THE FIVE PROVEN STEPS TO

  ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS

  THAT MAKE IT HARD TO FAIL

1.

BE passionate about your ideas and make them work with the help of others. This means, of course, being emotionally committed to what you’re doing 24/7. By doing that, odds are you’ll never have to solicit and recruit others to your crusade. They will see a place for themselves and gravitate there on their own.

When that happens, others’ commitments will be more solid and grounded than if you had gone out hunting for them and then had to talk them into joining forces. It’s a proven fact: When people make their own decisions about what they want to do, they are happier, more dedicated to achieving results, and they do a better job!

2.

Often ACT first and plan second. This does NOT mean rashly jumping from the frying pan into the fire. It instead suggests that over- indulgence in evaluating, assessing, diagnosing, and long-term planning (I call it “analysis paralysis”) wastes time, money, energy, and opportunities.

Entrepreneurial leaders take action, make adjustments, act again, make adjustments, and act again. Except for formal loan and investor-required formal business plans, they limit their planning to the short term — hour, day, week, month. And even those plans are temporary and flexible. Not unlike being too focused on one’s goals instead of the path that leads there, watching the finish line causes stumbling and falls.

3.

Always RESPOND instead of react. A key ingredient in the success of this pursuit is stress management. Bottom line: If you always respond instead of react, you can never over-react. If you never over-react, you will be faithfully followed. Built snugly into this thinking is this important awareness:

HOW you respond to someone who

(or something that) is out of control

. . . IS WITHIN YOUR CONTROL.

And we know this because? Because every behavior — yours, your employees’, your customers and prospects — is a CHOICE. It’s just as easy to choose to make a situation easy as it is to choose to make it hard. It may require some conscious stress management effort but, in the end, leadership is measured by ability to gain results through control and responsiveness!

4.

LEARN as much as you can about yourself –your SELF– may be the single most important determinant of entrepreneurial leadership because it is the foundation, the cornerstone, of each of the above criteria, and of any others you might add to the list. Without knowing what makes you tick, you cannot pretend to understand others enough to be a true leader. TALK TO YOUR SELF. Oh, and remember to listen!

5.

USE hands-on specifics. Keep a journal. Date every entry every day. Separate facing pages into “What Happened” on the left and “How I felt” on the right. This discipline helps sharpen your skills to separate fact and observation from opinion and feelings. Write, draw, diagram, paste photos, spit, whatever floats your boat. It’s YOUR journal.

Attend group and individual “personal and professional growth and development”-type discussion and counseling sessions. Take advantage of local adult education programs that focus on self-expression — from giving speeches and stand-up presentations to writing or painting or photography or music or handicraft courses. DISCOVER YOUR SELF!

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When all else fails, get in the

closet, or under the covers,

or lock yourself in the car

. . . and talk to yourself!

Let’s face it, nobody knows more about your business than you. You can collect ideas and information from everyone who works with you, even those who work against you (like, for example, disgruntled people you once fired, or competitors, or in-laws ;<) and –as yesterday’s post suggested– single-digit-aged kids, but . . .

BUT sometimes, when you’ve got a problem brewing, that’s like sending someone else to the doctor’s office to get a check-up for you.

Only you can know what ails your business.

Yeah, there’s government incompetency, over-regulation, sky-high taxes and fuel costs approaching tsunami proportions, plus other stuff that you can’t control (um, I did mention in-laws earlier?). There is, however, a whole lot you CAN control that you’ll find out about when you talk to yourself.

By the way, take notes!

Here’s how to dig deep under your skin, inside your gut (yucht!) and produce some viable solutions to the problems that threaten your business.

Follow these 17 steps to happy resolution and stop beating your brains in:

1. Cancel your appointments for the afternoon.

2. Find a private place.

3. Go there.

4. Take no hostages: no other people; no cell phones (torture, huh?); in fact, take no electronics of any kind (that means no radios, no portable WiFi’s, no leftover pieces of your dog’s Invisible Fence, no “Beam me in Scotty” magic rings!).

5. Take some deep breaths . . . until you’ve wiped clean the slate in your head that has an agenda on it.

6. Take some more deep breaths (can’t have too many of these!) and tell yourself (out loud) about all the things you’ve been doing right since the year started. Make a list. Yes, quote yourself! Actually write your brilliant comments down on a piece of paper.

7. In each case, identify the key ingredient that made the situation work out positively. Say it out loud to yourself, and, yup, write it down!

