Simon Sinek, the Innovative leadership coach & Author of “Start With Why“, shares his views on what makes the most inspiring people and organizations so successful in the business world today.

Anyone who is planning to create a successful startup needs to watch this video, Simon Sinek hits the nail right on the head with this one!

(Video) Simon Sinek – What Makes A Successful Startup

Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle

If there was one skill that could make or break your success in business, it would be the art of negotiation. This is especially true if you are part of a small business that is trying to win clients against larger and more established businesses.

So today we feature ‘The 7 Ways To Be An Unbeatable Negotiator In Life & In Business‘.

How To Negotiate Better

1. Don’t Show Any Signs Of Desperation

The person who has nothing to lose will have the upper hand all the way through negotiations. If you look desperate, then you will not have any bargaining chips available to you because they will believe that you need, want, or have to settle this negotiation at whatever cost. It is human nature to spot weakness and play on it during negotiations, so keep any desperation at bay.

2. Start Off On The Right Foot

Maintain a confident manner right from the beginning. If you look nervous and do not engage them in a way that they respond to, then you could ruin your chances before you even get started. The other person is sizing you up and make sure that you are someone they can trust and want to do business with, and if you portray anything else then you may lose them to someone they feel more confident about. In order for them to listen to your proposals, you need to be personable, engaging, and conversational with them from the moment you shake hands.

3. Negotiate for Something Better

The other person has no idea what you want, need, or will be satisfied with, so if you start out with a high number or expectation, then you will set a line of expectations for them to keep in mind during negotiations. For instance, if you want to work out a deal to sell three units of something to them, then try to negotiate six units to begin with. This way, they will view the number six as your expectation. If you end up selling only three units, then you will still be satisfied and they will feel like they got a good deal.

4. Always Lead The Negotiation

Do not stand back and wait for the other person to begin. If you do, then you allow them to set the tone of the negotiating, and you end up being the one who is along for the ride instead of making the decisions. In their book ‘Negotiation’ Adam D. Galinsky and Roderick I. Swaab mention that they have found that  the final outcome of a negotiation is influenced by who makes the first offer. Therefore, if you wanted to sell three units of something, and they start the negotiations, then they may only offer to buy two units without you even getting to set the high expectation of six. To counter offer six units at this point could cost you a deal. Therefore, always take charge of the conversation and set your highest expectations first.

5. Do Not Use a Poker Face

If you are not happy with an offer, then do not pretend to ponder it with thoughtful reflection. This will only cause the other person to feel as though they have an opening with their offer. Instead, if you are not happy, then show you are not happy with your body language and facial expressions. This will send the other person a message that you are not someone whose expectations lower easily. It will also signal that you feel strongly about your argument and position in the negotiation, and that could influence their decision in your favor greatly.

6. Have Solutions To Their Concerns Ready

Before going into negotiations sit down and think about all the possible concerns that they may have during your negotiation. Go over the solutions to those concerns so that you are able to address any concerns that may arise in a quick manner. According to Raphael Lapin, a Harvard-trained negotiation specialist, “Entering into a negotiation with the needs of both sides and some possible ideas to meet those needs will allow you to project confidence and optimism.” Even if they think of a concern that you did not imagine, you will likely be able to pull from your other answers and come up with a satisfactory answer.

Preparation will help you stay on your toes during the negotiation and quickly redirect any doubt towards confidence.

7. Set a Time Limit

Often, if the person you are negotiating with thinks that they may miss out on something good, then they will quickly search out the pros of your offer and focus on them to help them make their decision. The longer they focus on the pros, the more you can convince them that this deal is right for them. Remember, in order for someone to commit to anything, they need to think that they are getting something out of it, and if they are focused on the positives, and they think their time is limited, then they will act much faster than if they think that they can ‘shop around’.

Article Written By Kari F | Addicted2Success.com

There is a lot to learn in business from a classic movie  like ‘The Godfather‘. This film is cram packed with advice to take on board when dealing with the hard knocks of business (minus the violent actions that take part in the film).

Read on for business advice we can all take from the classic film ‘The Godfather‘.

