6 Things You Forget About When Building a Personal Brand

Most professionals know by now that a strong personal brand is the foundation for a successful career.

Whether you use your personal brand to find jobs, promote your freelance business, or build your professional network, it’s important to create a brand that illustrates your professional experience and personality. Your personal brand can also help you stand out from professionals in your industry and make a name for yourself as an expert.

While you might understand the basics of personal branding, such as building a blog or connecting with people on LinkedIn, there are a few things you’re forgetting to include. Here are six things people forget about when building a personal brand:

1. Create a personal mission statement.

Before you can position yourself as an expert in your field, you need to have a mission for your brand.

Your personal mission statement defines what you want to accomplish as a professional. Whether you want to become a thought leader or help people reach their dreams, make sure you incorporate your goals into your mission.

2. Develop a lesson to teach your audience.

Do you have a unique story to share with your audience? If so, this is your opportunity to shape it into a lesson to teach your audience.

For example, if you’ve managed to have success breaking into your industry at a young age, share some of your tips with young professionals who are trying to follow your path.

3. Connect with influencers.

If you want to become known for your expertise in your industry, connect with influential leaders. By building a network of influential people in your industry, you’ll learn from their success and discover how you can become of value to them.

4. Create an email list.

Whether you’re networking with employers or reaching out to professionals in your field, it’s a good idea to create an email list. This list will enable you to keep track of important contacts and know who to contact when you have a question or need advice.

5. Help others.

An excellent way to build your personal brand is to help others. You have a variety of skills, knowledge, and relationships you can share with others.

For example, if you find a job opening that would be perfect for one of your colleagues, share it with them. This gesture shows that you genuinely care about their success.

6. Ask questions.

When building a personal brand, it’s essential to ask questions. Ask people for advice. Ask others to tell their story. By asking questions, you’re able to learn more about your field and gain valuable lessons from your networks.

From Entrepreneur

If You Want to Succeed, Here Are 5 Things You Need to Do Differently

No matter what your individual definition of success may be, finding it can often be a challenge. Whether its career success, monetary success or something in between, most people have a certain level of accomplishment that they want to reach in their lives. However, many fail to reach that magical level of success and have no idea why. The good news is, there are a few things that every person can do differently to change their current course of action and find the success that they deserve.

Below are five:

1. Stop looking for a perfect strategy

For the many people who take their quest for success seriously, they can get caught up in looking for a “perfect” strategy in reaching their goals. The truth is, there is never a perfect time to do anything, and there is no such thing as a perfect strategy. Many people fail to start “doing” the things they need to do, because they spend so much time planning. The only way to start a strategy is to get out there and take the first step. You can tweak and improve along the way but getting out and doing will be much more beneficial than spending all of your time trying to find the ideal strategy.

2. Stop seeing problems, start seeing opportunities

If you start looking at hurdles that come up as problems, you can put yourself in a negative mindset that will prevent you from finding success. If you instead start looking at these obstacles as opportunities, you can start finding more success. Take the challenge of approaching every problem and instantly calling it an opportunity. It can be hard to find opportunities in some problems, but if you look hard enough, there are positives even in the most overwhelming of issues.

3. Stop the information overload

Some people unfortunately find they spend too much time gathering information on how to succeed. When people do this too much, they can struggle with what is known as information overload. When you have too much information, you can suffer from paralysis by analysis and all of the research you have done can actually hurt instead of help. Nothing is as powerful as taking action and getting started.

4. Stop focusing so much on entertainment

While all people love to be entertained in a certain manner, society spends far too much time focusing on entertainment, instead of education. While you should always have you personal time outside of your professional life, many people spend too much time watching television, gossiping, playing video games and reading celebrity news. Doing this too much can prevent you from staying focused on your goals and your success. Spend your personal time entertaining yourself by consuming educational materials for personal growth. It will pay off in the long run and help you enjoy your personal time in a way that is still beneficial to your overall success.

5. Stop looking at the short term

Focusing on short-term accomplishments can actually get in your way when it comes to finding the substantial success you seek in life. This is something that many people struggle with, as there is nothing wrong with fulfilling short-term accomplishments but this shouldn’t be your focus. You should always be focusing on laying down a strong foundation for long-term growth. You can do this in a number of ways. Start looking at everything you do as a long -erm investment. Invest in your education, the future and do your best to ignore the appeal of instant gratification. This can take practice, but you can condition yourself to no longer find the same appeal in instant gratification.

