If you are a living breathing human being, you are a leader. This is regardless of whether you see yourself as one or not.
You are the leader of your own life. The actions you take on a daily basis matter. They shape your future.
And, you’re a leader to those around you. There are people who look up to you and see you as a leader whether you think they do or not. So take a moment to consider the role you play in all your communities – in your home, at work, in your neighborhood.
Leadership is about ownership. It’s about being responsible for who you are in the world with yourself and with others.
It’s about being a leader first in your own life. This means, being responsible for the state of your physical health, your finances, and making sure you’re passionate about your career and the way you contribute your time to the world. And also, it’s about how you treat yourself and everyone else you encounter.
If you’re willing to accept that you are a leader and then look at the areas of your life where initiative has been lacking, you’ll immediately see new actions to take to breakthrough where you’ve been stuck recently in life.
When you take those actions you’ll step into your greatness and start to see what’s really possible.
Consider all the areas of life where you feel powerless right now. Think about those things that are stressing you out. Then ask yourself: Where haven’t I been responsible? You might be surprised at what you discover.
Where can you bring the quality of LEADERSHIP to your life today?
And, what does leadership look like to you? It likely includes qualities of:
Proactiveness. Taking action now, not waiting for things to happen.
Resilience. Standing up for something you believe in and being okay with standing alone if you have to.
Compassion. Being able to understand and empathize with others.
Responsibility. A willingness to show initiative and be 100% accountable all the time.
Gratitude. The greatest leaders are those that appreciate others and express it. They lift people up and turn other people into leaders.
Think of a leader you admire. What qualities do they possess?
Be like that person today. Bring leadership into your life this week and watch what magnificent results you produce.
The Internet has made building and running a business far more accessible than it used to be. Anyone can cheaply and easily build a website, set up shop quickly in a global marketplace, and work from home in their pajamas. So here’s a selection of the secrets of successful entrepreneurs that I have learned over my 20s.
As an entrepreneur, I can tell you what a fulfilling career it is. I’m 29 today and I built my first business when I was 21. This is why, like many of my millennial pals, I can’t imagine working for someone else. Though I did initially. As many entrepreneurs do, I worked a 9 to 5 job (until I was 26) while building my own businesses on the side.
The view from my office.
So, I remember what it was like to… Have someone else rule my financial destiny. Wake up at 5am for a one-hour (sometimes two-hour) commute to the office. Request permission for time off. Ugh!
I also remember how creatively starved I felt. I had to defer to the higher-ups to make key decisions. They ultimately controlled the destiny of the business.
These are some of the reasons many people switch to entrepreneurship:
The lifestyle allows you to be fully self-expressed in your career. It provides you full ownership of your time and money. And, there is no roof on your income potential! All of these are priceless.
But, if you choose the entrepreneurial route, step into it with your eyes wide open. Its has its challenges.
For wannabe entrepreneurs, and those in the throes of building a business, there are pitfalls you’ll want to avoid. Follow the rules below to fast track to business ownership success:
Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs
Build a war chest
Having little money to support yourself is a surefire way to get in action fast, but it’s extremely stressful. Financial stress is debilitating. It will impact your ability to make smart choices for your business. You may find yourself making decisions based on fast-money versus thinking about what the business needs. Too many people quit their jobs before their business is stable.
That being said, it can be tough and exhausting to work in a high-pressure role for another company while building a business.
Before you jump into entrepreneurship, ensure you have an ample war chest, or build it around a full-time job. Make sure you have an income or structure that supports basic survival needs. At a minimum, you need to have enough money to cover housing, an Internet connection (of course), a mobile phone, groceries, and transportation expenses like a car, subway, bike or bus, etc. The private jet comes later!
Don’t expect overnight success
Successful entrepreneurs can make running a business look glamorous and easy. Ever watch an ad for a webinar about becoming an entrepreneur? They show scenarios like this: A millennial entrepreneur stands in front of a giant mansion with a pool, his laptop at his side. He shares a story about how he has automated his business. He makes millions and spends his time traveling the world.
