7 Questions Aspiring Entrepreneurs Must Ask to Become Successful

As an aspiring entrepreneur, business owner, or working professional, you don’t need a lot. You don’t have to come from money or have a million dollars to build your business. That’s part of the hype that most people assume. What does matter is having the mindset to get started. So, start by asking yourself questions to lead to building a solid foundation. You are your foundation and it starts with you.

1. Who am I? 

If you want to be successful, you must be willing to do the inner work and take a long, deep look inside to know yourself. You’re not what society or school told you who you were. You must look deeper than that. What do I like doing in my spare time? What are my core values? 

Who do I want to work with? What am I trying to achieve? What are my personal goals? How am I going to change the world for the better? Ask yourself these questions to better connect with yourself and learn how you’re most inclined to serve others.  

2. Who can I serve? 

Once you’ve established a solid internal foundation, you can now move onto the outside world and see how you can help with your skills. The world around you is a reflection of your inner world, and by knowing yourself, you can start to know how your strengths can serve others.  

Business isn’t about selling to everyone… if you sell to everyone, you are selling to no one. So, who is your ideal client? What knowledge or expertise do you have that will solve their problems? Why are they going to choose you over a sea of other qualified candidates? How are you going to connect with them so they can trust you? You must get deep and personal with yourself before you know how you can serve other people.  

3. What are my top strengths?  

Everyone is born with certain natural talents and aptitudes. Some people are introverts, and others are extroverts. There is no right or wrong answer; it’s a matter of who you are at your core. It’s being honest with yourself and knowing how you can best serve others. This is why it’s best to be honest with yourself. When you’re honest with yourself, it translates to you being honest with others. 

This relates to the first question. So here is where we can take it a step further: Do you like writing? If so, then you could be a copywriter, email marketer, editor, or content writer for a big company, or even your own.  

Are you analytical and strategy oriented? You could become an SEO professional or market research analyst. Do you have natural photography and video editing skills? Digital marketing has a major demand for video editing skills. Quality video plays a major role in marketing efforts, so video editing skills will always be in high demand.  

“Focus on your work. Do what you’re great at. Don’t compare yourself to others and or waste time criticizing the lives and work of others. Do what matters most to you and make a difference doing that.” – Germany Kent

4. Where is my ideal client located?  

Once you know your personal why and who you choose to serve, you can then perform your client research process. With millions of people using the internet to establish their presence, you have access to a number of potential contacts looking to connect with other business professionals. Social media is used for business nowadays with marketing efforts, so taking a look at companies and people you want to work with on social media is a great first step. 

If you want to serve customers, social listening is also a good strategy as well. You have to think strategically like the customer. Social apps like Reddit, Quora, Yahoo reviews, and Google Business let your customers do the talking for you. You can also interview your ideal client to build rapport and gain more insight into their wants and desires.  

5. Do I have the right systems in place to run a business?  

Running a business not only requires strategy and stamina, but do you have the right systems in place to keep organized when things get busy? Most things are available online. Which email service provider are you going to use for your email marketing strategy? Which web hosting service will you use for your site? What am I going to outsource? Who can I outsource specific tasks to? 

Those are a few of the many questions you must have answers for to get started on your business. After all, failure to plan is planning to fail. By having systems in place and knowing which tools you want to use, you can prevent most startup mishaps by being prepared.  

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

6. Which mediums can I use to reach my clients? 

So many people have an abundance of talent but unfortunately, may not know or have been taught how to channel it into business strategy. But with the proper research and knowledge, you can overcome this obstacle by studying market research. 

Currently, most business professionals utilize the LinkedIn platform to connect with like-minded professionals in their niche. This gives you the power to put yourself out there and connect with people in your industry. Facebook is also a place to connect with other like-minded business professionals, as well as create specific groups and communities of those who share similar interests and values.  

7. Are you ready to be the CEO of your life?  

The final and most important question, is are you ready to be the CEO of your own life? As an entrepreneur and independent professional, you must take charge and be fully responsible for your life. Now, I’m not about to say you have to wake up at 5am. What works for some people may not work for everyone. 

Being the CEO of your own life is knowing what works best for you and maximizing your full potential. So, you must be honest with yourself and ask yourself these questions to know yourself and who you can serve to change the world. You must also have confidence within yourself and know what you have to do to become successful.  

What do you believe is the most important characteristic to become successful? Share your thoughts with us below!

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Don’t Dump Your Boss to Start a Business Without Doing These 3 Things

“Fire your boss. Follow your passion. Own your time.” These statements, inspiring on one hand, are capable of luring many away from working a regular 9-5 job to becoming entrepreneurs. Statistics show that 6 out of 10 employees are fully dissatisfied with their jobs. Reasons vary from having a terrible boss to inadequate compensation to lack of interest. This makes entrepreneurship an attractive alternative instead of working for someone else. However, starting a business is not all rosy.  

Having a Great Idea Doesn’t Qualify You To be a Successful Entrepreneur

Yes, I said it! And not just me. Steve Jobs said “Ideas are worth nothing unless executed; They are just a multiplier, execution is worth millions.” All the great entrepreneurs you hear of today didn’t get there because of the sheer brilliance of their ideas. They had to put in the work. Many people actually get confused at the difference between having an entrepreneurial mindset and being an entrepreneur.

Those are two different things because having an entrepreneurial mindset means you are visionary. You have great ideas and can think outside the box. It also means you are willing to take risks to reach a goal. You tend to go beyond your job description to get things done. You are able to see how actions tie into the business outcome and channel your energies accordingly. 

Being an entrepreneur, and a successful one, is a different ball game entirely. It is being a business owner. One who runs all the moving parts of a business successfully. It requires some very strong attributes which are critical if your business will not just survive but thrive. 

“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” – Henry David Thoreau

Here are the three things you must know/do before starting a business:

1. Conduct A Proper SWOT Analysis

You need to conduct reality checks for both you as an individual and the business you want to start. SWOT is an acronym that stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Conducting a SWOT analysis will help you understand the business field you want to go into as well as what your advantages are. This can help you develop a strong business strategy that places you in the top percentile. 

Your strengths could be your knowledge, background, education, network, skills, or location. A question to ask yourself here is, “what competitive advantage do I have over other players in the industry?” Weaknesses are reflective of the areas where your business is not favorably matched to other competitors. You need to know them so you can have a developmental plan to eliminate these weaknesses. 

Opportunities are external positive factors that offer reasons why your business can/will flourish. Exploring these opportunities can help you stand out even in a crowded marketplace. Threats are negative influences that often are beyond your control but can affect the sustainability of your business. To be forewarned they say, is to be forearmed. Another critical aspect of a reality check is a personal psychometric assessment as an entrepreneur. 

The result of an entrepreneur’s psychometric test will show a summary of the individual’s strength of the characteristics they already have as well as areas where they need improvement. This is so they can have a successful entrepreneurial career. Attributes tested include passion, creativity, ability to take control, industriousness, knowledge/experience and pursuit of achievement. 

