Ego: The One Thing That Will Make or Break You in Your Business

Many people work very hard in business. Some spend thousands of dollars on coaches, training, and positioning themselves as experts or “gurus” in whatever niche they specialize in for their clients and customers. Receiving accolades for their work is a wonderful byproduct. Yet, there seems to be something that seeps into some people’s businesses and can kill any success or momentum that’s been built up.

Let’s call it straight up: Your ego is the one thing that can kill your business. Look at the social media world these days. How many people are out there becoming “experts” and making themselves look and feel bigger than they truly are in life? The numbers are staggering. It’s ok to think and visualize for bigger influence or business, yet you don’t have to knock down people in order to get where you want to be.

When perusing Facebook, it’s amazing to see how many people have let their egos run amok. The “ego is not my amigo” sentiment couldn’t be more true than today. The business marketplace is saturated with global entrepreneur superstars. Of course, people are going to attach themselves to ones that stand out to them. This is not a bad thing, yet it can turn into one pretty quickly. More and more, though, the ego steps into the light and brings powerful people down into the depths of despair.

What happened to being human in business?

It still happens when people meet one another at local community or business gatherings. It’s really interesting to see how many people are beginning to shift their mindsets away from online marketing tactics to building solid relationship-based communities.

There are times where having a healthy dose of bravado matters a whole lot. The ego, though, pushes you to be more than you really are to others. A bigger-than-life picture gets formed and, ultimately, it comes crashing down like a burning house.

Is there a place for a healthy ego? Yes. Look at the number of people who have found success and nurture it all the time. They care for and cultivate their success by following what they’ve learned from others as well as from hard-fought life experience. When the healthy ego shows up, it arrives in the form  of confidence and humility.

You do not have to be a jerk in your business. “But that’s just the way I am” is a recent and well-worn phrase used by many online entrepreneurs. Ok, so you are going to talk to your family and friends the same way you do in comments to people online? Maybe you can check yourself before commenting again.

There is a definite pathway to prosperity and a wonderful life. It does not have to be marked with potholes and rude behavior because that will lead to stinking thinking and doing harmful deals. E-G-O. It is a short, little word yet packs a powerful punch, doesn’t it?

“Leadership is not a popularity contest; it’s about leaving your ego at the door. The name of the game is to lead without a title.” – Robin S. Sharma

You can change the course of your ego by making some simple new choices day by day

One of them is to have compassion for other people. Remember, not everyone’s path is your path, nor is theirs yours. Every single person wants to succeed at something in life. It might not be business related at all. It might be running a marathon, finding the special relationship with a significant other, or taking a long-dreamed-about trip to a foreign country.

Those are markers of success in peoples’ lives. Do you have the depth of compassion to appreciate someone else’s happiness and not make it all about yourself? If this doesn’t happen in your world, then check yourself.

Another new choice to make is avoiding any reaction out of haste to other people and their words. Reacting from a place of fear and insecurity ends up leaving you looking like a hot mess. What would it look like if you responded more fervently and from the heart instead of your head? It might make you look even better than before.

It is little changes every day that add up to a better way of communicating with others. It also takes the ego out of the equation.

Removing ego is important

Removing your ego from your business is a powerful choice. Instead of always having to be “top dog” and act out in videos or through your words in private, you can actually be a human being and keep on growing.

People are attracted to different types of business owners and entrepreneurs. The ego will always be around and cause problems. This is a fact. Yet, does it have to be the be-all, end-all way of doing business? No, and it shouldn’t be.

It’s time for more compassionate and thoughtful entrepreneurs to step into the light. It’s time for egomaniacs to step aside, count their millions, and thank the Universe for their success. Their time in the light is growing smaller and smaller. Their private mistakes are being pushed into the public’s eye.

“Check your ego at the door. The ego can be the great success inhibitor. It can kill opportunities, and it can kill success.” – Dwayne Johnson

You can check your ego at the front door. You can be part of the great change sweeping across businesses today. Consider your words and actions wisely. Don’t let your emotions take over your thought patterns. The ego loves to see you act out in haste, anger, and frustration.

But the more you let your ego run the show, the quicker your business will go bye-bye. You don’t want that to happen, do you? Of course not, so be humble and caring about others. Lead from behind. Encourage others in your business from a heart-centered perspective. The rewards you will reap from doing these things will pay off more than any ego-churning online course.

