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Knight Moves - Part 7 of 7 (The Pawn)

Knight Moves - A chess player's guide to succeeding in life - Jacques de Villiers

The Pawn

The Pawn is your worker ... your perseverance and persistence. Although the Pawn is, on the face of it, the weakest piece on the chessboard, it is powerful when coupled with any of the other pieces or another pawn. It is not pretentious. It's just a hard worker and gets the job done. When you have a sound strategy in place, a vision and purpose, you'll have the faith to continue working even when it seems like you're not getting the results you want. If the Pawn has such a belief in the strategy presented by the others it will never falter. It never gives up. I know that you won't give up on your dreams if you really believe in them and the strategy you've devised to achieve them. Sadly, many of us give up on our hopes, dreams and goals too soon. Unfortunately, we don't have an almanac which let's us know when and if we succeeded in our endeavors. Thus, we need faith that we need to keep working our plan.

Have you ever noticed that when you start a new project there is a lot of energy and enthusiasm initially. But it is in the middle of the project that energy, enthusiasm and determination flags, isn't it? And, when it is near the end of a project we pick up our pace because the home stretch is near.  Sometimes in the middle stages there seems like there's nothing to do and no end in sight. Having nothing to do does not mean that you do nothing. Sometimes in chess there is a period when it seems like it doesn't matter what you do, you can't seem to get ahead to best your opposition. This is the time when you have to be on your guard and start working on your positional play. Basically, get all your ducks in a row. For example, if you're a soldier and there's nothing to do. You can still do something proactive like clean and oil your rifle so that when it is time for action, your weapon will perform at it optimal and won't let you down. When there's down time, how many of us watch TV or just laze around instead of focusing on tasks (no matter how insignificant they may seem) that will help us move forward and achieve our goals. And, the bonus of hard work is that it actually makes you feel good. Don't you feel fantastic when you really done a hard day's work? I know I do because I feel satisfied, worthwhile and at ease with myself. I recall a French saying that goes something like this, "Nothing makes a pillow more comfortable than a hard day's work." I can own that feeling. I know that when my work ethic slips, I don't go to bed with a clear conscience and my sleep does invariably suffer.

You are the Grandmaster of your Life

I doubt I can change your life in 3000 words. But my hope for you is that the chess metaphor has resonated with you and that you'll realise that you are the Grandmaster in charge of your life. You were destined to be great and you deserve to be great. Develop a life strategy, work it and develop the strength of character, self esteem, confidence and work ethic to be the success you know you can be.

The Business Generator, Jacques de Villiers helps orginisations make sense of sales and marketing for real return on investment. He is a keynote speaker, consultant and trainer focusing on sales training, sales management training and internet marketing.

Knight Moves - Part 6 of 7 (The Castle)

Knight Moves - A chess player's guide to succeeding in life - Jacques de Villiers

The Castle

The Castle moves horizontally and vertically on the board. The Castle is your foundation, your protector. It is the repository where your hopes, dreams and goals are stored. You need to nurture and protect your goals, particularly from the naysayers who criticise any attempt for you to make your mark in this world.

A well-balanced individual would typically set goals in the following six area: financial, relationship, mental, physical, community and spiritual. The trick to live a life of purpose (make a difference) and destiny is to get balance in the goals you set. If you focus too much on one area to the detriment of the others, then your life can become unbalanced and derail. For example, there's really no point in making more money than you know what to do with and then keeling over from a heart attack because you neglected your physical health, is there? Or you're alone in your mansion because you've neglected to build relationships with those you love. There's a two-fold strategy for successful goal-setting - set stretch goals which work on the SMART formula. Set one stretch goal in each of the six areas of your life (a stretch goal is a goal that would be quite difficult to achieve). I'm sure that if you're reading this book, it means that you're in the top one percent of the world that is interested in self development. And, if you're into self development, you must have come across the term SMART goals. So, I'm not going to labour the point except to remind you what the acronym stands for: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant (to your purpose and strategy) and time-based.

Of course, the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. Somebody has to do the slog work - administration, washing the dishes and digging trenches so that your life can run smoothly. In comes the small but important Pawn.

The Business Generator, Jacques de Villiers helps orginisations make sense of sales and marketing for real return on investment. He is a keynote speaker, consultant and trainer focusing on sales training, sales management training and internet marketing.

Knight Moves - Part 5 of 7 (The Bishop)

Knight Moves - A chess player's guide to succeeding in life - Jacques de Villiers

The Bishop

The Bishop represents your character. Your moral code of conduct. Having an "I can make a difference" attitude really does make a difference. Your character is one of contribution and gratitude. You should know what you stand for, what you will and will not tolerate. The Bishop can only move diagonally, either on the black or white square.

There's no grey area. Everything is black or white. There can be no hypocrisy - you've got to be true to your values, beliefs and morals. Nobody trusts someone that chops and changes their character on a regular basis. "On the chess board lies and hypocrisy do not survive long. The creative combination lays bare the presumption of a lie; the merciless fact, culminating in a checkmate, contradicts the hypocrite," Emanuel Lasker, chess champion (1894 - 1921). When you've build the foundations of character, self esteem, self-confidence and a strategy, you're like a finely-honed racehorse. No point in wasting all that potential, is there? You now need something to aim for so that you can use the potential. How many people do you know that have all the potential in the world, but do nothing with it. You've got to set worthwhile goals to achieve your life's purpose.  Moving on to the Castle.

The Business Generator, Jacques de Villiers helps orginisations make sense of sales and marketing for real return on investment. He is a keynote speaker, consultant and trainer focusing on sales training, sales management training and internet marketing.