8. Are you still breathing?

9. Next, zero in on the 3-ring target you draw. Announce out loud to yourself the number one most immediate problem that needs fixing. Write it down. Put it in the center circle. Next, state and write the number two most immediate problem that needs fixing, in the first ring, then state and record number three in the next ring.

10. Take some more deep breaths.

11. From your initial list of what you’ve been doing right, what key solution ingredient did you use that could be applied to your targeted issues? Say it. Write it. What’s left? 

12. Write down what you might have thought about doing about any leftover problem(s) ten years ago. Don’t “Yes, but” yourself. Just write it down. Now put your pen and paper down, and sing a favorite song to yourself. If you can’t think of any, “Happy Birthday” works just fine. (I did tell you you needed a private place, right?) 

13. Take some more deep breaths.

14. Return to your target and speak out then write down three ways you could use to solve the remaining problem(s) — the first three that come to mind. Which of these is the most realistic and most practical? Need to re-invent your business? Re-invent yourself?

15. Do it.

16. Go back to work.

17.  Have a great day! And remember, you have all the answers. Just reach in and grab them. And keep talking to yourself! 

# # #

    Hal@BusinessWorks.US

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Self-Motivation?

I heard you

stayed up all night

talking to yourself?

Couldn’t wait to see

Part 2? Here it is:

(Oh, and be sure to check out the P.S. at the end!)

What are some other ways to motivate yourself besides talking to yourself?

When you’re feeling negative and you surround yourself with yourself, you set yourself up to lose. When you surround yourself with positive people, who are productive, achievement-oriented, and generally cheerful, you are setting yourself up to cultivate positive thoughts and positive attitudes.

When you find yourself feeling like you’re drowning in a sea of negativity, or overwhelmed by negative people or circumstances, remember you control your own brain and your own behavior . . . it is a choice, your choice. Choose to “change the station in your brain to best fit the circumstances. Dial in HAPPY-FM because “happy” works. 

Ask yourself what’s the worst thing could happen if you get up to the plate and swing instead of cower in the dugout corner?

You might strike out? Babe Ruth’s record number of hume runs ran in tandem with his record number of strikeouts.

Thomas Edison made 10,000 attempts before succeeding at inventing the lightbulb.

All logical rational stuff, you might be thinking, but negative feelings are not always logical or rational. True, but your ability to rise above them can be.

Learn what triggers your “throw in the towel” attitude and the feelings you typically experience just before that happens, then use that trigger instead to remind yourself to take some deep breaths. Use the couple of seconds worth of deep breathing as a focal point that allows you to shut down the upsets, crank up the positive side of what’s happening, and turn the situation around by simply choosing to turn it around.

Here’s what’s worth remembering (besides talking to yourself with conviction, three times a day, for 21 days): Use these tools (deep breathing and self-talk and awareness of choosing behavior) to force yourself to concentrate on the present, here-and-now moments in your life, as each moment passes, as much and as often as you possibly can.

Just in case of some disconnect as to why one would want to do this in the first place: The past is over and cannot be changed. The future has not yet come (and may never). Now is the only time. Or, as the now famous quote goes from B. Olatunji:

“Yesterday is history.

 Tomorrow is mystery.

Today is a gift.

That’s why it’s called the present.”

It may not be possible for us to live in the present moment 100% of the time, but odds are pretty good that most of us aren’t even doing that 20%-30% of the time, so there’s lots of room to grow and improve. And improving just this one single thing about yourself will improve your daily existence measurably. Again, give it 21 days. You will astound yourself with all you can accomplish and enjoy.

You doubt it? Then you’re proving the point that you become what you think about. The choices –happy and healthy or upset and ill– are 100% your choices. Make yourself a happy camper, and watch your business perform as never before. Surely your business is worth a 21-day trial?

Need a boost? Give me a call and we’ll talk. No fee to talk. No sales pitch. Anyone who wants more will ask for it and maybe then, we can discuss some terms, but this post isn’t about money. It’s about helping you to strengthen your SELF, in order to strengthen your business.

By the way, the very short video at the “P.S.” link below should give you a jump start, maybe even launch your rocket!

P.S. Click HERE: Could you possibly have

a bad day after starting off like this?

# # #

Hal@Businessworks.US   931.854.0474

Open Minds Open Doors

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Giddy-up Gone?

Talking to yourself

too little too late?

