7 Successful People and Their Time-Tested Secrets to Success

If you’d like to learn how to be fearless in life so you can accomplish everything you want to do and become successful, sign up for the free 90-Day Master Class hosted by the founder of Addicted2Success.com, Joel Brown.

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Have you ever wondered how successful people get to where they are in life? It looks so easy and effortless for them to have a good time, make friends, and influence people. We see the glory, the splendid mansions, the adoring public, the wealthy lifestyle, and the endearing media coverage. However, many don’t see the long arduous journeys they have taken. The pains, the tears, the struggles, and the desperation that some of them have crawled out of.

Their unsung stories are an inspiring trial of enlightenment for the diligent seekers of success. 

Let’s glimpse the nuggets of wisdom from 7 life-changing successful people stories:

1. Colonel Sanders — Never Too Late to Start

Colonel Sanders is well known as the icon and founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). Colonel Sanders sold the company in 1964 for $2 million and semi-retired at the age of 74 years old. Most people would be unfazed with such a track record without knowing how he got started.

Would you believe that Colonel Sanders only started pitching his secret chicken recipe to restaurants at the age of 66, and with only $105 from his social security? Everyone thought he was senile, but our Colonel bravely charged into the battlefield of business and prevailed. Colonel Sanders was a great example that success is not dependent on how young you start or how much money you have to begin with. His inspirational quote:

“I was sixty-six years old. I still had to make a living. I looked at my social security check of 105 dollars and decided to use that to try to franchise my chicken recipe. Folks had always liked my chicken.” 

2. Vincent Van Gogh — Love Your Work

Did you know that the famous artist Vincent Van Gogh only sold ONE painting to a close friend during his lifetime? That was not because of the lack of paintings. He painted well over 800 pieces of work during his lifetime.

Vincent Van Gogh was considered an epic failure while he was alive. He was tormented with years of mental illness, depression and poverty. What kept him going was his deep love of nature and the firm belief of the power behind the beauty of nature. This elixir of love he poured into his work resulted in internationally acclaimed pieces of art with price tags running into millions of dollars, albeit posthumously.

He unveiled his secret of producing the masterpieces with this motivational quote:

“Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.”

3. Warren Buffett — Mind Sponge for Knowledge

Warren Buffett has been a legend in the investment world, with uncanny eyes for deals that made him a multi-billionaire. There are tons of written stories about Warren Buffett’s investment prowess and how he made killings with his investment strategies. When asked about his secret to success, Warren’s humble reply was that “I just feel very, very lucky” and that he just “won the ovarian lottery.”

The hidden gem to Warren Buffett’s success is that  he loves to read. He admitted to amassing a great wealth of knowledge through reading every day. But he brushed it aside as an unfair advantage by saying “Everybody can read what I read, it is a level playing field.”

However, have you come across a wildly successful person who can say this:

“I just sit in my office and read all day”

4. Colin Powell — Secret to Decisiveness

Colin Powell was a successful soldier, diplomat and statesperson. He has an illustrious military career, climbing to the highest rank of a 4-star general by the age of 52. He served under George W. Bush as the Secretary of State and became America’s top Diplomat. That was an awe-inspiring feat for an African American to achieve as no others have come even close.

His authoritative decisiveness was his trademark. His covert weapon of success was his 40/70 rule:

“If you can apply the 40/70 rule, you’ll be successful at whatever you choose to do…..You only need 40% to 70% of the information to make a decision.”

5. Bill Gates — Don’t Focus on The Money

Bill Gates has been one of the world’s top billionaires, with a net worth of about $100b. Yet he has openly admitted that he does not like to spend a lot of money on clothes and jewelry. He walks the talk by wearing a $10 watch and flying economy for all official purposes. He even washed the dishes at home every night for his family rather than waste electricity on the dishwasher!

Bill Gates understood meaningful freedom that came with desiring millions of dollars. However, he shared that “once you get much beyond that, I have to tell you, it’s the same hamburger.” For Bill Gates, his compelling secret was not to be obsessed with money:

“Money has no utility to me beyond a certain point.”

6. Thomas Edison — Failure? Not in My Dictionary

Thomas Edison did not stand out for his intelligence, as his teachers belittled him as ‘too stupid to learn anything.’ Yet later in life, Thomas Edison became famous for his many inventions, with more than 1000 patents under his belt. Among his countless inventions, he was particularly famous for his relentless research on the construction of the electric light bulb.

When asked why he failed more than 10,000 times, his mind-blowing answer became engraved in history as the epitome of embracing failure:

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

7. Jesus Christ — Service Above Self

The Holy Bible is effectively a widely read biography of Jesus Christ. Jesus started his ministry with 12 disciples, named the apostles. The Christian movement has since grown to about 2.3 billion people worldwide in 2020 or about 29% of the world’s population.

A noteworthy event was when his disciples were arguing among themselves as to who was the greatest amongst them. Jesus grilled into them that the heavenly key to greatness was to serve the interest of others above self. If you observe the character of many successful people, they held true to the key principle as expounded by Jesus when he said:

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

What Successful People Do: 7 Keys To Your Successful Future

You want to succeed in life. You want to conquer your fears. You want to know what drives successful people to get ahead in life.

The traits of highly successful people have been unveiled for you. You now know that to be extraordinarily successful you need to: 

• NEVER use age or lack of money as an excuse
• Love what you are doing
• Cultivate Lifelong Learning
• Be decisive using the 40/70 rule
• NEVER make money be the end-goal in life
• Embrace failure
• Service Above Self

The time-tested secrets of successful people have been uncloaked for you. Start to unlock your limitless potential for success today.

In your opinion, who is the most successful person you know and why? Share your thoughts with us below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/7-successful-people-and-their-time-tested-secrets-to-success/

5 Mindfulness and Meditation Habits to Boost Your Success Mindset

If you’d like to learn how to develop mindfulness and meditation practices so you can improve your success mindset, sign up for the free 90-Day Master Class hosted by the founder of Addicted2Success.com, Joel Brown.

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Our capacity to succeed at what we do is largely dependent upon our mindset. Whether we are fully aware of it or not, the beliefs and thoughts we hold, shape the actions we take and the results we achieve. Increasing our awareness of our thoughts and shaping them in mindful ways is therefore a key component in adopting a success mindset.

Mindfulness practice and meditation have long been understood in ancient traditions to be fundamental tools for addressing the way we think and the actions we take. In more recent times, modern day science has backed up much of what these traditions have long known. 

Research has found that mindfulness and meditation can benefit us in numerous ways, such as by increasing our attention, regulating difficult emotions, decreasing stress and anxiety, and improving sleep quality. When it comes to developing a success mindset, mindfulness and meditation practices are highly effective.

Here are some of the habits you might explore to focus, expand, and make peace with your mind:

1. Mindful breathing to refocus the mind

The breath is a focal point of many mindfulness and meditation practices – and for good reason. As the breath is always with us, it acts as a reliable anchor for grounding our attention when the mind wanders. Part of what inhibits our ability to succeed is a tendency for the mind to be scattered and unfocused. 