Do you struggle to separate your ego from your own self especially when it comes to your success? How do you manage your ego before it gets to big? Let us know your advice in the comments below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/ego-the-one-thing-that-will-make-or-break-you-in-your-business/

I Want To Be Wrong As Much As Possible - You Should Too! Here’s Why:

The journey we’re all are on is similar. We have to deal with rejection, failure, unpleasant underarm smells, success, people we don’t like, death, kids (may not be our own) and our emotions that can make us happy and pissed off all at the same time.

It’s a tough gig being human, but that’s the card we were dealt. Part of the job description that we have as humans is being wrong. Understanding what it really means to be wrong is what this article is all about.

I want to give you the real story about being wrong and inspire you with the reality: It’s great when you’re wrong.

This is going to sound even crazier but here goes nothing:

“I want to be wrong as much as possible”

 

Why?

Being wrong is how I’ve learned everything I know. The process of doing involves being wrong a hell of a lot. I know that when I’m wrong, I’m putting in the work.

I’m like a mad scientist experimenting with different potions to find the winning one which is fulfillment of a purpose bigger than myself.

I’m not the only person that’s wrong. You’re wrong a lot too.

“Trying to be right is how you end up in a rut wondering why you’re not heading in the direction you want to”

 

I aim to be wrong at least once a day.

I have breakfast being wrong.

Then I go out for lunch and I’m wrong.

I then come home from work even more wrong. I smile the whole time because I’ve stopped hiding from the truth.

 

You’ll end up wrong more times than you’re right.

The truth is you’re going to be wrong in life more times than you’re right, so you better get used it.

Practice being wrong.

Expect you’ll be wrong.

Be excited when you’re wrong.

“On the other side of being wrong is being right and that will lead you to something much bigger and better than you could have ever hoped for”

 

The challenge we all face is trying to be right.

That idea leads to perfection and you’ll never reach that goal no matter how hard you try. Perfection is where you forget you’re human. By our very nature as a species, we’re flawed, wrong, fucked up, emotional and destined to die.

I’m not trying to be Debbie Downer I just want you to get used to being wrong and understand it’s in your DNA. When you plan to be wrong and expect it, you think about failure and set up your strategy for life differently.

 

The revelation: stacking the odds.

If you look at the statistical view of being wrong, and you see that the odds are stacked against you, a revelation will occur:

“All you need to do is be right a fraction of the time to win the game of life”

Winning becomes about only needing to be right (successful) every so often. The road to achieving your goals looks a lot different when you expect to be wrong.

 

Admit when you’re wrong.

Admitting to yourself you’re wrong is one level of the game; admitting to everyone else when you’re wrong is much harder.

I’ve found that by telling people I’m wrong when I am, I get the following benefits:

• People respect me more
• I have less shame about being wrong
• I don’t try and hide when I’m wrong anymore
• I celebrate when I’m wrong
• I accept the gift of being wrong and accept the learnings

The weakest thing you can do is try to pretend you’re right when you know you’re not. Join ‘The Wrong Club’ that we were all born into and start wearing it with a sense of pride.

 

Where to from here?

Wear a t-shirt that says you’re going to be wrong today. Have the “wrong talk” with your romantic partner when your fortune telling skills are proven to be non-existent.

Hi-five your brother or sister from another mother when you’re wrong.

Add up your wrongs on a scorecard and see that each wrong carries a diamond in the form of learnings and knowledge.

Tell people when you’re wrong. It’s good for business and for life.

If you want to increase your productivity and learn some more valuable life hacks, then join my private mailing list on timdenning.net

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/i-want-to-be-wrong-as-much-as-possible%e2%80%8a-%e2%80%8ayou-should-too-heres-why/

The 8 Gifts You Will Receive From Vulnerability

Permitting yourself to be vulnerable may imply weakness, a lack of character and an inability to meet life on life’s terms. On the flip side, it forces you to confront aspects of yourself you might otherwise never see. Vulnerability brings forth strength allowing you to face your fears. It is through this process, you discover who you are.

After failing at my first business, I faced my own vulnerability in nearly every aspect of my life, from my self-esteem to my marriage. No part of me was left unscathed. I came through it having learned some valuable lessons.

Here are the 8 gifts I received from vulnerability:

1. Humility

Vulnerability keeps your ego in check as it facilitates humility. Being completely real with yourself and others highlights your needs, so you can focus on meeting them. You see who and where you are from a new perspective. You meet your true self, and in doing so, right-size your ego.  

