Entrepreneurs

Facing Trouble

In Lewis Timberlake’s book, First Thing Every Morning, he talks about trouble and how to deal with it effectively. He quotes Michael Jordan: “If it turns out that my best wasn’t good enough, at least I won’t look back and say that I was afraid to try; failure makes me work even harder”. This quote reminds me of ‘mental muscle’, where what you think over time can determine how you act. So, if your first instinct is negative (and I have been guilty), your actions will usually follow the same pattern. How do you change it? From my perspective, it takes a deliberate decision to change, daily practice with the goal of positive reaction to trouble, patience, and taking a few deep breaths to calm the mind down. Try repetition of positive thoughts –

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SETTING GOALS AND ACHIEVING SUCCESS

I have been a member of Michael Hyatt’s Platform University for several years now.  For those who do not know about Michael, today he styles himself as a virtual mentor, whose mission is to help high achievers win at work and succeed at life.  In his previous life, he was the Chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, the 7th largest trade book publishing company in the U.S.  He is the author of a number of books, several of which landed on the New York Times bestseller list. Among his other talents, his blogging expertise and willingness to share puts him at the top of my “go to” list. In early January I began reading about another program of his titled 5 DAYS TO YOUR BEST YEAR EVER.  His approach to goal setting incorporates the most reliable methods, including the SMART formula (specific, measurable, actionable, risky, and time-keyed).  Then he.

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New Entrepreneurs

Many entrepreneurs share common histories of their first year in business, noting their mistakes at the beginning of the business ventures and the lessons they learned – the hard way. 3 Things to Avoid Kathy, a new entrepreneur, shared that her dream was to open a crafts store in her small town. She had graduated from a liberal arts college and wanted to build a business around her artistic talents. She shared her story, noting her mistakes and what she could and should have done to begin her business differently. No money. Kathy had a small savings account, no retirement funds, and no collateral for a possible bank loan. She did not have a financial statement of any kind. No appropriate work space. Kathy began working out of a corner of her garage, which was neither heated nor cooled. No clients. Kathy did not have a social media presence, was.

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Self-Discipline – 3 Tools to Make It Happen!

If self-discipline does not come naturally to you and for many of us, it does not; there are several ways to develop the habit. Tool 1: Develop a love affair with time. Whether your days are heavily structured or loosely sketched, there are daily routines which need attention. If getting up is an issue for you, set as many alarms as you need and learn to leave the snooze button alone. If you work in a structured environment, heavy with meetings, assignments, and events, it is especially important to review your schedule, both before you go to bed at night and first thing in the morning. Make a list of those tasks you absolutely hate and set a digital timer for 15-minute segments to tackle them until they are completed. Tool 2: Become proactive. This simply means anticipating something coming up in the future and taking any necessary action prior.

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Failure – 3 Keys to a Grateful Perspective

There are several key elements to “overriding” our negative definitions of failure and viewing our experiences in a positive light. KEY 1: DEFINE FAILURE OBJECTIVELY. There are times when we do not see the forest for the trees. Let’s say that you have concluded a work assignment you are convinced was an abject failure – nothing good came out of it. You had been asked to lead a pilot project for your group and it was supposed to last six months. At the end of that time, you find that the results were not even close to what was originally envisioned. From your perspective, you failed. From your boss’s perspective, the pilot did exactly what he wanted done – testing a new concept with little money lost, few resources used, and new perspectives on what might be done in the future. While he may be a bit disappointed with the.

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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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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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