There are different tools that aid this kind of assessment. The result is not to discourage anyone from starting a business. Rather it offers insight as to what your personal strengths are and you can then make a decision as to how to proceed with your business goal.

2. A Roadmap for Getting Seen (or Getting Clients!)

Clients are the lifeline of every business. Without clients, you just have an expensive hobby. What is your plan for visibility? That is, apart from hounding family and friends. Some people actually are great at what they do, but suck at convincing others to pay for their expertise. 

Too many newbie entrepreneurs start a business and get stuck because they don’t have any clients and are trying every possible way to get leads both online and offline. This is not the time to run around trying different strategies. You might need to hire a business coach or get into a business mastermind to see what is working for others.

You will find out what works for you, but you need to get out there. The internet has made it a little easier by offering different platforms where you can share your knowledge and grow a community of people who know, like and trust you. 

Another quick method I always share with my clients is for them to explore sharing their message or expertise on other people’s platforms. When you have a solution, you are able to create valuable content for the specific audience you want to serve. You naturally show up as an authority and build your own audience from being featured. 

“Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.” – James Cash Penney

3. Low Hanging Fruits – Results! Results! Results!

People are more comfortable trusting a business that others have experienced. It is the belief that if you’ve been able to achieve one result, then it can be replicated. What that means for you as a prospective business owner is that you need to quickly prove your idea and record results as fast as you can.

You cannot begin to think about a fancy website, business funnels and the whole works, when you haven’t tested your idea. It will be folly to think of quitting your job in this case. It doesn’t matter what kind of business you want to start, you can always start small. Get a client, do the work, then get a testimonial. 

This person can get you referrals and then you begin to scale from there. When your income from your business has matched or surpassed your 9-5 job then you can resign. This might be an unpopular opinion but it is valid. Your bills won’t wait because you’re starting a business, and you still need to eat. 

While you think of investing to grow the business on a large scale, do the work to get guaranteed results in the interim. Working your regular job can become an unpleasant chore especially when your heart is lit with the dream of running your own business. Take the time to prepare adequately and you can guarantee that your business will not be among the statistics of businesses that fail in the first 5 years. 

Have you ever thought of being an entrepreneur, or are you already an entrepreneur? Share your stories with us below!

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4 Ways to Find Yourself Again

There are many upsides to this interconnected, technologically driven world we live in today. We’re able to quickly and easily connect with people, literally, across the world. Business has become more globalized, and learning has never been more accessible or easy.

However, there are some downsides to our world as it is today also. There’s one in particular that I think is becoming a bigger and bigger issue by the day, and that is people losing themselves. 

You might be wondering what I mean when I say “losing themselves” so let me explain. Now, more than ever before, people are being influenced by outside forces through things like social media. And because of that, we’ve fallen into a culture of comparison, where everyone is seeking to be like those they look up to.

The problem is, in the process of doing that, people are creating lives they don’t truly enjoy and are void of true happiness and fulfillment. Lives that are out of alignment with their core values. That’s the reason why you see trends like the number of millionaires going up every single day, while the rate of depression rises alongside it. The good news is, it’s possible to find and reconnect with yourself again. 

If you’ve ever dealt with that feeling of being unhappy and disconnected from the life you want to be living, keep reading to learn four strategies to find yourself again:

1. Ask those who know you best

There are very few, if any, resources in this life that are greater than relationships. A life well lived is one filled with deep, meaningful relationships. One of the benefits of having those sorts of relationships is being able to have people to go to with things like finding yourself again.

When we go down this rabbit hole of change and transformation in the wrong direction, it becomes difficult to pull ourselves out on our own. That’s where those key relationships come in handy.

The first strategy for finding yourself again is to ask the people who know you best. These people tend to know the “real” you. They can give you insights into some of the parts of yourself that may have gotten buried under all the junk that got piled on over the years. 

Asking those who know you best questions about your strengths, values, and purpose in life can go a long way in helping you rediscover who you are, what you value, and what you were put on this earth to do.

“Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.” – Muhammad Ali

2. Get off social media

Like I mentioned above, social media is such an amazing tool that has so many wonderful aspects to it. But, it can also be prime real estate for an identity complex and someone really getting disconnected from themselves.

The comparison that comes from constant engagement and use of social media is a breeding ground for insecurities and/or lust of wanting to be like someone else or have their life. So, you can probably guess where I’m going with this, but a great way to reconnect with yourself is to get off of social media.

Think about it like this, if you were an alcoholic, you wouldn’t hang out in bars hoping to kick your addiction. At least not if you had high hopes of being successful. Well, if you’re struggling with feeling disconnected and are frequently on social media, maybe a good detox is in order.

It’s estimated that the average adult spends 150 plus minutes a day on social media. If you had that extra time to do the other strategies on this list, imagine how much good that would do you in finding yourself again.

3. Get into nature

If you’re feeling lost and disconnected, a great way to find yourself is to just slow down, be still, and go inward to reconnect with your thoughts and feelings. The problem is, we live in a hustle and bustle society that glorifies being busy. 

And since most people live that way, finding time to be still, get quiet, and go within for answers seems impossible. For most people, long gone are the days of having a quiet space for themselves to completely disconnect without distractions.

That’s why the next great strategy for finding yourself is getting into nature. Sometimes in life we’ve got to force ourselves to go to great lengths in order to get what we want. Well, if still and quiet in order to reconnect is what you’re seeking, there isn’t a much better place to find it than out in nature.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t recall the last time I was in the middle of nowhere and had great WiFi, cars whizzing by, or social media and tv’s to fill my head with nonsense. So much of creating a desired result in life is about intention. Getting yourself out into nature and away from the distractions of the world shows that you’re serious about creating the space necessary to find yourself again.

“We need time to defuse, to contemplate. Just as in sleep our brains relax and give us dreams, so at some time in the day we need to disconnect, reconnect, and look around us.” – Laurie Colwin

4. Attend a personal growth conference or seminar

Okay, this may be the coach coming out in me, but I truly do believe that a great place to reconnect with yourself is at a personal growth conference or seminar. And I’ll tell you why.

If you’ve ever been to one of these events, you know that the primary intention is to help people overcome some sort of obstacle in their lives or get to a new level. There are two great things about these events: 1. Being able to explore your deeper desires, and 2. Being around and connecting with like minded people.

Not only do personal growth events inspire you, but they also present an opportunity for you to do some deep work on yourself and your life. That’s why you hear people talk about walking away from these types of events feeling “transformed.” It’s because they were able to engage in personal growth work that they probably weren’t making time for outside of that sort of setting.

To be clear, these types of events aren’t a “quick fix” type of thing, and shouldn’t be relied upon to fix all your issues. But, they do present a forum for you to detach from your current reality and gain some new perspective on life. 

Plus, personal growth events offer great opportunities for connection. And, even better than that, connection with the right kinds of people. People who are all on a journey of personal growth and discovery. Relationships with the right people can be so catalytic in you finding yourself again, and you’ll be able to find those sorts of connections at personal growth events.