2. Empathy

Empathy is the ability to share another person’s emotions. Rather than pity or compassion, empathy occurs when you connect with the emotional state of another. This happens most often when a person is vulnerable thus through the experience, you learn how to meet others where they are.

3. Trust

When you express vulnerability, you begin to build trust in yourself and others. You can’t learn inside your safe zone. Developing trust involves giving something you value to someone, then watching what the person does with it.

“Trust each other again and again. When the trust level gets high enough, people transcend apparent limits, discovering new and awesome abilities of which they were previously unaware.” – David Armistead

4. Courage

Vulnerable people are courageous. Each time you allow yourself the freedom to be real, regardless of the cost, you gain a measure of courage, a resource no one can take from you unless you give it away willingly. Courage is starting over after a failure, risking a chance no one else believes in, or taking an unpopular stand rather than compromising your values.  

5. Strength

Vulnerability allows you to find strength through weakness. You are strongest when you allow yourself to be weak because in this state, you are willing to let others in to provide support. You discover what you are made of in doing so.

6. Loyalty

Loyalty occurs when you choose to spend a bit more money or time with a business or person you know is honest rather than spending less with little confidence in who you are supporting. It’s walking into your favorite Starbucks to pay $5.00 for a latte you could have made at home for $2.00. You love the products, are loyal to the brand and the baristas.  Loyalty keeps you coming back.

7. Acceptance

Acceptance of self and others is facilitated through vulnerability. Not only do you meet yourself when you let your walls down, you start to understand and accept this weaker part of you. It is through weakness we find strength.

8. Clarity

When you are vulnerable, you lose your preoccupation with keeping your walls intact. This gives you the opportunity to focus on other things. By bringing it into focus, you see the world around you with greater clarity. With clarity comes the ability to make good decisions from a position of strength and intention. You’ll work faster with more accuracy when your objective is clear, no matter what you are working toward.

“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” – Helen Keller

Giving myself permission to be vulnerable with others has brought nothing but good things.  Have I been hurt in the process? Yes, but far less than I expected. When I find myself pulling inward, I remind myself how many positive experiences I’ve had each time I left my comfort zone.

When my first entrepreneurial venture failed, I had to work through a lot of shame and fear.  I was lost and thought the failure was permanent. Vulnerability was my state of being for months. Out of the loss came new strength and the determination to try again.

Remembering everything I learned the first time around, I took a big risk and created a successful company. My failure was the foundation on which I constructed my dream. I built my brand, developed incredibly loyal customer relationships, had an amazing team of employees and fed my passion.

The willingness to work as long and hard as it takes is over-valued, unless you work on getting to know yourself. Only then will you appreciate the necessity of letting your guard down. The ability to be yourself, to see the need for authenticity, this is the ultimate gift of vulnerability.

Do you struggle being vulnerable? If so, let us know what you’re doing to combat this in the comments below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/life/the-8-gifts-you-will-receive-from-vulnerability/

19 Harsh Truths You Don’t Want To Hear But Must (You’ll Be 10 Times Better For It)

As a blogger, I cop a lot of heat for delivering the truth rather than sugar-coating it with Instagram selfies, perfect image filters and nice words. I’ve written about ditching your loser friends, giving up porn, being spat at by haters online and everything under the sun.

I’m not here to impress you; I’m here to give you the truth so you can grow. It’s not about me or some BS personal brand; it’s about how all of us can smash our goals using the truth and leave a legacy behind that will stop us from having regrets.

Here are the 19 harsh truths you must hear:

 

1. We all have the same problems.

My problems are the same as your problems. You might be dealing with some BS, but you’re not alone. That divorce, person that passed away, rejection letter you got or redundancy you were forced to take is happening to many other people, at exactly the same time.

Knowing your problems are all the same is how you stop yourself from getting stuck and feeling sorry for yourself. All your problems are simply a process that you have to deal with.

This process is part of the human experience and it’s what you were forced to sign up for when your parents decided to have sex and create you in the first place.

 

2. You don’t need experience – ever.

So many people in the workforce resist applying for their dream career because it says in the advertisement “5 years of X skill required with a proven track record.”

This line is part of every template for every job ad ever written. This line is in the ad to stop time wasters and people that don’t have the killer instinct to see past the obstacle that’s been laid in front of them. If you give up on your career dream just because of one line, in one job ad, you’re probably not cut out to work for most companies.

Experience often leads to a fixed mindset that makes you think you know everything when you don’t. Sometimes the best experience is no experience and a brilliant mindset.

