10 Keys To Personal Power

Key 1: Clarity

"Have vision. Determine what you want to be, do or have in life.  Have a sense of direction and know where you’re going.  If you do not have clear specific goals in life, you are doomed forever to work for others who do."

Having clarity means to have a vision of where you want to go and what you want to do in life. If you don't know how to carve the path for yourself, someone who does will carve it for you. In order to be in control of your future, you have to start with your goals in mind. You must possess the ability to think clearly and with a degree of certainty.The ability to determine exactly what it is that you want to do, have or be in your life is the prerequisite for all personal and professional achievement.Clarity is the starting point of all success. Someone with no sense of where they are going will achieve very little if anything at all. When we have clarity we are able to set our goals and these goals are the goals that will take us to our success. I think an example of this would be for example, going into college without knowing what you want to study. If you go into college studying a major for 3 years, then decide to switch majors, you will have wasted all of your time. This is why you need to start off with a clear sight in order to end with a clear success.

Key 2: Competence

"If you commit to excellence, opportunities will always come your way. The harder you work, the better you get."

Competence is the ability to do something successfully. If you commit to do things but sure that it is excellent so that opportunities can open up and go your way. The harder you work the better things will come to you and you will feel good things in your heart, mind, and soul. When one chooses to work hard and not be lazy it is a privilege for them to have what they have since they worked so hard to get it. Lazy people should not get that privilege since they never did the hard work. It is the people who have the drive to work hard who get good things in life. This quote also means that the harder you work at doing something the better you will get at doing it. For example, if a student always cheats on homework, when it comes to the test he will score poorly. But the student who studies and works hard will get a great score on the test and a good grade in the class. In order to commit to excellence you also have to be a CTR person to guide you. Choosing the right will help you make the best desicions & lead you to success. The harder you work by CTR the farther you will go in life. I plan to apply this new way in my life by working really hard in school.

Key 3: Concentration

"Make the best use of your time. Ask yourself “Is this the best use of my time?” before you start anything."

Make the very best use of your time, because if you waste it on things that aren’t important, you will regret your time wasted on these things that weren’t worth it. Instead you should think, analyze,  and invert your time on something that will be productive for your future. Ask yourself if you’re really putting your time in something productive or if you’re just wasting it. Time is precious in this life, know -how and who you spend your time with. Before you start inverting your time in something, think and see if you’re doing the right things and investing your time in productiveness that will benefit you later on. You should always concentrate on things that make you a CTR person, not a CTW person. You should only put all your energy and focus on good things that will produce good outcomes. An example of this key would be studying for a big final for your math class. This is making good use of your time because if you study, you will score high on the test. This will lead to an A grade, and will look really good on your transcripts when applying to colleges. I will apply this key to my life by continuing to ask myself if I am making the best use of my time by doing something beneficial or something that is a waste of my time. This key is very important because time is the one thing in the world that we can never get back, so we should use every small moment as we desire.

Key 4: Common Sense

• Train your mind
• think things through
• listen to your intuition
• learn from setbacks

In order to be truly successful, you need to be able to train your mind. For example if you have a bank account you need to train your mind to stick to a budget. If you don't stick to the budget and follow through with the plan, you will be deemed to fail. You need to be able to have a mindset that allows you to thoroughly think though things. If you just make a decision without any thought it most likely wont be a good one. You also need to listen to your gut when making decisions. You have to decide what decisions are in your best interests and make you feel good. Being a CTR person makes decision making easier because you have righteous mindset. You won't ever make a CTW decision if you really value choosing the right. I will apply this way to my life by thinking about all my decisions and choosing the right path. One wrong decision can strongly impact my life which is why I need to cautious and train my mind.

Key 5: Creativity


"Except the fact that every human being is a genius.  The hallmark of creativity is asking questions.  The people who are most creative ask the most questions."

Creativity is in everyone, we all have it, some more than others but it’s still there. It’s always great to ask questions, we learn new things when we ask questions. I think that asking questions is something we all need to do when we are presented with something because they give us and idea of what to expect and we can think of new ways to make it better. Asking questions shows that you have interest in the subject whatever it may be and we also show how we are determine to learn and do a good job.Creativity is needed in human life because without it we would never have invented things that now exist today. If we were never creative we would most likely still be cavemen or perhaps extincted. Creativity is very important without it society would be boring. To be creative it makes you stand out from all the other people. It makes you unique because not everyone has creativity in them. Alot of times people are scared to be creative and just follow the footsteps of a leader. I plan to apply this key to my life by using my creativity while I am young before it's too late.

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” – Scott Adams

Key 6: Consideration

"The quality of your relationships with other people will determine your success in life."

"Develop the people skills you need to become a better communicator.  Take courses in listening, speaking, etc."

"If you were to learn one new word a day, within 5 years, you’ll be the best educated person in history."