Putting it all together

Let’s be honest, having that feeling of disconnection from yourself sucks. It’s not a fun place to be. But, the good news is that there are steps that you can take when you’re feeling that way, to find yourself again.

If you do the four things I mentioned above, asking those closest to you, getting off of social media, getting into nature, and attending personal growth events, you’ll find it much easier to reconnect with who you are and get yourself back on track in life.

What advice do you have for people who are struggling to reconnect with who they truly are and getting back on track in life? Share your advice below!

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https://addicted2success.com/life/4-ways-to-find-yourself-again/

3 Principles to Help You Transform Your Relationship With Money

Money is a cultural obsession. Whether we accept it openly or just silently nod, money is central to our life. Not in a binary sort of way, where when someone likes money, they don’t care about other virtues in life or if they never talk about money, it must make them a saint. But money as means to an end; A channel that takes you to a better place than where you were 12 months ago. As an input to your growth and a resource for creating an enriched life.

I grew up with a scarcity mentality believing that I had to relentlessly work until retirement and save enough money. This thinking underscored pretty much all the decisions I made in life. Decision fatigue before deciding how much to spend and what to spend it on – Expensive trainers to Peloton – and immense guilt for not using the purchase enough. This spin cycle calcified my growth for years.

Over the years I transformed my relationship with money. I am sharing 3 timeless principles that can help you re-evaluate your relationship with money.

1. Trade money to buy time

Our lives are busy and despite the pandemic, our to-lists are still as long. This makes time a premium commodity. Pick anything you are working on – a project report, a side hustle, designing a house, producing a song – often, it always takes up more time than we budgeted.

Can we buy back time? The goal here is to buy time back so you can use that time to nurture your priorities, creative pursuits or micro-goals for the day. I like to keep things in the realm of a day as that keeps things bite-sized and more relatable.

A 16-hour day can soon get chipped away with various things that come our way. Some of these things are on our to-do list and we know will need our attention but then there are a whole lot of unexpected things that pop up and hog our time like unexpected calls, emails, social media. All these things slowly add up & before you realize, an hour is gone.

So, if you start with the assumption that some unknown things will surely come up and allocate time for them, that makes a great starting point. You could look at the last week and assess how much time those things consumed. That helps you get into a pro-active mode. Start with the weekly unexpected ratio and your accuracy at predicting it will get sharper by the week.

“Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.” – Norman Vincent Peale

2. Find the source for the way you think

The relationship we have towards money is based on the behaviours we saw when we were growing up. How our parents, our role models and that favourite loopy uncle engaged with the topic of money. Was money discussed at all over dinner, whether it was scarce or in surplus? Or whether money often had to be borrowed or was lent to a friend or relatives? Was the lent money ever asked to be returned? These are just a few shades of how we sub-consciously end up absorbing money-conversations. Not just that we also absorb the emotions, the reactions & the statements that got spoken and lo & behold, they become our rules of engagement with money.

But not all viewpoints may fit into the architecture of our thinking process and ultimately our life. So, it becomes very important to pause & check about who you are taking money advice from.

Money is not an isolated topic but underscores the type of life we live, the books we read, the adventures we make and whether the tip we leave in a café is accompanied with a smile or a friendly wave.

If you don’t like the way money undergirds your life decisions, then ask yourself the question – how did you come to think this way? This question often takes you closer to the source of where the thinking took shape and that gives you the choice on whether you want to change your relationship with money or not.

“Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are.” – James W. Frick

3. Cost versus value

Over the years I started asking the question, “what value do I get from spending a certain amount?” Value = which problem of mine will get resolved. Cost = the actual dollars I dish out.

All this while I looked at things from a perspective of the dollar amount, I was paying. And the size of that figure was usually the deciding factor if it was a go or no-go.

You could argue that ‘value’ is the degree of improvement you get in your life. Would I pay almost 60% more for a pair of earphones, (not a fan of the cordless ones) because they don’t tangle up each time & travel well? Would I bother saving $100 on the best phone or laptop, something that I will use every day for a few years at least? Will I think twice about helping a friend’s fund-raiser? Not a chance.

Value is something that solves my problem and improves my life. I see it as removing irritants so I can stop jacking around and get on to things like working towards my goals or increasing my downtime.

Our relationship with money is lifelong. Re-hash it on your terms.

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/3-principles-to-help-you-transform-your-relationship-with-money/

How to Build Better Habits With 3 Practical Steps

While it’s in our nature to want to improve and achieve our goals, what often stops us from getting there, is a lack of understanding of how we operate as individuals. Luckily for us, thanks to the latest discoveries in neuroscience (the science that studies the brain), we can learn how to train our brain more effectively to live healthier, more productive, and inspired lives.

Part of that training resides in the creation of better habits which is nothing more than a systematic repetition of desired actions. The problem with picking up good habits is that we often experience a gap between our desired intentions and actual outcomes and this is mainly due to a lack of alignment in our brain. Our brain is divided into 3 main parts (the rational, emotional, and instinctive) and while they all serve their function, they often disagree with each other creating an internal tension that leads us to poor results. 

The good news is we can learn how habits are formed and with the right mindset, knowledge, and patience, we can let go of bad ones and build good ones.

According to behavioral expert BJ Fogg, habits are formed around three elements: cue, routine, and reward, the so-called “habit loop”.

Cue – This refers to the initial trigger motivating our desired behavior, and it can either come from our external environment (ex. phone notification) or from our internal environment (ex the desire to plan our day). 

Routine – This refers to the action required to perform our desired habit, whether that is deciding to read more or stop mindlessly scrolling on social media.

Reward – This is the most enjoyable part and is what motivates our brain to perform the behavior. As human beings, we are hardwired to seek pleasure and avoid pain and so when we align our desired behavior with a great reward, we are much more likely to pursue it. Rewards can be tangible (receiving money), or intangible (getting recognized by a friend) but what matters most, is to choose ones aligned to our wellbeing and personal growth. Rewarding yourself with 2 slices of cheesecake every time you succeed in going to the gym, is a clear step in the wrong direction.

The key to building healthier habits is in playing around with the routine and reward to find the combination that works best. There are several studies trying to demonstrate how long it takes to build a habit, and while there is no exact number, the one thing needed is a continuous repetition of effort.

“Habits are not a finish line to be crossed, they are a lifestyle to be lived.” – James Clear

Putting the habit loop into practice

Let’s say you want to read Addicted 2 Success 5 times a week. Now that you are clear on the outcome, it’s time to understand the nature of the reward. To make the most of this step, you must dig deep to explore the WHY of you wanting to read Addicted 2 Success. Other than a desire to be well informed, you could be driven by a fear of missing out or by the aspiration of starting a blog. While there is no right answer, the more reasons you can come up with, the more your brain will put a value on this activity and identify it as a motivating experience. 

Willpower is undoubtedly important, but so is setting up your environment for success. If you are planning on reading from a browser, closing all other tabs or putting your phone away are simple techniques to resist any form of temptation and distraction.

