No One Would Hire Me — Nothing Lasts Forever, Though.

4 Ways You Can Build Self-Confidence Right Now

Self-confidence: some people have oodles of it, others…not so much. I was one of the latter types. Whenever I attempted something, my lack of self-confidence would creep into my mind with thoughts such as: “You aren’t good at this.” “Why are you even thinking that you are going to succeed?” “You are useless.” Unfortunately, I listened to the negativity that was swirling through my brain whenever I tried to do anything to improve myself.

Failure would come and then the self-accusation and the negative confirmations flooded into my thinking. “See, you failed! What made you think otherwise? You have always failed.”

Self-confidence stems out of self-esteem, an my self-esteem was at low tide. What I needed was unstoppable self-esteem and self-confidence. It was something I knew wouldn’t happen over night.

Developing self-confidence takes determination, focus, and work. You need to hit the “kill switch” of negative thinking and inject positivity into your life. But, how do you up the confidence level? You need to stop looking at your failures and refocus. You need to understand that there are some things that you have done right!

Here are 4 ways you can build your confidence to new levels:

1. Consider your past successes

Let’s be honest now. Not everything you have done has failed has it? There are things that you have done well and succeeded in. Remind yourself of those past successes. Let them dictate to you that you aren’t a failure after all. Don’t listen to the negativity anymore. Replace it with a new soundtrack of positivity that celebrate your previous successes.

When you look back at the things you have achieved in the past, what happens? Confidence starts to stir. Grab hold of that confidence and move forward with it.

Tell yourself “I’ve managed to do things well in the past and I can be successful in the future.” Are things going to go smoothly? No! Whenever you try something, there is bound to be a mistake or failure crop up along the way. Nonetheless, allow these to teach and guide you as you journey along the path of success.

“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.” – Helen Keller

2. Upskill

We never stop learning (unless we choose to). What is it that you want to improve about yourself? What do you want to change about your life? There may be a new career you want to take on, or maybe there’s a skill set that you currently have that you want to enhance.

As you learn and develop new skills, your confidence is boosted. Learning is the ultimate self-esteem “pick me up” as it enhances you as a person. It develops you and you will find that your self-confidence increases.

3. Try something that you have never done before

There are always opportunities to try new experiences. The other month my wife and I went to Osaka, and experiencing the Abeno Harukas building . Here, you can experience “Edge the Harukas”,  which means you can go to the top of the building, go outside and lean backward 300 metres above the ground. I am not a fan of heights, but for some reason there was a resolve in me to do this!

Then I came to understand that doing something like that added to my self-confidence. I am not saying that you have to go and do something daring (unless you want to), but try something you have never done before. When you do, guess what happens? You have just chalked up another success. Add it to the pile and keep going!

4. Surround yourself with positive people

To change your thinking and your beliefs means you need to change what and who you are listening to. You have well-meaning people who tell you not to get your hopes up. They say things like “Not everyone is successful,” or “Successful people only got there by luck.” You are told to accept your lot in life.

The people who say these things are sincere in their empathy toward you. They don’t want to see you hurt or disappointed. However, these people are misguided in their counsel. It’s time to change your circle of influence. Find people who will tell you that you can succeed. People who will encourage you rather than pat you sympathetically on the bag and tell you “Success is for others and not you.”

“Surround yourself with positive people who believe in your dreams, encourage your ideas, support your ambitions, and bring out the best in you.” – Roy Bennett

Go to meetup groups where you can be with like-minded individuals who can provide you with advice, guidance and friendship. Find mentors who have done what you long to do and reach out to them. You will find that they are willing to help you succeed. Start building networks with people who are going to encourage you and provide you with the positivity that you need.

When you are around positive people, how do you feel? When someone is there guiding you and telling you that you can succeed, where is your confidence level? When your mentor high-fives you and says “See, I knew you could do it!” you will find that your confidence has skyrocketed.

When I found people that encouraged me instead of filling me with negativity and self-doubt was when I found my confidence growing, expanding, and strengthening.

Which one of these 4 ways to build self-confidence resonates most with you and why?

from
https://addicted2success.com/life/4-ways-you-can-build-self-confidence-right-now/

The Five People Rule and How to Use It for Success

When I was managing a large number of salespeople I would often tell them the way to increase sales revolved around the understanding of a technique I called, the five people rule. Very briefly, it states that if you line up five people shoulder to shoulder and asked all five their opinion of you, one will hate you, one will love you, and three will be indifferent.

The person that hates you may have any number of reasons for doing so. Perhaps they don’t like the way you look, the way you dress, or the way you talk. Maybe it’s the way you assert yourself publicly. Perhaps you’ve wronged them at some point or wronged a member of their family or their organization. Maybe their mother didn’t like your mother. Perhaps you did absolutely nothing! And this person simply doesn’t like you!

The person that loves you may do so for number of reasons. Perhaps the both of you are two suits, or two dresses, cut from the same cloth. (Your behaviors mirror each other!) You just get along famously with each other and like being in each other’s company. Perhaps you’ve done them a favor in the past; or got them or a member of their family a job. Perhaps, in this case, you made no overt attempts to be liked by this person, but they do like you anyway; it’s just you!

“If people like you, they’ll listen to you but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.” – Zig Ziglar

In either case it really doesn’t matter. The fact of the matter is as we go about in our lives some people will naturally like us, and some people will naturally dislike us. The real goal here is to look at the three people that are indifferent to you. Because if you can get just one of them on the “love you” side, then you have doubled the proportion of people who like you versus dislike you.

Obviously, in sales this is very important, since people buy from people that they know, like, and trust. But, in everyday life this is important also not just because we can increase your circle of influence but it’s always nice to have people like you instead of disliking you.

So, the question becomes how can we gain enough of an understanding of our own behavior to tip the scales in our favor of other people’s opinions of us?

Here are a few ideas that I shared with salespeople and clients over the years, and I hope you can use them also in general interpersonal communication skills:

1. Analyze why the individual that doesn’t like you feels that way – There’s a very good possibility that you don’t like them either. Throw those feelings into the mix, and answer the question, “Based on this information what can I change about my behavior?” Please note, it’s not about the other person changing, it’s about you changing! The goal here is that if you change perhaps you can get the other person to change.
2. Analyze why the individual that likes you feels that way – How do you act and behave that endears you to this person? Is it possible to duplicate those behaviors with a different person?
3. Of the three individuals that are indifferent, which person do you think you would have an easier time behaving in such a way that they start to like you? – That’s the one you want to attract to you first. Since you feel that they are the most favorable to you, it’s like picking a piece of low hanging fruit! Based upon the knowledge you got from answering questions one and two you should be able to alter your behavior in such a way that would allow that one individual to come over to your way of thinking.
4. Forgive the individual that doesn’t like you – It really doesn’t matter why they don’t like you, just forgive them. There are no justified resentments! By forgiving that individual you remove all of the psyche rust that is keeping you from having other people like you (and you liking them). When you begin to understand that every word that comes from someone’s mouth is truly a prayer about themselves, regardless of who the subject is, the person that doesn’t like you is really showing an outward manifestation of their internal reflection. It’s not you! Forgive them.
5. If by chance, you behave in such a way that wronged that person who was holding something against you, forgive yourself – It is impossible to forgive someone else until you have allowed yourself the same privilege and honor. The past cannot be retraced. And the past does not necessarily have to be trajectory toward the future. If you can make it up to them, do so. If not forgive them and you and move on.
6. Have a mindset of always expecting the best in any interpersonal situation – Like everyone; and expect everyone to like you. That will begin to set up imperceptible behaviors, all fueled by your self-conscious mind that will attract others to you in a likable manner.