Make Them An Offer They Can’t Refuse

Obviously. One of the best ways to get what you want in business is to tailor your product to your customer’s needs. And this works for managers, too. If you want to incentivize your employees, there’s often a way that you can make your request primarily beneficial to them and the company both. Barring using horse-headed death threats as a strategy, make sure that when you want a certain result, you make the incentive good enough to warrant it.

Trust No One

Whether you’re a bona fide wise guy or not, it’s wise to watch who you trust. That’s not to say that you should be suspicious of everyone all the time, it’s that the only person whose decisions and actions that you can safely rely on are your own. Even being in business with people for years doesn’t mean that you can trust them, but you can trust them to be themselves. And whether you’re running the underground or just the office, that’s another key lesson to learn.

Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies Closer

Well, maybe not your enemies. More like your competitors. It’s important to have a good idea the landscape of your market competition, both larger and smaller than you. And when there’s an industry-wide issue that could improve your field, do yourself a favor and be the one to lead the charge to unity. You’ll stand out among your competitors while also improving things for all involved when you’re the one to get a group to band together faster than you can say “five families.”

Patience is a Virtue

Don’t expect for things to blow up for you overnight — it takes time to build a mafia empire strong business. And this advice goes for both rookies and veterans: quality comes from patience, planning, and having a great product.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6YBnIE2-zc

Always Have A Plan

When you’re running an international crime syndicate, you’ve simply got to have a plan. It’s not profitable to do things willy-nilly, with no discussion or lack of a business model. It’s probably best to avoid a business plan that involves gunning people down in the street, but appropriate foresight, planning, and action can lead to, ahem, legitimate business success.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j2ONndiFdA

Learn from Your Failures

Failure happens. Even to mafiosos. Let this fact lead you, and give yourself permission to fail. But also let yourself learn from your missteps, as it’s possible to turn any short-term failure into long-time success. If you lose some guys in a gun battle, or lose money from a dirty double cross, you know how crucial it can be to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, regroup, and move forward. Also, what kind of job did you say you had, again?

Loyalty Matters

One of the most important lessons to take from the Don is that loyalty is key. In this day and age, economic security is a spectre — but it’s paramount to remember never to bite the hand that feeds you. Whether you have a boss or have to deal with distributors, it’s always best to be loyal to your higher-ups and those who depend on you. It’s as simple as this: the better everyone does, the better everyone does.

Respect Must Be Earned

While loyalty is important, respect must be earned. Make sure that you’re commanding respect, and not just because of your great work product. If you act with dignity and put integrity first on your value list, you’ll see how easy it can be to build up mutual respect with co-workers, superiors, and those in other areas with whom you have to work. Additionally, take caution to respect respect: it’s easy to build up, takes time to cement, and can be gone forever in a flash.

Business Is Personal

Tom, don’t let anyone kid you. It’s all personal, every bit of business. Every piece of sh-t every man has to eat every day of his life is personal. They call it business. OK. But it’s personal as hell.And there you have it. Michael Corleone said it best, and it’s the honest truth: business is made up of people. People who care, people who create, people who perform, and everything in between. The great thing about a business is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, but its parts are people — and those are pretty great, too.

Guest Post By: Online Business Degree

This color makes others view you as someone who is “focused, committed and trustworthy”.

If you’re planning on meeting a new client or someone equally as important, red is the best color to wear when trying to persuade or impress someone in the workplace.

The color makes others view you as someone who’s “focused, committed and trustworthy,” Kenny Frimpong, brand marketing & development manager at Eredi Pisano, stated at the Small Business Summit 2012 in Manhattan.

“We’ve been in business for about 15 years and we encourage most of our clients to wear red.”

Eredi Pisano is a high-end Italian clothing store for professionals with customized suits ranging from $1,500 to $8,000.

Frimpong says that the way you present yourself in the workplace matters more today than it did in the past — mainly because there’s more competition and highly qualified people who are after the same clients and job as you.

To appear “highly disciplined,” he suggests wearing a blue or red tie alongside a blue, navy or gray suit since these are all “serious” colors.

“If you look at politicians, they always wear red and blue,” Frimpong says. “They don’t wear yellow. You only  wear these loud, happy colors when you go to more informal settings.”