 

3. We’re all going to have someone die on us – expect it.

I’ve lost many relatives in the last few years including my grandma who died at 104 because she stopped eating and decided she lived enough. On the day the doctors told me she didn’t have long to live, I was out of town.

I hurried back and went to see her. The doctors said to hurry up as she was close to death. I got there just in time to see her eyes still open. I held her hand and told her that I loved her very much. She squeezed my hand, closed her eyes and passed away shortly after. It’s like she was waiting for me the whole time.

All of us are going to lose someone, so enjoy the time you have with your family and friends. Don’t take a moment of it for granted and never leave people you care about on bad terms. The last thing you want is someone to die on you having the relationship tarnished because of something stupid like a disagreement over money or a difference in beliefs.

“Death is guaranteed for all of us. It’s the only certainty we have and it’s the only motivation you should ever need”

 

4. Complaining is a F*cking waste of time.

It achieves nothing and is for cry babies who don’t want to face the harsh truth: we’re in control of everything that happens to us. Meaning: we’re in control of how we interpret all events.

Complaining is a disease that carries an antidote called “Freaking stop it, now, please.”

No one likes a complainer and it’s only making you get stuck in your head instead of charging forward towards your goals and doing something cool.

 

5. No one gives a hoot about your personal brand.

All these personal brand courses and “building a brand on LinkedIn” are ridiculous. No one cares about your ego, how good you think you are or your company. All we care about is what’s in it for us. If you deliver something of value, then we will all like your stuff. There’s nothing else to it.

Your brand is just a perception based on the results you’ve proven in the past. Your brand is only as good as what you can teach us, give us or inspire us to do.

 

6. Other people’s opinions don’t matter.

Being bogged down by what other people think of you is crazy! Half the time, the people who are sharing these opinions are complete failures and are projecting their wants, needs, failures and desires onto you. They are hoping they can live vicariously through your life because their life sucks.

The only opinion that matters is yours. If you believe you can do the impossible, then you will.

 

7. You don’t need education or permission – they’re both optional.

A colleague asked me the other day if she should do a course in social media to get a job in the field. I told her “Screw that and build a presence online which will demonstrate your ability.”

I also told her “There’s a bunch of podcasts that you can listen to for free that don’t ever require you to do anything other than listening. Then all it comes down is picking the people who’ve already crushed it and following their strategies – seeing as they’re proven.”

You don’t need education to achieve your goals. You also don’t need anybody’s permission. If no one will hire you to build their website, then start your own company and generate business for yourself.

“Whatever you do, don’t waste time seeking approval. This habit comes out of overthinking, laziness or lack of execution”

 

8. You never want to have regrets.

There have been several studies conducted of what people dying think before they pass away. Uniformly, the vast majority have regrets about things they didn’t get to do.

When you realize that there are no barriers and you should just try everything that your heart desires (well maybe not drugs), you live a life of no regrets.

You experience life for the miracle that it is. If you like to travel then go do it. If you want a career in a certain field, then go do it. The strategies, resources, people, etc. will find their way into your life when you commit to taking action and not having regrets.

 

9. The human experience is full of suffering. Time to master it.

In some ways, you could describe our lives as torture. From day one, we’re going to suffer – guaranteed. On the other hand, suffering is only torture when you allow yourself to suffer.

When you see suffering as a necessity and you learn to use it to your advantage, that same suffering becomes fuel for your goals and dreams. All of a sudden, when suffering enters your life, you know what to do with it.

Suffering is part of the struggle which will help you do wonderful things in this world.

 

10. Quit wasting your time and throwing it down the toilet.

Pissing your time up against the wall doing useless activities rather than pursuing your passion(s) is the dumbest thing you can do. All of the things you want to achieve and haven’t yet can be done in the time you waste.

You think you don’t have time to write, make music, train for a sport but you do. You have just as much time as I do so why not use it to do the activities that will make you feel a sense of accomplishment?

 

11. Create value ahead of everything else.

That’s why I have no payment walls, masterminds or courses. When you create massive value for free, everything you need comes at you at 100 miles an hour. The question is whether you’ll help other people get what they need so you can get what you need.

You’ll never have to worry about money again when you focus on creating the most value you can and growing through personal development.

 

12. Gratitude is a bloody superpower!

Ever since I started keeping a gratitude journal, I’ve learned to see so much good in the world. Even on days when I hit a major crisis, on the outskirts of that crisis is still so much good.