Have you been secretly worried about talking to (and even with) yourself? Has it crossed your mind that you were becoming one of those “men-with-the-white-jacket-are-coming” basket cases? Take heart! Yes-sir-reebob!

You are, instead, probably (notice I leave a little squeeze room for those of you on the cusp) about as normal as blueberry pie. Actually, the worrying part is what hangs your mind in the balance. In other words, if you have to worry, worry about your worrying!

Bottom line is that all of us talk to and with ourselves (no,I am not referring to those who spend hours a day at it). We do this because verbal expression (like a pilot reciting her or his checklist out loud before taxiing onto the runway) serves to clarify and enhance, and prompt focus. I never knew a good writer who didn’t speak out loud what she or he had written before calling it “a wrap.”

“So, self, here we go. It’s time to share one of life’s great secrets.”

“Okay, I’m game. Let’s hear what your J.K.Rawling/Dan Brown tangled web of mysticism can reveal for all us normal folk who chatter away at ourselves in cars, closets, beds, and walking down the street.”

Hey, I don’t know much about

Harry Potter’s chambers or DiVinci’s codes,

but I discovered 35 years ago that “self-talk“

motivates, heals, humors, and strengthens.

Not sure? I’ll give you a quickie to try –improvise as you see fit to adapt it for yourself. I’ll also offer you a pack-on promise that if you say and repeat what’s below (or your own version) out loud, to yourself, like you truly mean it (even when you don’t feel up to it) three times a day, every day, for 21 days, you will be happier, healthier and more productive.

You will feel better!

( . . .and it’s free; in fact, you’ve nothing to lose but stress and upsets; how hard is that to argue with?)

Recite/Chant it exercising, or laying down, or standing on your head while spitting wooden nickles. Do it any time or place (except driving or operating heavy equipment, or with drugs or alcohol in your system). Concentrate on each word as you say it. It works. Period. Free. No charge. Me to you. Make it happen:

Healing energy into my body.

Healing energy into my body.

Stress and pain and tension out of my body.

Stress and pain and tension out of my body.

I am my body — left, right, center. (and think it!)

I am my body — left, right, center. (and think it!)

I am relaxed, happy, alert, and weigh the weight I want to weigh.

I am healthy, wealthy, painfree, safe and sound, and physically fit.

Today (“Tomorrow” when reciting at night) is the first day of my new life and I’m going to make (“am making” when reciting midday) it count.

I will make today (tomorrow) special for someone!   

All the great motivational and self-development gurus who ever lived share and practice similar methods. . . from Brian Tracy to Napoleon Hill and Wayne Dyer.

Try Zig Ziglar’s prescribed daily morning ritual recitation which starts with two hand claps as soon as you open your eyes in the morning:

(Clap, Clap) “Oh, boy, what a GREAT day to wake up and get going! I believe something wonderful is going to happen to me today!” 

Saying it like you mean it, from your heart, and concentrating on each word is –again– the key to success. Doing it consistently even when you would rather sleep or eat or play games on your computer, is your insurance policy that it will indeed produce results.

I am assuming of course that you ARE interested in producing results?

TOMORROW: Self-Motivation (Part 2 of 2)

– Same time, same channel.

# # # 

931.854.0474 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]

Make today a GREAT day for someone! 

Tense situations with

unpredictable outcomes

not just in sports and politics!

“Coming down to the wire” (an expression that originated, with apologies to Neil Young’s song, in horse-racing) in the completion of a major event or decision to be made, is clearly a hate/love situation.

It can often be so stressful that we tend to become consumed with the impending results and implications, to the point of ignoring the present moment… in business, as well as sports and politics.

It’s understandable if you’ve run a marathon –mental or physical– that thoughts of the finish line might flood your consciousness in the last mile or two. A winning run, goal, set, knockout punch, or touchdown being within reach can likewise dominate one’s mind to the exclusion of other awareness’s… in business, as well as sports and politics. 

Yet, it is in these final days, hours, minutes, and ticks of the clock, that most victories are lost to the shifting sands of one’s mind . . .

The doctor’s report. A sales closing? Membership acceptance. The monthly cash flow analysis? The stock market bell. The punchline of your presentation? Test results. A loan application? The required signature. News coverage? The merger. Union demands? Graduation. An industry award? Tough new customer specs. Add your own here _____. You get the idea.  