While this life is possible for entrepreneurs, what’s left out of this story is the time it takes to build a successful business, and the struggles most entrepreneurs go through.
Similar to many of my entrepreneur friends, when I built my first business I had a bit of a “build it and they will come” mentality. I created a beautiful website, got some fancy business cards and started hitting networking events.
But I soon found that clients weren’t flocking to me as I had envisioned. It was my first hard lesson in the importance of learning about my target market first and doing more work to build a killer brand that would attract the right people.
Rarely are new businesses overnight successes. It takes time and a great deal of determination. Many entrepreneurs fail because they aren’t patient. Entrepreneurship requires mental toughness, immovable resilience and a granite-chiselled conviction to succeed.
A great idea for a new company is easy to churn out. However, the real work is creating a business that serves an unmet market. You may discover you need to tweak your initial strategy, sometimes many times over before you hit growth and revenue that will support your dream life (or frankly that even pays the rent or mortgage).
A business can take years to build, even when you’re following the advice of experts and doing all the right things. Be patient, determined and believe in yourself.
Be flexible and adapt your plan
Businesses sometimes fail because the person running the company is an artist or creator and not a true entrepreneur. To succeed you need to be both business-minded and creative. You need to be willing to do the books, create the products, build a team and hire people, open the mail and be social media savvy all at once!
Like most entrepreneurs, you may find that some of these jobs are not your strengths. And worse, you’ll hate doing a few of them. For instance, I handle the books for the digital marketing agency my husband and I own, and I don’t particularly enjoy it. But it’s a requirement for the business, and I like saving the money and being involved knowing what’s going on in the company finances.
You also need to be a strategist. That means deciding and choosing what the business needs by listening to what your customers need, not what you want to create. These are two very different approaches.
For example, let’s say you want to run a successful clothing boutique. You create a target market, then purchase an initial inventory of clothing that you love and think will be great. Now, you can be an artist and continue to buy items you like, or you could pay attention to what the hot items are selling, and buy more of those. Too bad if you don’t like the in colors or fashion trends. That doesn’t mean you can’t bring your own flare to the inventory you buy, just make sure it also moves off the shelves and keeps you in business.
Entrepreneurs are willing to crush all their notions and ideas about how their business should work. They let the business lead. They take themselves out of the equation.
Be 100% responsible
Young entrepreneurs often look at business as an easy way to make money in their sleep while they spend their time having fun. And yes, this is part of the beauty of living the entrepreneurial lifestyle.
However, it’s important to remember that even if you automate your business and free up your time, you’re the one in charge.
You always need to be the visionary behind business and, to think ahead. This is true even if you done a great job setting the business up so it runs without you. When your business is doing well, you must consider what it needs to stay doing well, or how it could do better. When it is struggling, you need to double your resolve and get through the hard times.
As an entrepreneur, you pay you. This is both exciting, as you have ultimate control over your financial destiny, and scary. It’s on you, and only you, that ensures the success of the business.
Find a mentor
If you want to build a successful business and you’ve never done it before, seek out a mentor. Look for someone who has a proven track record for success, and choose someone you trust.
I can guarantee that wouldn’t be in business today if it wasn’t for the mentors and life coaches I’ve had along the way. Think of it this way: An Olympic-level athlete would never train for a competition without a coach. It’s the same thing in business.
Your mentor may be someone you hire and get coached by. Or it could be a collection of online experts you follow and learn from. A mentor is paramount for your success as an entrepreneur. Building a business can be a lonely, frightening and confusing process. A mentor will teach and guide you. Use them to answer questions and bounce ideas off.
Find a incredible business person who is willing to be your mentor and suck all the business marrow out of them. For many successful business owners getting to coach a newbie entrepreneur is a joy. They’ll be as grateful to you as you are to them.
Mastermind your way to success
Surround yourself with a group of entrepreneurs by joining or creating a mastermind group. It might be a group made up of local entrepreneurs that meets weekly in your community. Or it could be an online group that meets in forum or on a weekly Skype call.