From Entrepreneur

5 Unconventional Techniques for Improving Your Company's Culture

Organizational culture is comprised of consistent practices that build into a company’s cadence. Every business has a cadence -- the pulse at which the company operates on a day-to-day basis that includes how and when things get accomplished and by whom.

Culture is different from climate. Culture refers to how things get done whereas climate describes what it’s like to work for someone. The habits and routines, systems and processes that play into a company’s agenda are what determine its culture -- and ultimately, its bottom line.

However, old habits die hard, and implementing new routines at scale is exponentially more difficult that doing so for just a small team. Start your business off on the right foot and consider the following methods when tweaking your company’s culture:

1. Play musical chairs.

Hopefully, office cubicles are not part of your startup’s makeup, because if they are, employees won’t have the option to sit next to someone new every day as they would in an open floor plan. Rotating physical presence around the office forces interaction between people and prevents cliques from forming. As a result, new conversations emerge, leading to new ideas and perspectives. Employees learn more about each other and hence grow their internal awareness of the company.

2. Get up and get after it -- together.

There’s an old saying that “couples who workout together, stay together.” Additionally, studies show that people who exercise in the morning are more likely to stick with their routine than those who wait to sweat later in the day. Consider a team fitness schedule where employees generate their own workout or physical training plan.

“Who has time to work out as an entrepreneur?” you ask? Everyone. Time is inelastic. It’s constant and everybody has the same amount of time. Scheduling, however, is a matter of priority.

Put it this way: if your health declines then so does your daily performance, and if your performance (physical and mental) isn’t up to par, then neither is your business.

3. Have everybody interview.

Soliciting employees from every level to participate in interviews communicates two things. First, it conveys that everyone’s perspective counts and that they have a say in the company’s culture. Second, it screens the job applicant for fit because not everyone takes an interview seriously when conducted by a 22 year old, for example.

4. Fuse functions together.

When Gen. (Ret.) Stan McChrystal was head of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), he implemented “fusion cells,” which served as a means to force and foster a culture of transparency and inclusion by cross-pollinating disparate organizations with divergent interests. The results were astounding: 18 special operations missions conducted per month in 2004 to over 300 per month in 2008.

5. Greet people.

Establish a rule for people to share one positive aspect about themselves or another daily, or ask people to share what they’re grateful for. Doing so does two things: When you repeatedly search for positive meaning in situations and interactions, you build the habit of looking for the positive in everything you do. As a result (and the second reason), by associating positive images and feelings while at work you also create anchors of positivity towards your work. In other words, by constantly associating reward with work, your brain begins to feel that work is more and more rewarding.

Culture is key to the success of your business as it represents its brand, strategy and execution. Identify the habits that create the results and culture you want and continually optimize your company’s performance.

From Entrepreneur

The Physical and Emotional Truths of Entrepreneurship

He looked at me as if I had just set his office ablaze.

I hadn’t done anything of the sort.

I had however vomited in his wastepaper basket.

It was a wire mesh container and it was not a pretty sight.

He was my $450-an-hour lawyer. 

This transpired during my first million-dollar deal and I wasn't dealing with things too well.

My mind was calm because I knew the deal was good and that both parties would be pleased with the financial outcomes of the venture and the related opportunities, but my body felt differently. It shook. I had sweaty hands. My mouth was full of saliva. I wasn’t too keen on sleep for about two weeks. 

Here’s the truth: Being an entrepreneur can be like taking two perfectly good eggs, cracking them and scrambling them in a frypan. 

To the layperson looking on, it might seem just like two eggs. 

But to the entrepreneur, it's a mess of mixed emotion and a swirl of risk-reward assessment. The businessperson is uneasy, never too sure if the heat is about to be lighted under the pan that's keeping it all together. 

Being an entrepreneur can seem very different, depending on the vantage point and whether it's a physical or intellectual assessment. 

After I had my first child on a Friday, I went back to work on Monday because there is no maternity leave for entrepreneurs. Six months later I drove to my doctor's office. I was beginning to buckle under the stress and pressure I had put on myself to not only be a super mom but also a high-octane entrepreneur as well.

I had been driving along, considering the negotiation I had been having with myself about my ability to manage the life I had built. I drove to the doctor’s office.