These louder colors — yellow, purple and orange — work well for happy hour gatherings or in-house meetings, because they’re fun and attract attention, but they don’t necessarily elicit feelings of trust or commitment.

Colour Advice For Women

Neutral colors are safe and those wearing it are considered “dull and lacking in self confidence.”

Tangerine is an aggressive color and associated with “strong emotions and high energy.” Those who wear it are thought to be creative, fun and playful.

Plum is a winner in the workplace since it makes those who wear it feel confident, attractive, calm and relaxed, yet the warm color doesn’t scream for too much attention.

Teal exudes “confidence and feminine energy.” It has a calming effect that doesn’t intimidate others and is associated with creativity and self-expression.

Follow Vivian Giang on Twitter.

Mistakes made can be our greatest teacher, so the best startup advice comes from the first-hand knowledge of what not to do. We spoke to some business owners who shared their hard-earned experience and the insight they gained from their own lapses in judgment.

If you’re looking to get your business off the ground, consider these following pitfalls.

The 10 What Not To Do’s When Starting Your New Business

#1: Not Anticipating Your Customers’ Potential Needs

If you decided to open up a cake business, did you even consider that a good number of your future customers will also need to have the goods delivered to them as well?

Many businesses entail additional needs aside from their core product or service. If you can’t provide this yourself, coordinate with a third party to make your respective services a seamless package for your clients.

Taking the time to plan ahead will add to customer satisfaction and avoid headaches before they happen.

#2: Jumping The Gun

Although skimping on the essentials (e.g. a reliable computer) is a no-no, it’s dangerous to squander all of your resources at once. Allow yourself enough time to make the inevitable mistakes that will help you refine your business plan.

Give your business time to evolve organically and hold off on spending too much capital in the beginning. In the long run, you’ll need the financial leverage to make the necessary adjustments after you’ve experienced the hands-on feel of your business.

#3: Not Having A Unique Selling Point

Surprisingly, an alarming number of new business owners ignore this piece of startup advice. Everything starts with a vague idea, but you won’t get far if you haven’t refined exactly what you want your business to do.

To help you with this, think of the top three problems that your product or service solves. Being very specific about these fundamental goals adds clarity to your business goals and focuses your limited resources in the right direction.

#4 Starting Without An Online Presence

This one here could be the #1 mistake moving forward in the future of business. Nearly every company out there nowadays have some sort of an online presence whether it be a Facebook page, Twitter account, website or domain name & e-mail. If you have none of the before mentioned then you have made it incredibly hard to be found by the rest of the world.

We are in the age of silicon business, where most people shop online, google for company contacts and e-mail instead of picking up the phone. If you have not even considered being part of the online world, you will be left behind as most competition understands that the eye balls have shifted from hard copy Yellow Pages to search engines and mobile internet access.

Even if you have drummed up enough interest in your startup, you also need to be prepared when word gets around and people beyond your network start looking you up online.

#5: Relying On One Client

In a perfect world, every customer you acquire will remain loyal to the end, but everyone knows how fickle-minded they can be.

Are you prepared when your “cash cow” suddenly leaves you for greener pastures? Try to keep your eyes open for other clients who can bring in solid business.

#6: Believing The Flexible Hours Myth

When your business already has some considerable momentum going and you’ve gone past the growing pains, you’ll eventually be able to work less hours.

When you’re still starting out however, this really isn’t an option just yet. Remember, the amount of time you invest in your startup is just as valuable as the monetary capital needed to make the business grow.

The reality is that you’ll probably need to put in longer hours than your employees in the beginning. Until things have settled down a bit, you may want to hold off on your dreams of working four days a week.

#7: Being A Control Freak

Learn the importance of delegation. Although we said that you need to put in the hours to make your business grow, that doesn’t mean you should do all the work. In many ways, you need to see things from an eagle-eye perspective and appropriate the right staff to make whole machinery work.

Furthermore, don’t hog the decision-making process to yourself. Get your staff involved and collaborate ideas. Like they say, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.