When I recently found myself stuck in my business I remembered what I learned from a mentor: “go to your community”. I realized that in the new area I’ve recently moved to, I didn’t have a group of entrepreneurial friends. So I quickly made some requests and connect through social media. It doesn’t have to be complicated to get a few like-minded people together.
A mastermind group can provide a weekly accountability structure; a way to make sure you meet the targets you set for yourself. It also gives you a platform to ask questions, share ideas and resources, and learn from other entrepreneurs.
Learn digital marketing basics
Entrepreneurial success requires basic literacy in digital know-how. This is true, even if you hire an agency to build your website, run your email campaigns, or drive traffic to your website. Third parties care less about your business than you do, so understanding the mechanics of digital marketing and hiring experts to execute the strategy is key to your success.
You will save a great deal of money if you learn how to do the simple things like:
● Build a WordPress site from a template.
● Record a video on your mobile phone and edit it.
● Set up an email sales funnel and landing pages.
● Write enticing sales copy.
At minimum, you’ll need to learn how to write great blog content, and use social media platforms to promote your business.
Find a digital marketing savvy friend to school you. Or seek out online experts or groups. Take an online course. Watch tutorials on Youtube. Learn digital marketing so your business stands a chance of being seen.
Use failure to succeed
Building a business is a process. You won’t do everything perfectly. Be okay with mistakes and failure, and understand that failure is a gateway to success. The more you fail, the more you can tweak your strategy, and the closer you get to learning what works.
When you accept failure as part of the process, and not something that can stop you, you’ll be on your way to great success.
Yes, there are times when running your own business will be confusing, challenging and frustrating. Find comfort in knowing that these tiny hurdles along the way are part of the process. Believe in yourself and keep going.
Being an entrepreneur with all its challenges is an incredible livelihood. It allows you to be self-expressed in your career. You get to be in complete control of your financial destiny. And, you get to live the life of your dreams.
Being a master listener comes with some crazy benefits. Here are three:
Active listening has people think you’re awesome. It’s one of the most effective ways to be a people magnet. When you truly listen to people they feel appreciated. It fills a deep need all people have to be understood. People like to be around people that hear them. It makes them feel good.
Active listening gives you leverage. When you understand people you can use your knowledge to speak to what they need, and also get what you want.
Active listening makes you smarter. The fastest way to expand your emotional IQ skills and to get unstuck when dealing with common life challenges, is to listen. It’s a simple way to boost your success in all areas of life.
Find out now by doing a quick listening audit on yourself, against the most common listening pitfalls listed below. Then read on to learn four simple tips you can use today to be a better listener.
The six most common listening pitfalls
We’re all guilty of them each pitfall from time to time, though you will find that you identify most with one. Which listening style is dominant for you?:
#1: The Anxious Listener
When you’re in conversation, do you find yourself overly concerned with how you’re doing? Do you wonder: What does the other person really think of me? Or, What should I say now to sound intelligent?
When you’re caught up in thoughts of how you’re being perceived it takes you out of the conversation. It becomes about you not the topic you are discussing or what’s going on with the other person.
#2: The Analyzer
Do you approach most conversations with an intention to critique and provide your expertise to the other person, to solve what they are dealing with? Are you always looking to offer advice?
As the Analyzer you’re more interested in diagnosing or playing the role of therapist than you are of listening. If you take a “here’s what you should do approach” to your conversations without being asked for this kind of input, you might be an Analyzer.
#3: The “I’m not listening but I sure look like I am” listener
The easiest way to spot this type of listener is from noticing their emphasized body language. Expressive eyes. Excessive smiling and exaggerated nods of the head.
If this is you, you make a real effort to show you’re engaged in your conversations. Though, in many cases you’ve got a hidden agenda. You unconsciously drive the conversation in a specific direction.
This listening style is classic in the media where interviewers are trying to get the right answers in a short amount of time and look genuinely interest for the camera, but are preoccupied with the internal dialog in their head.