Think about other strategies you can incorporate to make the five people rule work for you. Share them! We want to hear what you have to say. Write your comments below.

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/the-five-people-rule-and-how-to-use-it-for-success/

5 Reasons Why Underdog Entrepreneurs Are More Likely to Succeed

The world is in a place right now where everything is changing faster than ever. Thanks to the digital era, we are enabled to fulfil our dreams easily. Be it the flexible policies or the availability of easy information, it all allows us to work more effectively towards our goals. It’s the same for entrepreneurs alike.

Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur though, that’s mean but true. However, there are many more entrepreneurs today than there was just a decade ago. How is this happening?

People without entrepreneurial backgrounds are trying their luck and succeeding too. It’s a good wave for everyone, the consumer and the seller. The market is working together to reduce the gap between demand and supply. Not only is this keeping entrepreneurs on their toes, but is also encouraging them to think out of the box.

This sudden rise in the number of entrepreneurs could also be attributed to the availability of investors. They most certainly think differently than their predecessors. The desire to bring in the right change in society is the only thing similar between all generations of entrepreneurs.

Who is an underdog entrepreneur?

Underdog, as the term suggests, is someone who is least expected to succeed within a group of talented individuals. It is the same person who has the least power, say or authority in the lot. Underdogs are never usually even considered to be on the winning side. This in return makes it obvious for others to not have any hopes on them or worse, not even consider them. Some could argue that underdogs are usually not visible to others.

“Being underestimated is one of the biggest competitive advantages you can have. Embrace it.”

However, over the years the above definition is seen in a more positive and different light. Underdogs are highly respected and regarded now, because of the uncertainty they carry with them. It reflects on the idea of someone weak or slow, working harder to be in a better position. Underdogs look appealing today because of their efficiency at breaking odds and coming out stronger. Today, underdogs also answer to the injustice or unfairness they are fighting to succeed.

Here are 5 reasons why underdog entrepreneurs are more likely to succeed:

1. They don’t take any aspect of their business for granted

Underdog entrepreneurs are from humbler backgrounds in terms of experience making them sceptical. They take every aspect of their business seriously. Be it something as small as managing their accounts or something as big as meeting an investor, they do it with equal determination. There are times when big businesses face trouble for having taken a small aspect lightly. This is usually never the case with an underdog entrepreneur, who is always on his toes. He is careful and is alert about what’s happening in and outside his business. This keeps him aware and also allows him to plan ahead in time.

2. Their risk tolerance is out of the world

They have faced failures multiple times in the past. They do not have inhibitions and scepticism, unlike most entrepreneurs. Taking calculated risks is a wise choice but can also keep one back in today’s fast marketplace. Underdog entrepreneurs are usually more likely to take risks that others are not willing to take. This certainly puts them in a tricky position but also improves their chances significantly. They understand the risk they are taking and take it with authority. They are the same type of individuals who believe they have nothing to lose in the first place. They risk it with the hope of getting something better. Even if they fail they know how to rise up again. Staying motivated even in the toughest of times is an art they have nailed.

3. They don’t make unnecessary chatter or claims

Underdog Entrepreneurs usually have too much on their plates; given the multiple hats, they wear. They don’t have the time or flexibility to indulge in useless banter. There are two kinds of people; doers and talkers. They are the first kind, who focus on doing things better. Their words speak for them. Having faced rejection and failure, they are usually very cautious before making any claims. They take failure positively but also learn not to talk about outcomes that aren’t out yet. These are the category of people who let their work speak about them. Underdog entrepreneurs are usually never satisfied and try to make up for the lost time and repute.

4. They think out of the box and have unconventional ways

They are the kind of people who experiment and run wild thoughts. Their fearlessness makes them take calculated yet unconventional steps. It could be in their execution or their promotions etc. The world is changing and is craving to see the right change. Unlike earlier times, the ideal consumer today is more willing and open to the right changes.

However, the consumer wants to know the logical reason behind a change. Underdog entrepreneurs are making better decisions every day and coming up with quirky ideas too. This is the time and age for unconventional settings and decisions and underdog entrepreneurs are making the best out of it. Their experience at falling and getting back up each time teaches them how to find better ways to rise up.

“Underdogs adapt, evolve and become winners because of their preparation, heart, execution and the relentless attitude that the game will not end any other way.”

5. They have exceptional people skills

It’s very important for every business to connect with its people, its consumers. The unique bonds that brands are creating today, is what separates them in the crowded marketplace. Coming from humble beginnings, underdog entrepreneurs are humble and open-minded. They talk to people, connect with them, share and take ideas. Underdog entrepreneurs shine at creating relationships that matter to their business.

They understand that there are many others like them in the market and keep their ego in check. They are more respectful of their customers and towards their competitors. This keeps them open to new learning, which should ideally be the motto of every entrepreneur. This is the same ability that makes them better advisors, mentors, leaders and salesperson. They understand human emotions and values better.

When an underdog entrepreneur finds success, he/she makes others believe in the power of hard work and determination. This is the positivity that people look out for in the first place.

from
https://addicted2success.com/entrepreneur-profile/5-reasons-why-underdog-entrepreneurs-are-more-likely-to-succeed/

7 Parenting Tips for Encouraging the Young Entrepreneur in Your Child

The next big idea could be right around the corner. In fact, it could be coming from one of your kids. Children today have an excellent grasp on social media and the world of opportunities the internet provides. Because of these facts, it comes as no surprise that many kids today are starting to pursue their entrepreneurial goals as early as six or seven years old.

One child-entrepreneur survey polled 1,721 students in grades 5 through 12 and found that 77% of students wanted to be their own boss. A whopping 45% said they wanted to start their own business and not far behind were 42% of students who said they wanted to invent something that changes the world.

These big ambitions for such young children need to be cultivated, and as a parent, you can help them make their business goals a reality.

From online learning classes to teaching kids about money, here are 7 parenting tips for empowering kid entrepreneurs:

1. Encourage their curiosity

Kid’s have brilliant minds. It is often said that it is easier for a child under the age of seven years old to learn a second language than it is for adults. Why? Unlike adults, they are still steeped in education on a daily basis. Their brains are ready to create new information more willingly than an adult mind.

The Teachers College Columbia University reports that this has much to do with the prefrontal cortex, which contributes to an inventive and creative outlook on things. This curiosity and ability to learn should be encouraged by parents. Help them take online learning classes or find opportunities to do projects with them that relate to their interests and ideas.

2. Take your children seriously

One of the main ingredients of good parenting is letting your kids know you understand and support them. Children’s minds are always changing and growing. One week they may want to be an astronaut while the following week they want to be a veterinarian. These flip-flopping ideas may make it tempting to smile and nod when your little one expresses their desires, but don’t be so quick to say no.

If your child wants to be a pastry chef and asks you if they can sell cupcakes in the neighborhood, why not say yes? Yes, the mind of a child can change from one minute to the next, but parents help their children grow and explore new ideas when they take their requests seriously.

3. Teach children the value of money

In order to build a thriving business, children need to learn how to manage their money. A child who receives an allowance of $15 will have $60 by the end of the month.

You can help teach your child both responsibility and the value of money by encouraging them to spend money wisely. By using basic math or putting up a pie chart on the refrigerator, you can teach your children the importance of saving money and investing wisely in products to pursue their goals.

“Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.” – Ayn Rand

4. Teach that it’s okay to fail

In the same survey cited at the onset, 91% of entrepreneurial students said that they are not afraid to take risks, even if they fail.

Starting a business is a big job that requires your child’s patience, drive, and responsibility. Putting all this effort into a project only to have it fail can be crushing for a young child.

It is important for you to teach your children that it is okay to fail. Highlight that having fun, learning and gaining beneficial experience should be the primary goal of their entrepreneurial career, and not necessarily fame and success.

5. Help your child get started

A great parenting tip for empowering kid entrepreneurs is to help them get started off on the right track. Help them do research about similar products or ideas. Is their pricing, right? Is there a current need for their idea or business?

If your kid wants to become an entrepreneur, it’s your job as a parent to help them make it a reality. This means helping them learn how to market their service or idea. This may also involve learning how to manufacture a product and taking online learning classes about their interests.

6. Look for opportunities

If your child wants to launch a product or service, they’re going to need opportunities to be in the public eye. This can be done through social media, word of mouth, neighborhood canvassing, and even getting a hold of your city’s news station to have a piece done on the local child entrepreneur.

Taking your children to such things as trade shows can also give them the opportunity to network with like-minded entrepreneurs. There are also various online learning classes that can help parents and children discover how best to market a new product and make business connections.

“In a world that changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” – Mark Zuckerberg

7. Make it fun

There are many successful child entrepreneurs with thriving companies today. At 12 years old, popcorn giant Orville Redenbacher, began growing his own popping corn in pursuit of the perfect kernel.

While his passion for popcorn did earn him enough to pay for his college tuition, no doubt, Redenbacher wasn’t thinking that he was going to turn his love of popcorn into a billion-dollar market. He was just having fun.

The same should be true for your little one. Childhood is a time for being carefree, not to be weighed down with worries and anxiety. One of the best parenting tips for encouraging little entrepreneurs is to make having fun the primary goal of their pursuit.

Follow these 7 parenting tips to help empower your child to pursue their entrepreneurial goals. Teach your kids the value of money, remind them that building a business should be fun, and get them involved in online learning classes to make the best of their budding entrepreneur spirit.

Which one of these tips do you feel is the most important to teach the next generation of entrepreneurs? Let us know your thoughts below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/entrepreneur-profile/7-parenting-tips-for-encouraging-the-young-entrepreneur-in-your-child/

7 Ways to Kick Your Fear of Success in the Face and Have the Success Your Heart Desires

Think about the positive emotion you felt when you watched or listened to a successful businessperson you admired. You thought to yourself how amazing their success is and imagined how life would be if you experienced massive success. The thought of being successful in life and in business comes with inspiration, excitement, high energy, and motivation.

But when it comes to the details and taking action, the journey to success may come with intimidation, wavering, hesitation, doubt, and trepidation. People don’t often express fear of success, but it is displayed in their behavior.

Behaviors that display fear of success include procrastination, making excuses, getting cold feet, not following through, self-sabotaging talks and not making decisions that will move you forward. Everyone’s meaning and measure of success are different, however, whatever your meaning of success, it is attainable.

Here are seven ways to kick fear of success in the face and move toward what your heart desires:

1. Dispel the mental lies

When we want to do something we’ve never done before, our thoughts tend to race. Thoughts run through our minds daily and we have conversations in our heads. Sometimes these conversations are similar to the analogy of the devil on one shoulder telling you one thing and the angel on the other shoulder telling you the opposite. The back and forth dialogue creates analysis paralysis. Any negative thing you’ve told yourself – stop now.

“Fears are nothing more than a state of mind.” – Napoleon Hill

2. Don’t overthink things

Overthinking is an activity that contemplates possible outcomes in a way that is unproductive.  You think too much on a particular thing to a point where it affects your actions, thoughts, and emotions. When you overthink, you are slow to make a decision. When you hit this block, it’s important to get to a place you can clear your mind. Change your environment and do something different for a few hours. Speak to someone about your challenge. Usually, they will offer insight you may not have thought of. This helps you get out of the indecisive state.

3. Remove emotion and focus on the task

Have you ever done or said something you regretted while in an emotional state?  Emotional based decisions can potentially cause more harm than good. Emotions should not be a guide when making decisions. While I am not suggesting to ignore what you are feeling, I am however saying to be aware. Negative emotion can bring about impulsive actions or reactions. This is where being mindful can save yourself from emotion induced problems.

4. Think the opposite of your fears

Write out your fears. Then, write the impact this fear has on your progress. Next, write the activity you need to do to push through that fear. Take action and trust that something good will happen for you even if it’s incrementally. Focus on positive outcomes. Ask yourself, what if this does work? Then tell yourself good will come from it. This activity will put you in a mindset of accepting and preparing for the success you desire.    

5. Do what you fear most

This may sound cliché but this is a solid method to help you overcome fear. The more you implement this into your life the quicker you will see massive results. I heard one time that “fear is faith in the wrong thing”. When you take action on what you fear the most and come out on the other side alive and well, you will gain the much-needed confidence to do it again. The experience will provide you with ways to improve and you will realize that it was not as bad as your mind tried to trick you into believing it would be. So jump in and do it!

6. Surround yourself with those that take massive action

Those you interact with regularly have a huge influence and impact on your success. It’s true about what’s said about the company that you keep. If you surround yourself with mentors, visionaries, action takers, and doers, you will be inspired and motivated to do the same. Interacting with individuals that don’t make excuses and encourage you to take steps toward your desired outcome have a greater impact on your life than those that are merely satisfied, not interested in growth and find reasons not to do something that will move them forward.  

“The path to success is to take massive, determined actions.” – Tony Robbins

7. Use your imagination

In the book “As a Man thinketh” by James Allen, he discusses the power of thought. You have the ability to think your way into a successful life. Actions are followed by our thoughts so thinking successful thoughts will produce the right action. Walk the walk and talk the talk. Practice what successful people do, go where they go, dress for success, walk with a consistent pace and upright, and align how you speak to the success you desire. I recall listening to a Brian Tracy teaching telling a story about the time he was asked to teach about a topic he knew nothing about. He didn’t decline the request; he simply learned what was needed to be successful in accomplishing that request. You too have the same ability to create success for yourself.

This is not an exclusive list but when you have done these things and see results, you will experience a shift in your mindset. Fear will diminish and confidence in yourself and your ability will get stronger. Affirm your success daily, take action, and expect positive outcomes. Kick fear in the face and walk in the success your heart desires!

Image courtesy of Twenty20.com

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/7-ways-to-kick-your-fear-of-success-in-the-face-and-have-the-success-your-heart-desires/

3 Lessons You Will Learn From a Sales Role That Will Make You Successful in Life

What one thing do Mark Cuban, Howard Schultz, and Warren Buffet all have in common? I’ll give you a hint, it’s not being billionaires or CEOs. Besides being 3 of the most successful (and richest) men of all time, these 3 men all started their careers in sales.

In fact, more billionaires started in sales than in any other profession. From Samuel Palmisano at IBM to Shark Tank’s Robert Herjavec, According to a study done by recruitment agency Aaron Wallis, of the 53 billionaires who did not inherit their wealth, 10 of them or around 20% started in sales. As sales move more and more online and Amazon eats everything, salesmen are being replaced more and more by deal closing computers.  

Take a second to think about the last time you went to a store and dealt with a salesperson? My guess is it’s been awhile. And it looks more and more likely that most of the next generation will not get the chance to do real face-to-face “Look em in the eye” sales.