My company's bottom line has never been affected negatively by my vomiting in wastepaper baskets but the health of my relationships, pursuit of opportunities before me and my own belief in myself have all been affected from time to time. 

A true entrepreneur will find a way to succeed, survive, adapt and transform but all of this comes at an expense. There is a toll on the body and mind that comes from keeping the throttle at full tilt. For a long time I never knew how to pull back on the throttle. Full speed ahead was the only way I knew how to proceed. A lot of my colleagues in entrepreneurship say they feel the same: It's full tilt, no matter what. 

I am here to offer the notion that sometimes the emotional and physical toll of full-throttle entrepreneurship can have a cost much greater than what can be measured on a profit and loss statement.

I offer to the entrepreneurs out there who feel like they may have the speed wobbles, that they may also be sick in a wastepaper basket or worse, head to the doctor post haste, please get clear for yourself.

Figure out at what point the physical and emotional toll on you is simply because you're taking your business and life so seriously that you can’t help but feel it emotionally and physically when things both good and bad happen in your business.

Or determine if you’ve crossed a line and need to pull back on the throttle for the benefit of the entire system. Your health, the health of your relationships and your ability to act on opportunities on the horizon will depend on your ability to know the difference. 

Usually your gut knows the line: The harder part is confessing up to it.

From Entrepreneur

20 Ways Gratitude Improves Productivity

Gratitude is a word that is thrown around a lot. But what does it really mean?

We are told to be grateful but often it seems as if gratitude is more an obligation than anything else. Another item on our already overburdened to-do list. We may end up feeling resentful when we are expected to feel grateful particularly under difficult circumstances.

The key is to understand what gratitude really is and the impact it has on your life and the lives of those around you. In fact, gratitude has some hidden benefits that can improve your productivity and your life.

Why We Want To Cultivate Gratitude

Gratitude is not a feeling. It is really a way of life and a way of meeting life and all of its challenges.

Gratitude is a frame for reality, which enables us to align with the good in the world as well as the evolutionary progress of the human race. It is the opposite of resentful entitlement. Gratitude allows us to accept things as they are even as we try to improve them. It enables us to see ourselves as participants in creating the good in life.

Gratitude puts us in more positive relationship to life and others around us. It separates our attitude from our circumstances so that our current reality does not drag us down. Gratitude is a way of being that lets us participate fully in life without concern for rewards and status. It gets our ego out of the way.

Gratitude lets us give what we can, knowing that we are one of many so that we do not have to carry the burdens of the world on our shoulders.

Gratitude comes from valuing the opportunity to be here on the planet. Everything else is up for grabs.

How Gratitude Helps Us Live Productive Lives

When gratitude is the cornerstone of your life, a number of things happen:

1. You can let go of controlling outcomes by simply working toward the best possible outcome and letting the chips fall where they may.
2. You can be a work in progress and let the rest of the world be a work in progress as well – we are all learning. Mistakes do not make you or another person “bad.”
3. You can give your all to anything you do and trust in the best possible outcome whatever that is. Gratitude lets you throw yourself into what you are doing. Happy to be able to participate, you can give your all and generally do better work as a result.
4. You are free to completely immerse yourself in your life without reservations about comparisons and status. You can be yourself.
5. You are free to love since loving is what makes life good for you and everyone else. There is no need to hold back.
6. You are free to create since you are aligned with the positive. This means that even mistakes are positive since they help you get closer to creating something better.
7. Emotional issues no longer affect you since you are not spending your time comparing yourself to others and fighting for an agenda.
8. You can more easily accept others and yourself. We are all imperfect people seeking the best possible life. There is no reason not to be friends.
9. You no longer take anything personally. Life presents difficult challenges for everyone; it’s not just about you.
10. You let go of the need to immerse yourself in unnecessary adversarial relationships since you seek only the best for everyone. There is no one to harm.
11. You trust that when something does not work out it is for the best. It fits your view that we are learning.
12. You can embrace a trial and error mindset without fear. It is OK to experiment.
13. You can have a positive attitude toward your choices by accepting what matters in the present without rejecting what may work at another time. Anything can be productive or counterproductive depending on the wisdom of its use.
14. You can be more process oriented which raises the quality of your work. When you do not spend your time forcing outcomes or fighting other people, then you are more focused on the work at hand: the process and the details involved. You are able to do better work.
15. You get rid of your own agendas so that you have a more accurate perception of what is needed at any given point of time. Each point in time has certain possibilities but not others. You embrace the current possibility, work with it, and let others go.
16. You can let others make their own mistakes. We all make them as we learn. Letting people make their own mistakes is a way of trusting others to know what is best for them.
17. You more easily align with what is necessary and what is good because everything else is a waste of time and energy.
18. You do not need discipline since you are more naturally aligned with positive forces, so you are more comfortable with yourself, your actions and less likely to have regrets.
19. You do not fight yourself or others since there is no reason to.
20. You can be very relaxed because you are unfolding along with everyone else. Life works for you.