#4: The Ego-Centric Listener
This listening style is best illustrated with an example:
Person A says: “I’m so frustrated I woke up with a cold today. I’ve been coughing all morning and my nose is stuffed!”
Person B says: “You know what, I’m getting a cold too. It’s no fun. I’m going to have a tea to make myself feel better. I hate being sick.”
This type of listener always responds with their experience of what is going on. They don’t listen or empathize with the person they are speaking to. They tend to always direct the conversation back to themselves.
#5: The Too-Active Listener
Have you ever had the experience of being fully committed to listening to someone and you’re so focused on listening, that you find yourself not listening?
This often happens when people learn to be better listeners and they focus on all the things they should be doing – making eye contact, nodding their head, paraphrasing – and lose their ability to just be. To do the one thing they are supposed to do.
#6: The “wait did you say something?” Listener
Are you constant multi-tasker? When people speak to you, do you stop what you’re doing and give them your undivided attention? Or, do you maintain conversations while you’re focused on other activities and barely notice you’re talking to someone else. You talk like a Minion, jabbering away without really listen to the other person.
This type of listener often messes up simple instructions or interrupts the person they are talking to mid-sentence with a “wait, what did you just say?” or “I missed that”.
What it feels like to truly listen…
Listening is not a passive skill as many people think it is. On the contrary, it’s highly active. In fact, if you’re listening properly, you might feel tired after a deep conversation. It takes energy, attention and focus to listen like a master.
It also requires throwing out any agenda you have when you listen. Forgetting about yourself and being fully engaged in the experience of the person you are talking to.
When you truly listen you lose yourself. You find yourself in a dance of conversation where you no longer think. It’s similar to the feeling of playing a piece of music on a instrument that you’ve learned to play without the music, or following a dance routine you’ve learned, without thinking about the steps.
Listen like you care about the topic you’re conversing about even when you don’t. Make an effort to take a deep interest in the person you’re speaking to. If you don’t care initially, this will easily dissipate when you bring your full attention to the conversation. Find something in what the are saying that is of interest. Engage with them and explore the topic.
Step 2: Let go of your internal dialogue
Listening like an expert requires you let go of what you want to say when it pops into your mind. Walk into your conversations without an agenda.
Stop driving the conversations. Really listening means giving up what you want to say over and over (and over!) so you can hear what the other person has to say.
Step 3: Respeak
Respeak is a technique of periodically saying back what you just heard to the person who just said it to you. It’s effective because:
It allows you to ensure you got the correct message.
It shows them that you heard them.
You hear the message again and then you know what to say back to those people.
This is extra effective when you are in a stressful or heated conversation.
Step 4: Learn how to read and use body language
Sometimes your body language sends the wrong message. Learning body language helps to express your engagement and like of the person you’re speaking to. It also helps you interpret what other people are saying to you beyond the words coming from their mouth.
Try the techniques above. They are foolproof ways to steer clear of the common listening pitfalls.
You’ll be shocked what can occur when you start to deeply listen to people. You will feel what they feel. You’ll start to get caught up in experiences with them. And you’ll learn about the people in your life profoundly.
People will feel heard by you, and they will feel understood and be grateful that someone is finally listening to them. They will want to be around you more. They will tell others how incredible you are and you’re likeability will expand.
It’s a scientifically proven fact that all people unconsciously answer two questions when they meet someone for the first time:
Do I trust this person?
Do I respect this person?
All people do this. When we trust, we feel safe. It’s linked to our base survival needs.
So where do you think you fall on the likeability scale? Think about for a moment.
Even if you self-rate fairly well, you are going to want to up your game in establishing trust and credibility with people you want to build relationships with. If you want to know how to be likeable – and for people to see that you are a trustworthy and credible person, who they must get to know – then you have found the right resource.
Here are some things you can do to learn how to be likeable:
How to be liked as soon as someone meets you
1. First and foremost, you need to be great with you
Likable people are charismatic, engaging and curious.