Next, identify the cue. What could be the trigger driving you to consider this new habit? Maybe it’s whenever you are having a low moment, but if you want to “win easily”, try directly time-boxing it in your calendar. As you can imagine, the second approach which is more proactive, will significantly increase your chances of completion.

And if you want to take it to the next level, focus on practicing the so-called “if-then technique”.

In this case, you could say “if it’s 7 pm on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday then I will read Addicted 2 Success”. By taking this approach, not only are you avoiding tapping into your precious willpower but also creating a stronger connection between the situation(if) and the action I want to take (then). 

Want to know how this simple trick can increase your chances of success? In one study, 91% of people who used an if-then plan stuck to an exercise program versus 39% of non-planners!

“Practice isn’t the thing that you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” – Malcolm Gladwell

Now it’s time to play around with the reward. My suggestion is to focus on intrinsic rewards such as tracking the number of articles or time you spent reading as when we rely solely on extrinsic rewards that bring us immediate gratification (ex. validation, unhealthy food),we might succeed in forming the habit but not in growing as people.

As with all great things in life, growth only happens at the end of our comfort zone, but with the right knowledge, you can accelerate that process.

from
https://addicted2success.com/life/how-to-build-better-habits-with-3-practical-steps/

The 5 Best Business Audiobooks Every Entrepreneur Should Listen to

As an entrepreneur, you might not be able to find time to read books with your busy lifestyle. In such cases, audiobooks can be a wonderful replacement. You can get the knowledge from a book without spending as much time reading it. 

All you need to do to listen to an audiobook is just find a peaceful place, plug in your earphones, and get ready for eternal knowledge. In this busy lifestyle, you might not be able to carry a book everywhere you go but when you listen to audiobooks, there are a lot more books in your reach.

If you are an entrepreneur or an aspiring entrepreneur, reading books can give you a lot of knowledge about entrepreneurship. If you want to design a life you imagine to live, the below mentioned books will lead you there. In case you are already an entrepreneur, these books will allow you to know the thoughts and ideas of some of the best entrepreneurs of all time. You can learn a lot more from their experience than you can ever learn by any other source. 

1. The $100 startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future By Chris Guillebeau

The $100 startup can be a very useful book if you are just starting a new business or website. This book focuses on starting a side hustle or either a full-time job or business on the basis of your skill.

It has many inspiring examples of people that made brilliant companies out of their passion. In case you know all the information about how much money a side hustle can make, but don’t have a thought on which way to go to make your dreams come to life, then this book will be the best for you.

2. The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon By Brad Stone

Amazon is one beast of a company. It is reshaping ecommerce around the globe. The other big companies are outshining amazon when it comes to press and attention, but amazon is just going through the crowd like a silent killer. 

This book will make you understand how much hard work and determination goes into experiencing such immense wealth in the end. Listening to this will get you familiar with the inner work as well as founding stories and the problems the company and its founder faced.

Listening to this book will definitely motivate you to keep going especially if you are going through a tough time in your business. The struggles that amazon went through to reach this point will definitely spark hope in you as well to keep going. 

“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.” – Jeff Bezos

3. The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses By Eric Ries

You can just take this book to be your startup bible. It provides all sorts of information about the intelligent and amazing processes of operating your side hustle or business. It takes you through how to find product-market fit fast and also gives you the key tips to be successful in your business or company. 

Spoiler alert: one of the first things the book focuses on is the user and how to make a product that meets the customers’ requirements and expectations.  

4. Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street By John Brooks

If a book is Bill Gates favourite business book, there is nothing wrong in trying it out and learning as much as possible from it. 

This book is a work of magic that has 12 amazing stories of entrepreneurs which will give you countless lessons to learn in each and every aspect of business. The stories discussed in the book will teach you about problems you’ll likely face in a business, such as product inceptions, tax loopholes and a ton of different things you can get into, when you set up a business.

5. How to Win friends and Influence People By Dale Carnegie

This is one legend of a book if you ask me. The release of this masterpiece dates back to 1937. The situations faced in business have changed but we humans haven’t. A single person cannot do everything, and having a good team will make a huge difference. This book will teach you how to influence people and expand your team. 

“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

Conclusion: 

If you are an entrepreneur or an aspiring entrepreneur, listening to these books can drastically change the way you think about everything. Just keep working hard and you will get there one day, but remember to never ever give up. 

What’s the best book you’ve read this year and why? Share the book in the comments!

from
https://addicted2success.com/entrepreneur-profile/the-5-best-business-audiobooks-every-entrepreneur-should-listen-to/

5 Simple Ways You Can Raise Your Vibration For Success

If you’ve ever heard about the Law Of Attraction, then you know that the universe responds to the energy or the frequency at which we vibrate. Like attracts like and positive thoughts result in positive results. So, when we aim to succeed in life or try to attract happiness, love, or abundance, we need to make sure we are vibrating and matching our frequency with that of the universe to be in its alignment. In short, our thoughts can only become our reality when we allow them to be, which is, by raising our vibration. 

So what does it mean to be vibing high? High vibe individuals are people who choose to be content if not overly happy, then at least positive, and overall pleasant. You will feel their vibe when you come into contact with them and get emphatically impacted by their contagious positive energy, which is known as energy transfer. 

Quite contrary to which, a low vibe individual would mostly be sluggish, critical of themselves, and others, self-doubting, and would always believe in why something cannot work instead of how it can. We carry both sides within ourselves, and it often depends upon our situation, lifestyle, or life events as to which vibe we are tapping into. Nonetheless, the good news is, it is achievable even when you feel jaded by life.

“Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics.” – Albert Einstein

So, here are the five simple ways which if incorporated into our lifestyle, can help us elevate our energy and raise our vibration:

1. Connect With Yourself

Pick a time of the day to say hello to yourself. The best way to do that is through meditation, but it can also be achieved in the form of silent prayers or affirmations. We cannot pour from an empty cup, and that is why to reciprocate better, it is essential to get in touch with ourselves, and to feel whole within first. Therefore, taking at least 10-15 minutes to sit quietly can provide an impetus to your energy.

2. Healthy Habits

It is believed that the more active you are and the more you take care of your body the more energy flows through you and to you. A good way to get an instant energy boost is to exercise, drink plenty of water, have healthy eating habits, and get a good night’s sleep.  

3. Dance, Music, and Your Hobby

Dance when you must to get your blood pumping. Similarly, listening to your favorite tunes can instantly raise your vibration too. Cultivating a hobby can make you a lot happier and help you live your life to the fullest. So make sure that you get in touch with your creative side from time to time.

4. Focus On Fun

Focus on being happy and tap into the sources which provide instant gratification like socializing and meeting friends. Fun helps us to live inflow, and being inflow means being present, not overthinking things.

“My philosophy is: If you can’t have fun, there’s no sense in doing it.” – Paul Walker

5. Dress To Feel Good

Self-care, grooming and dressing-up does not just shed negative energy but instantly changes our vibe. It doesn’t just detox negative energy but also makes us feel empowered. 