Gratitude Helps You Enjoy Life

Gratitude is a generous and relaxed quality that lets us be with life and a part of life. It is trusting, a quality that is often lacking in our social space. Because of that relaxed trust, work and love are easier and more enjoyable.

We only live a short period of time. Gratitude helps our time on earth be one of joy.

From http://www.lifehack.org/

The 2 Words Entrepreneurs Should Avoid

When my business partner and I started Wild Creations several years ago, it was my first endeavor into entrepreneurship. I had a business plan, a healthy line of credit, and a couple of credit cards with no balance. Predictably, our first year was slow, but we had what we needed to get by and keep the engine firing.

Then Lehman Brothers filed bankruptcy, sending the entire global economy into a tailspin.

In a matter of weeks, we found ourselves in the middle of the Great Recession, and all of our credit vanished. We had leveraged the business completely to get it started, and now we found ourselves having our credit slashed every time we made a payment, like sending valuable working capital into a black hole. 

I soon understood what it was to run an all-cash business.

During these times, my partner and I would often withdraw after work to our favorite watering hole to talk business. We had creditors calling because we were missing payments in order to use our cash for operations, and we had extinguished every possible resource we had, including cashing out our 401Ks.

The future looked bad.

As we sulked and strategized over our happy-hour offerings, we found ourselves regularly integrating one phrase into our conversation: “If only ...”

If only we had money.

If only we had more time.

If only we had credit.

If only we had a few key employees.

If only we (fill in the blank).

We were very good at theorizing how awesome we would be if only we had everything we needed to be awesome.

These conversations were common at the beginning, until one night we made the conscious decision to stop talking about what we might do and focus on what we could do. We decided to make things happen. 

That was all the motivation we needed.

The simple truth is that every entrepreneur could create and lead a highly successful, multinational company with the right money, resources and expertise. More than likely, you do not have these, so do not allow yourself or your stakeholders to get caught in the vicious and perpetual “if only” cycle. Focus on what you can achieve and make the best of it.

If you need a little help to get started, I suggest that you create an “if only” jar. Each time someone in your organization starts a phrase with these two destructive words, add a dollar.

Bonus tip: If you have a favorite watering hole, make it a drinking game.

Do you have a similar experience? Please share with others in the comments section below.

From Entrepreneur

11 Lessons I Learned at Startups That Keep Me Up at Night

Being an entrepreneur is a frightening experience. You’re constantly faced with challenges that frequently put you on edge.

Over the past six years, I’ve been involved in three different startups. Each offered unforgettable experiences -- most good, depending on your outlook. It certainly hasn’t been easy to co-found, lead or grow any of these businesses, and I’m lucky I’ve worked with excellent teams throughout my career. Though I haven’t yet seen it all, I’ve seen enough to realize the hard reality that is starting a business.

Here is a (relatively) short list of things that easily kept me up at night:

1. You’re replaceable. Your customers, strategic partners, suppliers and teammates will always appreciate your contributions, but there is always going to be someone that’s better, smarter and nicer than you are. You have no time to be complacent because the bar is set higher and higher each day for individuals in your field. Also, no one has the patience to deal with jerks. So stay hungry and never stop treating people well. Do these things and you’ll be irreplaceable.

2. Reputation matters. Don’t become the person everyone loves to hate. Instead, be the most outstanding person you can be. Do nothing that compromises your integrity. Stay honorable. People will like you more.

3. You’re responsible (even when it’s not your fault). It’s true what they say. There’s absolutely no “I” in team. If something breaks, it’s everyone’s job to fix it. It’s unproductive to point fingers and no one benefits from pettiness. Fix it, prevent the problem from recurring and move on.

4. Others depend on you. It’s a scary thought that you’re responsible to more people than just yourself. Your customers trust you to keep them happy, your team members turn to you for their livelihood and your investors expect return on investment. Your actions and decisions impact them, so remember to do what’s best for everyone -- not just you.