Gratitude is how you turn the balance of thoughts in your mind from negative to positive. This will never happen by default, so you have to make it a habit to deliberately be grateful every single day.

 

13. Hate to break it to you; money won’t make you happy.

I know what it’s like to have more money than you can spend. It means nothing. Sorry.

Deep down you know money won’t make you happy, yet you chase it because everyone else on the hamster wheel is doing the same. The harsh truth is that meaning and purpose (which sound corny) are far more powerful than money will ever be.

We’re all chasing feelings, not money. You don’t want the money you want the feeling you get when you have it and buy stuff with it. Meaning and purpose give you even better feelings and they are free.

The most depressed I’ve ever been in my life is when I was rich in financial terms and poor in my own mind. Everything changed when I found a purpose bigger than myself.

The exact same opportunity is available to you. Will you take it? Will you accept this harsh truth?

 

14. Be you and stop being an actor.

The right people will be attracted into your life when you quit being a Hollywood actor and pretending you don’t have problems and that life is like spending every day in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory licking lollipops and having Oompa Loompas serve you everything you could ever want.

The word “actor” is what I use to describe someone who’s not being vulnerable, authentic and real with everybody.

Telling people you’re not okay is fine. Asking for help is the greatest gift you can have in times of pain and suffering.

If you’re hiding the real you because you’re ashamed of who you are then know this: you can always become the person you’ve dreamt of being. It takes discipline, courage and a sense of fight to grow, adapt and admit when you’re wrong.

Accept where you are and move mountains to get where you know you can be in the future. We’re all capable of so much more than our current circumstances.

 

15. The only currency is time (Apologies crypto traders)

Quit trading time for money, distractions, toxic friends, bad habits and anything else you know is not serving what you stand for. Time is the one thing you can’t get more of. Time lets you work on those passions that send shivers down your spine.

Guard your time like you guard your life. Protect your time and spend it on things that will cause you to help others, live without regrets and be passionate.

 

16. Some people dream and others just execute. Do the later.

We’ve all got hopes and dreams but how many people do you know who actually do what they dream of. The answer is very few. That’s because dreaming is like an orgasm: it feels amazing.

“Dreaming has become a form of masturbation and it doesn’t lead to anything meaningful. Execution separates those people you deem to be successful from those people you deem to be mediocre, or worse yet, failures”

Execution is about not having all the answers and putting in the work. It’s spending five hours writing a blog post or doing a hundred laps of the running track to get your fitness level up.

We all want to become the best in our field but that will only happen if you experiment like crazy, learn, grow and continue executing.

You’ll gain the skills you need by executing and learning what doesn’t work. Please quit dreaming and start believing through executing.

 

17. Trying to meet society’s idea of success is a loser’s game.

What you see on the Internet as success is a lie. Success is whatever you make it and it varies to some degree for each and every person. Most of what society thinks is success is built on outdated ideas.

For us millennials, our idea of success stems from our parents who value home ownership, cars, university and stuff that doesn’t align with who we are.

We have this inner conflict because we want to chase our own version of success, but then we lose society’s acceptance because we don’t fit the criteria of the majority.

Screw the majority. Following the herd is not how you become extraordinary: being you is.

 

18. Perfection doesn’t exist and never will.

Perfection is the belief that there’s some Havana where nothing goes wrong. Perfection ignores failure, mistakes, a growth mindset and an unrealistic view of reality.

“We’re all incredibly imperfect and that’s what makes us human and truly beautiful beyond what the eye can see. Perfection is a joke and that’s the harsh truth”

 

19. We’re all going to die. The End.

The clock is ticking amigo. Stop reading this article and use the time you have left to create a legacy that’s bigger than you could ever dream of. Inspire the world through your gifts, take care of your family and come to terms with the fact you’ll have to say goodbye one day.

Death is guaranteed for all of us. It’s the only certainty we have and it’s the only motivation you will ever need.

If you want to increase your productivity and learn some more valuable life hacks, then join my private mailing list on timdenning.net

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/19-harsh-truths-you-dont-want-to-hear-but-must-youll-be-10-times-better-for-it/

5 Ways You Can Be More Prolific Today

When you think of the word prolific, what images spring to mind?  Artists are prolific. So are novelists, journalists, photographers and musicians. Those in creative fields tend to be thought of in this way. They are constantly producing hits, writing award winning books, and generally impressing the populace with their brilliance. They seem to bleed brilliant ideas, thought provoking insights, and inexplicably great content without any effort.