With that being said, there can be days when our world may seem to have tossed over, and we may feel depleted with no energy left to even stick to a routine. It is then okay to let yourself sit in that energy for a while to feel it, but choose not to respond to it. Make sure you do not dwell in that negative space for too long. Instead, slowly try to pick yourself up and get into the momentum of life by allowing yourself to eat, pray, and love!

How do you make sure the vibe you’re putting out into the world is a good one? Share your thoughts with us below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/5-simple-ways-you-can-raise-your-vibration-for-success/

The Top Habits That Are Stopping You From Becoming Rich and Wealthy

Did you know, if you put $5 into a savings account every single morning when you woke up for the next ten years, you would have a savings account at the end totalling $18,250? When it comes to being rich, we all love the idea of having millions in the bank, but what most people don’t realise is that it’s not earning a ton of money that makes people rich, it’s the mindset and habits that go with their lifestyle.

This is why when most average Joe’s win millions in the lottery, many end up back where they started within several years. It’s all about your spending habits that make you get rich and stay rich. 

Below we’re going to explore the common habits you’re going to want to think about:

1. Failing to Stick to a Budget

Everybody who has money has a budget. You’ve probably sat down yourself at some point in your life and thought to yourself, ‘okay, I need a budget, and I’m going to stick with it.’ You look over your accounts, work out how much you’re spending on bills, like food and rent, and then you figure out how much you can save and how much you can spend to stay comfortable and secure.

Being able to stick to a budget and then keeping it like that is a great way to create wealth. Even if your income goes up or you’ve managed to save a few thousand dollars in a savings account, being able to stay within your budget means you won’t end up losing it all.

“The thing I have discovered about working with personal finance is that the good news is that it is not rocket science. Personal finance is about 80 percent behavior. It is only about 20 percent head knowledge.” – Dave Ramsey

2. Only Having a Single Income Stream

You’ve probably heard this point over and over again, and I’ll talk about it a little bit more below, but if you’re only earning income from one place, you’re never going to get rich or wealthy. It’s as simple as that. Let’s say you own an eCommerce store and that’s how you make your money.

Having a second source of income is a way to negate these issues so you can still earn money, even if one stream is subject to issues. One study found that most millionaires have around two or three main sources of income, plus investments on the side, meaning they can make money, and stay secure in the future.

3. Not Investing Enough

If you want to make money and become wealthy, you need to invest. I’m not saying you need to gamble thousands of dollars away on the stock market and potentially not get anything back. That’s a high-risk investment, but if you do want to go that route, then you’re more than welcome to try it.

However, there are much safer investment options, such as bank and government-funded schemes, ISAs, bonds, and investment projects. Investing in these means you’re not only keeping the money safe for a few years so you can’t spend it, but you’re also making a percentage of the money back.

Now, some investment options will allow you to invest as little as $1, but a good habit is to invest a lot in this way. By investing a lot of money, you’re saving more money, which means you’re not spending it on little things, nor tempted to break your budget, but you’re also making more money because you’re investing more.

4. Settling in Your Professional Life

When was the last time you thought about your professional career and where it was heading? As we get older and go up the career ladder, at some point, we end up settling for where we are, and we grow complacent. We don’t seek to get better, get a promotion, or climb higher. We just get comfortable where we are, and this is a bad thing to do.

Naturally, humans seek comfort zones because it means there’s less to worry about, but if you want to become financially secure and grow wealth, you need to keep climbing higher and higher; about as far as you can go. Fortunately, you live in the modern world, so there are plenty of ways to do this.

5. Not Reading for Growth, or Reading at All

If you want to grow as an individual, whether that’s being able to manage your money better or practically improving or educating yourself in any area of life, you need to make sure you’re reading. As of a Corley study, around 92% of people who had ‘minimal assets’ did not read to grow.

On the other hand, pretty much every single millionaire in the world has the habit of reading with the intention to learn and grow. Coincidence? I think not. Of course, reading is fun for entertainment purposes, but you need to diversify your reading choices and get some books on subjects you want to know about, whether that’s investing, starting your own business, or learning a new skill.

”It’s not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for.” – Robert Kiyosaki

6. Procrastinating Your Life Away

A bad habit that needs no introducing. All the points above rely on this one solid foundation that if you procrastinate your life away, nothing is going to happen. Before I go any further, it’s really important for me to say that this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have any downtime whatsoever.

You cannot work 24/7 all the time and expect yourself not to burn out. However, if you have things to make your list and you end just playing games or shopping or watching TV or movies, this is procrastinating. These activities do not grow you or have a final outcome apart from that time you’ve just spent doing those things is now gone forever.

This is time you could have spent reading, exercising, educating yourself, investing, creating your budget, working on your business, or any of the amazing other things that can help you create the life you want to live. Be bold and brave. It takes courage to live the life you want to live, but anyone can do it if they just put the effort in.

What piece of money advice from the article resonated with you the most? Share your thoughts below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/the-top-habits-that-are-stopping-you-from-becoming-rich-and-wealthy/

If You Believe You Have to Fail to Succeed, You Should Quit Now

You have probably heard quotes like “ No Pain, No Gain” or “The struggle of life is one of our greatest blessings.” Do you ever pause for a moment and ask yourself if that is true? Where did those beliefs come from? Why is it that early in our lives we are trained to believe that the only pathway to success is through failure first?

Many people have the limiting belief that to accomplish their goals, dreams or desires they must go through some type of challenge or trauma. But isn’t it also true that we can create our lives from emotional states of peace, love, joy or happiness? 

If you start a business you do not have to go through years of stress, worry and anxiety wondering if you are going to survive or pay the bills. If you have a desire to become an actor/actress, you do not have to bomb an audition to make it to Hollywood. If you have a dream of becoming an elite athlete, you do not have to lose games or not make a team to become the next Michael Jordan.

Oftentimes dream chasers are looking for struggles or challenges in the beginning of their journey. We have all heard it before, what you focus on is what you attract and when you are out searching for the next painful moment to appear, you will find painful moments that continue to show up in your experience.

We look for 99 people to say “No” before we get that first “Yes” and make our first sale for our business. Why? Because we have been taught to believe that failure precedes success. This is not to say that we will not experience struggles, stress or challenges within our lives. But we are greatly limiting the amount of success and joy we can experience in our lives.

“Success isn’t permanent and failure isn’t fatal.” – Mike Ditka

Stop looking for failure

What if you began to question this belief today? What if you were able to create a drastic shift within your own life and success? Instead of feeling that you must be stressed in order to be a successful business owner, what if you could create the business and life of your dreams from peace and excitement.

We understand that progress is what makes us happy. Progress is what gets people excited. When you begin your journey towards your dreams, you do not have to accomplish them overnight but it’s that feeling that you’re moving closer that pumps us up.

You have heard the quotes like “One percent better everyday” and that holds true now more than ever when so many people want immediate results. We see it in the fitness and wellness industry drastically. 