Through mindful breath awareness, we release the clutter of the mind and come back to a clear slate. Within this clarity, we find a heightened capacity to focus on the task or goal at hand.

Mindful breathing can be developed as a daily habit by consciously taking two-minute time-outs at scheduled moments in the day – or whenever it becomes difficult to focus. To practice, set a timer for two minutes, close your eyes, and ground your attention in the flow of the breath. If the mind wanders, acknowledge its movement away from the breath and then return your attention to this natural force of life.

When the timer rings, return your attention to a single task that requires your attention. As you complete the task, be observant of when the mind wanders and feel free to take a few deep, mindful breaths to refocus.

“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” – Thich Nhat Hahn

2. Witnessing and releasing self-limiting beliefs

Mindfulness practice also helps to increase our awareness of the subconscious thoughts and beliefs we hold. For many of us, some of our most ingrained beliefs are self-limiting ideas rooted in criticism. These thoughts inhibit us from feeling confident and worthy of achieving our dreams, and so by drawing our attention to them from a place of non-attachment, we begin to see through the illusion of them.

We can practice witnessing and releasing self-limiting beliefs by mindfully reflecting upon questions such as:

• What is the story I am telling myself about who I am?
• Is this story representative of the absolute truth?
• What positive beliefs might I welcome into my mind?

Witnessing the self-limiting thoughts we hold requires patience and compassion because unravelling them can take time and stir up resistance or difficult emotions. By tending to our inner narratives with care and compassion, we stop fighting them – but we also find space to let them go. 

As you practice this, remember that it is crucial to approach these self-limiting beliefs from a place of non-attachment. Become an outside observer of them, taking the viewpoint of a loving friend, pet, spiritual teacher, or wise elder. How does this being see you?

3. Practicing affirmation meditation

Once we have witnessed the self-limiting beliefs we hold, we can instill positive beliefs in their place to help boost our embodiment of the success mindset. Affirmation meditation is one way of doing this. It invites us to focus our attention on words of positivity that counteract whatever negative thoughts we have habitually held onto. 

To practice affirmation meditation, take your time to consider what it is your highest self wants you to know or embody. Formulate this wish into a clear, powerful sentence of affirmation and then set a timer for five minutes. Close your eyes and silently repeat the affirmation to yourself until the timer rings.

Examples of affirmations that can help to cultivate a mindset of success include:

• I see challenges as opportunities in disguise.
• I have all that I need to succeed.
• I am courageous and confident.
• I am the creator of my reality.

4. Cultivating a sense of gratitude

Another way that mindfulness and meditation can help to boost the success mindset is through gratitude practice. When we are appreciative of what we have, we reaffirm a mindset of positivity. This positive outlook on life helps us to believe in our ability to succeed and enables us to see even challenges as opportunity.

To enhance our future success, we can practice gratitude daily. Whether in a journal or during meditation, gratitude invites us to make note of all that we have to be thankful for. We might consider all the resources we have to succeed – resources both internal and external. Mindful awareness of our blessings invites more of the same to enter our lives.

“You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

5. Body scanning for stress release

In addition to practices centered around our thoughts and beliefs, mindfulness meditation helps us tap into the physical body in a caring way. When we are stressed, we often hold unconscious tension in the body, such as in tight shoulders, a stiff jaw, or a contracted belly. Through a body scan practice, we become more aware of this tension and can start to gently soften it. As we do this, our stress response lessens and we find an increased capacity to carry on peacefully and courageously in the direction of our dreams.

To practice, we can take three-minute time-outs throughout our busy days to mindfully tune into the body. By closing our eyes and scanning the body from head to toe, we enhance our awareness of where we hold unnecessary tension. Once we know it is there, it becomes easier to let go of it. In the process, the stress we hold in the mind begins to dissipate, too.

As we establish new habits of turning mindfully towards both mind and body, we become more aware of all the unconscious barriers we hold against success. Meditation and mindfulness practices empower us to gently and compassionately break through these barriers. And, as we set our sights on success, these practices continue to uplift us and propel us forward in inspired ways.

How do you practice mindfulness on a daily basis? Share your ideas and stories with us below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/5-mindfulness-and-meditation-habits-to-boost-your-success-mindset/

The 50 Best Leadership Books of All Time

What is the secret to great leadership? Is it a case of sheer good luck and opportunity, some magical cocktail of in-born genius, ambition and charisma, or can it be learned and taught? Leadership isn’t just about money and power. It’s about understanding what makes people tick, knowing your own values and worth, and working with the people and resources around you to make the best out of things.

It’s good for business, of course, but it’s more than just that. These are life skills that can help you realise both personal and professional goals. Developing your leadership skills can make a big difference to you and the world around you. Who wouldn’t want that?

So if you’re wondering if you have what it takes to be a good leader, you are not alone. Millions of books are sold every year to people hoping that the golden shimmer of success will rub off on them. It makes sense to look to the wisdom and advice of people who have made it to the top of their fields, and maybe take a leaf out of their books.

But with such a mountain of leadership books available, it can be overwhelming, which ones are suited to your needs, and which ones are actually good.

To give you a head start the resume experts at Resume.io, used Goodreads ratings to identify the top 50 books in the leadership genre and compiled them into one list for ease:

1. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
2. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
3. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
4. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
5. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
6. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
7. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey
8. Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
9. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
10. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
11. The Art of War by Sun Tzu
12. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg
13. The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli
14. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance
15. The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle
16. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill by Napoleon Hill
17. The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
18. Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown
19. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t by Jim Collins
20. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
21. Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely
22. Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
23. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck
24. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink
25. Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World—and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund
26. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
27. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni
28. Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes
29. Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman
30. The One Minute Manager by Kenneth H. Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
31. #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso
32. Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
33. Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Amy Wallace and Edwin Catmull
34. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
35. Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Jean Greaves and Travis Bradberry
36. The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande
37. Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Al Switzler, Joseph Grenny, and Ron McMillan
38. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by William Ury, Roger Fisher, and Bruce Patton
39. The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt
40. Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath
41. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz
42. Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
43. Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Christopher Voss and Tahl Raz
44. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras
45. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John C. Maxwell
46. Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
47. Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin
48. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham
49. Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown
50. Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box by The Arbinger Institute

From the ancient wisdom of a Chinese military strategist, to advice from world-famous leaders in modern business, tech, and media, there’s bound to be a book full of wisdom that makes sense to you.

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/the-50-best-leadership-books-of-all-time/

How Strategic Breaks Can Help Boost Your Productivity

If you’d like to learn how to boost your productivity so you can get further ahead in all aspects of life, sign up for the free 90-Day Master Class hosted by the founder of Addicted2Success.com, Joel Brown.