While the sales process is changing and moving online, I think it’s important to continue to pass on some of the lessons that one would learn in face to face sales. These are lessons that will ultimately make you successful in life whether you decide to build the next Facebook or just run your own landscaping business.

Here are 3 Lessons From Sales That Will Make You A Success in Life:

1. Grit

One of the harsh truths about life is that rejection happens. It happens in business, it happens in dating and it happens socially.

Grit, as popularized by the book of the same title by Penn professor Angela Duckworth, is courage and resolve of character. Until rather recently many believed that grit was a trait you either had or didn’t have, but Duckworth’s book showed how that sort of tenacity can be actively cultivated.

I can almost guarantee that no successful salesman has ever read Grit. They don’t need to because sales forces you to develop tough skin and persistence. Salespeople face rejection about 90% of the time. Even the best “closers” in the world still only make a sale about a third of the time. That means they fail 66% of the time. Another way to say it is that sales forces you to become gritty.

“Learn to keep going even when things are difficult, even when we have our doubts. At various points, in big ways and small, we get knocked down. If we stay down, grit loses. If we get up, grit prevails.” – Angela Duckworth

2. Listening

When most people think of a salesman, they conjure an image of a fast-talking smooth schmoozer. But that image is only one type of salesman and often an ineffective one at that. The best salesmen in the world are amazing listeners. But listening doesn’t just make you an incredible salesman, there is quite a bit of evidence to suggest it also makes you a more effective leader as well.

Listening makes people feel cared about and valuable. It also helps you focus in on what they REALLY want and how you can help them get it. Whether you want to solve conflicts with your significant other or rise up the corporate ladder, listening will get you there faster than talking.

3. Being Internally Motivated

Another common misconception about successful salesmen is that they are motivated by things like bonuses, competition, and money. While there are some sales professionals who need a contest or $100 bonus at the end of the day to get themselves jacked up, the best salesmen (and women) I ever worked with were internally motivated.

As I mentioned earlier, rejection happens to salespeople a lot. Those that are externally motivated are going to do great when things are going well. But when they are in the midst of no sales after making 100 calls, they would have trouble finding the motivation to pick up the phone. On the other hand, the best salespeople I worked with were always motivated because they found motivation not in the success of a sales call but internally.

“I think true success is intrinsic… It’s love. It’s kindness. It’s community.” – Tom Shadyac

They found ways to be motivated to take action even when they didn’t feel like it. Whether they’re making 100 calls in a day or working on your social media marketing, they have to find it within themselves to keep on pushing forward.

A sales career has laid the foundation for success for countless men and women across the globe. These days fewer and fewer things are sold in person, we’re pretty much down to cars and houses and even those sales processes have changed entirely due to the internet.

It’s not hard to imagine a future without salespeople, but that doesn’t mean that everyone can’t benefit from the 3 timeless success lessons presented here today.

Which one of these 3 lessons resonated with you most? Let us know below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/3-lessons-you-will-learn-from-a-sales-role-that-will-make-you-successful-in-life/

21 of Lionel Messi’s Quotes to Inspire You to Live an Amazing Life

Lionel Messi is an Argentine soccer player known as one of the best in the world. He plays for FC Barcelona and the Argentina National Team. He has remained loyal to Barcelona by joining their youth academy at 13 years old and has played more than 600 games for the club including providing over 500 goals.

Messi has overcome hardships in his career such as being diagnosed with growth hormone disorder at age 10. The only team willing to pay for his medical treatment at this time was Barcelona, which was why he decided to play for them.

Below are 21 of Lionel Messi’s most motivating and inspiring life quotes:

1. “The best decisions aren’t made with your mind, but with your instinct.” – Lionel Messi

2. “You can overcome anything, if and only if you love something enough.”- Lionel Messi

3. “Money is not a motivating factor…My motivation comes from playing the game I love. If I wasn’t paid to be a professional footballer, I would willingly play for nothing.”- Lionel Messi

4. “Sometimes you have to accept you can’t win all the time.”- Lionel Messi

5. “When the year starts, the objective is to win with all the team, personal records are secondary.” – Lionel Messi

6. “Something deep in my character allows me to take the hits and get on with trying to win.” – Lionel Messi

7. “I start early and I stay late, day after day, year after year. It took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success.”- Lionel Messi

8. “My ambition is always to get better and better.”- Lionel Messi

9. “There are more important things in life than winning or losing a game.” – Lionel Messi

10. “The day you think there is no improvements to be made is a sad one for any player.”- Lionel Messi

11. “Something deep in my character allows me to take the hits and get on with trying to win.” – Lionel Messi

12. “Goals are only important if they win games.”- Lionel Messi

13. “I made sacrifices by leaving Argentina, leaving my family to start a new life. I changed my friends, my people. Everything. But everything I did, I did for football, to achieve my dream.”

14. “I start early, and I stay late, day after day after day.” – Lionel Messi

15. “The best decisions aren’t made with your mind, but with your instinct.”- Lionel Messi

16. “I never think about the play or visualize anything. I do what comes to me at the moment. Instinct. It has always been that way.”- Lionel Messi

17. “I think my desire to always get better, to always want more, to always be my top critic, and accepting the good and the bad.” – Lionel Messi

18. “I do it because I love it and that’s all I care about.” – Lionel Messi

19. “You cannot allow your desire to be a winner to be diminished by achieving success before and I believe there is room for improvement in every sportsman.”– Lionel Messi

20. “In football as in watchmaking, talent and elegance mean nothing without rigour and precision.”– Lionel Messi

21. “I always thought I wanted to play professionally, and I always knew that to do that I’d have to make a lot of sacrifices. I made sacrifices by leaving Argentina, leaving my family to start a new life. I changed my friends, my people. Everything. But everything I did, I did for football, to achieve my dream.”– Lionel Messi

Which Messi quote resonates with you the most and why?

from
https://addicted2success.com/quotes/21-of-lionel-messis-quotes-to-inspire-you-to-live-an-amazing-life/

7 Business Thought Leaders You Should Be Following on Twitter

As a business owner and entrepreneur, you need to be in the loop on new developments in the business world. You should also be looking for ways to improve your business and motivation for the day to day. You can get all of this and more from following key thought leaders on Twitter.  

Here’s a starting point of some business leaders whose perspectives and insights will help you improve your skills and run your business:

1. Shep Hyken

If you are looking to improve your customer service, then you definitely have to follow Shep Hyken. Hyken is an American customer service expert, bestselling author, and an exceptional public speaker. He works with organizations to create amazing customer experiences which will, in turn, ensure customers are loyal to the company.

To Hyken, customer service and customer engagement hugely determine the success or failure of a business. He says “customers no longer compare you to your competitor. They compare you to the best service they ever had… from anyone.” You, therefore, want to follow this guy so that you can get tips to improve your customer experience.

2. Neil Patel

Any online business owner knows that the more traffic your website has, the better chance you have for high sales. Patel has some great insight on how to increase traffic to your site. If you apply his SEO tips, he says you can generate 1,702,148 visitors a month. Who is Neil Patel you might ask?

He is a digital marketing guru and has an amazing site which offers lots of information on how to grow your business online. Patel is a New York Times best-selling author and has been named a top marketer by Forbes. Patel is also a serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist, Forbes, Inc, Entrepreneur, and Huffington Post columnist and a co-founder of CrazyEgg.

“Someday is a dangerous word.” – Neil Patel

3. Vicki Saunders

Saunders is the founder of SheEO, a company that seeks to change the way women businesses are financed, supported and celebrated. As an entrepreneur, Saunders has been at the forefront of mentoring future entrepreneurs and change makers. She believes entrepreneurship should be widely encouraged as it can offer positive transformation in the world.