You walk into the gym and tell the trainer you want to lose 30 pounds in 30 days. The trainer responds they are going to help you focus on losing one pound per week and you’re immediately turned off. Then they respond by saying losing one pound a week for the next year, you will be 52 pounds lighter and it will actually be sustainable. Now you’re excited.

This is an easy example as to why people feel they have to fail before reaching their goals. Their focus is on the immediate results not the progress along the way that will help them succeed an even greater goal.

You do not have to gain a pound before you lose a pound. But one pound in seven days is extremely realistic, provides success upfront, puts you in a peak state and keeps you committed.

Another reason why people are looking for failure first because you are not chasing after a dream or goal that you believe in. It’s not something that you are hungry for. You are living with imposter syndrome chasing after a goal you are not genuinely passionate about forcing you to search for challenges.

Focus on your driver, not failure

So, we know that progress is an important driver that puts you in a peak state. Now you might be asking yourself, do I have to wait for a small win to get myself into a peak state? And the answer is no! You can develop small habits and rituals to put yourself in a peak state. This peak state will drive those positive emotions to create success from joy, excitement and happiness.

The best part about it is you get to choose what those daily habits are. There is not a list you must follow; it can be anything that brings you excitement. 

Many popular rituals that people use include…

• Listening or Watching to inspirational podcast/video
• Reading a book
• Meditating
• Writing in a journal
• Reading or Rewriting goals
• Saying or listening to affirmations
• Talking with friend or colleague that share similar goals

“Failure is not an event, not a person. Yesterday ended last night.” – Zig Ziglar

The list is endless. Over time you will find yourself doing a handful of rituals everyday because of the success it brings you. The beauty is you can begin any of these today. They are simple and the most effective pieces towards you obtaining the level of success you desire.

There is no reason you must wait to achieve your goals. Do not buy into the limiting belief that you must experience pain or failure to accomplish your dreams. There are people every day doing in months or years what society says takes years or decades. 

That’s the most wonderful part of life is that we get to create our own destiny. We are the creators of our lives and you do not have to wait for anyone or anything. You get the choice to wake up powerful, empowered, filled with confidence and ready to impact the world.

You deserve all the health, wealth, peace, love, joy, abundance and success. Begin feeling that in your heart now. You are the creator of your reality.

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/if-you-believe-you-have-to-fail-to-succeed-you-should-quit-now/

The Power of Your Personal Brand and 5 Ways to Maximise It

Like most others who start out on a completely new venture, I had no idea what I was doing. Sending 60 cold outreach messages a day, I was lucky to get one or two replies. It wasn’t until I discovered the power of personal branding that I realised exactly why I was well failing. Becoming a student of the game, I spent hours each week studying the types of content and branding techniques that industry leading entrepreneurs were using – which I decided to model and implement for myself. 

After weeks of posting content and branding myself to suit my title, to my amazement, my response rate went through the roof. I went from receiving a couple of replies per day from the 60 messages I was sending, to now getting 15-20 responses. Now you could say this is coincidence but I know for a fact it’s not. This is when I discovered the real power of a strong personal brand. As an entrepreneur in the world of online business, it’s particularly important to stand on social media, it’s harder than ever to stand out – but more importantly, there are more scams out there than ever. 

A strong personal brand builds trust with your audience and potential clients, as they have an insight into who you are, what you do and how you can serve them – just from a quick glance at your profile. 

Whether it be on LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook – if you do business online, here are the 5 ways to boost your personal brand and position yourself for maximum results. 

1. Colour Pallet

One of the simplest yet most overlooked parts of a personal brand is a clear, bold colour pallet. As mentioned earlier it’s more difficult than ever to stand out, but by using strong colours to highlight your brand, you will become more recognizable and stand out from the bland, vanilla crowd. Incorporate your chosen colour in your posts, photo frames, client testimonials and even banners and cover photos. Remember to keep it consistent across all platforms to make it as memorable and recognizable as possible.

“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.” – Seth Godin

2. Five Pillars

One thing I learned from a webinar of a highly sought-after personal branding coach, was her 5-pillar method. The 5-pillar method is simple – you choose the 5 things that best represent you and your brand, ensuring that everything you post falls into those five categories. These could be just about anything. Mine for example are; Fitness, Entrepreneurship, Nature, Marketing and Golf. That way when someone comes across your profile, from a quick glimpse they can see exactly what you do.

3. Tell Stories

Both in written and video content, telling a story is the best way to connect and build trust with your audience. Story is the perfect way to influence, engage and inspire people, and it’s a sure-fire way to get people consuming your content every time you post. Remember, attention spans are becoming shorter by the day, so use a story to hook them in. 

4. Unique Content

Once again, I can’t stress the importance of standing out. I know personally, that each time I see a normal video, I almost always scroll past – unless a great caption hooks me in. Using technology to our advantage once again, there are some amazing apps that let you produce quality video content with a canvas, progress border, subtitles and headings which are sure to grab attention. Creating clever graphics and posts using Canva is another sure-fire way to make your content more unique.

“The key is, no matter what story you tell, make your buyer the hero.” – Chris Brogan

5. Overdeliver in Value

I’m a big believer that the more you give, the more you get. It’s no secret that everyone loves free things – and by consistently delivering value to your audience for free, the more likely you are to close on a sale further down the track. No longer is a simple photo post enough to retain your audience, unless you’re a supermodel. Value-packed content is the strongest content in 2020 and is a great way to boost your personal brand. 

Personal branding is all about building trust and creating a clear image of who you are, what you do and how you can help people. By implementing these 5 tips into your personal branding strategy, you’ll be building rapport with your audience without having to remind them how trustworthy you are – boosting your credibility and social proof effortlessly. 

from
https://addicted2success.com/entrepreneur-profile/the-power-of-your-personal-brand-and-5-ways-to-maximise-it/

6 Tips We Used to Start a Booming Ecommerce Business

Starting a business is not easy. If it was, everyone and their mother would have one (spoiler alert: they don’t). According to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 20% of small businesses fail within the first year. The truth is that you need to know how to start a business before you take the risky plunge.

But don’t be discouraged! Our small cosmetics wholesale company has managed to make $1,000,000+ in sales this year alone despite 2020 being synonymous with doomsday. This serves as the ultimate starting point to turn your side hustle into your full-time business.

Remember the 5 tips below and you are bound to succeed:

1. Refuse to quit when the going gets tough  

As the famous Billy Ocean once sang, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Yes, it’s cheesy, cliché, and easier said than done. It’s also an essential mindset of starting a business. 

When we started our company, we had to make huge sacrifices. My co-founder had to sell his car. We both only had enough to cover the expenses of our business initially. The employees of our company consisted of just us. 

For years we had to keep our goal in mind and have no doubt that this risk would pay off. And it paid off big! Starting a business will always be difficult, no exceptions. Some days will be horrible, some days will be great. Everyday will serve a bigger purpose. 