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We all know the enormous amount of energy, willpower, and discipline it takes to carry a big project to completion. For some, the completion of a big project means long periods of relaxation which may lead to complacency. Certainly, they’re entitled. Yet, for others, they may just want to dive right into their project without relaxing, which may cause burnout and anxiety. 

Here I discuss the importance of “strategic breaks” which means breaks that are neither too short nor too long. They are short enough to avoid you having too much to do once you start and long enough to allow you to fully disconnect and re-charge.

Quality, not quantity

You may wonder how long you should relax. To my knowledge, there is no widely accepted number of days to rest, but I suspect that a period of 3 to 6 days should be more than enough to get you recharged. For example, Marissa Mayer told Fortune, “I pace myself by taking a week-long vacation every four months.”

Note that the quality of your breaks should be more important than the quantity. Don’t take any mental baggage with you, enjoy the scarce time you have to the utmost. There are various scientifically-proven benefits of taking breaks, here I will put the emphasis on the four most important upsides of momentarily disconnecting from work.

1. Increase in productivity

Strategic breaks help prevent “decision fatigue.” The prefrontal cortex is actively involved when doing goal-oriented work such as decision-making, logical thinking, and executive functioning. 

Sustained attention to a project will put tremendous strain on the prefrontal cortex. Therefore, disengaging for some time will leave you refreshed and thereby increasing your productivity. Sheryl Sandberg is the COO of Facebook and an author, and she argues she is able to juggle between Facebook and writing because she enjoys all her vacation days.

“Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves.” – Dale Carnegie

2. Improved mental well-being

Stress has long been one of the most common problems in the workplace with detrimental effects on employees, managers, and organizations at large. Constant concentration could lead to a higher risk of heart disease, anxiety, depression, and obesity. One week away after the completion of an important project could help reset your mood by the release of dopamine, thereby promoting wellbeing and reducing stress and anxiety. 

For example, Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO argues that time off hiking could lead to clearer thinking. Time in nature, meditation, or any self-care activity could go a great length to improve your mental well-being.

3. Creativity boost

Do you remember times when you were struggling with a task? You moved away from your desk, then suddenly the solution to your problem came to you as if by magic? This phenomenon can be likened to the completion and transitioning to a new project. 

It’s hard for a project manager and employee to develop new ideas or solutions when they are jumping from project to project without strategic breaks. Have you ever asked why companies such as Evernote, Netflix, and LinkedIn, are offering employees either flexible or discretionary paid time off? I’m willing to speculate it’s because they are aware that time away from work will most definitely help get those creative juices flowing.

“The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf

4. Prevent procrastination

At the other end of the spectrum are those who instead of relaxing, dive right into their next project after having completed one. This tendency is called procrastination. We procrastinate when we rush too quickly into tasks. 

David Rosenbaum, a professor of psychology at the University of California, in her research warns that procrastination could be harmful to productivity. Rushing too quickly into tasks will result in problems that could have easily been prevented with minimal planning. Remember to step back and devote a little time planning and save yourself hours in execution.

The Bottom Line

Congratulations on having completed your big project. Now it’s time to give yourself the break that you deserve. Once you have “recharged,” do take some time planning your next one. If you do so, you can transition from your last project to the next one with the right mindset and the necessary physical strength that will allow you to succeed.

How often do you take breaks during your work day? Do you feel like they’re necessary? Share your thoughts on the subject below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/how-strategic-breaks-can-help-boost-your-productivity/

Redefining Success During VUCA Times

If you’d like to learn how to become more resilient so you can mentally and emotionally cope with tough situations, sign up for the free 90-Day Master Class hosted by the founder of Addicted2Success.com, Joel Brown.

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If ever we were living through VUCA times, it’s now. VUCA stands for Volatile, Uncertain, Chaotic, and Ambiguous. The financial markets are volatile and the economic crisis we’re facing is unprecedented. It seems like every day we get conflicting news about the pandemic. First we’d get symptoms in five days, then fourteen, and lastly we were told five again. It can be transmitted if you’re asymptomatic, then it can’t. Countries re-open, then have to shut down again as cases spike. Masks help, or they don’t, depending on who you listen to. It’s frustrating to know what information to trust, when everyone has an opinion about something that nobody really knows enough about.

For leaders who have been in “Go mode” since the crisis hit, there’s additional pressure. Simon Sinek spoke about it recently at the WorkHuman Livestream event. He said that grief is waiting for us. That’s something that hasn’t been spoken enough about. People think about grief as the feelings we have when someone near us dies. But it’s much more than that.

We are (or soon will be) collectively grieving the death of old ways of working and doing business. Some are grieving the death of loved ones from COVID-19. We’re grieving the loss of physical contact, even if it’s simply a handshake. Some are grieving the loss of privacy and personal space as they work from home. Many are grieving the loss of productivity as they try to shelter in place, work, homeschool kids, and maintain their mental and physical health. And still others are grieving the loss of work altogether.

In a nutshell, our limbic systems have been hijacked. The limbic system is the part of the brain responsible for the fight/flight response to trauma. We have one of four reactions to danger: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. These are trauma responses that have profound impact on the body when they’re activated over extended periods of time. They decrease our resiliency and our ability to access higher brain functions: not exactly ideal for long term success.

 “Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.” – Steve Maraboli

In times like these, it’s necessary to redefine how we view success. Leaders whose companies are thriving have reported something rather surprising. What has brought teams together, built resilience, and helped them pull together to accomplish great things? Getting real with each other. Dropping the mask of perfectionism. It’s been less about being efficient, and more about being effective. They’re figuring out how to be more effective given varying experiences of working from home. 

We keep hearing anecdotal stories from clients and colleagues of leaders getting on Zoom calls with their teams. They share a story about how they’re really doing. “My mother broke her hip and I had to drop everything to help her. That’s why I’ve been mostly unavailable, and I’m sorry. She’s home now recovering from surgery.” Then they ask how everyone’s really doing.

In one instance, the call lasted over two hours. The leader couldn’t believe how bonded he felt to the team, and the team to each other, after that. There are stories of people cutting out of a Zoom meeting to set up their kid’s next homeschooling module. Entire teams have “met” each others’ pets and kids over the past two months. 

Success during these unprecedented times is not just about getting results. It’s about honoring our shared humanity. 

Here are some suggestions we have for redefining success during these challenging times:

1. Build resiliency

Between the chaos of ever-changing information and the difficulty we all have managing uncertainty, we need to build personal resilience. One of the best ways to build resilience is to uncover your purpose. People who know their higher purpose and live each day from the values aligned with their purpose are naturally more resilient. 

“Things turn out the best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.” – John Wooden

2. Spend time developing your emotional intelligence

According to research, 90% of the difference between high performers and peers with similar skills, can be attributed to their emotional intelligence. Develop self-awareness by meditating, journaling, and being self reflective. Get curious about your emotions. Uncover exactly what emotion(s) you’re feeling and why. 