HOW to avoid last-minute meltdowns, and rise above the temptations to think too far ahead (which may be less than one minute’s worth of time!) at the exact point when we need most to pay close attention?

# # #

BREATHE IN THE PRESENT. You’ve heard this from me incessantly–because it works! I’ll spare you the details if you’re an elite athlete or are taking yoga. But, for everyone else, please follow this link and please take some deep breaths. 

Many hundreds of former college and university students and management training program participants have reported (voluntarily) that this was the single most valuable skill they ever learned in their lives!

It’s free and it will take only one minute of your time to put it to work. It will soothe your neurological system, enhance your performance, increase your self-control, and make you feel better. You could ask for anything more?

# # #

FOCUS ON THE PRESENT. Pinch yourself! Quietly reach for your heart or check your pulse as a reminder of the most immediate thing happening in your life right this very minute (in addition to breathing, of course).

Have you a watch or mobile device you can set to chime at appropriate reminder times when you might ordinarily drift off? If you turn your wristwatch inward, you’ll need to make more of a conscious effort to check the time. Devise your own ways to trick yourself. A miniature reminder sticker on your watch or mobile device can be a mental face slap.

# # #

SELF-TALK THE PRESENT. Send messages from your brain to your body to keep your hands flat on the table and your feet from jittering. Remind yourself to stop playing with hair, moustache, paperclips, pens, pencils, cellphone, rubber bands …remind yourself to smile and be attentive, to listen more and talk less, to take notes even though you don’t think you need them. The act alone of taking notes will keep you tuned in.

             ~~~~~~~~~~~~               

HELP SAVE THE ECONOMY. . . Support those who endorse free market competition healthcare and REAL job creation tax incentives for America’s entrepreneurs! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

www.TheWriterWorks.com or 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

 “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

“STILL CRAZY AFTER

ALL THESE YEARS” 

     Thank you, Paul Simon.  Yes, I may be.  And, yes, you may be too.  But your music is still the best.  And so are my blog posts (for those of you who are reading this, who are marching, even lumbering, along the road to success) if you’re using the posts like pitstops to fill up with sales fuel. 

     Whaaa?  I’m not even a salesperson!  BRRRrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaat!  Wrong!  You ARE a salesperson, even if you’re a ballerina, even if you’re a roofer, even if you’re a brain surgeon, or candy apple maker, or homemaker, or rocket scientist, or truck driver, or school teacher, or priest, or (add your own titles here).  You’ve been selling since birth! 

     ALL OF US are actively engaged in selling and the sales process every waking moment of our lives.  Of course we are.  When we’re not trying to convince others to buy our products and services, we’re attempting to persuade them to buy into our ideas and beliefs and wishes. 

     And when we’re not doing any of the above (like when we’re vegging out in some yoga class or on a nature walk), don’t our minds slip into some self-talk?  Don’t we inevitably tell ourselves to do or feel or say something, or not do or feel or say something? 

     Aw, c’mon, Hal, that’s stretching it a bit don’t you think?  Aha!  And isn’t that little question a mini sales pitch all by itself?  (And that last question as well!)  Probably the longest we succeed at removing our minds from some sales process is when we’re watching some no-commercial-interruptions no-brainer movie, and even then our minds will go slip-slidin’ away (Thanks again, Paul!). 

     How long can you play with a baby or even a pet without thinking about something to buy or sell or convince someone of something related to the baby or pet?

     Here’s what’s important:

To recognize and accept that life is all about sales and that that’s okay! 

     On the opposite end, by the way, it’s estimated that each of us (in the U.S.) is exposed to close to 5,000 sales or advertising or promotional messages every single day.  That’s like a bombardment even if it’s only 2,500. 

     So, what this should tell you is that YOUR sales messages are very easily lost in the clutter, like a sling-shot pellet in the midst of thousands of major explosives (Yes, I too have been anxiously awaiting the 11/23 season preview of the all new “24” TV series, so yes, I am thinking more about edge-of-the-seat firepower than I might ordinarily). 

     Your sales message must stand out, with the right words, the right look, the right feel, the right impact, and the right back-up support (from servicing to warranties and beyond!).  

     And getting to that point requires strong product/service knowledge, strong market and competition knowledge, a burning positive attitude, a contagious sense of humor [See yesterday’s post -HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!- below!], the ability to find a need and fill it, outstanding listening skills, and a willingness (like batters and pitchers) to test and adjust and test and adjust and test and adjust.  Halalpiar    

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