2. Create your site on a platform made for ecommerce 

Unless you’re a web developer, please don’t try to craft your store from scratch. Many platforms have built-in functionality to hit the ground running. In particular, they even have the ability to create custom reports. You’ll be able to let customers checkout on your site, you can track their buying patterns, and see where your traffic is coming from. 

What’s also good about platforms like these, is that they have easy ways to regulate and boost your search engine rankings. It just makes it simple to update crucial SEO data like your site’s meta description and meta title. Information like this not only lets potential leads know what your company is all about, but it lets search engines know too. 

“Chase the vision, not the money; the money will end up following you.” – Tony Hsieh

3. Stay agile and vigilant toward market changes 

Now more than ever, small businesses need to stay on top of changes in the market both domestically and internationally. Even in the best years, it’s important to monitor the market and have the ability to quickly make changes in order to survive. 

Stay on top of trends. Know the supply and demand of the market your ecommerce site is focusing on to stay ahead of the competition. This year especially has served as a good exercise in being flexible. Have a master plan, but leave wiggle room for the unexpected. 

4. Make customers your focus from the first day 

Your customers are the lifeblood of your company. If you can’t absolutely commit to being empathetic to them, you might as well have no customers. 

By focusing on providing as much value as possible to the customer, you will always win. Especially when starting a business, as you enter an area that already has established competitors, one of the easiest ways to begin to take market share is by providing a better experience. 

That means having the ability to accept a smaller margin or dedicating more time and resources to areas that influence the customer experience the most. That could be in the form of customer service, pricing, or any other factor. 

Figure out your customers’ different buyer personas. Who are they? What are the problems they face? Tailor your content and strategy to fit each individual’s needs. You do both them and yourself a disservice without knowing this. 

“No matter how many customers you have, each is an individual. The day you start thinking of them as this amorphous ‘collection’ and stop thinking of them as people is the day you start going out of business.” – Dharmesh Shah

5. Identify which CRM systems you’ll need 

Starting a small business in the modern era has added more obstacles for entrepreneurs to overcome. Make it easy for yourself and use services that allow you to manage your customers. You’ll likely need a software that lets you respond to inquiries and need another to launch robust, segmented campaigns for marketing purposes. 

Research what CRMs you’ll need ahead of time, and which ones would be the best fit for you. It will save you time and a headache later when you inevitably expand your business. Also, good CRMs can give your small business the ability to collect key information about your clients. Buyer patterns and problems become apparent with this kind of software. 

6. Choose a market you understand

Just because your friend made 6 figures off of selling a certain product doesn’t mean you will. The web is saturated with courses telling you how you can double your salary by selling this one thing. The majority of consumers won’t find success this way alone.

Simply, the more you understand about the products or services you are selling, the easier it is to create a marketing strategy for your business. The same goes for finding suppliers and most importantly, understanding your customers. 

Have you ever considered starting a business? If so, what’s stopping you from beginning? Share your stories with us below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/entrepreneur-profile/6-tips-we-used-to-start-a-booming-ecommerce-business/

Why Your Values Dictate Your Success

Do you know what your core values are? There’s what you say and there’s what you do. You can be clear with your core values by watching your actions. Do they match what you say your values are? If no, why not? 

1. Values dictate behavior

Action is preceded by thought, whether those thoughts are conscious or subconscious. Your thoughts are filtered by your individual set of values and beliefs, which process through your neuropathways to help you arrive at the decisions you make for the actions you take. 

According to social science, values are personal but also have a cultural element to help you understand what’s right and wrong; good and bad; important and unimportant. Values often bond people together and create the social norming systems of a culture. 

It’s important to know which values you hold so that you can take intentional action. Studies state that values act as a guide for behavior and become central to your identity. When a value becomes central to your identity, that’s when it becomes a strong indicator of your behavior. 

What this means is that if you want to become successful (as you define it), you need to have the values that the successful version of you has and make them key parts of your identity. For example, if the successful version of you values organization but you live in a cluttered mess, then you need to take time to get yourself organized and make it a priority. Actions can shape your values, and as you upgrade your behavioral standards, they dictate how you see yourself. To start this process, write out all of the values you believe the successful version of yourself to have. Save that to the side and read on.

“Good values are like a magnet – they attract good people.” – John Wooden

2. Behavior dictates success

Your behavior will show you where your identity and core values stand as of today. If you’re not sure which ones are important to you, look at your behavior. If you value convenience over effort, you’ll see a lot of clutter or sloppiness in your life. If you value growth over comfort, you’ll constantly challenge yourself and engage in activities that make your mindset expand. Your behavior will show you what values have become part of your identity.

Once you recognize which actions you’re engaging in regularly, you can identify the values and beliefs that those behaviors are running on. Make a list of the current values and beliefs coming up for you. Looking at that second list, you can compare them to the list you created for the future version of yourself. 

What do the lists have in common? What differences exist between the two lists? Honing in on the commonalities and differences gives you a clear indication of where you need to put the effort in for cultivating new or stronger values that become part of your identity.

3. Focus and support

Your values are the consistent indicators of what your focus centers on, which allows you to make more conscious decisions that can lead to success. When you’re facing decisions or actions, a good way to draw your attention back to your own success is to ask yourself, “Is this choice aligned with the success I want and the values I hold or not?” That answer will help you make stronger decisions that help you achieve your goals.  

Likewise, they also help you bond with other people. You’ll often work with people who have similar values. If one of your core beliefs and values is elevating others, then you’re more likely to work with people who will elevate you. Having a support system that understands and honors your values will help you stay on track for success.

“When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.” – Roy E. Disney

4. Building new values

Creating a new system requires a bit of discipline. You have to give space for the new behaviors and thought patterns to happen while catching the old ones before they sabotage you. 

In order to do that, you have to be conscious of what you want to change and actively choose new actions for habits that were likely automatic before. The more you implement these changes, the more natural they’ll become for you. That’s how the new values become part of your identity, which leads to success when those changes are in alignment with your goals.

What do you think are the most important values to embody on your journey to success? Share your thoughts with us below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/why-your-values-dictate-your-success/

5 Personal Ground Rules for Navigating Today’s New Normal

On every continent across the globe, we have experienced unparalleled turbulence this year. In practically every which way, we have been challenged more than we ever thought possible. Most of us have had to adopt different ways of managing the stress that comes with a whirlwind of change. As we head into a New Year, there is a feeling of resilience that is starting to build. 

Having been through a battlefield unlike any other, many of us are building upon our trusted toolkits that have helped us navigate the unprecedented complexities of 2020. In looking back at the lessons 2020 has taught us, there are five significant things that stand out which pertain to building the resilience we are craving. These five elements have been essential to individuals from all walks of life and will prove to be imperative as we move forward into a forever changed world.

Consider these five things in order to bolster your resilience for 2021 and beyond:

1. Have compassion with yourself

Oftentimes we are quick to have compassion with others, but slow to have it with ourselves. It’s time to flip the script. While we all may be our own worst critics, what we need most is to embrace self-love and have acceptance for where we are at. 

