As I sat at home and watched the Capital’s game on Saturday night it reminded me of the fact that you can’t rest on your laurels.  The Caps won the President’s Cup for the best record in the NHL but they are down in the series to the Canadiens 1-0 and were losing, at that time, 2-1 in the game when I got inspired to write about the topic of staying on top of your game. 

The game reminds me of how in business, the skill set, knowledge, determination, perseverance and fortitude that brought you success today won’t keep you on top of the mountain tomorrow.  You need to stay sharp, look for new opportunities, continue to learn, make better contacts, improve your networking skills, ask better questions if you want to continue to be successful.  Your outlook on each day needs to be positive, upbeat and faced with an open mind.  Problems and challenges others put in front of you need to be looked at as an opportunity to shine and show you are the expert in your field.  You need to be focused, on task, have a plan of action for each day and attack it with enthusiasm, vim and vigor.  You can’t sit back and wait for things to happen.  You must be motivated, inspired and eager to attract others to want to be around you and do business with you.

Although the Capitals won the game in overtime, they appear to be going through the motions as so many others do in business on a daily basis.  If you find yourself in this situation, you need to find something that brings you passion and desire.  You need to get energized about your day by doing something that gets you pumped up to go to work.  Take time to analyze where you are and why and decide to change what you are doing to get the most out of life.  Determine what you want out of life, what brings you joy and what brings you the most success build your legacy – don’t just go through the motions.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!