What does the word prolific actually mean? According to the dictionary, prolific means “producing much foliage, fruit, or many offspring.” Its synonyms are productive, creative, inventive and fertile. It’s a word that has come to mean being overly productive, and having the ability to turn ones available resources into something of use to the rest of us. It’s a highly valued trait, and one that many of us think of as reserved for those thought of as artistic geniuses or members of the creative elite.

But I would argue any one of you can become prolific, given half a chance. In fact, becoming prolific might just be the kick in the butt you need to do some real work and become truly successful. So how do you go about becoming (more) prolific?

Here are 5 ways to be more prolific in your daily life:

1. Find the right time to work

For some, it might mean rushing home after a day at the office to work on a side project for two or three hours every other day. Other people find ways to pull a few extra minutes out of their lunch break for some extra creative time. For me, the right time to do creative, productive work is first thing in the morning. This means waking up before dawn to try to squeeze in a few hours of work before I need to head to the office. Be sure to stick to a schedule that works for you and will be possible to do for an extended period. If you can’t build up a habit to do this type of work over time, you will likely not be very prolific.

2. Use tools to jump start creativity and reward yourself

Find tools that put you into the zone for doing productive work. This may mean a certain type of food or drink, a caffeinated beverage or a healthy snack. It may mean putting on your headphones and zoning in to your favorite playlist on Spotify. You may even prefer to start your day by doing a bit of strenuous exercise before you get into your creative mode. Whatever it is, don’t be afraid of using tools to support you as you start to produce. As I write this, I’ve already been for a swim, gotten my coffee, and I’m listening to a great playlist of instrumental guitar on YouTube.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.” – Kobe Bryant

3. Create a system to make it easy for you to create something in a repeatable way

I try to make writing my daily productive habit. For years, I tried various ways of getting myself to start a daily writing practice, but I found it difficult to stick to my plan. I wrote in journals, used Google Docs, even tried to work with an accountability partner who would help me track my writing.

Ultimately, I began using 750words.com. The platform helps incentivize me and keeps me on track by monitoring my progress daily. It also gives me a system I need to follow each day which is not too hard to complete.

4. Stay accountable to someone, something, or yourself

Make sure to publish and share what you create with the world. The hardest part about being prolific is getting over the idea that you feel incapable of producing great content. We are our own worst critics, and it is often the case when we start to produce creative content that we second guess ourselves and avoid publishing for fear that others will think our work is stupid or worthless.

To avoid this trap, look for ways to share your content with people that are both within your circle of connections and outside. Use platforms like Medium, Facebook, LinkedIn, SnapChat and Instagram to push out your content to a broader audience. If you’re still afraid to hit publish, consider the worst thing that will happen.

The worst thing that will happen is often nothing, that nobody will even notice what you produce. Don’t let fear of rejection or silence keep you from sharing your work. The more momentum you build by publishing more and more, the more likely you will be to produce content that touches others and creates a lasting impact.

“A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success.” – Bo Bennett

5. Do the hard work

Being prolific (or productive / creative / inventive / etc.) should be thought of as practicing a sport or exercising. Exercise is not meant to be easy. Sport is meant to be a challenging and enjoyable pursuit. The more work you put into practice, the more reward you will get later on down the line. Think of being prolific in that way. It is very rare for someone who has never produced a piece of artwork to produce a masterpiece on their first attempt.

So why would you expect anything more from yourself? Do the hard work every day, and you will start to see marked improvement. Not only will you start to receive more feedback from those around you as they see your progress but you will start to see improvements in your own work as you make subtle shifts which change your way of producing content.

One of the secrets to life is the fact that the more you give to those around you, the happier you tend to be. We are social creatures, and we have learned as a species over time to share stories and resources for the betterment of the group. In this way we have learned to regard highly prolific people for their ability to produce value for others in great quantities.

At the end of the day, we are all striving to be more prolific, and it is by learning to be prolific that we can find deeper levels of happiness and success. The most important thing to remember is to be consistent and develop regular habits which strengthen your ability to create and contribute to the global discourse on a regular basis. Now go create!

How are you going to be more prolific today? Comment below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/life/5-ways-you-can-be-more-prolific-today/

The Real Hack Is In The Doing.

I had a coaching call with a client recently and it was a trainwreck. I’m trying to get them to create content and they keep peering into the future. Instead of creating content they’re obsessed with:

• Sales Funnels
• When to monetize
• How to convert inquiries into customers
• What camera to use when filming videos
• Writing a whitepaper

I told them this:

“Screw all of that. The key to success is in the doing.”