3. Move your body every day

Trauma and the accompanying grief can get stuck in our cells. When you move your body, especially if you work up a sweat, you help move the grief and trauma out of your body. Staying physically fit also helps with mental fitness. Studies show that successful leaders are committed to a regular fitness routine.

4. Practice mindfulness

You can try a seated meditation, simply paying attention to your breath and letting go of thoughts as they arise. You can try a moving meditation like yoga, tai chi, or qi gong. Or you could simply hold your attention on whatever it is you’re doing in each moment: cooking dinner, playing with your kids, or taking a shower. 

There are plenty of apps you can use to help you start a meditation practice. As long as you don’t expect to have a perfectly empty mind, you’ll be fine. A Buddhist saying goes like this: “You should meditate every day for twenty minutes, unless you’re very busy. Then you should meditate for an hour.”

We’re not getting back to “normal” any time soon. That’s a good thing. “Normal” was neither healthy nor sustainable. It’s time to bring humanity back into business, for the good of all.

How have you been coping during the COVID-19 pandemic? Share some ways you’ve been staying mentally and physically healthy with us below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/redefining-success-during-vuca-times/

The Art of Intentionality: One Simple Idea to Overhaul Every Area of Your Life

If you’d like to learn how to live intentionally every single day so you can experience how beautiful life can be, sign up for the free 90-Day Master Class hosted by the founder of Addicted2Success.com, Joel Brown.

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I’ve been there. You’ve got things in your life that are stagnating, never getting better no matter how desperately you wish they were. Maybe you wish you could start a side-hustle to eventually snowball into your dream-job. Maybe you don’t feel close to those you want to be the closest to or your kids aren’t well-behaved as you wish. Luckily there is one incredibly simple and versatile idea to help these situations and many more. 

Below I’ll share with you what I call the duct-tape of mindsets: 

1. The Trap: Complacent You

Life is a groundhog day nightmare. Every day you wish things could be better. You wish you could lie down on your pillow at night and smile, thinking how you get to live your amazing life tomorrow when you wake up. 

You get complacent, somehow living the worst way becomes the easiest because that’s what you’ve gotten used to. It’s a rut even the best of us can get into, but it doesn’t have to be this way. 

Read about any great man or woman from the past or present and you’ll notice a couple of things a lot of them have in common, but today we’re talking about something they all have. Without which your favorite heroes of history would have been recorded as a number on a census rather than a name on Wikipedia. 

I can’t actually promise you a spot on Wikipedia, but I can tell you that you too can harness this power. For fulfillment, for advancement, and most importantly of all for happiness.

“You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.” – Walter Hagen

2. How I Harnessed this Idea

I have siblings and they’re great honestly, but to teenage me, they were annoying. At every chance I pushed them away. I’m still wishing I could have a nice relationship with them like in the movies. 

My programming was to tell them to beat it, and ignore them as best I could. Then my mother told me a bit of advice she had given to my father. If he wanted to get to know them and be close to them all he needed to do was go in their room, sit down, and ask “What’re you up to?” 

If he was interested was not the question, the question was whether or not he was willing to be interested and listen intently to achieve what he wanted. What my mom said resonated with me, so this was the first time I accidentally used this mind-set. 

Rather than waiting for them to be interested in exactly what I wanted them to be interested in, I took an interest in them. I began to have intentionality. I had begun to question what I wanted and what actions could most realistically get me those results and then most importantly I did it. 

I really talked for the first time with my siblings by sitting down and discussing life, film, school, and everything. I didn’t wait, I went to them and said “How’s school? What’s your favorite song right now?” It it worked like magic, albeit incredibly simple magic. 

My siblings and I were closer than ever after our talks. We were talking, joking, and spending time together with no external forces deciding it for us. I became much happier to finally feel closer to being the older brother I always wanted to be. All it took was to be intentional.

“An unintentional life accepts everything and does nothing. An intentional life embraces only the things that will add to the mission of significance.” – John C. Maxwell

3. So How Does it Work Really?

Whether you agree that humans are innately good or evil doesn’t matter. I think we can agree that goodness and achievement are things that require intentional action. No one has become worth a damn by accident or inaction. 

The idea itself is the easy part, it’s the following actions upon it that are difficult to execute. First you must be intentional in thought: What is it that I’m missing, what is it that is making me frustrated? Likely, you’ve already done this part but now you have to figure out what will fix that. 

It’s simpler than you think. Oftentimes we ask questions with the answers embedded. For example: “How can I be closer to my son?” You do it. What makes any two people closer? You share hobbies, time, and ideas. The hard part is being intentional enough to realize that you’ve chosen to fall into your programming, and then to figure out how to change it and do it. 

No one else is going to figure out life for you, but I feel that this is a great blueprint to every single facet of life.

1. What do I want/What am I missing?
2. How do I get it/How do I fix that?
3. Do it.

The biggest stumbling block here is making sure you figure out a way to get what you want that makes sense. Not the one that’s easiest or that you feel you deserve. Like “I’ll repair my marriage by waiting for my wife to apologize because I’m right and she’s wrong.”

The worst case scenario is that things aren’t working, but all failure is just knowledge. You now know you should revise your strategy and be more patient.

Make sure to be intentional with every action you commit during the day. You’ll be grateful you did. 

We want to hear from you! What do you think is the best way to live an intentional life?

from
https://addicted2success.com/life/the-art-of-intentionality-one-simple-idea-to-overhaul-every-area-of-your-life/

How To Be A Badass Goal Digger: 2 Golden Rules Successful Achievers Never Break

If you’d like to learn how to live a successful life so you can live your best life, sign up for the free 90-Day Master Class hosted by the founder of Addicted2Success.com, Joel Brown.

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Have you ever been stuck on stagnant when it comes to achieving a goal? You start strong and dream of finishing strong. You get revved up and begin the race to achieve your next big accomplishment. Everything’s going great then somewhere in the middle or perhaps even shortly after beginning, things go south faster than you can say “gentlemen start your engines.”

There are as many different goals as there are countless numbers of people trying to achieve them. Sadly, only a few will make it to the finish line. What makes the difference between those that do and those that don’t might surprise you. Just stay with me and I will show you how to hit pay dirt when it comes to achieving goal success. 

It doesn’t matter if you want to lose weight, get a better job, rebuild your life, rebuild your credit, publish a book, or start a new business. Our goals may all be different and look different. We all have the same objective no matter the goal. That objective is to always get results. Goals without results are simply a source of frustration and a set up to lead you to a setback.

There are two main things successful achievers understand and do consistently well. Below are two golden rules that will have you digging up goal success like a pro:  

1. Finding The Landmines Before You Step On Them

The first golden rule may seem so basic that you may wonder why I even bothered bringing it up; However, you would be surprised at just how many people miss this crucial first step and miss the mark of achieving their goal. Sometimes we just need to be reminded how important this step is.