Vicki has run and co-founded numerous businesses in Europe, Silicon Valley, and Toronto. In 2015 she was named one of the 100 most influential leaders in the world. Due to her efforts to encourage entrepreneurship among the youth and women, she was selected as Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum. Any entrepreneur can learn a thing or two from this amazing woman.

4. Tim Cook

This man took over from the legendary Steve Jobs, and has continued to lead Apple to greater achievements. Through his team and his efforts, Apple recently became the world’s first trillion-dollar public company. That means Apple’s stock market value is more than a third the size of the UK economy and larger than the economies of Turkey and Switzerland.

Want to know how Apple did it? Follow Tim Cook on Twitter. One of the things you will learn when you follow him is the importance of team effort. Cook is always tweeting messages commending his team for work well done.

As a business owner, you need to recognize your team when they do remarkable work, otherwise their motivation will decrease, and you know what that means to your bottom line. You can also learn how to build and sustain a reputable brand from Cook’s Twitter, which has 11 million followers.

5. Elon Musk

Musk has over 20 million followers. There must be a good reason why all these people love his page. You probably know him as the entrepreneur who wants to take man to Mars by 2024 and the CEO of Tesla. Get a front row seat to the action! He’s an entrepreneur, investor, and inventor, and was a co-founder of Paypal.

He has a lot of insights on how you can create a business that can change people’s lives. If you are in the start-up phase of your business, he has great advice on how to scale your business and overcome setbacks. He certainly knows a thing or two about picking yourself up, because he has faced many challenges in his 23-year journey as an entrepreneur.  

“I think it’s very important to have a feedback loop, where you’re constantly thinking about what you’ve done and how you could be doing it better.” – Elon Musk

6. Jeff Bezos

If you are running a small business, it’s going to take a lot of time and effort to transform it into a big corporation. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, can offer you insights on what you need to do to grow your business to unimaginable heights.

He has grown Amazon from a small start-up to the second trillion-dollar company in the US. If you are looking for motivation when facing challenges in your entrepreneurship journey, Bezos’ quotes can boost your energy and help you carry on.

7. Eve Mayer

Mayer is the owner and CEO of Social Media Delivered, one of the most respected social media companies worldwide. Mayer is also an author and public speaker who was named one of Forbes’ most influential women on social media, ranking fifth. CNN has named her as one of the 8 women who will inspire, inform and amuse you on Twitter.

Eve is known as Linkedin Queen because of her knowledge of leveraging LinkedIn for B2B sales and recruiting. She tweets on different topics from social media tips, marketing, relationship advice and current events. You will learn a lot from her should you follow her.

Move Forward With A Strong Twitter Feed

Whether you want to learn the ropes on how to run a business well, investment tips, social media, the business leaders on this list will guide you well.

When you follow these individuals, don’t just read their tweets. Try and connect with them by asking them questions directly. They might be too busy, but there’s a chance they’ll see you and respond! If not, you’ll still get connected to an online community that will help you grow your brand. Use these thought leaders to help you achieve your goals.

Which one of these business leaders do you follow and why? Let us know below!

Image courtesy of Twenty20.com

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/7-business-thought-leaders-you-should-be-following-on-twitter/

Top 30 Amazing Hugh Jackman Quotes

Australian actor and singer Hugh Jackman instantly became a star for his part as Wolverine in Bryan Singer’s X-Men. However, the man is much more than the iconic action character. A loving father of two adopted children, he is also an esteemed Broadway performer and singer. Unlike many of his Hollywood, colleagues, Hugh Jackman seems […]

The post Top 30 Amazing Hugh Jackman Quotes appeared first on MotivationGrid.

from
https://motivationgrid.com/top-30-amazing-hugh-jackman-quotes/

I Quit My Job Today — There’s A Lesson In It For You.

4 Techniques to Spur Creativity in a Noisy World

You feel that familiar buzz in your pocket as you finally detach your eyes from the spreadsheet you’ve been staring at all day to reach for your iPhone. It’s your significant other, and they need you to call them right away. After pausing your Spotify app and removing your earphones from your ear, you dial them while simultaneously thinking about that YouTube video you were planning on watching during your break.

After you’re finished conversing about the latest political blunder you read about on Facebook, you hang up and head back to your desk. After bouncing back and forth between the spreadsheets and emails all day, it’s finally time to go home where you spend the evening watching Netflix until you fall asleep. Once you wake up, you realize you had planned to work on your creative project that day but somehow got lost in all the daily distractions.

If this sounds like a typical day-in-the-life for you then you’re not alone. Plenty of us have been sucked into the digital sphere of distractions to the point where it’s considered normal to be so all-over-the-place.

The thought of taking a few minutes out of our days to work on a creative endeavor seems impossible. Or worse, when we do find the time, we end up not getting anything done due to a “lack of inspiration.” Thankfully, there are things we can do to help spur creativity and get things done.

Here are 4 techniques that will help ignite your inner creativeness:

1. Be Fully Present

In this day and age, it’s easy to have our minds pulled in fifty different directions at once thanks to our smartphones and computers. Not only is this a problem for people while at the office, but it’s also been shown to have a very negative impact on people’s creative lives.

If you plan on creating something, try to eliminate as many distractions as possible and position yourself in a place where you can be fully present.

For me, I have a designated room where I spend my time writing or creating music. It’s quiet, my phone is left in the other room, and I have all of the tools in front of me ready to be used including my laptop, my piano, and my guitar. Without this place, I find it much more difficult to engage with my creative side due to distractions and noise around me.

“Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” –  American Proverb

2. Start Your Project Even If You Don’t Feel Ready

This is a tricky one for most of us – why would we start something big if we’re not fully sure how it will end up? We love to plan things out, research, talk to others about our ideas, etc. while never actually starting our projects.

The best advice anyone ever gave me was to simply start whatever it is I want to do and figure it out as I go along. It was this advice that allowed me to finish writing my first song after spending years making excuses as to why I wasn’t ready to write one yet.

I needed to listen to a little bit more Bob Dylan for lyrical inspiration, read a couple more books about the Beatles for chord inspiration, and learn a few more City and Colour songs on guitar for melody inspiration before I was ready to write my own song. In other words, I needed to feel ready before I started.

Unfortunately, we’re never going to be fully ready by most of our standards. It wasn’t until I grabbed a notepad out of frustration over my lack of action and penned a couple phrases that I had a sudden revelation that I was actually writing a song. A day later, I had the entire song penned including a chord progression and melody. A week later, I wrote another song from start to finish in just 4 hours.

Had I not taken action and actually started the process of creating by putting pen to paper, I would have never experienced the creative flow that allowed me to write these songs.

The 17th-century British poet George Herbert put it best when he said, “Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right.’ Start where you stand, work with whatever tools you have, and better tools will be found as you go along.”

3. Develop a Routine and Don’t Wait for Inspiration

Chuck Close put it brilliantly when he said, “Inspiration is for amateurs – the rest of us just show up and get to work.” Inspiration, while certainly important, pales in comparison to the simple act of developing a routine.

In the book “Daily Rituals: How Artists Work”, the author highlights how famous novelists such as Michael Chabon and Haruki Murakami have set routines each week that they spend writing.

This is the secret to their success more than just being inspired – they developed a pattern of behavior that gives them the time to allow their creativity to flow. Personally, I find it much easier to write music when I set aside time during the day to create rather than waiting around for inspiration to hit me like a ton of bricks.