#8: Ignoring Your Customers

What kills most business startups is simple ignorance of consumer feedback. Bear in mind that one of the most basic goals of any business is to help your customers achieve their dream scenario.

So, it’s important to consider these questions: is my company moving towards or away from this goal? Am I asking my customers for feedback so I can improve potential parts of my business and am I engaging with the public to find out their needs and how we can best supply them with our service.

Setting up a system that helps you answer these question from time to time is the closest thing to having a crystal ball that will help you see a bright and potentially strong future.

#9: Not Having Enough Nerve

More than a few owners have claimed that the best way to build a startup is by using other people’s money and none of their own.

This startup advice might be too extreme for you, but you can apply this in a more realistic way. For instance, your web programmer cousin could build your website for free; maybe your best friend who happens to be a lawyer will be happy to lend a hand with the legal paperwork.

Don’t be afraid to pull some strings or call in some favors. Chances are, your family and friends will be more than happy to offer their support – and it doesn’t always have to be the monetary kind. But you’ll never know if you don’t ask!

#10: Not Knowing Your Market

Who exactly are you targeting? Tech-savvy computer users? Other business owners interested in results and not data? Web-challenged homeowners who need your caring guidance?

Zeroing in on your niche is a must because your marketing and all other business operations will depend on this key aspect. By having a crystal-clear idea of who you’re selling to, you can further sharpen your unique selling point (see # 3) and give your customers what they want.

Every business owner wants to be their own boss, so heeding sensible startup advice will help you enjoy the benefits of entrepreneurship and avoid the typical mistakes that will slow you down.

Article By Joel Brown | Addicted2Success.com

With mobile phones, e-mails, twitters, linked ins, late buses, family drama, double booking meetings and a wide range of other “hoo-ha’s” that the business world throws your way, it is hard to not get side tracked only to find that you are running backwards or in circles, rather than moving forward for a smooth day in your business operations.

Here are the top ten ways to spend less time stressing and more time accomplishing your goals for more success in your business:

11 Sharp & Effective Tips To Handle Your Business Better

1. Be clear on why, how and when:

Be sure you understand and are able to verbalize to yourself why you want to produce more results while working less. This may seem simple, but it is highly important, as a way to motivate you to meaningful action. To do something successfully, it must be done on purpose and with a purpose. Knowing your purpose gives you an important reason to make any task or project important enough and a high enough priority to motivate you to get with the program, and get the job done.

You may want to spend less time working so you can spend more time with your family, or so you can finish the week early and have a long weekend, maybe so you can practice a sport more often, so you can compete with greater excellence. If your purpose is one that gives you a reason to get more serious and get things done, you will purposely do what is necessary to garner that time for your personal pursuits.

2. Use a Day Timer or any other Organizer:

This may also sound simplistic, but it is really important. The organizer can free your mind, as it becomes your memory bank. When you diligently use it every day, for everything, you will record your thoughts, assignments, tasks, appointments, shopping lists, and other important information. in their proper places and you will be free to forget it until it’s time to refer to that information. For example your shopping list and the unusual item that you may be concerned about forgetting is of no concern now, because you will rely on your shopping list when you get to the store, and not worry about it until the proper time. The organizer may be paper or electronic. I have tried both ways and both have their advantages, but I prefer the old-fashioned paper variety because it is usable everywhere, anytime.I also appreciate the pop-up reminders of the electronic kind.

3. Keep your To Do List short and sweet:

The “To Do List” can be very intimidating, mostly because most folks put too much on it. Your daily list should have only one or two mission essential tasks for any given day. This is your assignment to yourself. Be kind and don’t make “unfunded” requirements. You work hard and, if you are effective, you should have some time for yourself. You need breaks, personal time and fun time to be more productive. Too much hard work will tire you out, your effort will become counter-productive and you may go nuts besides. I keep a separate “Long term” to do list that keeps me on track for weeks and months. These items don’t become imperative until I schedule them on the daily list.

