Squeaky Wheel Culture
Elite Eight steps to Developing Character for Life
Dan Salzwedel, Ph. D.
The Elite Eight Steps to developing character represent a framework for success. These attributes characterize those who are contributors as opposed to just consumers in our society.
- Faith – You have to have faith spiritually in the future, both immediate and distant.
- Engage other people – Numbers create strength and give us the opportunity to reinforce a value system by testing its quality in recruiting others.
- Goal setting – You have to have goals, whether they are realistic or unrealistic, long or short-term. Learn to adjust privately to those goals and never allow yourself to be satisfied or to ultimately reach any long distance goal.
- Believe in yourself — Athletic/activity or performance experiences should and will affirm the importance of a positive self-concept. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one will.
- Know your strengths and allow them to blanket your weaknesses.
- Be a planner — All great successes establish a plan, adjust it, reestablish a plan, adjust it again, but never lose sight of the fact that it is important. Create the conditions for success. In other words, strategize your moves and don’t be afraid to fail.
- Intuitiveness — The want and desire to be the best you can be, and regardless of pursuit stick with it by getting up again, and again and again.
- Ability – Ability, like timing, is relative. While good fortune is, by definition, association meeting opportunity, you have the ability to establish and pursue dreams—make the most of it. If you have the capacity to dream, you have the potential to succeed.