5. You’ll eventually have to disappoint people. Some of your professional relationships will have to end. Some of your customers may not always get what they want. You can no longer grow if you’re carrying deadweight employees or fail to fire abusive customers, so trim the fat, but beware of leaving a bitter taste in their mouths or you’ll face the consequences.

6. Too much of a good thing is actually truly terrible. One day, you can be peddling your wares to local shop owners, a dozen at a time. The next day, all of the major news networks want to promote your product -- for free. You gladly accept and receive more sales in 12 hours then you’ve received in the lifetime of your business. Hooray! But wait, this gift has turned into a curse. As a startup, you have to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.

7. You’re forgettable. Despite your accomplishments and the noteworthy mentions of you garnered in the press, within weeks, your business can feel like yesterday’s news. To be competitive and relevant, you must continue to innovate.

8. Building a business costs more than just money. There’s also a price you pay when you make a habit of pulling the graveyard shift evening after evening after evening. Your relationships suffer and your happiness may decline. It’s easy for your work to consume you -- just know that you don’t have to let that happen.

9. Failure happens. It's difficult to stomach, but failure is natural. What makes matters worse is that your family and friends watch your every move anxiously hoping you’ll succeed. You’re allowed to fail and should fold a campaign or project if it no longer makes sense to continue on. When you’re ready to start a new adventure, you’ll be more prepared than ever.

10. Equity is messy. Fortunately, I’ve worked with honest people who’ve sought to compensate me fairly. At the same time, I’ve witnessed many not-so-lucky startup folk get taken advantage of. Be sure to negotiate.

11. You’ll face rejection -- a lot of it. Be prepared to hear 100 -- perhaps 300 -- “no’s” before you ever get a resounding “yes” from someone. You may think it’s a numbers game: the more people you ask, the closer you get to finding your first customer. The real secret isn’t trying to sell more people though. It’s selling your idea, product or service to the right people, improving your pitch, story and salesmanship each time.

I’m only six years and three startups into my career and I, most certainly, have many more lessons I need to learn. Ultimately, it’s these lessons that help you become a better entrepreneur.

What are some surprising things you’ve learned?

From Entrepreneur

How to Gain Personal Freedom and Control

My dad was a strict disciplinarian. I hated that. I hated it so much that I grew up desperately wanting to control my own life. To have the freedom to do what I want, how I want, when I want.

But here’s the thing. The pursuit of personal freedom has brought me face-to-face with an interesting dilemma. Turns out, it takes a tremendous amount of discipline and work ethic to achieve that lofty dream. And guess who I learned that from?

Yup, it pains me to admit it, but I learned it from my dad. The irony.

Since most of you are probably in pursuit of the same thing, more or less, I thought I’d fill you in on exactly how I’ve managed to achieve freedom and control over my life. Yes, it’s all about discipline, but not exactly the way you’d think.

Always get the job done. Sure, I like to procrastinate as much as the next guy, but I’m also deeply committed to my work. I always do whatever it takes to get the job done. That’s my number one priority. No exceptions.

Be a Schmoozer. I’m a people person who loves to schmooze, network and build relationships. I didn’t plan it that way, but it kills two birds with one stone: You’ll never have a shortage of friends or business opportunities.

Love your work. Turns out, it’s really hard to be disciplined when you hate what you’re doing. I could never pull that off.

Learn to delegate. It’s a good thing I became a manager early in my career. Climbing the corporate ladder taught me how to delegate effectively. 

Don’t drink before 5. I like to party, so, unless it’s in some way associated with work, my days are more or less alcohol free. It’s a lifelong habit that’s paid off well.

Become a caffeine addict. Caffeine is an amazing stimulant. Long ago I went decaf for 10 years. I call that time the Dead Zone. It was the least productive part of my life. I have no idea what I was thinking.

Work hard, but only when you have to. In the past – when it counted – I commuted halfway across the country, travelled millions of air miles, relocated, and worked long hours, including weekends. But I did all that on my terms … and only when I had to.

Strive to be the best at everything you do. And I do it right the first time. Turns out, if you’re really good, you don’t have to work as much. And if you get it right the first time, you don’t have to do it over.