4. Arrive at work on time for a running head start:

There is a time to work, and a time to play. At work,get to work in an organized, effective and energetic manner. When it is time to play, or take a break, separate from work and be recharged through relaxing pursuits. It is smartest to do your coffee drinking and socializing before and after work. At work be about your business, whether your office is next to the boss’s or in your home. This policy alone will significantly shorten the time needed to accomplish the requirements of the day. When you have met the requirements of the day, straighten up, set tomorrow’s schedule and go use the time you saved for your personal purposes.

5. Prioritize before lunchtime:

It is important that you accomplish an important task before lunch: however don’t rush it. Do it right. Finishing a significant task early will give you the momentum of successful accomplishment to carry you through the rest of the day.

6. Don’t condone overly excessive chit-chat:

Do all the socializing you want in the break room or at lunch time, at the appointed times. When the time is not right, get back into the business mode and back into the office and get busy, purposefully following your schedule. When you are not conducting business, you will find life is more enjoyable if you are sociable and relaxed, then when it is time to work you will be fresher and more effective. Don’t be rude, just be professional and businesslike at work.

7.  Automate as much as you can:

Anything that is done for you, automatically saves time and ensures the task will be completed. Make use of programmable coffee makers, auto-tweets, email auto-responders, reminder programs, online scheduled bill pay, and anything else you can automate!

8. You can save a lot of time if you just learn how and when to say the 2 letter word…”No”:

It is seldom required for you to do everything that everyone asks of you. Don’t be timid: Say no to unnecessary interruptions such as the inevitable social visits by co-workers. Refuse to chit-chat on the phone. Ask people to email you, so you can take control of the time and choose when to reply. If in person meetings or phone conversations cannot be eliminated, respectfully let the other person know that your you are busy and your time is limited…just let them know that you have a call to make in 5 minutes, then give them six, using the last-minute to end the conversation. Question people ahead of time about the purpose of the meeting or call, and then you can take charge and set the parameters for it. Be sure and clarify the problem or reason for the contact beforehand and then ask questions to clearly and directly bring out the answer to the problem. If you are unable to help, courteously state the fact, and refer them to someone who can help and politely end the call or meeting. Your time is very valuable. Time is money…time is also life. Your and your family’s well-being and lifestyle depends on you getting your job done effectively. Your next sale or promotion may depend upon your ability to conduct business efficiently.

9. Control Your E-mails before they control you:

This may challenge you, but it is vitally important. Don’t let E-mail control you….you must take control of it. If you get important business email during the day, you may want to set up a special web mail account just for business and then direct all your business E-mail to that address, so you’re not distracted by spam and personal email. Spam arrest is also a good program to get spam under control. Check E-mails as seldom as possible. For openers, try reducing to twice a day; just before lunch and just before quitting time. Be vicious with the delete key, then read business mail at work and read personal email after work. This tip alone can cut hours off of many a worker’s time on the job. If you are in control of your own schedule, or a good negotiator with a reasonable boss, applying this tip means getting out of the office earlier; in many cases, much earlier.

10. Stop multi-tasking (you’re not Superman):

With precious few exceptions, “Multi-tasking” means doing a half-baked job of many things at the same time. I think It is the road to a nervous breakdown and low self-esteem. When you wake up and realize that as hard as you work, you don’t get anything done excellently, it has to be demoralizing. You’ll profit greatly if you use the organizing tips above and take control of your work situation, then do one task at a time, until it is done well, then move on to the next one. A car accident in which someone dies would be a horrifying way to learn that you can’t concentrate fully on two tasks at the same time, like driving and talking on the phone. Multi-tasking could be mostly responsible for the rampant mediocrity in today’s workplace.

11. Outsource difficult and tiring tasks:

There are people who make a business of helping you with mundane tasks, or tasks that you don’t do well. One such business is freelancer.com. Give it a try with some personal tasks first to get an idea of how it works for you. Without hiring a full-time assistant or secretary, you can get good help and pay by the hour. That will free you up to tend to your more important tasks and the ones that you are strong in. Students at a local college or university who major in areas that would help you may be a good source of help, and you could help them earn a little income, too. If you prefer to go international, do a search on Your Man in India, and Brickwork, or the search on the term Virtual Assistants. Outsourcing Success has already made the connections and is ready to bridge the gap and help you get the help you need.

