Thomas Russell — Furniture Today,
\nNAPLES, Fla.\u00c2\u00a0— For anyone struggling to find out-of-the-box
\n\t\t
\nsolutions to business challenges, Dan Clark has some simple advice: Start by looking inside yourself.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Clark, a bestselling author and one of the nation’s top motivational speakers, kicked off the 2013 Furniture|Today Leadership Conference.<\/p>\n
He recommends that before looking elsewhere for answers, “We better make sure we look inside first and decide that we can be everything we can be. \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 Nothing outside ourselves matters until we find the magic within.”<\/p>\n
Clark emphasized that no matter what happened in the past, everyone has a spotless future and one in which we can change and improve the course of our lives.<\/p>\n
The important thing, he said, is to not let others define what we can or should accomplish. Instead, we need to decide what we demand of ourselves and spend time with the right people, who can help us tap into and trigger our creativity, passion and imagination.<\/p>\n
Clark cited Tiger Woods, whose intense exercise and practice regimen inspired other players to pursue similar health-conscious behaviors.<\/p>\n
He also shared the story of a woman named Rose, who pursued a college degree at 87. He became friends with her while attending the same school and talked of how she inspired many students with her wisdom and humor. Some 2,000 students attended her funeral when she died two weeks after receiving her degree.<\/p>\n
Clark interwove his stories around what he said were four cornerstones or principles he associates with a successful life:<\/p>\n
* Believe in the power of “stretch.” Sharing his experience in physical therapy after an injury that cut short a pro football career, he said, “You have to stretch before you can strengthen. We have the ability to push ourselves to the point of discomfort.” However, he said, this exercise can be ineffective if we simply return to old behaviors.<\/p>\n
* Stretch through human connections, Clark said. This is an area where he believes the furniture industry can excel. “We have to go where people are emotionally and invite them to buy,” he said. “That one moment in time matters. Furniture is priceless. It brings out this opportunity to connect and feel comfortable in a house that gets turned into a home.”<\/p>\n
* Why stretch? Because we can, Clark said. Positive attitudes and leaving behind the past can influence our ability to make a difference and help us face a changing world, rather than let the world come to us. “No one can know how good we can become until we are stretched, until we are tested,” he said.<\/p>\n
* When do we change? Right now, Clark said, noting that it’s against human nature to change unless we have a reason. But in making that change, it’s important to be true to yourself, Clark said.<\/p>\n
“Don’t sell out and try to be like your competition,” he said. “Be true to you and let people know the reason they are doing business with you is because you are you.\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 Stretch every single ‘right now,’ not because it’s expected from others, but because it’s demanded of yourself.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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