Bud Bilanich

Known as the Common Sense Guy, Bud is a motivational speaker, coach and author.

If today were my last day on Earth and I could share 500 words of brilliance with the world, here are the important things I'd want to pass along to others...

If today were my last day, and I had the opportunity to leave a note for humanity, I would share three bits of advice that have guided me and served me well in my life.

• 1. Always do your best.
• 2. Treat everyone with the dignity and respect they deserve as human beings.
• 3. Help others with no strings attached.

When you do your best, you will be proud of yourself. Being proud of yourself increases your self-confidence. I believe that self-confidence is an important key to success, in your career and in your life.

Beware however: doing your best means that you are laying it on the line. When you do your best, you know that you have no one but yourself to blame if things don't work out like you want.

When I decided to apply to graduate school at Harvard, I promised myself that I would write the very best application I could. And I did. When I put the application in the mailbox, I knew that I had done the absolute best job of writing it that I could. I was proud of myself and a little nervous that day. The pride that came with the certainty of knowing that I did the best job I could was tempered by the nagging fear that my best might not be good enough.

Fortunately, my best was good enough and I was accepted. Interestingly, when I began classes, several members of the faculty had the annoying habit of trying to put students in their place by saying things like "I know that everybody here feels that they were an Admissions mistake." I didn't feel that way. I knew that I worked hard on the application and that it was really good. I resented the professors who made these condescending remarks. I knew that I had done my best, and I was proud of the result. No professor was going to diminish my personal feelings of accomplishment by insinuating that I was an Admissions mistake.

On the other hand, when I sent off my application, I was prepared to live with the idea that even though I did the best I could, my best wasn't good enough for Harvard. This also helped my self confidence, because I knew that I was willing to aim high, and take full responsibility if my reach fell short of my goal. That realization was a real boost to my self confidence,

Next, every person you meet is entitled to your respect - just because he or she is a fellow human being. The 1970s song "Every Day People" by Sly and The Family Stone says it well. "I am no better and neither are you. We are the same whatever we do." As human beings we are united by our shared humanity. This shared humanity is more important than race, gender, religion, sexual preference or any of the other artificial differences that people use to drive us apart, rather than being us together.

I choose to treat all of the people I meet with dignity and respect. I do this for the simple reason that they are fellow human beings and as such, are entitled to it.

There are opportunities to do this every day. Smile at the Starbucks barrista and say please and thank you. Realize that the telemarketer who calls at dinner time is probably somebody really struggling to make ends meet. Treat him or her with respect. Don't just hang up. Listen for a few seconds and then politely ask that you be removed from the list. Be pleasant with the customer service representative when you are calling to report a problem.

If you do this, two things will happen. You'll be much more likely to get what you want. More importantly, you'll brighten up someone else's day. And to me, this is reward enough.

I have a copy of "The Optimist Creed" right above my desk in my office. I look at it often, and use it to guide my behavior. It has 10 points. The eighth and ninth points apply here. "Promise yourself...

• To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every live creature you meet a smile.
• To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have not time to criticize others."

I live my life by these words. And I have been rewarded for so doing. People smile back at me and do their best to help me when I need something. When I focus on improving myself and how I interact with the world, I find that I don't have much time for criticizing others. I just accept them as they are. And how they are is just fine.

Finally, be helpful. Give to others with no expectation of getting anything in return. You'll be creating a win-win situation. You will feel better about yourself, and other people will benefit from the help you give them.

Too many people live their lives in a quid pro quo world. You do for me, and I'll do for you. While I think it is always appropriate to repay a favor, I also think that expecting something in return for a favor just sets you up for resentment. Some people are not in a position to repay a favor. Others don't always realize that you've gone out of your way to help them. Others just don't care they take what they can get and never think about helping someone else. Still others might repay your favor by helping someone else.

It doesn't matter if you never get repaid. What matters is that you are willing to help others. You'll feel better about yourself for this, and you'll be creating some positive karma. Ironically, when you help others with no expectation of return, you'll be surprised by how often others will help you out. I've had help come from some very unexpected places.

When I was finishing Straight Talk for Success, I was struggling with the title. Originally, I was going to call it, Star Power: Common Sense Ideas for Career and Life Success. I was talked out of that title by the PR and branding company with whom I was working at the time. I didn't like their suggestion: How to Be Hot, Smart and Rich. I was at a loss.

Out of nowhere, I connected with a guy by the name of Roger Parker. I had been a guest on one of the teleseminar series he hosts a few years previous. Roger took the time to read the galley of the book and help me think through the message I wanted to convey in the title. His help was completely unexpected and came with absolutely no strings attached. Talk about positive karma.

I almost hesitate to use this example, because in a way it defeats the real point I want to make. When you help others, you build your self confidence and you help others achieve their goals. A world in which most people are able to meet their goals is a better, happier, healthier world. So give with no expectation of return. You'll probably be rewarded for your generosity. But more importantly, you'll be doing your part to make this world just a little bit better.

In conclusion, if today were my last day, and I had the opportunity to leave a note for humanity, I would share three bits of advice that have guided me and served me well in my life. Always do your best. Treat everyone with the dignity and respect they deserve as human beings. Help others with no strings attached. I believe that if we all lived our lives according to these principles, we would be happier and the world would be a better place.

I know that when I'm gone, I would be happy to have people remember me as a guy who always did his best, respected everyone he met and was always there to help others.