223: Why Character Is Critical To Success, with Shirley Solis

Hey hey! Welcome to episode 223 of Life on Fire. Character. Have you ever considered the role it plays in success? Whether it’s crossed your mind or not, our guest on this show is talking about why character is critical to success.

Shirley Solis is here to share her story of taking a $10,000 grant and turning it into a six-figure business, as well as highlighting the character traits that have played key roles in the success of some very notable people.

On this episode, you’ll hear how she came to me as a client about a year and a half ago and how she discovered character and why it’s important to living a life on fire and why being resourceful can help you overcome any odds! This is an inspiring and equally informative show that will help you dig deep to find the character traits you need to creating your own Life on Fire!

In this episode you’ll hear:

• What is the one topic that can guarantee you success, but people aren't talking about? (2:20)
• What homeschooling her children taught Shirley about character. (8:45)
• Who was the man with “the midas touch”, and why does he matter? (12:50)
• The role personal responsibility has played in Brian Tracy's success. (15:35)
• How Shirley turned a $10,000 grant into a six-figure business. (24:40)
• And so much more!

 

More About This Show

According to Shirley, at the foundation of everything we do is character. It is the one thing that will ensure you are successful in every area of your life and in every endeavor.

She came to this understanding by overcoming a procrastination habit. In school she would put things off til the last minute, even getting up in the morning! She’d wake up about 10 minutes before her school bus would arrive and would dash outside to catch it so she could get to class on time. She even pulled an all-nighter once to write a 50 page paper! She got an A on the paper, which only encouraged her procrastination tendencies.

But when she had kids that all changed. She married at age 18, had her first child at 19 then her 2nd at 20 and her third by 21. She had three children in 3 years, all of whom are boys!

It soon became clear that waiting til the last minute didn't work so well anymore. She realized she couldn't wing it anymore, her children would get her bad habits and things just weren't going to go well for all of them. She decided she couldn't live that way any longer and she wanted to be a better example for them; she knew she had a responsibility to them.

She made the decision to homeschool her children and along the way discovered character at the heart and foundation of every successful person’s story.

So what exactly is character? Shirley gives Webster’s definition of it as being “…the engraved qualities in a person”. Basically character is your core and who you are when no one is watching, character is what it looks like when you are in the midst of a struggle and who you are in that struggle. It’s things like honesty, punctuality, and reliability. There are many character traits - 52 in fact.

Shirley goes on to say that when things get tough character is what grounds you and keeps you on track. Character is your unfair advantage; it’s not talent, not looks, etc - only character.

If you would take two people with equal talent, the one with character will go further. On today’s show she gives some real life examples of people who utilized character to succeed including Brian Tracy, Barbara Corcoran, Will Smith, Tony Robbins and Stephen Covey.

She talks about how Brian Tracy went from being a high school drop out and sleeping in his car to creating over 300 courses for people all over the world in multiple languages! He is now being paid $500 million to consult with companies about their businesses.

And all of this happened because he took personal responsibility. He said “If it's to be it's up to me”. That quote from Brian is a great example of taking personal responsibility, a necessary character trait for success.

She also talks about Barbara Corcoran who learned to be resourceful. Barbara’s mom taught her to use whatever assets she had or could find to make the best of any situation and to get ahead. Barbara used that to get more tips as a waitress and then later to build a real estate empire in New York City and to be the savvy investor she is today.

All of us can follow in Barbara’s footsteps. We all have something that life has given us that we can use, we must be resourceful and find it and use it.

Also on this episode, Shirley shares her own resourcefulness story. She talks about applying for a startup challenge, writing up her plan, asking for what she wanted and getting $10,000 as a result! She also talks about Tony Robbins’ consistency character trait, Will Smith’s commitment and more.

Listen in to hear that plus recite a pledge to make your character your unfair advantage on today’s 223rd edition of Life on Fire!

 

EPISODE RESOURCES

• Shirley Solis’s web site
• Shirley Solis on YouTube
• Shirley Solis on Twitter
• Life on Fire
• Subscribe to Life on Fire TV Podcast
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