“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?” – Vincent Van Gogh

4. Stop Constantly Listening to Success Stories

While I have been inspired greatly by the success stories of others, if I’m not careful I can quickly find myself spending more time focusing on other people’s success rather than my own.

Problems arise when I begin comparing myself to others and this, in turn, makes me feel frustrated that I’m not yet experiencing the level of creative success that these people are.

The cruel irony of the situation is that listening to these stories that are supposed to be motivating can actually make me feel less motivated if I overindulge. It wasn’t until I took a break from consuming this content and, instead, learned to celebrate where I was in the creative process that I gained that sense of motivation to keep striving for more.

I’m always reminded of the fact that when I was younger, I spent hours creating and publishing satirical videos on the internet, writing creative short stories, and even producing beautiful melodies on my piano without listening to a single podcast or reading a single motivating article. These tools are effective motivators, but relying on them rather than your own inner creativity can leave you feeling unmotivated and scatter-brained.

Creativity isn’t just dependent on inspiration, it’s instead dependent on people taking action and eliminating distractions. If you wish to explore your creative side, spend some time figuring out what space you need to make for yourself to unleash your creative potential and take action.

How to you remain creative in your daily life? Let us know your tips and advice below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/4-techniques-to-spur-creativity-in-a-noisy-world/

The One Crucial Ingredient for Success That Motivation Can’t Give You

Some people say motivation is literally the only thing you need to be successful. They say it is the crucial element in setting and attaining goals. But is that really true? A lot of content is produced online that’s aimed to motivate and move you into massive action in the hopes that you’ll finally become successful.

While I do think the intentions behind such claims are noble, most people totally misunderstand how motivation works. More importantly, they’re totally unaware of the real determining factor behind an individual’s success.

Let me start off by debunking a colossal myth about motivation: Motivation equals success. This is not true. Here’s the truth: Motivation does not equal success for you. The only thing that equals success for you is you and the way you develop and rearrange your mind.

You can spend as much time as you like watching, following and investing your money on motivational courses or seminars but there’s no guarantee your life will transform. It’s a great marketing line, but certainly not the way success works.

Yes, your guru knows just how to press the right buttons. Each time he or she speaks and shares a rags to riches story, you feel yourself rising from that pit of despair threatening your very existence. Nonetheless, just writing down those goals or visualizing success is not how results are created in your life. If you’ve been an avid personal development student, this has probably started sinking in.

So am I saying you should abandon your current craving for watching Abraham Hicks and Tony Robbins or those well crafted Goalcast videos? Heck no. These videos and seminars pump you up and keep your fire burning. It’s awesome! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with strategically setting aside some time to regularly feed yourself content that raises your spirits. The problem is when that’s all you do.

“Don’t think, just do.” – Horace

As it so happens, most people are stuck at this point, which is why they see no results even after reading the books, watching the videos and attending the seminars. Sure, a few things may change here and there, but true and permanent transformation – that’s something not enough people are experiencing. And here’s why.

Most people are still missing this crucial ingredient that is fundamental to both permanent transformation and success: True conviction and habit formation. In other words, they lack the belief which forms the habit that results in success.

Your results are determined by your actions. The actions you take are determined by your behavior which is under the direct influence of your habits and as we all know, your habits are not formed through intellectual reasoning or applied force. In fact, your habits and beliefs can’t even be formed instantly.

In other words, it doesn’t matter what anyone else says or does, if your creative mind and powerhouse does not get impressed upon with that idea of riches and success, no physical result will appear.

This is perhaps the one thing most motivational gurus don’t emphasize enough. If they did, we’d see more people invested  in doing “inner work” instead of scrolling through Instagram feeds hungry for another motivational quote.

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” – Pele

The point to take home is simply this: Your inner convictions and the habits you form constitute your ruling mental state. After that motivational video is over, and the shot of adrenaline dies out, you’ll jump back into whatever ruling state your mind has set as the default pattern.

Therefore if you truly want to experience the success your gurus are painting for you as a possibility, master the skill of habit formation.

Get good at creating habits that prompt actions that lead to success; develop deep beliefs that serve you and consistently impress your creative powerhouse with the right feeling and the end result will inevitably be success.

Everything else you find externally is at best a clue and at worst a distraction but definitely not “the magical ingredient.” If at all there is such a thing as a magical ingredient to fast track your success, it will only be found by looking within.

So take an honest self-inventory right now. How much time each day goes into feeding your motivational craving, and how much real inner work and habit formation are you invested in?

What is one goal you’d like to succeed in accomplishing before the end of the year? Share with us below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/motivation/the-one-crucial-ingredient-for-success-that-motivation-cant-give-you/

10 Lessons for Bootstrapping Your Startup to $1M Annual Revenue

In an entrepreneurial landscape dominated by headlines of unicorn startups and billion-dollar acquisitions, getting a company to $1 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) may sound like small change. Let’s be real, though, hitting $1 million ARR is an aspirational milestone most young companies can relate to. And it’s not that easy, especially if you’ve secured modest investments or no investment at all.

The software-as-a-service (SaaS) company I work for falls in the latter category. We’ve never raised a single investment dollar, and it took us four years to reach the $1 million ARR threshold. It was a wild four years. Frustrating, fun, scary: you name the emotion, and we’ve felt it.

But more than anything, it was an instructive four years. We learned so much, and we want to share a few helpful tidbits with our peers out there in the trenches, scratching and clawing your way to your next big milestone.

Here are 10 things we think are most important that you can use in your own start-up journey:

1. Don’t quit

Steve Jobs famously said that the difference between those who make it and those who don’t is perseverance. At one point I remember hearing “Folks, I don’t know if we’re going to be here next month.”

It’s frightening not to know where you’re going to be next month, but you have to continuously figure out how to get a few more customers and extend your runway. You can’t “make it” or succeed if you don’t exist, so you can’t quit.

2. Give your customers everything

At the company I work for, Text Request, we spent hours with our customers. We built whatever they asked for (if it fit with our goals and other customers could use it too). We also gave away a lot of free software.

If you want to grow and gain customers, you have to create a needed product that solves your target customers’ problems. Determine who your target customers are, ask them what they need, and then tailor your solutions for them.

3. Try everything you can think of

The book Traction by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares covers 19 sales and marketing channels for startups to test. We tried all of them. We went to events. We advertised. We started a referral program.

For us, cold calls and cold emails worked surprisingly well. We took an industry, looked for companies in a given city, and reached out to set up product demos. Organic search has increasingly helped our sales funnel, too.

Either of those could be the best plan for you, or it could be advertising in a particular channel. Every startup is different and targets a different niche, but you’ll only find successful strategies and channels for growth by testing all your options.

4. Focus on the basics

When you focus on doing the basics, opportunities open up. When you commit to SEO basics, your targets will find you online, and a big fish will occasionally swim by. When you provide fantastic customer service, a few users will leave reviews and tell their friends. When you keep your head down and do the work, eventually you’ll look up and have hit a big milestone.

5. Get the right people on your bus

This is one of the critical lessons from Jim Collins’ Good to Great. Thankfully, our small team had the right people from the beginning. Brian and Jamey Elrod, our husband and wife co-founders, had already started a successful company from scratch (Educational Outfitters). Our third co-founder Rob Reagan has created software for twenty years and published a book last year on building apps for global scale.

Rob brought a couple of top-notch developers with him, and the rest of us showed up determined to figure the business out. If you’re going to take a company from $0 to $1 million, every member of your team has to be dedicated to working together for the long-term benefit of the company over self-interest.