Success can partially be affected by the relationships we hold with others. We can either make strong relationships to fill our lives with prosperity, or we don't. But not is only having relationships important, it is important to know what relationships must stay, if we have a relationship that is malicious, then it must go to prevent damage to yourself.
Being considerate of others and yourself is a great step to becoming a better person. But, there are occasions in which one's consideration must be set aside. Some of those occasions will always appear to a persons door step, no matter how hard one wants to evade them.No matter how we look at it, there will always be someone there to support us, and we need that support.You need to be able to maintain good relationships with people in order to make people like you.I will apply this way to my life by being nice to those around me.

Key 7: Consistency

"Dependable, steady predictable work is always superior to fast spurts of work."

Be consistent in your relationships, your family, friends, your boss, your work.  Be the person that people can depend upon.  That if you say you’ll do something you do it.."

I agree very much with this 7th key by Brian Tracy. In order to have personal power, you need to be consistent with all the things you do. For example, if you are not consistent with watering your garden, all your plants will die. In order to be consistent with your life, when you commit to something you are expected to keep your word. For example, I committed to be in the colorguard team 3 years ago, and till this day I am still expected to be consistent by coming to practice everyday. Being dependable is a really good trait to have no matter what you do in life. It is important that you remain consistent throughout everything you do in life. Whether it is your job or schoolwork it is key that you are consistent, show up everyday, and perform at a high level everyday. By doing so, you are on the path to encountering success. If you are not consistent and are always tardy or late then you are on the pathway to an unsuccessful life. Remember to stay consistent in everything you do. 

Key 8: Commitment
"No success is possible without commitment.  The ability to commit yourself whole heartily is the basis of achieving all success."


"Become totally absorbed in your work.  Be totally committed."

I really do agree with this Key #8 by Brian Tracy because it really is essential in life.You have to be able to be committed in order for people to trust you. Commitment is the state or quality of being dedicated to cause, activity etc. For example, if you are committed to someone then you shouldn't be talking to other people the same way you are talking to them and you should do anything possible to try to make what you guys have work and not let any bad things happen nor let objects get in between you guys. You need to be dedicated in what you want and need in your life. For example, I have been committed to the Marquez Color-guard/ Drill team for 3 years now. It has not been easy and some days I don't want to go to practice, but I made a commitment and kept my word. It doesn't just affect me if I do not go to practice but it affects my whole team. Another commitment that I have for myself is work. I usually want to go out with my friends Fridays and Saturdays but I usually work those days so I can't. Another commitment I have is school, and with multiple commitments I had to learn how to manage my time o fulfill all of them. In the real world, if you are not committed to your job you will be fired immediately and will be a failure. This is why I'm glad that I have always been independent because I have learned commitment well and still continue to improve.

Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek. 

-Mario Andretti

Key 9: Courage

"The fear of failure is the single greatest reason for failure in life."

To have courage mean you are willing to do anything that you desire with no fear. You are not scared of failing, you are prepared for whatever will be happening next. If you are scared to fail then you will never try to do new things and will end up not being successful. The people who are successful are the people who try new things.Courageous people are not afraid, they just face their fears.Fear and courage tend to be habits.If you’re afraid and you back away, you’ll form a habit of always backing away.If you’re afraid and you face your fear, you’ll form a habit of facing your fear and your fears will go away.Always move forward.  Don’t stay still and play it safe.There is no security in life, only opportunity.  The more you seek opportunity, the more security you’ll have.  The tend to seek security, is the low road to failure.If you are not at least a little bit afraid 4-5 times a day, you’re not moving forward.The fear of failure, is the single greatest reason for failure in life.The fear of failure can be counteracted by facing the fear.Persist in the face of adversity.Wait until things to completely the worst.  Then it’s the person that picks themselves up and says, “nothing is going to stop me”Develop the quality of being unstoppable.Make the decision that you can be tired, you can be worn out, but nothing will ever stop you.

Key 10: Confidence

"You only get confidence by doing things over and over again ."

What this key is saying is that you need to do something many times in order to feel good at it. Once you've practiced something for such a long time, you don't really have to think about it anymore. One example that comes to mind when I consider this is how I am super confident when I perform for colorguard. I hardly ever get nervous before a performance anymore because I have been practicing for nearly 4 years. I have gained this confidence by performing over and over again over the course of time. When I first joined, I would get really nervous before every performance, and now I hardly even think about it.Confidence is from within. A person can call you handsome/beautiful multiple times and not affect the listener. The listener chooses what to listen to and how it will affect them. Confidence is believing in yourself, regardless of what others believe. I have confidence in myself that I can do what I have practiced to the best of my ability. Know what you can do and believe in yourself, the only person someone can gain confidence from is themselves. 

REFLECTION:
Through these 10 Keys, I have learned valuable skills that will help me be successful in the future.These keys can really benefit me by helping me attain a good job in the future. One key that I have been working on is courage. Lately I've had a lot more confidence to be courageous in my life, it has made a huge difference because I'm not afraid to speak my mind. I will incorporate the other keys in my life by working on one key each week.