Instead of setting unrealistic expectations for ourselves – which literally sets us up for failure – define what success for each day looks like for you. And be okay with the fact that each day may look a little different. Our global pandemic has completely upended our daily life, so having grace for yourself in a world that can change at a moment’s notice is vital.

2. Implement the 5 minute rule

It may sound like a silly question but – when was the last time you checked in with yourself? Acknowledging how you are feeling – and how that may impact your interactions with others – is a huge step in taking charge of your day. Set aside at least 5 minutes (more if you can!) to check in with yourself to see how you are feeling, consider why you are feeling that way, and define what you need. 

You are non-negotiable so taking care of yourself is paramount – particularly in a highly stressed global climate. Try journaling to set your intentions, or merely find a quiet space to enjoy tea or coffee and be solo with your thoughts. That 5, 10 or 15 minute investment can have a powerful impact on your day.

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” – Anne Lamott

3. Define a more optimal schedule

Chances are your schedule is now vastly different than it was in January 2020. Your working hours, fitness routine, along with interactions with friends and family may be different. So trying to stick to a schedule that was designed to work hand in hand with lifestyle components that have drastically shifted does not make dollars or sense. Take a step back and consider how you can optimize your day to day obligations and functions to help you get the most out of each day now. 

4. Practice gratitude daily

Practicing gratitude every day helps to frame our perspective through a lens of positivity. We have many negative external factors surrounding our daily life, so there’s no need to create more stress within our own realm by choosing to have a negatively impacted mindset from the start. Begin each day by considering what you are grateful for and watch how your mood is elevated. This simple step has the greatest impact on setting many of us up for success each day. 

“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.” – Zig Ziglar

5. Connect – not just online

Many of us are not spending as much time as we’d like being social in person due to the pandemic, which can be challenging. This can impart feelings of loneliness and have an impact on our mental health. 

As humans we are designed to connect – and the human connection can be true soul food for all of us. So, instead of feeling isolated at home or stuck online – pick-up the phone! Call your friends and family to have those heartfelt chats over the phone where you can hear their voice. For those of us who love a good FaceTime, Skype or ZOOM chat – jump online to virtually spend time together. We may not be able to be together in person, but that does not mean we can’t connect. Also, remember to reach out to people who you may not have heard from recently. They may need an inspired voice like yours to motivate them.

As an entrepreneur, mother, wife, friend and community member, I have seen first-hand how important resilience can be. I also know that building resistance requires an active practice. This means adopting certain behaviors and approaches in a disciplined fashion to work regularly towards becoming “fire-proof,” aka resilient. As we head into a bold New Year that may be full of unexpected twists and turns, upping the ante on your ability to be resilient will be a wise investment. Don’t roll the dice, double down on your resilience. 

What’s one positive way your life has changed throughout the pandemic? Share your stories with us below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/life/5-personal-ground-rules-for-navigating-todays-new-normal/

5 Things I Learned From Pitching Top Publications

Everyone can publish a post on Facebook, go live on Instagram, or record a Youtube video. While social media is making out to be a serious business for experts and influencers around the globe, there is nothing that says “I am the expert” as much as a feature in a top magazine.  

There is still a certain mystery about traditional media; they are a bit of a closed club with no clear membership guidelines. During the last 4 years, I pitched and placed stories in multiple media outlets from top tier magazines like Forbes and Entrepreneur to national TV like NBC. 

Here are a few things I learned that would hopefully help you to share your expertise using the power of media:

1. No one cares if you are a best-selling author

Neither do they care about your “top-rated app” or “new exciting startup.” The number of your reviews or rankings alone are not a good foundation for an interesting story. Sure, that’s an important achievement for you. However, asking a journalist to feature you solely on the basis of being a best-selling author won’t do. You have to dig deeper. 

Imagine you are on a plane about to take off for a 4-hour flight. Next to you is a stranger starting a conversation. If you open with a list of your achievements, that will likely just be awkward. Instead, what if you get to know your seat neighbor, and when the moment is right to tell them about a book you’ve published or company you’ve built, you might be in for a long and interesting conversation. Journalists don’t care about your list of achievements, but they do want to hear from people who lived through some outstanding experiences and lived to tell the tale. 

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” – Theodore Roosevelt 

2. This is a place where your degree finally matters

While employers no longer care about where you went to school and which diploma you are holding, the media still does. Every journalist and editor that holds a value of objectivity would make sure to find at least a few original sources for their article. They would often look for studies, personal interviews, and some expert opinions. And how do they know someone is an expert? Diplomas, certificates, and other proof of your knowledge come in handy. 

You are much more likely to be quoted by a journalist if you hold any of those official certifications. Just send your short bio to a few journalists covering topics in your area and ask them to put you on file, so they come to you next time when they need a source. 

Pro tip: Editors appreciate diverse sources. So, even if a journalist already featured your competition, you can still get a spot in the next article.

3. Find a new angle to something that’s already widely discussed

One of my favorite techniques is called “stupid majority.” There is a great TEDx talk about it by Jerry Silfwer. He suggests that one of the best ways to get your message across is to debunk a popular belief. 

For example, about 30 years ago, the general public believed that fat was one of the unhealthiest food types, with a large body of studies of links between cholesterol and heart disease. The “stupid majority” already had an awareness of the topic. Here enters the “smart minority,” telling us that it isn’t all that easy. In fact, there are “good fats,” which are essential for your nutrition. Where there is already an existing conversation, it’s easier to enter with some new facts, examples, and studies, rather than trying to pitch a whole new topic never discussed before.

In your industry, ask yourself what are some things that everyone believes and you know is wrong? 

4. Know who you are pitching: Contributors vs staff writers

It goes without saying that before contacting anyone with a cold pitch, you should do your research. Apart from analyzing their topics, style, and area of interests, it’s important to understand what their primary reason for being a writer is. 

There are 2 main types:

Staff writers are paid to write. They have weekly and daily quotas for the number of articles they should turn out. In the reality of today’s media, one staff writer might be covering a spread of different topics and need to stay on top of many of them. Point out a new trend or research when contacting them – it might be a great start.

Contributors and freelance writers usually do writing on the side. Often, those are entrepreneurs with primary business outside of the media platform. They often use media platforms to position themselves and sometimes, to promote their services. They only publish when they find something really exciting, as there are no minimum requirements for them. With contributors, it would help to build some personal connections first and show them how a conversation with you might support their needs.

“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

5. The Media moves fast. So should you

When you’ve been sending pitches and finally get a “yes” or even a “maybe,” you have to be ready to follow up with more information very quickly. We are talking hours, not days. Stories move quickly and often being picked for an article comes down to sending the right information at the right time. If you follow a few reporters, you’ll see they sometimes turn out a few stories a day and the best way to respect their work is by giving them accurate information fast.

Media exposure can provide an enormous advantage when it comes to attracting investors to your startup or establishing your authority as a personal brand. Keep these tips handy when you start building relationships with the writers. 

Have you ever tried to be featured in other top publication sources? If so, what did you do? Share your stories with us below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/5-things-i-learned-from-pitching-top-publications/