Over my many years as a nurse, I have lost count of the many patients and people I have worked with on achieving various goals. The goals ranged from seeking better health, better dietary or disease management, helping them to adjust to a change in their declining health status or helping survivors of domestic violence rebuild their lives.

The number one reason that held most of them back was not that they lacked a desire for change or even a lack of ability. Many of them had both the desire and the ability to change their situation but there was one big thing that stood in the way of what they wanted.

The one thing that held them back the most was happening on a subconscious level. Brewing just beneath the surface was a belief that they didn’t deserve good health or whatever it was that we were working towards. They held a belief within, that something or someone else was more important than taking care of themselves. This in turn signaled messaging to the brain that they were not important enough. Without question, this belief torpedoed any chance they ever had of achieving what many of them truly wanted and desperately needed.

Yet, because they believed they weren’t important enough or deserved it enough, the battle had already been lost before the fight even began. One of the most damaging things we can ever do to ourselves when we are setting our goals is to allow ourselves to believe that we don’t deserve success. Most of the time this happens on a subconscious level without us even realizing it.

Taking a little time out to self-reflect and examine if you have any self- limiting and self-destructive beliefs before you attempt your goal digging will go a long way in helping you to dig up the prize. It doesn’t matter how many degrees you have, how much money you spend on career advancement seminars, or how much you invest in your outer image. If you secretly don’t believe you deserve success, you will sabotage every effort to achieve it because you don’t believe you deserve it. If you have any lingering self-destructive beliefs. Identify them, deal with them, beat them and carry on!

“No matter how qualified or deserving we are, we will never reach a better life until we can imagine it for ourselves and allow ourselves to have it.” – Richard Bach

2. Can Someone Pass Me My Success….Please?

The second, and certainly not the least important golden rule is that successful achievers do not wait for permission to achieve. Successful goal achievers do not seek anyone’s approval or permission to succeed. If I’m brutally and somewhat painfully honest, in my younger days in the beginning of my career, I was guilty of feeling like I needed permission from others to succeed.

When I look back on my younger self, I realized how counterproductive, self destructive, and self defeating that really was. I wasted so much of my time treading lightly in the fear of intimidating someone or being seen as different than, I missed out on enormous opportunities.

By seeking or worse needing permission or approval from others to be successful is like handing the keys to your happiness and well-being over to someone else and hoping things turn out okay. The people who are in your life and there to support you will be happy you are succeeding. The only problem they will have is wondering what the heck took you so long!

Share with us what is a recent success you’re excited about! We want to hear from you.

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/how-to-be-a-badass-goal-digger-2-golden-rules-successful-achievers-never-break/

10 Pieces of Advice for Young Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Many articles about launching a business typically recommend you to follow your passion. They encourage you to take risks, face your fears, and create a business plan. More advanced advice even includes points like, “Know your target audience” or “Research the market.” But you know what? If you try to build-up your company following only such advice, you will most likely join the 20% of startups that fail during their 1st year on the market.

We are sure you’ve already “researched the market” and “set up your goals” yourself. We know that developing a company is not easy. Motivation and passion aren’t enough to keep it afloat. Knowledge and experience are.

In this article, we gathered pieces of wisdom coming from the experience of CEOs and CTOs whose companies survived the turbulent first years. Here is what we think you should know.

10 hints for beginner entrepreneurs:

1. Focus your effort on sales first

How do you know people need your product or service? It’s simple. If they buy it – they want it. If you focus on fundraising and attracting investors, you can easily miss this point out. Fundraising is slower, and there are many conditions you will need to fulfill. You might want to leave it for later.

Instead, if your product does not require complicated research and development, you can focus on selling it to your customers right away. If your business idea and model are valid, your product will sell out well, and your customers will give you the money for further development.

2. Postpone working with big companies

If your product was initially designed for bigger enterprises, then skip this point. Otherwise, you might want to wait unless your monthly revenue reaches $1M at least. As a fresh startup, you will spend too many resources, time, and effort to achieve success with big companies. Legal issues, delays in communication, insurances, and regular, “Please rework, it does not fully comply with our policies.”

“Your most expensive advice is the free advice you receive from your financially struggling friends and relatives.” – Robert Kiyosaki

3. Drop bad customers, no regrets

Not every client is worth clinging to, even if they are paying well. Leave the “customer is always right” mentality behind. They need your product, you need their money. This relationship should be beneficial to both sides. If the client does not respect what you do, delays payments, or obstructs your work in other ways, you might want to reconsider your business relationship.  

4. Network

Developing professional and social contacts is crucial. Reaching out vertically and horizontally will help you spread awareness about your company, and possibly find benefactors, mentors, and valuable assets.  

5. Do content marketing

If you cannot tell someone about your business in person, do it on the internet! Content marketing is affordable and efficient. It does not bring fast results and requires consistent efforts. But, if you do it right, the pay-off can be impressive. 

6. Chalk out an anti-crisis plan

When it comes to the crunch, you don’t want to run around like a headless chicken. Instead, you want a plan of action when a crisis suddenly hits your business. The situation around COVID-19 is a perfect illustration of these words. 6 months ago, no one could predict global quarantine. No one planned their actions in the case of coronavirus pandemic. And many startups shut down because they had no fail-safe.

You cannot prepare for everything. But, having at least a couple of emergency scenarios up your sleeve can prove invaluable when your company faces a crisis.  

7. Figure out how taxes work (or hire professional help)

Taxes are going to be a huge and integral part of your business. The sooner you figure out what, when, and how you must pay the government, the better. If you can’t, do hire an accountant. 

8. Hire slow, fire fast

Meticulously handpick every employee. In the beginning, you will not have the luxury to rotate your staff often. People whom you hire now are likely to stay with you for a long time. You want them to be fast-learning problem-solvers able to work under pressure, tight deadlines, and uncertainty of the first years. Develop some kind of a vetting procedure, a checklist of criteria that your perfect candidate must match.

On the other hand, do not hesitate to fire workers who slow you down. We are all people, and everyone has circumstances to take into account. But, when you know it’s time to part ways with someone – do it. 

9. Small companies can afford to screw things up

Sometimes. The first years of a startup are the time when your mistakes are invisible to the majority of people. Just because you are starting out, and no one really knows about you. Feel free to experiment, to make mistakes, and to pave your own path (whatever generic piece of advice this may look like). When you grow up, you won’t have the luxury.

“Be stubborn on vision, but flexible on details.” – Jeff Bezos

10. Make mistakes and learn from them

Advice for young business owners is often so generic because everyone operates under different circumstances and in different markets. There is no universal recipe for success. But, there are aspects of running a business that many young startup owners miss out on, or don’t pay enough attention to. Or hesitate to try in practice.