Take care of yourself. I try not to let work or anything else get in the way of my health and wellbeing: sleep, exercise and eating right. Sure, I have vices, but I try to live a balanced life. And I’m very active, especially outdoors.

Be selfish. I try to make work fun by working outdoors as often as I can and, if there’s not a lot of thinking involved, with the tunes on. And when I’m not working or doing chores, I mostly do what I want, when I want. I’m not big on obligations. After all, it’s my life.

Look, it takes all kinds, and my way of doing things is definitely not for everyone. The point I’m trying to make here is that everything comes at a price. If you want personal freedom and control over your life, you’ve got to go about it in a disciplined way. You’ve got to have certain rules. There’s just no way around that.  

From Entrepreneur

8 Surprising Ways to Make Your First Million Dollars

Say you want to become a millionaire. Or a multimillionaire.

Or hey, even a billionaire. (Why not?)

The goal is clear...but the path can be anything but.

But not to Dharmesh Shah, co-founder of HubSpot (No. 1,100 on the 2014 Inc. 5000 and a company that recently went public). Dharmesh sees a clear, if slow and difficult, path to becoming a millionaire--or to reaching whatever level of financial success you aspire to.

Here's Dharmesh:

Money of course isn't everything. Not by a long shot. Where your definition of success is concerned, money may rank far down the list. Everyone's definition of "success" is different.

Here's my definition: Success is making the people that believed in you look brilliant.

For me, money doesn't matter all that much, but I'll confess it did at one time (probably because I didn't have very much).

So let's say money is on your list. And let's say, like millions of other people, that you'd like to be a millionaire. What kinds of things should you do to increase your chances of joining the millionaire's club?

Here are the steps I'd suggest. They're neither fast nor easy. But they're more likely to work than the quick and easy path.

1. Stop obsessing about money

While it sounds counterintuitive, maintaining a laser-like focus on how much you make distracts you from doing the things that truly contribute to building and growing wealth.

So shift your perspective. See money not as the primary goal but as a byproduct of doing the right things.

2. Start tracking how many people you help, even if in a very small way

The most successful people I know--both financially and in other ways--are shockingly helpful. They're incredibly good at understanding other people and helping them achieve their goals. They know their success is ultimately based on the success of the people around them.

So they work hard to make other people successful: their employees, their customers, their vendors and suppliers...because they know, if they can do that, then their own success will surely follow.

And they will have built a business--or a career--they can be truly proud of.

3. Stop thinking about making a million dollars and start thinking about serving a million people

When you only have a few customers and your goal is to make a lot of money, you're incented to find ways to wring every last dollar out of those customers.

But when you find a way to serve a million people, many other benefits follow. The effect of word of mouth is greatly magnified. The feedback you receive is exponentially greater--and so are your opportunities to improve your products and services. You get to hire more employees and benefit from their experience, their skills, and their overall awesomeness.

And in time, your business becomes something you never dreamed of--because your customers and your employees have taken you to places you couldn't even imagine.

Serve a million people--and serve them incredibly well--and the money will follow.

4. See making money as a way to make more things

Generally speaking, there are two types of people.

One makes things because they want to make money; the more things they make, the more money they make. What they make doesn't really matter that much to them--they'll make anything as long as it pays.

The other wants to make money because it allows them to make more things. They want to improve their product. They want to extend their line. They want to create another book, another song, another movie. They love what they make and they see making money as a way to do even more of what they love. They dream of building a company that makes the best things possible...and making money is the way to fuel that dream and build that company they love.

While it is certainly possible to find that one product that everyone wants and grow rich by selling that product, most successful businesses evolve and grow and, as they make money, reinvest that money in a relentless pursuit of excellence.

"We don't make movies to make money, we make money to make more movies."--Walt Disney

5. Do one thing better

Pick one thing you're already better at than most people. Just. One. Thing. Become maniacally focused at doing that one thing. Work. Train. Learn. Practice. Evaluate. Refine. Be ruthlessly self-critical, not in a masochistic way but to ensure you continue to work to improve every aspect of that one thing.

Financially successful people do at least one thing better than just about everyone around them. (Of course it helps if you pick something to be great at that the world also values--and will pay for.)

Excellence is its own reward, but excellence also commands higher pay--and greater respect, greater feelings of self-worth, greater fulfillment, a greater sense of achievement...all of which make you rich in non-monetary terms.

Win-win.

6. Make a list of the world's 10 best people at that one thing

How did you pick those 10? How did you determine who was the best? How did you measure their success?

