I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts the other night and there was a discussion whether aptitude or attitude was more important in defining individual success. I believe attitude is far more important than aptitude. All the talent, knowledge, and skill in the world will not make someone a success in life if they do not learn how to apply it productively. I believe those of us who do reach our dreams are usually just the people who have accumulated the best habits. Humans are creatures of habit. Our bodies and minds want us to be stuck in a comfortable routine of homeostasis. Subconsciously, your inner self is thinking only about survival and not about success, “I’ve survived this far doing what I’ve always done, so changing can only risk danger.” So picking up a new habit or getting rid of an old one is a lot harder than we think. We subconsciously fight against such change. But the ability to form new habits is ultimately the key to success, so I want to share these 6 habit-forming steps with you: 1. Do it for 30 Days – The common consensus is that it takes about 21 [...]
Have you ever had the morning where two cups of coffee wasn’t even to get you going to tackle the day? The type of morning where your bed is so comfortable that you wonder why you ever leave it to do other things? Yes, it is that type of morning. We all need a little motivation from time to time. One way that always gets me going are quotes that I love. From Vince Lombardi to Lao Tzu, here are 50+ quotes to help kick start your day! 1. “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” -Lao Tzu 2. “Leadership rests not only upon ability, not only upon capacity; having the capacity to lead is not enough. The leader must be willing to use it. His leadership is then based on truth and character. There must be truth in the purpose and will power in the character.” -Vince Lombardi 3. Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy. – Norman Schwarzkopf 4. The golden rule for every business man is [...]
I shared a late dinner with my friend Janice recently. Janice is mostly successful pursuing her own projects, but often lets her pessimism impede her success. She’s always thinks something bad will happen that will totally derail one of her projects. Then, when something good does happen, she doesn’t believe she deserves it and waits for the other shoe to drop. Does this sound like you? Too often we allow negativity to get in the way of our success by feeling undeserving of that success. We all must learn to receive and accept the good things that happen to us as the rewards of our hard work. If you do not know how to receive, you may never get what you want. Here’s how you can be more receptive. 1. Notice Your Work. Success more often comes from working smart rather than working hard. But since most people believe that success is they payoff of hard work, they do not feel like they deserve it if it came from smart work. This is not true. Always take time to think about the effort you put in and commend yourself for working smart to achieve your goals. This will help you [...]
I was talking with my friend Kathy over lunch who had a clever idea for a business but did not believe she had the skills necessary to execute it. This made me think of how most people believe successful people are multi-skilled individuals with jack-of-all trade talents and abilities. But the truth is one of the most ubiquitous trait of a successful business owner is being able to find and keep the right people for the right jobs. Successful businesses attract the right talent. Therefore, becoming a talent magnet should be at the top of every manager’s list. Here are three habits you should cultivate in order to create a team of talented individuals: 1. Build relationships with talented people before you need them. Don’t wait until you need someone with a specific skill before engaging with such a person. For example, you might be able to handle your own accounting now, but when your business grows you’ll want a talented and reliable accountant to handle that end of your business. Never stop networking in your industry. Determine who has the talent are and what inspires them about their work. Cultivate these relationships early because they will come in handy [...]
By Ja-Naé Duane
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Posted in Business Tools, Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Uncategorized
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Also tagged entrepreneurs, home-based business, how to start a business, leadership, small business, the freelancer, wahm, working from home
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I ran into an old friend at a recent networking event who has worked at an office for many years. Probably his biggest complaint about the business world is the constant meetings. How often do we hear about meetings where nothing is accomplished and everyone feels like they wasted their time? It’s become an office cliché. There’s even a website called meetordie where you can determine just how much money a business wastes on an unproductive meeting. But, believe it or not, meetings were originally intended to serve a purpose. And, whether we like it or not, meetings are a necessary evil for just about any business to get work done. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t improve on the concept of meetings and make them valuable to you and your attendees. Follow these four steps to make your meetings more meaningful: 1. The fewer the better. Getting everyone’s input can be valuable, but when time is of the essence it just isn’t worth it to invite that guy who works in the mail room. Keep attendance limited to just the people who are directly involved in the meeting’s objectives. Before sending out the meeting memo, ask yourself if all [...]
