Marcel Legros - Play the Game of Life

The old boy scout motto “Be Prepared” is one of the most overused yet overlooked foundations of success. It’s amazing how a trite, two word statement can have such an impact on your present and your future.

Here are a 7 ways you can “be prepared” for almost anything:

1. Always plan to be at least 15-20 minutes early. Traffic jams and other obstacles happen. Do you make excuses for being late, or are you always on time? Being on time is a show of respect for the people in your life.
2. Before you go to any job interview, do your research. Hit the internet and research the company thoroughly. Know the names of the people you’ll be working for and know what their expectations are before you even walk in the door. If you make an effort to show management you are interested in their business, you separate yourself from the crowd. It’s simple and effective. This same technique can be applied to earning customer confidence once you land that fantastic job.
3. Expect Murphy’s Law. There is no such thing as ‘foolproof.’ For every well devised plan there are 1000 fools waiting to screw it up. So when things do go haywire…
4. Be prepared to fail a lot. Failing is good. Failing is where learning happens. Failing is your greatest teacher and also your greatest motivator. To make failure work for you instead of against you, don’t repeat the same mistake twice!



5. Be a lifelong student. Read as much about varying topics as you can manage. Top financial geniuses don’t just read about money. They study relationships, sales techniques, marketing, the internet, public speaking, politics, and language. No area of study exists in a bubble - they’re all interconnected and are strengthened by a broad knowledge of many influences.
6. Money is not the root of all evil, nor is it the answer to all your problems. Money is necessary to live and realize your dreams. Prepare for the future and learn to make money work for you instead of working for money. The path to financial independence is ridiculously easy if you use your mind and don’t listen to bad advice. Invest in your financial education and you will never again have to worry about making your bill payments. If you’ve never take the time to learn about finance, how do you expect to become financially secure?



7. “If you know both yourself and your enemy, you will come out of one hundred battles with one hundred victories.” - Sun Tzu - The Art of War. I personally don’t believe in the idea of an ‘enemy’ but we all live in a highly competitive world. Know yourself first. What lengths are you prepared to go to? Who are you are the deepest core of your being? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What motivates you emotionally? Only after understanding yourself should you study the competition. Most people just study their ‘enemies’ and don’t spend any time on understanding themselves. Every human failing comes from blindness of the self. Know who you are first and you will always come out on top.