Use those criteria to track your own progress towards becoming the best.

If you're an author, it could be Amazon rankings. If you're a musician, it could be iTunes downloads. If you're a programmer, it could be the number of people that use your software. If you're a leader, it could be the number of people you train and develop who move on to bigger and better things. If you're an online retailer, it could be purchases per visitor, or on-time shipping, or conversion rate....

Don't just admire successful people. Take a close look at what makes them successful. Then use those criteria to help create your own measures of success. And then...

7. Consistently track your progress

We tend to become what we measure, so track your progress at least once a week against your key measures.

Maybe you'll measure how many people you've helped. Maybe you'll measure how many customers you've served. Maybe you'll evaluate the key steps on your journey to becoming the world's best at one thing.

Maybe it's a combination of those things, and more.

8. Build routines that ensure progress

Never forget that achieving a goal is based on creating routines. Say you want to write a 200-page book. That's your goal. Your system to achieve that goal could be to write four pages a day; that's your routine. Wishing and hoping won't get you to a finished manuscript, but sticking faithfully to your routine ensures you reach your goal.

Or say you want to land 100 new customers through inbound marketing. That's your goal; your routine is to create new content, new videos, new podcasts, new white papers, etc., on whatever schedule you set. Stick to that routine and meet your deadlines, and if your content is great, you will land those new customers.

Wishing and hoping won't get you there--sticking faithfully to your routine will.

Set goals, create routines that support those goals, and then ruthlessly track your progress. Fix what doesn't work. Improve and repeat what does work. Refine and revise and adapt and work hard every day to be better than you were yesterday.

Soon you'll be good. Then you'll be great. And one day you'll be world-class.

And then, probably without even noticing, you'll also be a millionaire. You know, if you like that sort of thing.

From Inc. Magazine

How Knowing Yourself Leads to More Productivity and Efficiency

Everyone wants to become more productive. Particularly as the new year looms, people are thinking about what they’d like to do differently as the calendar year changes over.

The problem with many productivity plans, however, is that they depend on your changing your life to fit what someone else says will work, rather than your knowing yourself well and deciding how to schedule your time accordingly.

As long as you’re seduced by everyone else’s plan for your life, your wallet will be seemingly stuck open when it comes to paying for help with time management. Every new system will appeal to you and it will always seem like someone else has an answer.  

No one else has the answers. You have your answers already, and here’s what you need to know about yourself to discover them. When you understand yourself well enough, you’ll be able to set up systems for your business and life that truly work. 

1. Determine whether you’re an early bird or a night owl.

Work when it’s most natural for you. Parents or anyone else whose life is dictated to some degree by someone else’s schedule should find a compromise to lean into. For instance, maybe you can’t realistically stay up until 2 a.m. the way you want to, but you could stay up until midnight.

And imagine if the other people in your house wind down around 10 p.m. If you're a natural night owl, you’ll work better between 10 p.m. and midnight than if you worked for four hours in the morning and forced yourself to rise earlier.  

2. Understand your needs.

We’re all different. The very thought of getting up for an early-morning appointment gives me insomnia 99 percent of the time, even when it's pertaining to something I want to do. That’s why I don’t schedule early meetings.

The only way that someone else might be able to sleep would be knowing that the first thing in the morning, he or she would hit the ground running, attending a meeting that tackled something important. So what do you need, in order to not feel overwhelmed by the day-to-day operations of your business?  

3. Figure out what mitigates that feeling of being overwhelmed.

The things that overwhelm people point them to where they need to pay more attention and make changes.

Take a moment to see if there’s a way on the cognitive level to reduce your feelings of being overwhelmed. For instance, if overwhelming feelings arise because you become very worried, address that root issue rather than not taking a risk.

But overwhelming feelings that accompany poor strategic decisions, such as piling on the projects or working for a client whose manner is contrary to yours, can be mitigated by making different choices. 

4. Consider whether working in community or solitude is better.

Some people struggle to get work done because they need a hum of noise around them and the office is too quiet. Others find that their focus takes a nose-dive when others are talking.

Instead of trying to force yourself to become a different person, find the places and spaces where you can work in the way that you like. If you work from home and get lonely, schedule “co-working days” with other home-based entrepreneurs. Or find a co-working space.

