keep her down. With every obstacle, she rose up and fought to live life well for herself and her 5 kids.

Today, we got to celebrate because Sylvia has reached a Bloom milestone. She has completed her training and has officially started her own business and begun to clean homes for her very own customers! We get super excited about that kind of stuff because so many people never make it this far. I have so much faith and confidence in Sylvia. When I look at her, I see what she's overcome to get to this point and I see all the amazing things she'll accomplish in the next few years as a leader and business woman.

GO SYLVIA!!! I'm so proud of you!

Big Dreaminess

I love hearing stories of people who are living their dream. Whether it's a dream they've carried since they were young or a fresh, new, adult-onset dream, it's inspiring to watch someone do what they love.

My big dream is generally the same as most people...to make a difference in someone else's life (and the more someone else's, the better). I want the planet to be a better place because I was here. I want to know I lived out my purpose for being alive. More specifically, my dream is to see women, especially the most vulnerable and marginalized, THRIVE. Over the last 10-12 years, I've seen a handful of things concerning women that have broken my heart. Things like:

• A teenager who basically raised herself and did the best she could in deplorable surroundings. She wanted to go to college, but the cycle of poverty in her family was just too great and she got stuck in the trap. She works for minimum wage.

• Single moms trying everything they can take care of their kids, but the odds are against them. How can they work enough to provide for their family when they don't have anyone to help with the kids? They constantly find themselves forced to make decisions out of desperation and more often than not, it's a no-win situation.
  

• Teen moms. They have all the responsibilities of adult single moms, but they're so young that they don't even have a grid for how to live well. Most of the teen moms I know have zero support system. They feel like the only person supporting them is their boyfriend (who may or may not be the baby's father), but in reality the kind of "support" he offers only creates more problems (aka babies).
  

• A 55 year-old prostitute who followed our introduction with, "I've been whoring for 27 years." She turned her first trick when she was 8 years old. For 25 cents. With her uncle. When we met, she had a broken femur because she had jumped out of a moving car when a john pulled a gun on her. She doesn't like being a prostitute, but she doesn't know how to get out.
  

When I encounter people in these kinds of situations, a deep desire gets stirred up in me. The desire to change the world for these women. The desire to see them live full and beautiful lives. Because when a woman is thriving, she gives herself to the people around her. She parents well and provides for her family. She contributes to her community and everyone is better for knowing her. I don't know who said it first, but I truly believe when you impact a woman, you impact a family. When you impact a family, you impact a neighborhood (or village). When you impact a neighborhood, you impact a city. And then a state. And then the whole world! Isn't that the most awesome and fun domino effect EVER?!

That's why I'm all about Bloom Home Cleaning. The whole idea is to empower and support women so they can succeed in every area of their lives...financially, emotionally, relationally, spiritually. It's social entrepreneurship at its best because it's all about providing relationships for women that will provide support and encouragement, but also challenge and push them forward.

I think, for the first time in my life, I can see the beginnings of my dream becoming reality. And guess what. It's not nearly as glamorous as one would hope. I'm sure anyone who's living out their dreams would say the same thing. The hard work of making the dream a reality usually overshadows any glamour that may come along. I came across a great quote today in the place where all of the most inspirational thoughts of human history are pooled together. Twitter. "Most dreams don't cost money. They cost sweat." Thank you, @prodigaljohn for putting into 8 words the struggle battle all-out war I live every day. I'm finding that when you're trying to live your dream, most days feel mundane and insignificant. Like when you're scrubbing a toilet for the 152nd time. You just have to keep reminding yourself that there's a point to all this mundane-ness. There are lives to be changed. There's a dream to live, baby!

Ultimately, the big dreaminess of the dream makes it worth it. What's your big dream?

Keep going.

Keep sweating.

Keep dreaming.