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” – Henry Ford

There’s always something that keeps entrepreneurs up at night, but you can put the questions below to rest:

1. How do you build it fast enough?

In the early days, we worried about losing a customer because we didn’t have [X]. It was stressful knowing that So-and-So would move on to the next option if we couldn’t deliver fast enough, and many times they did. But that doesn’t matter.

Losing one customer isn’t worth pushing out a faulty product. Despite the pervasive Lean Startup mindset, it’s more important to your customers that you create needed features (read: solutions) that work great the first time. They have to trust that you’ll give them the tools they need to accomplish their goals, or they’ll leave.

2. How do you keep customers longer?

Our support is perhaps our #1 competitive advantage. One of the things we’ve learned is that a lower price, and sometimes even new features, won’t keep customers around longer.

To keep your customers from churning, you’ve got to do two things: First, provide a smooth onboarding process that immediately teaches customers how to gain value (solve their problems) with your product. Otherwise, they won’t pick it up, and they’ll eventually leave.

Second, always be there with kind words and helpful content whenever a customer needs help. If you aren’t, they’ll get frustrated and find someone else to help them.

“People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.” – Teddy Roosevelt

3. How do you get people to your website?

Advertising might be a good option, but if targets aren’t already thinking about what you can do for them, they probably won’t care about your ad or purchase. Instead, create content to educate viewers and help them solve their problems.

Focus on growing your organic traffic, becoming a trustworthy source, and honing your brand’s voice before spending lots of money on ads.

4. Do you need investment money?

When you’re floating in the middle of the ocean, you’ll do anything for a ship to pick you up. But sometimes you just need to swim. We chose to swim, and you might want to do the same.

When every dollar spent has to fight to prove its worth, you’re inevitably going to build something more valuable and more sustainable. Plus, bootstrapping gives you more control over what decisions you do make to grow your company.

5. How do you pursue 10X growth?

A growth hack is not going to propel you from 100 customers to 10,000 overnight. It doesn’t take one trick, but lots of little and big things working together to create exponential growth. It also takes time.

Instead of looking for a golden goose, create complete and actionable strategies. Those, and a little patience, will help you achieve exponential growth.

Growing your startup to $1 million ARR is not easy, but it’s possible – even without investors lining up to give you money. Put the 10 lessons above into practice, and, with a little time and a lot of work, you’ll get there.

Is there a business you’d like to start or have started? Share your ideas and suggestions for our readers!

from
https://addicted2success.com/startups/10-lessons-for-bootstrapping-your-startup-to-1m-annual-revenue/

5 Simple Ways You Can Unleash Your Maximum Personal Potential

Imagine living a life with unlimited potential, and you could achieve whatever you want. How good would that be? Nobody wants to live in mediocrity and everyone wants to live an extraordinary and fulfilling life. However, this is far from the truth.

Most people desire to live a limitless life, but most of them fail to realize their maximum potential. They are blocked by their own fears, stopped by the naysayers who tell them that what they want is impossible, and often get dejected by their own mistakes and failures.

Using the famous quote, “you only live once,” you may want to seriously consider living your life with your full potential. What if you have the potential to be extremely successful but because of self-doubt you don’t take action and live until age 80 only to feel regret?

I believe that nobody wants to live life with regrets, and no one wants to go through the journey with a limited potential. It is time for you to take charge of your life and start living life with your full potential.

Here are the 5 simple ways you can unleash your personal potential to help you reach a higher ground and achieve greater success in life:

1. Set a target and work towards it

Always start with a purpose and a goal. What is your intention, and what are the things that you want to be, do, and achieve in your life?

Without a clear target, you are living life like a lost sheep, following the crowd and going nowhere. Finding out what you want to accomplish in life is one of the most fundamental keys to reaching your potential. When you have a goal and work towards it, you are giving clear instructions to your mind of what you want to achieve.

Life is like shooting an arrow. If you want to hit the bull’s eye, you must first identify the target. Without knowing where you want to go, you will end up nowhere. Therefore, identify your purpose in life. Sit down and think deeply of what kind of lifestyle you want to live and what are the things that truly matter to you. Pursue them.

Set goals and pour in your effort to achieve them. No matter what goals you are trying to achieve, when you work consciously toward something you desire, you are building great habits and growing your potential in that area.

2. Raise your standards

The next thing you can do to unleash your potential is to raise your standards.

First, you must not compare yourself with others because your only competitor in your life is yourself. You just need to do better than yourself. If you are trying to compare yourself with others, there will be no end. There is always another mountain which is higher.

Second, set your own benchmarks. As long as you are moving forward and making progress, you should feel proud of yourself. You should focus on what you can do to improve yourself to do better each day instead of comparing yourself to others. There will be others making progress faster than you, but that’s absolutely alright because that’s how life works.

Finally, raise your standards and turn your “should” into “must.” When you do that, you are making the inner shift to mastering and improving the quality of your life. Tony Robbins says, “Any area you are not getting what you want is because you haven’t raised your standards.”

No matter what goals or what kind of achievement you want to accomplish, you will never get them as long as you still cling to your older self, and not raise the bar of your level of acceptance.

“Raise your standards and you will rise along with them.” – Mastin Kipp

3. Maintain your self-confidence

Your self-confidence is important when it comes to unleashing your maximum potential. When you are confident, you perform better. One of the easiest ways to increase your self-confidence is through preparation.

Les Brown said it wisely, “It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.” Preparation is all about making the effort. If you want to be a successful footballer, your preparation is training. The more you train, the better you become. The better you become, the more self-confidence you will have.

Regardless of what industry or field you are in, you must always get yourself prepared. If you are a writer, write and consistently improve your writing skills. If you are in business, learn the business in and out and improve your skills so that you can grow your business to the next level.

Your level of preparation will determine your level of self-confidence. Remember that.

4. Build your momentum by taking baby steps

Success is a journey and not a destination. When it comes to unleashing your personal potential, it is not like taking a pill. There is no shortcut.

You have to grow your characters, habits, traits, and qualities by taking baby steps. Even if you are an extremely hard working person and you work 20 hours a day, success will not come to you overnight. It takes time.

Choose to build your momentum by making consistent progress. When you take small baby steps each day, you are growing your momentum. Eventually, you reach a tipping point and success will come to you. The problem with most people is that they quit and give up as soon as they don’t receive the results they want.

You need to build your inertia and maintain your momentum by making consistent progress. A river cuts through rocks not because of its power, but because of its persistence. Just like a river, that’s what you need to unleash your greatness.

“I start early and I stay late, day after day, year after year, it took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success.” – Lionel Messi

5. Consistently pursue personal growth

You cannot grow and become better if you are not willing to learn. I love this quote from Zig Ziglar, “If you’re not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you’re determined to learn, no one can stop you.” The key is to commit to constant and never-ending improvement. Each day, you have to strive to get better than yesterday.

When you fail or you don’t get what you want in life, remember, it is because of you. When you become someone worthy of the success you want, success will come to you automatically. You don’t get what you want, you get what you become.

When you improve your knowledge, your skills, and increase your potential, better and higher success will come to you. Thus, focus on building and growing yourself. Commit to consistently pursuing your personal growth.