Know this, when you are starting out as an entrepreneur, you will inevitably make mistakes. They will cost you thousands of dollars and deprive you of sleep. Pieces of advice listed above will help you to avoid some of these mistakes, and hopefully to spot other hidden risks.

from
https://addicted2success.com/entrepreneur-profile/10-pieces-of-advice-for-young-aspiring-entrepreneurs/

29 Quotes That Will Inspire You to Write More

If you are passionate about writing, you may as well come to a point in life where you want to quit this as a hobby. Life can get tough. There are days when you do not know how to express your feelings. There are moments when you face what is commonly known as a ‘writer’s block’ and when you get that, oh boy! It is very difficult to end the block.

Nonetheless, everyone experiences moments in life when they just want to quit things they are passionate about it and just surrender to the mediocracy. However, at the same time, we strive to improve ourselves. Constantly, we are fighting to become the better versions of ourselves. We are looking for ways and tips to improve ourselves and be better at the things we are passionate about. 

If you are a writer and you are reading this article, this certainly means that you are looking for ways to inspire yourself back into the world of writing and that is perfectly alright. Writers such as Ernest Hemingway and JK Rowling at once found themselves stuck on their literary pieces. 

All the great writers in the world inspired others – sometimes through their stories, sometimes through their trials in life and sometimes through the way they penned down their thoughts. 

In this article, we will mention some quotes by famous writers and novelists and help you get the inspiration you are looking for. Remember, if you currently feel like you have failed, you have not. You are here reading this article only because you wanted to pick yourself back up. So, go on and let us now read some inspirational quotes that can put you on the right track. Turning to your heroes for inspiration is actually the right way to get yourself on track. 

Here are 29 quotes that will inspire you to write more:

1. “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” — Stephen King
2. “You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write.” — Annie Proulx
3. “Indeed, learning to write may be part of learning to read. For all I know, writing comes out of a superior devotion to reading.” — Eudora Welty
4. “Read, read, read. Read everything  —  trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it’s good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out of the window.” — William Faulkner

5. “I kept always two books in my pocket: one to read, one to write in.” — Robert Louis Stevenson

6. “The Six Golden Rules of Writing: Read, read, read, and write, write, write.” — Ernest Gaines
7. “The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book.” — Samuel Johnson
8. “Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river.” ― Lisa See
9. “One sure window into a person’s soul is his reading list.” — Mary B. W. Tabor
10. “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” — Toni Morrison
11. “Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any.” — Orson Scott
12. “Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart feel others should care about. It is this genuine caring, not your games with language, which will be the most compelling and seductive element in your style.” — Stephen King
13. “Most writers regard the truth as their most valuable possession, and therefore are most economical in its use.” — Mark Twain
14. “When I sit down to write a book, I do not say to myself, ‘I am going to produce a work of art.’ I write it because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing.” — George Orwell
15. “Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.” — Natalie Goldberg

16. “To gain your own voice, you have to forget about having it heard.” — Allen Ginsberg

17. “One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.” — Jack Kerouac
18. “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” —Robert Frost
19. “It is only by writing, not dreaming about it, that we develop our own style.” — P.D. James
20. “Voice is not just the result of a single sentence or paragraph or page. It’s not even the sum total of a whole story. It’s all your work laid out across the table like the bones and fossils of an unidentified carcass.” — Chuck Wendig
21. “If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it. Or, if proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go. I can’t allow what we learned in English composition to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative.” — Elmore Leonard
22. “Your writing voice is the deepest possible reflection of who you are. The job of your voice is not to seduce or flatter or make well-shaped sentences. In your voice, your readers should be able to hear the contents of your mind, your heart, your soul.” — Meg Rosoff
23. “Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” — Louis L’Amour
24. “First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him.” — Ray Bradbury
25. “All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” — Ernest Hemingway

26. “Focus more on your desire than on your doubt, and the dream will take care of itself.” — Mark Twain

27. “Being a writer is a very peculiar sort of job: It’s always you versus a blank sheet of paper (or a blank screen) and quite often the blank piece of paper wins.” — Neil Gaiman
28. “It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.” — Ernest Hemingway
29. “It doesn’t matter how many book ideas you have if you can’t finish writing your book.” — Joe Bunting

So, these are some quotes by famous writers belonging to different genres of writing. Now you would understand that facing writers’ block is common, and yes, feeling that you have failed is alright as long as you pick yourself up again. 

from
https://addicted2success.com/quotes/29-quotes-that-will-inspire-you-to-write-more/

The 6 P’s of Prevailing in Pandemic Times

We are living a new normal in these pandemic times. People are worried, stressed, and fearful about the future. It’s a once in a lifetime event that many of us haven’t faced. This is a virus that is affecting each and every one of us, in every part of the world.

How do we live in this new normal? How do we go forward, when we are fearing that our next visit or handshake can lead to a harmful sickness? How do we work when the economy and our jobs are uncertain? How do we mentally cope with the stay at home orders and lockdown orders which have consumed our vocabulary and day-to-day life?

Instead of succumbing to the fears of our Whatsapp friends or conspiracy-minded Facebook friends, try these 6 “P’s” to manage your day-to-day life. I’m certain if you can adopt this perspective, you’re going to not only survive but thrive in pandemic times. 

Here are the 6P’s to help you cope and live in pandemic times:

1. Presence

You want to reminisce on the good times of the past and think about how good we had it. You also want to think about the future and how uncertain it is. Yesterday and tomorrow are no longer here. We have to continue to do what we have done during these weeks of stay at home orders which is to be flexible and take it day-by-day. We have to opt for flexibility and come to accept the unfamiliar as our standard operating procedure. We have to face the day in front of us and rise to the moment in front of us. We have to be present to what we are dealing with now.

2. Present

This is not a repeat of #1 but a reminder to treat everything as a gift: a present. It’s easy to complain and grumble during these pandemic times but I’ve found that complaints and lamentation often bring more pain and struggle. Instead of complaining about how dire things are, start treating whatever you can as a present. Welcome in the present of spending time with your family. Welcome in the present of worshipping at home. Welcome in the present of quiet, calm and peaceful. Drown out the complaints and embrace the many small presents you’ve been given.

“Stop acting as if life is a rehearsal. Live this day as if it were your last. The past is over and gone. The future is not guaranteed.” – Wayne Dyer

3. Patience

There’s never been a time that you have had to wait with no end in sight. Until the vaccine or a cure comes about, all of us have to wait with different parts of our lives. You may not have had a good relationship with patience. In today’s modern world, we complain when an app takes too long to download. Now, we have to wait for weeks before we find out what the next phase of our life is going to look like. The vaccine is going to take time. Treatment is going to take time. Normalcy is going to take time. All you can do is cultivate the virtue of patience. You have to remind yourself that public health and the pandemic are out of your control. You only have the ability to respond with patience to circumstances you can’t do much about.

4. Perseverance

You have to remind yourself that you and society have come through everything. We have survived wars, plagues, natural disasters, and personal disasters to get to where we are today. Collectively, we are resilient people who overcome adversity. Individually, think about all the hardships and difficulties you’ve faced in your own life. You preserved here. You wouldn’t be here today if you didn’t get through the difficult spots in your life. Now is the time to remind yourself that you are a captain of perseverance. You are going to go forward knowing that you are going to get through whatever comes your way. You will persevere through this pandemic as you’ve persevered through other challenges in your life.