 

Your Ideas change over time.

When I first started blogging in 2014, I was doing interviews with entrepreneurs and turning them into blog posts. I had no idea what I was doing or even why I was doing it.

The blog posts sucked and sounded like press releases.

I hated the process.

None of the blog posts got any engagement at all. Hearing entrepreneurs talk about raising money and selling widgets was boring to me.

Then, one night at around 8 pm I wrote a blog post about changing my life. It was all the lessons I learned from studying personal development and it was nothing more than a brain fart.

It took about 45 minutes to write and was published with spelling and grammar errors all the way through it. This post got shared 84,000 times on Facebook alone.

All of a sudden, through focusing on the doing, I found something I liked.

“What starts as an idea changes over time and you’ll never predict where things will end up. Trust in the process”

 

Your beliefs change too.

I told my coaching client that his beliefs would change too. What he believes right now will change in the future. This will shape his creative side and his content most of all.

“Trying to predict where you’ll be in the future is like trying to predict when you’re going to die - it’s impossible to know”

My beliefs initially about what I was doing came from a very self-centered view of the world that was all about the cliché version of success.

I thought the nice car, suit, house and bikini babe was what mattered. Pretty quickly, as I produced lots of content and began reading, after not touching a book for more than ten years, I saw a different side.

My beliefs about the world changed and the idea of money went to last place. Add on a couple of near-death experiences like a cancer scare and my beliefs are now completely different.

I’m no longer trying to figure out how to suck out as much value from the world as I can for my own benefit. What I do daily is about a purpose far bigger than myself.

I told my coaching client this story because I believed the same was true for him. He’s trying to impact people’s lives by getting them to fall in love with the work they do.

Whenever he starts talking about this topic, I feel inspired. I told him that I say no to so many clients because I don’t believe in what they do.

I believe in what he does and that’s why I’m obsessed with getting him to focus on the doing.

 

You learn as you go.

People have this obsession with the idea that you have to do a course, be mentored, study for years (insert excuse) before you can start doing what you love.

This is a ridiculous idea and I challenge you to a duel if you think this way. As you continue the doing aspect of what you love, you’ll learn at the same time.

Even if you’re not conscious about the learning side, the doing will reveal way more than waiting for accreditation, permission or a mentor’s approval to proceed ever will.

Everything I know about social media, blogging, inspiring people and entrepreneurship came from the doing. Yes, there was deliberate learning along the way but that was always a distant second to the doing itself.

 

Consuming vs. creating.

My coaching client also suffered from the battle that is consuming vs. creating. He spent too much time watching what everyone else was doing and he didn’t spend enough time creating his own art.

He’s currently posting one video a week and I told him that’s not enough. He has it within him to do at least one video a day if he quits consuming everybody else’s content.

He also told me that he feels the need to respond to every comment he gets on social media. I told him this is nuts!!!

You cannot respond to every comment or email you get online. This time is better spent creating than it is pumping up your ego with “thank you’s” and “yes I know I’m so smart.”

 

The tools change.

I started blogging on WordPress and now I do most things on Medium and LinkedIn. If I’d become too obsessed with the tools, then I would have wasted the time I could have been spending refining my craft.

All the tools you use to execute on doing what you love will change, so treat them secondary to creating your unique art.

 

You can’t preplan the doing 9 times out of 10.

Your best work is often done when you’re spontaneous. For example, today is a public holiday in Australia and I wouldn’t normally write on a Wednesday.

I felt inspired this morning though, so I decided to jump on the computer and do some creating. Some of my best work (if I look at the stats) has been done on public days and times when I didn’t plan to create anything.

Over planning is a trap you need to avoid if you want to get down to the doing which produces results.

 

The doing is the hardest part.

The reason why many of you reading this are so obsessed with mentors, education, online courses and consuming someone else’s content is because all of these things are easy.

The doing is the hardest part. Being creative takes up all of your energy and putting your work out there to be judged is hard on your ego.

“Creating truly inspiring work takes every ounce of your emotions. You need flow states, time, resources and the belief that you’re enough to do the doing”

What stops us from the doing is either procrastination or fear. These two evils prevent you from the doing without you often realizing.

My coaching client wants to make a massive impact and he’s scared that he doesn’t have the ability. As his coach, I know he does and I’ve seen it.