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SUMMARY

Above all, don’t give up on ironing out the wrinkles in your life. Everyone is different, and every life is different. No simplification tip will work for everyone. Try them all, and pay attention to what works. Before you know it, you will have your life and business running smooth as glass. The entrepreneur life can get easier, with a little diligence and a few words of wisdom.

Article By: Sergeant Carpenter

As a business leader, you only have so much time and energy. Therefore, it is imperative you direct your time and energy to getting the results you want and not just completing activities.

Some business leaders attempt to do it all (they have the Superman complex) and those that do typically fail. So be realistic about what you can and can’t, should and shouldn’t do, and determine how you can best avoid the Superman complex by recognising and practicing the following tips:

1. You can’t do it all.

Running a business requires a variety of skills and few business leaders are experts at all of them. However, to compete in a challenging marketplace your company must be highly effective at a few essentials, e.g. sales, marketing, operations, finance, service, etc. Therefore, you need to be brutally honest with yourself and determine what you should be doing and what someone else should be doing to make your company excellent. For example, if you’re OK at operations but really love and excel at finance – stay the heck out of operations! Do what you do best, nothing else. Develop a sense of what excellence is in every part of your business and then bring in the experts to help you.

2. You’re not as smart as you think you are.

You wouldn’t be running a successful business if you weren’t a cut above the average. Congratulations! But skill, talent, and know-how require continuous improvement. Business and economic conditions are changing rapidly, bodies of knowledge on most topics are expanding exponentially, and more and more people (read: competitors) are getting, well, smarter. As a business leader, you must stay abreast of your industry and your personal specialty. So set some annual goals to do so. For example, for your industry or specialty: attend at least two leading edge workshops or seminars per year; read at least four books; and give at least three informative presentations. That’s the minimum just to stay current. If you really want to expand your knowledge, conduct a research project or teach a class.

3. People really do want to help.

If you can handle another analogy – don’t be the Lone Ranger. There are plenty of excellent people in your world that have or could have a keen interest in your success. If you know such people now, write their names on a list and then identify their specific skills or points of view that would be beneficial for you to tap into. Send them an example of something you are working on and attach a post-it note with a specific question or simply a request for “what do you think?” You will be amazed at the feedback, which often sets up an opportunity for continued collaboration. Just make sure you provide an opportunity to reciprocate. If you don’t know such people, contact a university professor, association director, maybe a local business owner. You’ll again be amazed at the response and the good feedback. There’s plenty of help out there, if you just ask.

4. Even Superman takes a vacation.

No matter how busy you are or how confident you are about meeting the demands of running your business, you must take time for yourself – to recharge your batteries and clean out your head trash. There’s a positive correlation between the amount of free time business leaders make for themselves and their success, the more the better. So try it. At the beginning of next month, select a couple free days for the month (not weekends or holidays) and block them out on your calendar. Use these days to do something outside of your business, something you really enjoy doing and find rejuvenating. Be sure to use the entire day for yourself and do not conduct any business, none! At the end of the month, evaluate how these free days affected you and your business for the month. I believe you’ll discover that your business can do just fine without you for a couple days, and you’ll feel renewed as well. And if you apply the other tips listed here, you may just start taking a few more.

Mark Akerley
SIGMA Resource Group

In January 2009, Ric Elias, a front-seat passenger of Flight 1549 came face to face with death as his plane crash-landed in the Hudson River.

Ric Elias shares with us publicly, for the first time what went through his mind as the doomed plane went down. He reflects on how this event has helped him connect the dots in his life and how his goals and perspectives have changed through such an eye opening experience.

(Video) The 3 Things I Learned While My Plane Crashed

As an Entrepreneur, you often need to start from scratch, go up against the corporate big guns, and take massive risks. Its not as easy as it sounds, that is why we have decided to share with you the 10 Top Entrepreneur Essentials For Bulletproof Success.

Read on and share with us any other pointers that you may have come across in your adventures as an Entrepreneur.

Top 10 Tips For Bulletproof Success

1. Be passionate about life, as well as your business. Entrepreneurs who have passion in business, as well as their life, may drive us all batty, but there is never a dull moment. These moments are always being transformed into options to be explored. They make life interesting and an adventure, and everyone loves an adventure.