5. Prioritizing

You are going to have to prioritize all areas of your life. You are going to have to prioritize your time, prioritize your schedule, prioritize when you leave the house, and the relationships in your life. This means that you have to value some things over others. You no longer have the luxury of being an over-achieving, hyper-productive parent or partner. You are going to have to choose, pick, and prioritize one thing over another. You can continue to do the things that matter and drop the things that don’t.

“People who can focus, get things done. People who can prioritize, get the right things done.” – John Maeda

6. Positivity

You get a choice today. You can remain positive and hopeful about what is to come or you can throw in the towel, and expect the worst. Your lense of positivity or negativity is going to affect your pandemic experience and life after this is over. Stay in positivity and your life is going to be easier. Peddle in negativity and you’re going to struggle more each day. Continue to stay in a positive frame of mind when hearing about or living in pandemic times. Ask yourself, “what is the positive in this situation?” repeatedly until you squeeze out an ounce of positivity.

You got this. We got this. Don’t let the negative of others steal your peace and positivity. Pandemic times call for you to exercise the many sleeping virtues you possess. Your perspective and your perseverance are much needed right now. All of us are going to get through this challenging health crisis like we overcome everything. At the end of the day, there’s one more “P” waiting for all of us. We will…prevail.

from
https://addicted2success.com/life/the-6-ps-of-prevailing-in-pandemic-times/

3 Little Known Tips to Propel Your Best Business Relationships

If you’d like to learn how to properly forge a relationship so you can expand your network, sign up for the free 90-Day Master Class hosted by the founder of Addicted2Success.com, Joel Brown.

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We’ve all heard the classic saying, “your network is your net worth” but actually building that network can be challenging at times. How do you go about forging new relationships? What are the right and wrong ways to create new connections? Is it true that you should never ask someone if you can “pick their brain?”

After years of creating my own network, I believe that the three following tips will help you to propel your very best business relationships:

1. Think of your network as people who you can help

Usually, entrepreneurs begin their network creation by thinking about all the people who can help them achieve their business goals. This is the wrong way to go about it. 

People can tell if you’re forging a relationship with them with ulterior motives (such as their investment, their network, or something else they can do for you), or if you’re forging a relationship with their best interest at heart. Reciprocity is the best currency of relationships. No one owes you anything. Rather, see how you can help – and do so without any expectation. 

For example, if you have been hoping to connect with a managing partner at a prestigious venture capital firm to pitch your startup, don’t start by pitching or asking for help. Rather, think about how you can help them. Do you have a connection who can include their name in an upcoming press piece? Can you share a survey they created on your social media to show support? Even if you think someone can only help you, there are likely plenty of ways you can help them – even if it’s just by leaving a five star review for their book on Amazon.

Even the language of the word “help” is useful. For example, if you’re looking to be introduced to someone as a business referral, it sounds more service-oriented to say something like, “Do you know anyone else who is looking for a social media manager? I’d love to help them reach new metrics and levels of engagement.”

“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” – Dale Carnegie

2. Tailor your network to people who can help you grow

Now, the real reason people say “your network is your net worth” is because your network is a reflection of who you are and who you are becoming. If you’re around people who aren’t focused on personal or business development and they stay stagnant, you aren’t doing yourself any favors. Yes, this may mean you have to trim your network – there doesn’t have to be any dramatic ending of relationships, just be conscious of who you choose to spend time around.

People who can help you grow aren’t always people who can directly help you in your career endeavors. Rather, these are people who are always setting the bar a little higher for themselves. It’s inspirational to hear from people with consistent morning routines, productivity regimens, and habits that make you want to be better. The more you can flock with people like this, the more you will grow and meet more people who can help.

3. Join mastermind groups

One of the very best ways to meet people who will help you grow is to join a mastermind group. If you haven’t before, they usually take place online or in-person, and consist of like-minded people – whether they be entrepreneurs or business owners. The name sounds fancy, but really the purpose masterminds serve is to bring together these like minded people and see how the exchange of ideas and asks for advice can help everyone.

Now, masterminds can be quite expensive – in the $2,000-5,000 range. While that may be expensive for a group you can exchange ideas with, you’re actually paying for more than that. When these mastermind groups are expertly curated, you can expect that the people you’ll be working with and helping will be people who have their own networks they can introduce you to or plug you into – and ways that they can help you.

“When a group of individual brains are coordinated and function in harmony, the increased energy created through that alliance becomes available to every individual brain in that group.” – Napoleon Hill

Everyone knows someone who knows someone. Since masterminds are built on reciprocity, it’s a great way to see what you can offer and what you can get, which is a bit less quid pro quo in a group. For example – maybe you have a business contact for Peter but he doesn’t have what you’re looking for, but Sarah does have that contact. As long as everyone’s participating in the exchange, magic happens.

Beyond the creation of the relationships, make sure to nurture them. Take note of birthdays and send congratulatory messages if a connection lands a big deal or wins an award. Continuously see how you can help them – far beyond your initial offer. This is how you propel your best business relationships. 

Do you like networking with people? If so, do you have any tips for our readers? Share your thoughts on it below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/3-little-known-tips-to-propel-your-best-business-relationships/

Overextended and Tired of It? Here Are 3 Ways to Get Your Life Back

If you’d like to learn how to stop overextending yourself so you can get your life back, sign up for the free 90-Day Master Class hosted by the founder of Addicted2Success.com, Joel Brown.

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Tired of feeling like the whole world depends on you? If one more person asks you to help organize a fundraiser, build their website, or solve a family crisis (for the millionth time), will you snap like that IKEA bookshelf jammed into your way-too-small closet?

You are not alone. Many people are overextending themselves during this pandemic, trying to help as many other people as possible. But they are hitting their mental and physical limits.

If you have decided the cost of being everything to everyone is finally too much (in other words, you’re losing sleep, always resentful, and you nearly throttled the jerk who nabbed the last bag of flour right as you reached for it – how could he?!), then here are three ways to get your life back:

1. Celebrate what you are capable of

If you are on everyone’s speed dial, it means you are a trustworthy person who can be relied upon. We all have that one friend we wouldn’t trust to pick up our drycleaning, and – rejoice! — you are clearly not that person. You are capable. And that is a reason to celebrate.

Recently, my friend Alex broke down while on the phone with me. She just couldn’t handle it anymore. As the uber-rational and grounded middle child in a family of intense personalities, Alex was inundated with constant demands, many of which were time-consuming and costly. And it meant her phone rang 24/7 with SOS calls.

She was completely over always being the person in her family to figure things out, pick up the pieces, and clean up the messes. And she was angry – rightfully so.