Which one of the above ways resonated most with you to expand your personal potential? Let us know below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/5-simple-ways-you-can-unleash-your-maximum-personal-potential/

5 Productivity Tactics to Help You Win as a Creative in Your Online Business

The shift in business has made online entrepreneurship as easy as visiting your local grocery store. The possibilities are endless and the variety is abundant. As creative entrepreneurs, your mind is always powered on flying through hundreds of ideas, thoughts and visions at any given moment. It’s the Jekyll-Hyde of being overwhelmed with too many ideas or a drought of none.

Online business is both a blessing and curse in that, you can reach a wider audience while getting caught up in the noise of your competitors keeping you from being competitive.

Here are the 5 productivity tactics that will help you win in online business as a creative entrepreneur:

1. Create Before You Consume

As a creative, you’re wired to look to the world for inspiration. With social media at our fingertips it makes it easy to get caught up in what our competitors are doing falling victim to comparison syndrome. Start your day off by journaling and using an outlet to release your creativity that’s been bottled up through the night. Only once it’s been released should you then consume the content of others for inspiration. The idea is to only absorb what will help you and not get caught up in the quality of their work to yours.

“Productivity is less about what you do with your time and more about how you run your mind.” – Robin Sharma

2. Silence Your Creativity

The blessing and curse of a creative mindset is our inability to switch it off. We often get so consumed in striving for our goals that we missed all the signs leading us to burnout. We then hit a wall that stalls us for a few days, weeks or even months. Dedicate time every day to doing something non-creative. Go for a walk, meditate, get lost in a book and let your mind relax to refill your creative juice tank.

3. Lean On the Right Support

It’s so easy to get caught up in doing everything on our own. You hold massive visions and goals for your life that others simply won’t understand. The beauty about that is, we all do. Take that first step and reach out to others in your network or invest in a coach or mentor who can keep you from getting deep in your negative thoughts and motivate you to keep pushing through. Support is crucial especially for a creative entrepreneur. You need someone to communicate your vision to and help you create strategies to achieve it.

4. Invest in the Right Tools

Having the right tools can make or break your creative career. Tools don’t have to be a heavy financial investment. Some of the best tools you can use are free. Find the ones that work for you to keep you on track, organized and productive. A hangup many creatives encounter is their ability to lose track of time. The Pomodoro Timer is a lifesaver when it comes to keeping you on track to achieving your goals.

It has three time options, a 25, 10 and 5 minute setting with the 5 and 10 minute settings being used for necessary breaks before restarting the 25 minute timer. Another tool popular among creatives is Trello. It allows you to tap into the Type A personality while still owning your Type B. These are just a few of the many available to you.

“Productivity is never an accident, it’s the results of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning & focused effort.” – Paul Meyer

5. Establish a Healthy System

What makes entrepreneurship fun for creatives is their ability to tap into the world around them for creativity at any given moment. Where this becomes a challenge is they often neglect their own self-care to fulfill their creative big-picture vision. Start by dedicating 30 minutes to yourself every morning to relax, enjoy the calm and ease your mind into the day. This will allow you to create a steady and consistent flow throughout your day instead of jumping right in and burning out quickly.

What do you use that helps your productivity as an entrepreneur? Comment below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/entrepreneur-profile/5-productivity-tactics-to-help-you-win-as-a-creative-in-your-online-business/

4 Ways to Give Your Self-Efficacy a Serious Boost

Boosting your self-efficacy is a simple, yet powerful way to improve the levels of success and happiness you experience in your life. Each of us have goals in our lives, but if we don’t believe in our ability to achieve them, then how are we ever going to be successful?

In fact, according to the Theory of Planned Behaviour, our self-efficacy impacts both the goals we set for ourselves, as well as the amount of action we will take. If we have strong self-efficacy, we will aim higher with more ambitious goals as well as be more likely to follow through with the necessary goal-directed behaviours. However, with low levels of self-efficacy, we are likely not even to follow through and pursue even the most meagre of goals.

Therefore, if we have goals in life that are important to us, it is essential we develop and strengthen our self-efficacy.

Luckily, there are 4 simple areas to focus on when it comes to boosting our self-belief:

1. Boost Self-Efficacy Through Creating Mini Wins

One problem with big personal and life goals is that they take a while to realise. Maintaining motivation over a long period of time can be tough, and after a while, it is only natural to start questioning whether the goal will ever happen.

Rather than letting doubt creep into our minds, setting mini-goals along the way allows us to experience a feeling of success, even if we still have some way to go. These smaller wins still fill us with the same energy and excitement that accompanies bigger goals, albeit at a slightly lower level. But what is really important is that these performance accomplishments keep our self-efficacy levels nice and high.

If we set ourselves lots of mini challenges on the way to our bigger goals, we will soon find our self-efficacy levels through the roof. Think about how you can break your big goals down to allow you to experience performance accomplishments along the way.

“People’s level of motivation, affective states, and actions are based more on what they believe than on what is objectively the case.” – Albert Bandura

2. Boost Self-Efficacy Through Appropriate Role Modeling

Having a role model is a great way to identify your route to success. If you are on a journey, there is a good chance someone has already taken that path and can help you identify the right way to approach your goal. If someone else has done it, there is no reason you can’t do it too.

However, sometimes our role models can be so far ahead of us, it can feel as if we will never get to their level. Therefore, it is important to either focus on the appropriate phase of your role model’s development or find a number of different role models that you can associate to.

For example, if you are wanting to grow your business, Richard Branson could be a good role model. However, if you are right at the beginning of your journey, it may not be appropriate to read about his Virgin Galactic endeavours, so maybe study his early years in business instead.

3. Boost Self-Efficacy Through Positive Verbal Encouragement

It isn’t difficult to find negative messages that will cause you to question your ability to follow through and be successful with your goals. Often, that negative voice can even live inside our own heads, and it will attempt to be heard any time there is a quiet moment in our day.

Therefore, it is vital we find a way to replace those negative messages with some positive reinforcement at regular intervals. The great thing is, there are so many different ways to accomplish this.

The amount of audio content has gone through the roof, and with the rise in popularity of podcasts as well as companies like Audible making this easily accessible to everyone, there is no reason not to fill your day with positive content. Turn your daily commute, queues and gym time into brain training by replacing your music with positive audio content. Listen to biographies about your role models to hit two self-efficacy boosters at the same time.

Alternatively, get yourself a coach or mentor and schedule regular meetings to assess your progress. Although the entire meeting may not be focused on boosting your self-efficacy, a good coach or mentor will end each meeting making you feel that you can be successful, even with the biggest of challenges.

“If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” – Mahatma Gandhi

4. Boost Self-Efficacy Through Getting Into The Zone

Lastly, a great way to boost your self-belief and self-efficacy is to use music or film to get you into the zone and help make you feel unstoppable. Do you have a favourite playlist that puts you in the right frame of mind and ready to take on the world? Create a Spotify playlist with all of the tracks you know gets you into an emotional state where you feel unstoppable and make sure you listen to this immediately before you take on any challenging activities.

Alternatively, if you have a little more time and attention to spare, video and film can really get you into the mood. Put on a movie like Rocky and you will immediately want to put on your best grey tracksuit and go for an early morning run through the streets. Alternatively, check out motivational videos on YouTube for more of a bitesize chunk of self-efficacy boosting content.

As you can see, boosting your self-efficacy can be simple and fun and easy to incorporate into your daily routine. Boosting your self-efficacy will encourage you to reach higher with your goals, follow through with your actions and develop the resilience needed to reach the levels of success you deserve. Do something every day to boost your self-efficacy and you’ll amaze yourself with the new levels of results you are able to achieve.  

from
https://addicted2success.com/life/4-ways-to-give-your-self-efficacy-a-serious-boost/