2. Be delightfully authentic and honest. Authentic entrepreneurs are destined and determined to have fun, as well as move forward in business. They have an unerring confidence that’s inspiring yet attainable. They savor relationships, and are generous with themselves and their smarts, so they attract a savvy following.

3. Be revered for an amazing positive attitude. Rather than cave when things get tough, optimistic entrepreneurs go analytic, looking for pivots that keep their goals in sight. They are disciplined, upbeat thinkers, but they don’t take themselves too seriously, and know how and when to laugh it off. A negative attitude takes everyone down.

4. Be warm and completely accessible. Warmth comes from your smile, and facial expressions that indicate genuine interest. Investors and partners look for entrepreneurs that will look them straight in the eye when speaking, and give their full and undivided attention while you’re speaking. Everyone looks for “rapport talk” rather than “report talk.”

5. Have impeccable manners and flair. Entrepreneurs who are always looking for opportunities to be gracious and considerate are going to be liked, admired, sought after, and trusted. In business, that means staying connected, showing up on time, with no signs of boredom or preoccupation. It’s not always about you, so dress and talk for them.

6. Be competent and confident. Competent people accomplish more in business because they’re driven by a pronounced sense of purpose. They are willing to put themselves on the line, and have confidently done their homework to know what it takes. They are reliably consistent, and unafraid to ask for help.

7. Able to just “get it.” Entrepreneurs who “get it” are emotionally attuned to peers and customers, so that their gut-level instincts become informed judgments that move the business forward. “With-it”-ness takes work, like reading the right blogs every day, challenging yourself to stay abreast of the latest technology, and social media marketing.

8. Have a big bandwidth. Can you talk, with equal engagement and respect, to your company’s CFO and the guy who pumps your gas? Look for opportunities to praise and nurture the people with diversity. Get comfortable out of your circle of interest and expertise. Go for that black belt in networking.

9. Be vivid virtually. Developing a superior virtual presence requires a mastery of several mediums – phone, email, text messaging, as well as handwritten notes – but the payoff is undeniable. But don’t overuse virtual communication to the exclusion of face-to-face time In all cases, don’t forget your sense of aplomb, mastery of tone, and the spell-checker.

10. Build and use a board of advisors. The right board is a group of individuals who may not know one another, but know you, and know your business domain. Plus, they need to be willing to put their brains and their expertise at your disposal as long as you need it. No entrepreneur is an island, so take the initiative to build and use an advisory board.

Article By: Martin Zwilling

I have watched this video 3 times over now and I am still blown away. Meet “Dean Karnazes” the man who can run forever. Running 50 back to back marathons in 50 days you’d say that this guy has the mental and physical stamina to accomplish most things thrown at him. Dean Karnazes recently featured on comic book legends, “Stan Lee’s: Superhumans” TV show, where Stan Lee tracks down and follows a handful of superhuman beings with amazing abilities.

So when you feel like you can’t pull yourself out of bed for that 5am run, flick this video on for some hardcore motivation and see if you can top this guy!

Dean Karnazes – Superhuman Ultra-Marathon Runner

Dean Karnazes Advice

Below is some training advice from the pro himself “Dean Karnazes“:

Run Like a Pro
Focus on maintaining good form by tightening your core, leaning your upper torso forward, and thrusting your arms.

Train Twice as Hard
“Build your endurance with dual cardio workouts,” Karnazes says. “Do cardio in the morning and repeat it in the evening — a minimum of 45 minutes each on the treadmill, the elliptical, or whatever your preferred machine is.”

Put on the Blinders
“Ignore any sort of mile markers,” Karnazes says. “Inevitably, you’ll look at them, see how much distance you have left, and think you can’t go on.” Instead, focus your attention on your form.

Listen to Your Body
A cramp or gut stitch is a surefire way to lose time on the course. But ignoring it is even worse. “It’s painful, but you’ve really got to slow down and work through it.” Since cramps are caused by oxygen and electrolyte deficiencies, breathe deeply to pump in fresh oxygen to your muscles, and if possible, swig a salt tablet with an electrolyte beverage.

