Blogs

Three Key Practices for Successful Entrepreneurs

The truth about successful entrepreneurs, as they will openly and frankly admit themselves, is that typically years of hard work come before the “good times”. They have many qualities in common, regardless of the type of business ownership. There are several consistent practices they live by. Without using them; they usually say they would have been out of business! KEY 1: POSITIVE SELF- DISCIPLINE. From the first entrepreneurial sketch of what a business could look like, to the first year the business runs in the black, these business owners practice relentless self-discipline. From the moment they wake each morning, through the entire day, they have a sense of urgency about their business and the need to ensure they are staying on task. This means, among other things, that they avoid distractions like the plague. For those who work out of their homes, especially when the business is new, this can.

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Motivation

Motivation can be direct or indirect, instructive or destructive, depending on the circumstances. I am so grateful to have had so many positive, motivating people and communications over the years and want to share some insights with you. Motivation for me at ages 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 were similar in some cases and very different in others. I do not have to tell you how very difficult life can be. In the very darkest moments, my faith in God, my family and friends made life bearable; I could see my way out of the darkest of tunnels. I am an avid reader, typically of material with a positive ending, so I continually search for comments, phrases, and others’ life lessons to propel me to take the next step – positive action. As an adult, I have always been drawn to motivational authors and speakers. I will say that.

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Entrepreneurs – Seven Habits to Make and Keep

What is a habit? Generally a habit is something you do or do not do repetitively. It can be as important to break a bad habit as it is to form a new good habit. Many experts have tips on how to accomplish this. Over time, I have found that it takes daily practice for a minimum of 30 days to own or disown a habit and another 60 days to place into your daily life so that you do not have to think about it at all – simply to do or not do something. Frankly, I have learned to take this one step at a time and work on one habit at a time to ensure long-term success. I use Outlook to remind myself at the beginning, with daily reminders, as well as sticky notes on a mirror if needed. You may want to use a mobile note,.

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Life Balance

When we are in the formative years, before age 18, our focus is usually driven by getting an education, forming relationships, and beginning to separate ourselves from a family unit, with parents and siblings, to learn how to create our own adult life. For many, this also means the beginning of adult responsibilities, getting a job, perhaps going into a permanent relationship with someone, starting a family, and discovering changes in our outlook on life as we begin to mature. We have dreams and plans; some of which work and some which do not, and our opinions of what these should be change over time. For those who have little or no experience with setting written goals, this can seem to be a formidable task. Yet, the rewards of taking the risk to decide what you want and how you would like it to look can be amazing. Using the.

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Tips for Successful Career Management

Have you ever missed an opportunity because you were not prepared? I have – one of those times nearly cost me my entire career. My lack of preparation did set my career back 10 years – a very, very painful experience. I spent a great deal of time looking at what I had done right and especially what I had done wrong. I talked with friends and professional associates at length – my final conclusion was that I had neglected some very basic steps. I began to correct the things most often noted and determined I would not let this happen to me again. Little did I know then that the lessons learned would become the basis for a comprehensive career management platform. Tip 1: Document Storage and Retrieval. Working on your home computer, look at all career-related documents you have stored. Are they all in one area where you.

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Dreams Can Come True

We dreamed so much as children, but for some of us, we somehow lost this wonderful tool.  Would you agree that if we want a difference in our lives, we need to evaluate where we have been and where we are now?  Then would you agree that we have to be willing to change, evaluate, plan, implement and assess to make the change worthwhile? I would love to hear your thoughts –

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Effective Communication Secrets

Susan Jeffers, author of Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, suggests an interesting tool for improving personal relationships which I believe can really improve professional relationships. She suggests picking up the mirror (where we look inward and take responsibility for our actions and reactions), instead of the magnifying glass (pointing our finger at someone else). Great visuals to use the next time I get into a potentially confrontational work situation. How about you?

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Volunteering – A Spirit Boost

Just completed a two-day work volunteering opportunity at Bible Study Fellowship International Headquarters in San Antonio, TX. Amazing people and institution – would not have happened if I had not jumped out of my comfort zone. Would love to hear your stories of “out of the box” spirit boosting experiences you have had.

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Becoming a Master Student

Pulled a dog-eared book down today – the 6th edition of Becoming a Master Student, editor Dave Ellis. Google’d it and found newest edition, the 14th, due out Jan.2012. Fantastic resource no matter your age or occupation (great resource for your kids too) and available on Amazon for pre-order.

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Want to “wash” panic away at home and work?

Remember the scene from the movie South Pacific?  She wants to simply wash that man right out of her hair!  Of course, she realizes that does not fix her problem.  When you miss an appointment, deadline, meeting or at least are flatly unprepared, you have several choices.  You can panic – which is a very common reaction (and I have been guilty!).  Then what?  You take ownership of the issue and then look at the underlying problem.  While there are many answers, one of the key ingredients is typically lack of organization.  What is your recipe for creating calm out of panic?

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