My buddy Luke is having trouble collecting from a client of his. The client wants him to continue doing work, but has not paid him for the work he has already done. As a freelancer, every single dollar means the world to him. Like many small business owners, Luke has to feed his family at the end of the day. Has this ever happened to you? Does it still. Well, you are absolutely not alone. Most of the entrepreneurs that I know deal with this in one form or another. Even me. So, when you’re trying to do the right thing by your client and still keep yourself in business, where is the line drawn? What could you have done even before the work began? Mike Monteiro doesn’t mess around when it comes to collecting payment. In his Creative Mornings video, “F*ck You. Pay Me” he shares some hilarious insight into his strategies for collective payment for creative service industries. Check it out: 2011/03 Mike Monteiro | F*ck You. Pay Me. from SanFrancisco/CreativeMornings on Vimeo. Here are some familiar and irrational excuses he’s heard from clients. Do any of them sound familiar: “We ended up not using the work” “Really [...]
I have a friend who has acquired many different skills, from automobile repair to computer programming. One time when I asked him where he learned so many skills, his answer was simple – he taught himself through “trial and error.” He allowed himself to fail until he learned the skill. This has made me think a lot about failure and how important it is to allow yourself to fail. All of my successes have come from failure. Projects never end up the way I originally intend, people who seemed like they could be accountable could not, and businesses took longer to make a profit than I had anticipated. But the English language has made us equate failing with being a failure, when in fact failing is necessary in order to succeed. If we never allow ourselves to fail, then, unless we are born perfect, we’ll never attempt to learn or do anything that risks failure. When I started my first business, I made many mistakes and “failures” before I got it right. I didn’t give up or get discouraged because I understood that failing was just a step towards success. And I was right. In order to succeed, you must [...]
My good friend Chuck is a big ideas guy. You know, one of those guys who has about 15 fantastic ideas a day. But when he starts to implement them, he often stops suddenly, usually right before the work finally pays off. Why? Maybe it’s a loss of interest, or new projects come up, or it’s just a lack of follow-through required to be successful. So, when we sit down and talk, he wonders why he isn’t as successful as he thinks he should be and cannot understand why. Sound familiar? Maybe like someone you know or are. Allow me to let you in on a big secret that I have learned through my own countless trial and error. Successful people do not necessarily have some incredible talent, skill, or ability that makes them a success. They simply have learned to deal with the biggest obstacle in the way of success, themselves. Why does Chuck, and a lot of people you and I both probably know, so often abandon big ideas when they are so close to completion? The reason might be because of how we feel about our goals and dreams. Dreaming of success makes us feel better about [...]
As you may already know, I am a strong advocate for innovation and believe it to be the backbone of any successful endeavor – whether it applies to your business or your own life. However, innovation is – by definition – risky. New ideas do not always turn out to be good ideas. And now with the economy the way it is, tightening budgets kill innovation because no one can afford any risks. Yet, without innovation, we end up stagnating – always playing it safe without ever advancing. I’ve always looked for areas in my company or my life that could stand withstand a little risk in order to find better ways of doing things. The trick is to manage your risks. You can optimize innovation to gain great new ideas while minimizing the effects of bad new ideas by following these steps: Evaluate Risk-Taking: How often do you or the people in your employment take risks? Take an honest look at your business by holding interviews, skip-level meetings, or anonymous surveys to gauge risk aversion. You may realize you have created an environment where people feel anxious and hold back ideas. Open a Dialogue: Invite anyone into an open [...]
February 22, 2011 – 8:33 am
Whenever I take on a new leadership role, I’m reminded of the famous words of Baron Acton – “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” It’s tempting to want to lead by your ego when you’re in charge. Trust me, I’ve seen it happen. Good bosses that have lost sight of what it means to be a successful leader, simply by letting their own personal agenda take precedence over what’s good for the business. Even I’ve had some moments where I had to step back and ask myself, “Is this what is best for the company or just for me?” As you begin to take on new leadership roles, possibly when you hire a freelancer or by outsourcing jobs, you also run the risk of being corrupted by power. So what can we do to guard against falling into this trap? Refocus on the good – If you have authority, remind yourself what good it can potentially accomplish. For example, does your power allow you to push for innovation or envision new possibilities? Or do you find yourself using your power to squash new ideas that threaten your position? Acknowledge the dark side – Denying or ignoring power’s pull toward corruption is [...]
