The world could be divided very simply into two distinct groups of people. There are people who you can trust to get things done, and there are people you can’t.

All of us have a myriad of things to do each day in our personal and professional lives. How we prioritize these items and get them done on a regular basis will determine how successful we will become. Even if you work or live by yourself, you are dependent upon other people for each of the tasks you want to accomplish on your daily list. In some cases, you are waiting on other people to bring you the tools or information you need to move ahead. In other cases, you are delegating responsibilities to others so that you can oversee a project or work on other aspects of it at the same time.

Recently, I went through several weeks of my daily list of tasks and realized that about 80 percent of the items I work on each day are dependent upon others. If the people whom I had delegated items to or venders I had depended upon were totally reliable, my days would be much freer and clear than they are.

Recently, I was talking to a friend about a business professional he was dealing with on a project. He had glowing recommendations for this individual. As he told me the story, it basically boiled down to the fact that he had arranged to have this person perform a job in a certain way, with a particular budget, with a definite deadline. The person he was praising had, indeed, done what he said he was going to do, within the allotted time, and within the prescribed budget.

It is sad to realize that in the world we live in today, if you do what you say you’re going to do, in a reliable and dependable fashion, it becomes noteworthy, and you become legendary among your customers or circle of influence.

As you move toward your goals and objectives in life, seek to surround yourself with people whom you can depend on. This will help you avoid the redundancy of asking someone to do something and then being forced to follow up to see if it was actually completed and done properly.

As you go through your day today, strive to be a person who is dependable and reliable, and surround yourself with people who hold themselves to the same standard.

Today’s the day!

Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of many books including The Ultimate Gift. He is also a columnist and motivational speaker. He may be reached by e-mail at Jim@JimStovall.com; or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jimstovallauthor.