But as Alex was fighting back tears on our call, I had to ask, “Would you rather be the one totally capable of handling things or would you rather be the one who is not at all capable of handling things, like your siblings?”

There was a pause, but not a long one.

“I would rather be the one who can handle things.”

“Ok then,” I said. “At least you prefer to be the person you are, even if your situation sucks right now.”

“You only have control over three things in your life – the thoughts you think, the images you visualize, and the actions you take.” – Jack Canfield

2. Check your martyrdom at the door

Deep down, do you actually like being run ragged? Do you get off on telling your friends at dinner parties (remember those?) how you’re so exhausted from dealing with other people’s stuff?

There’s often a huge emotional payoff for being overworked and underappreciated. Overdoing it is the lifeblood of the martyr. They need to be the community’s superhero and the savior against all odds (who else can fix the Zoom call that keeps cutting in and out?). Being constantly in demand makes them feel valued, useful, and on purpose.

Of course, it is completely normal to want to feel those things. But a challenge arises when we define our self-worth by how others see us. The constant need for external validation leaves you running on a treadmill, unable to hit the stop button. In fact, you’ve become so used to putting yourself last, that you accept your mental and physical suffering as “normal.”

If this resonates, I’d encourage you to ask yourself, “Who am I really trying to please or impress?” Often we’re desperately trying to show our value to a parent or a loved one, even if that person is no longer in our lives.

3. Be willing to set new boundaries

Notice how I said “willing?” You’ve run yourself ragged tending to everyone else’s needs, and shutting down your familiar operation overnight will only add to your stress. Instead, be open to the fact that yes, you can do things differently. And then consider what it would be like to set some new boundaries.

My friend Alex certainly has a fear of disappointing people. What will her family say if she says “no” more often? Is it worth the potential fallout and drama, not to mention the guilt?

The next time her brother asks (yet again!) for her to care for his cranky cat, could she simply say, “That is not something I want to take on right now?”

It is much easier for Alex to resort back to her usual, “Sure, ok, I can do that,” followed by a deep sigh. But inevitably, each time Alex says “yes” to something she doesn’t want to do, she feels angry and resentful.

If Alex has really reached her breaking point and wants to be in control of her life again (and she has), that means saying carefully considered nos.

“Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves, even when we risk disappointing others.” – Brené Brown 

A gentle reminder: for the most part, you get to decide what you want to do and what you do not want to do. You are in charge of your calendar. Yes, there are times when you’re genuinely burdened by commitments (I’m looking at you with love, Sandwich Generation), but is everything you do truly mandatory?

A simple exercise to get perspective is writing all of your to-dos down on a piece of paper. The truth will start to reveal itself. Showing this list to a BFF can also be helpful. Often they will be more than happy to point out which of your “have-tos” are really just your overachiever mode kicking in.

Do your shoulders feel lighter yet? Can you imagine a reprieve from the deadweight you have accepted as your responsibility?

I hope so. It’s not all or nothing – you have the ability to lighten your load and still be of service to others. And I have this feeling that even if you do just half of what you normally do, you will still shine bright in the lives of many lucky people. You will still feel valued and appreciated, and enjoy it all the more now that you’ve had a full night’s sleep.

What resonated most with you from the article? Share your thoughts with us below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/life/overextended-and-tired-of-it-here-are-3-ways-to-get-your-life-back/

4 Effective Strategies You Can Use to Deal With Criticism

If you’d like to learn how to handle criticism so you can improve yourself, sign up for the free 90-Day Master Class hosted by the founder of Addicted2Success.com, Joel Brown.

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Back in the days when I held a job as a Banking Officer in a small bank, I had the task of packaging credit requests from small businesses and presenting them for management approval. After a year or so and several approvals under my belt, I felt a sort of guru at credit. So, I was lost for words when my boss took a less than complimentary opinion on a particularly tricky credit approval memo that I spent over three days writing.

She took a cursory glance at the typed sheets and tore them up and flung them in my direction. I was totally crushed, and I shuddered in suppressed rage while tears filled my eyes. I thought ‘How dare she,’ in justified anger as I stormed out of her office.

We all face criticism, in life, our jobs, or business. Criticism is an unavoidable fact of life. According to Aristotle, “There is only one way to avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.”

I have received a fair amount of criticism in my lifetime, and over the years, I have learned how to manage blame and use it to become a stronger and more resilient person.

Here are some of the practical strategies that help me benefit from criticism:

1. Ignore destructive criticism

Destructive criticism is made with the intent to hurt you, to attack your self-esteem, or it can even be done to tarnish your reputation. When someone publicly attacks your abilities, mocks your ideas, mercilessly pokes fun at your physical attributes, then that person is a destructive critic.

When you identify criticism as destructive, to protect yourself, the best thing is to ignore it. You should shut off what that person is saying and stop listening. The sole intent of destructive criticism is to harm you, and you shouldn’t internalize such abuse and let it have adverse effects on your life.

Sometimes, ignoring criticism is not an option. If you receive destructive criticism regularly, then you can’t ignore it. If it is in an office environment, then you should report it to a superior you trust will do something about it. You should never subject yourself to such constant abuse in silence.

“You can’t let praise or criticism get to you. It’s a weakness to get caught up in either one.” – John Wooden

2. Value constructive criticism

As human beings, we will make mistakes because we are not perfect. Our mistakes can attract criticism from others. When this happens, we must see such criticism as an opportunity to improve ourselves. 

I am sure you value praise more than criticism since that’s just being human. When people compliment us, we feel happy, and when we are criticized, we feel bad. However, the truth is that if all we ever hear from others is praise and flattery, we will never become better versions of ourselves.

3. Try not to take it personally and never lose belief in yourself

Often when we are criticized, we get defensive, and we lash out because criticism feels like a personal attack. But this is a wrong approach. Instead of taking the blame as a personal attack, you can choose to listen to what that person is saying and then decide if the criticism is constructive or destructive.

If it is constructive, you can learn from it. Alternatively, if it is destructive, you should ignore it and move on. Believe in yourself. That someone disagrees with you doesn’t make them right and make you wrong. They are entitled to have an opinion, and it is up to you to stand by what you believe and see things through.

“He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help.” – Abraham Lincoln

4. Accept that criticism is a part of life

Criticism can be good or bad, but it is unavoidable. So you should get used to it, learn how to obtain feedback that will make you a better person from good criticism, and how to disregard hurtful and harmful comments that come with destructive criticism.

You can also learn from negative criticism. More often than not, there is an element of truth in every critical statement. You can identify the fact from what has been said and leave the negative and hurtful comments behind.

If you have been subject to constant harmful and destructive criticism, you should never let it change who you are.

You should remain confident in who you are. Confidence doesn’t mean arrogance or the belief that you are beyond criticism. Accept things you cannot change about your life, and love yourself for who you are.

How do you deal with criticism? Share your thoughts below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/4-effective-strategies-you-can-use-to-deal-with-criticism/