Consider that your relationship with yourself is your foundation to everything. If you don’t trust or believe in yourself than no one else will. Likable people like themselves!
So, focusing on building and nourishing a great relationship with you is paramount for your success in all areas of life.
When you’re good with you, people will feel your vibe. They’ll feel they can trust you immediately. You’ll exude confidence and be someone other people like to be around.
2.Do what you say you’ll do like it’s a law
Honor your word. When you tell someone you’re going to be somewhere at a certain time or do something, DO IT!
When a challenge arises and you can’t do what you said you’d do, as soon as you realize the issue, communicate about it and re-promise. Be someone people can depend on because it’s rare. It’s a simple way to immediately show that you’re someone others can count on.
3.Use your body to express warmth and approachability
Use body language signals to express that you’re inviting and friendly. Don’t cross your arms or legs. Smile. When you’re listening to people lean in or nod your head to show you’re listening to them.
And dress polished too. You may also want to consider you’re unique style because they way you dress attracts specific people.
4.Be hyper-curious
The secret to how to be likeable is to be charismatic. Charisma is a quality unique to likeable people.They get highly engaged in others and they focus on them. Let people you’re with lead the conversation. When they speak, be highly interested and engage them. Make them feel as if what they are saying is magical. Not in a fake way. Really find something intriguing in what they are saying and get curious about it. Listen carefully. Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone is fascinating. Find out what makes them tick. They will walk away feeling listened to and experience that you really care – and they will like you.
5.Be authentic and truthful
Great people can easily detect liars and inauthenticity. So to learn how to be liked, one of the traits you need to take on is be open and honest. There’s nothing to hide.
Admit to your mistakes when you make them. We all make mistakes and when you are honest about them, you show you’re someone that can be trusted. Tell on yourself. Here’s a quick example: “Not very many people know this, but I was fired from my first job. But I kind of deserved it. After that I smartened up. But what I learn from that was…”
Use these five tactics and you’ll be instantly likeable.
And, if you’re someone who wants to be seen as extraordinary in business and life you’ll want to grab this free PDF guide: 11 Laws of Likeability. It’ll have you make incredible first and lasting impressions with everyone you meet.
Time to check-in with yourself: how is your time management?
Are you doing things that forward what’s important to you in life? Are you working towards achieving specific milestones? Are you continually expanding yourself?
Bottom line is: Are your actions INTENTIONAL?
Being busy is good if it’s productive. But some people hide from really living life by keeping busy. Some people fill their time with activities to show the world they are liked, valued and are “doing important things”.
Spend your time wisely. It’s the most precious thing you have.
Be with people you love to be with. Do work that inspires you and forwards a career you love. Do things that make you smile and feel good.
If you are a living breathing human being, you are a leader. This is regardless of whether you see yourself as one or not. You are the leader of your own life. The actions you take on a daily basis matter. They shape your future. And, you’re a leader to those around you. There are …
The Internet has made building and running a business far more accessible than it used to be. Anyone can cheaply and easily build a website, set up shop quickly in a global marketplace, and work from home in their pajamas. So here’s a selection of the secrets of successful entrepreneurs that I have learned over my 20s. …
Are you a good listener? Do you listen like your life depends on it? Being a master listener comes with some crazy benefits. Here are three: Active listening has people think you’re awesome. It’s one of the most effective ways to be a people magnet. When you truly listen to people they feel appreciated. It …
Learn how to be an exceptionally likeable person… It’s a scientifically proven fact that all people unconsciously answer two questions when they meet someone for the first time: Do I trust this person? Do I respect this person? All people do this. When we trust, we feel safe. It’s linked to our base survival needs. …
Time to check-in with yourself: how is your time management? Are you doing things that forward what’s important to you in life? Are you working towards achieving specific milestones? Are you continually expanding yourself? Bottom line is: Are your actions INTENTIONAL? Being busy is good if it’s productive. But some people hide from really living …