If you work in an office that’s noisy and busy, use headphones or earplugs. If you’re worried that people will find this rude, try this polite explaination with a friendly smile: “I’m trying something out to see if I can be more productive at work. Feel free to let me know if you need anything.”

5. Set priorities.

If the truth is that you really just don’t think it’s important to spend your time using  social media, figure out a way to engage with it that works for you, rather than trying to be “all in” and constantly tweeting. Or decide to hire someone else to handle all things related to social media.

The same applies to how you let your priorities infiltrate your work. If it’s a vision for your business to have fun, ask yourself when starting to do a task that isn't your favorite, “How can I make this fun?” 

6. Be cognizant of natural strengths and leverage them.

If writing is not your natural strength, then someone else needs to handle the company blog. If meeting people is a natural strength, see if you can contribute to video pieces or be the first person to pick up the phone when a client situation becomes tricky. 

7. Know what takes you from bad to worse.

When you’re already having a bad day, understand what makes you feel even more unfocused. For instance, if you’re feeling insecure about your company's growth, you might go from feeling bad to even worse if you read about a competitor’s recent profitability.

While this seems like an obvious tip, many entrepreneurs might be stuck and struggling with a rough time and then lose themselves in scanning Facebook to deal with the stress. Become clear about the patterns that don’t serve you or your business.  

Stop drifting through the day-to-day activities of your business, hoping that you’ll hit on a solution for more work efficiency. Productivity isn’t about someone else’s systems and rules. Know who you really are and what you’re about, and use that to create systems that nourish and support that, so that you’re better equipped to cultivate your business.

From Entrepreneur

Why Entrepreneurs Must Believe in Themselves

I can remember sitting in a classroom at Santa Clara University and looking out of a window at the rain, feeling desperately unhappy. I didn’t want to be studying economics. It wasn’t that my classes were tough, although they definitely were. It just didn’t feel right. This is not my future, I thought. I knew it in my bones.

So I took a chance. I took an art class. I wasn’t an artist but I remember thinking that there had to be more to life than economics. This turned out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Looking back, I can see that I made a lot of decisions that my friends and family didn’t understand at the time. In fact, I’m not sure that anyone believed in me back then.

I’m proud that I have had the courage make changes when something didn’t feel right.

One of the defining qualities of being a successful entrepreneur is the willingness to stop and re-evaluate a situation that's not working. And entrepreneurs are constantly hoping for improvement.  

The truth is that I believed in myself when no one else did.

There will be so many unknowns in your career. But one thing I know for sure is that entrepreneurs must believe in themselves, especially when others don’t. Own the fact that it’s your life that you're living and trust yourself to make good decisions.

Here are a few of the sentiments that keep me going and help me continue believing in myself: 

1. Time heals all wounds.

This statement is a cliché, but I’ve found it to be true. Time gives people the perspective they need to deal with difficulties, whether they are physical scars or personal struggles. I have started thinking about failure as my friend.

If I’m failing, I’m moving forward. So I try to not let it discourage me and take solace in the fact that as time goes on, my failures will become less and less painful.

2. Anything worth achieving takes longer than one might expect.

Pride and appreciation are developed over time. That’s actually a great thing. Learn to be patient. Keep moving forward and try to not become discouraged by how long it takes to create something. There are no overnight successes and you need to hang tough to be successful. 

3. I can figure out anything.

My dad taught me that the power of observation is unparalleled and that there isn’t anything someone can’t learn by teaching himself or herself. I may not always end up with results that are 100 percent right, but I can get close.

This belief has empowered me to try new things all my life. I know I don’t have to wait for someone to give me permission. I know I don’t need to become an expert to get things done.

4. The path to success is never straight.

You might as well learn to how to navigate curves since the way forward is never completely straight.

Finding my purpose in life has helped me continue to have faith in myself. I let this be my guiding light. When I become distracted, this reminds me of what's important. When things aren’t going my way, I turn to my purpose for inspiration.

And when all else fails, I stop focusing on myself. I surround myself with positive people. I read books about other peoples’ lives for perspective.

Don’t get me wrong: I still get nervous. I still wonder whether I’m making a mistake. That feeling never goes away.

But everything else has fallen into place (like I always knew it would) because of my conviction. I found a way to live with the unknown and you should try to, as well. Your path to becoming a successful entrepreneur will be littered with failures and successes. Don’t let either of them define you. It’s a marathon not a sprint.

From Entrepreneur