The battle that exists in your mind daily is whether you should be doing the doing or settling for something easier (often this looks like the same thing but it’s not!).

Spending time doing the very thing that is hard, is how you leapfrog everyone else that never gets what they want and never lives a fulfilled life.

 

How do you win so frequently?

That’s what my coaching client asked me. He wanted to know how I produce so much content and have so many people watching online.

I told him the truth: I just spend as much time as I can doing the doing.

Everything else seems to take care of itself when I embrace this simple hack. You must become obsessed with the doing.

Spend a disproportionate amount of time doing the doing and you’ll produce the results that are 10X of what you think you’re capable of.

Are you ready to win?

If you want to increase your productivity and learn some more valuable life hacks, then join my private mailing list on timdenning.net

from
https://addicted2success.com/motivation/the-real-hack-is-in-the-doing/

3 Adverse Activities That Are Holding You Back From Being an Effective Leader

If there is one thing I hate in life it is waste! My mother always told me not to waste food and being a good son from a strict Italian family, I ate everything on my plate. I hate seeing photocopies being made, only to get chucked without being read. I hate seeing guys at the gym use a half of tube of toothpaste, only to have half of it drip down their chin without ever touching one of their teeth.

More so, I hate to see good people waste away their life and only achieve a sliver of the career and personal success they are capable of achieving because of some trivial thing (or things) they do that have become so ingrained as to become enormous bad habits.

I’ve watched people over the years, and I have noticed that some really good people are only developing to a modicum of their potential because of the following behaviors or scripts they are producing on a daily basis.

Below are three activities you need to stop to become an effective leader:

1. Negative morning thoughts

I have heard it said that everyone brightens a room, some when they enter it, and some when they leave it. Which are you? What do you focus on when you walk into a room? What about when you wake up in the morning? When you are in a new situation? Let me set this up for you?

If your first thought of the day is, “It’s really cold (hot) in here.” I guarantee, you second thought of the day will be, “No wonder I didn’t sleep very well last night.” Followed by, “And I’m kind of sore because of the bad night sleep and how I contorted trying to get comfortable.” From that you can now rationalize that it is going to be a not so hot day at work.

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” – John C. Maxwell

That traffic is most likely going to be bad heading into work. You’re going to get to work late. Your boss is going to be mad. And that is going to get you mad and your first meeting will be a problem because of how you feel. You may be wishing that you never left your old job, that your boss got that promotion so he or she would be out of your hair and that maybe it is time to dust off that resume and find a place where your skills are truly appreciated. So, think about what happened here. All that negative do-do running around your mind all because you woke up and you had a few goose bumpsor a few drops of sweat.

You have a choice to control your thoughts from the very second you wake up in the morning to the moment of going night-night.  Change the scan to a positive one. Such as, “Wow! I feel pretty good this morning.” Or, “I can’t wait to get to work because my first meeting is going to be a blast.” Or make it simple, “Today John and I are having lunch at that new sushi place, that should be great!) See the difference? The first few minutes when you arise are critical to setting the days outlook. Guard your environmental scan very well; control your morning thoughts.

2. Saying yeah, but…

When you say this enough the people that you talk to will soon realize that everything they said, before your “yeah” is meaningless, and everything you say after is what you truly believe. It is degrading and disrespectful. Try saying something like, “That’s an interesting perspective; I never thought of it that way. Tell me, have you ever considered…?”

By phrasing your responses in this type of syntax, you are allowing the person to save face, even if you have a better solution. A “yeah, but…” can make the other person defensive and argumentative, even after they agree with your outcome, so be nice. The nicer you are, the nicer they are.

“The art of communication is the language of leadership.” – James Humes

3. Not celebrating after victories

But of course, the rest of the statement is, “Never be victorious enough to celebrate.” I really despise this one. It reeks of self-importance, arrogance and aloofness. As if one person should judge when enough victory is had so that a celebration should occur. In today’s complex and rapidly changing business world, a victory today can turn into a defeat next week. A final decisive victory may never be had. So, let’s never celebrate. Is that what you want to infuse into your corporate culture?

Try instead to celebrate your small wins; your modest victories and your modest gains. Get people in the habit of trying harder because they want to and like the notion of celebration. The people that I have known to use this statement where among the most aloof people in the organization and the least regarded. Most of their employees wanted them to fail. Who wants a reputation like that?

Think hard about these three attributes. If any of them fit and you want to change them, then do so.

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/3-adverse-activities-that-are-holding-you-back-from-being-an-effective-leader/