Create Personal Initiative

by Ruth Neslo

When I think of personal initiative immediately I have a link in my mind thinking about going the extra mile. No going the extra mile without personal initiative. Also thoughts about how this principle from Napoleon Hills 17 principles of Personal Achievement has influenced my life in such a positive and outstanding way.

According to Andrew Carnegie there are two types of people who never amount to anything.”There are those who never do anything except what they are told to do. And there are those who cannot even do what they are told to do. The people who get ahead do the things that should be done without being told. And they don’t stop there. They go the extra mile and do much more than is expected of them.” Personal initiative is absolutely necessary if you are going to realize your goal. It will bring you advancement, attention and opportunity.

As a finance professional I served for a multinational and guided a team of five employees to process delayed orders with a net worth of 1,200k. We did this within six weeks even though they gave us three months for this. I motivated my team to implement some process improvements and producing some reports and writing manuals to prevent that this might happen again. Which was a bonus for the company as they did not ask for it. We gave more service then what was asked and this was not unnoticed by the Vice President. He promoted me from backlog team leader to Manager of Business Operations without having qualifications for this position.

Some major attributes of personal initiative are the adoption of a definite major purpose and self-discipline. Personal initiative is a demanding quality and its practices requires a good deal of mental resources.

When I started working at the age of fifteen I had several jobs, cleaning offices, working for elderly people at home, selling ice at the market place and more. Then I became pregnant at the age of seventeen and adopted my definite major purpose to create a better life for my child. So I went back to school for adults and had to travel once a week on Thursday evenings for almost two hours and vice versa for just one subject, economy, because I had to complete two years of schooling in one year’s time. While studying I had to work at night during the weekends at the post office because I had to keep up with my finances. I always dreamed of being an entrepreneur.

In 1998 I founded my own finance company called Busy-Nes. To increase my mental resources I started fifteen years ago with personal development. I attended courses, seminars, training and coaching. Even when it was out of town or in another country. Mostly without seeing other people of color which always raised the question to me how can I get more people of color involved. I became a trainer and coach myself and started my second company Neslo Institute for transforming your business and life.

No doubt if I had been sitting on the couch watching only TV or waiting for someone else to bring what I needed in my life I would have been a less successful person.

Taking personal initiative is key, no one is going to come to save you but yourself. You have to do the work in an outstanding way to get outstanding rewards. Personal initiative creates your future.

Photo of Ruth Neslo
International certified NLP trainer and Napoleon Hill Instructor Neslo Institute and Busy-NesFounder/Owner Hoofddorp Noord Holland The NetherlandsAmsterdam Noord Holland The Netherlands

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Notes

When I think of personal initiative immediately I have a link in my mind thinking about going the extra mile. No going the extra mile without personal initiative. Also thoughts about how this principle from Napoleon Hills 17 principles of Personal Achievement has influenced my life in such a positive and outstanding way. According to Andrew Carnegie there are two types of people who never amount to anything. “There are those who never do anything except what they are told to do. And there are those who cannot even do what they are told to do. The people who get ahead do the things that should be done without being told. And they don’t stop there. They go the extra mile and do much more than is expected of them.” Personal initiative is absolutely necessary if you are going to realize your goal. It will bring you advancement, attention and opportunity….

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