Dean Karnazes Quotes:

You cannot grow and expand your capabilities to their limits without running the risk of failure. – Dean Karnazes

Regardless of how distant your dreams may seem, every second counts. - Dean Karnazes

Even if you’re inches away from the finish, never take success for granted. - Dean Karnazes

I never feel more alive than when I’m in great pain, struggling against insurmountable odds and untold adversity. Hardship? Suffering? Bring it! I’ve said it before and I’ve come to believe it: There’s magic in misery. - Dean Karnazes

Pain is in the neurons of the beholder. - Dean Karnazes

Running has an uncanny ability to mellow the soul, to take the edge off hard feelings, and put things back into healthy perspective. - Dean Karnazes

Only one in four companies in the US are run by women. Does this mean that women aren’t cut out for the suits, ties and big decisions? This subject has been debatable for a long time so we are are here to clear the scene with 7 cold hard facts as to why women make great entrepreneurs.

We can see this comment section turning into battle of the sexes as we type this, haha. Enjoy this post and dont forget to chip in your 2 cents worth.

Do Women Make Great Entrepreneurs? Read On:

1. Women possess strong communication skills and social intelligence. The digital economy requires these skills, and women enjoy a slight edge over their male counterparts (according to numerous studies). A stronger network means they will be better resourced throughout the life of the venture. By leveraging their connections, they will have to reinvent the wheel less and learn fewer lessons the hard way.

2. Female-owned companies tend to offer family & friendly benefits. These include such perks as job sharing, parental leave and telecommuting. They argue that their more worker-friendly policies boost morale and lead to less turnover, less absenteeism and higher productivity.

3. Women also make good listeners. One study found that the collective intelligence of a group rose if the group included more women. They have open minds. They’re not autocratic.”

4. Women start companies to better balance their work and family lives. Wealth is not their primary focus, so most remain smaller. But there are exceptions, like Martha Stewart (Omnimedia), Ruth Furtel (Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse), and Lillian Vernon, which make big money.

5. Women collaborate. Women have worked well together since the earliest female enterprises, whether dividing grains in the village or working in quilting bees. Even some of today’s cultural stereotypes have legs, for instance, women’s joint trips to the restroom!

6. Female owners are more likely to have positive revenues. They prefer lower risk opportunities, and are willing to settle for lower returns. Some women feel that pushing profits is “not polite.” More women entrepreneurs are single person businesses, while men tend to have more employees. Researchers have begun focusing on the relationship between testosterone and excessive risk, thus evaluating whether groups of men spur each other toward reckless decisions.

7. Females aren’t afraid to ask for help. Many men (not all) have difficulty asking for help when it comes to something like their very own business. Pride can sometimes get in the way. But most women don’t have a problem admitting that they’re not sure how to accomplish a certain task or what needs to be done next in the building-a-business game. This can sometimes provide an advantage in a well-spring of knowledge from sources that help ground their business more quickly.

If you haven’t already, make sure you checkout “The 7 Reasons Why Men Make Great Entrepreneurs“

Have you ever had trouble closing a deal or convincing someone of your worthiness? Most people have this problem or at least have had this a few times in their life. In Business, mastering the technique of persuasion is known to be the key to major success and can be the difference between a pat on the back or a slap in the face, figuratively speaking.

Read on for a little insight into the art of persuasion in the world of business.

7 Great Persuasion Techniques To Use In Business

1. Give and you shall receive

When someone does you a favour, you know instinctively that you will have to do something in return in the future. Psychologists call this the reciprocity rule, and it can be very useful in persuasion.

Try it out next time a colleague or your boss needs help with something by being the first to stand up and lend a hand. Even better, think ahead and be aware of the deadlines and meetings your boss has to reach so you know to step in if they get called away. According to the reciprocity rule, they’ll be more likely to return the favour in the future.

2. Admit your weaknesses

People will never accept an idea or proposal if it sounds too good to be true, so one of the most effective ways to be persuasive is to admit a weakness.

Next time you’re trying to convince someone into giving you that job or deal, admit a small drawback before you go on to tell them that you are the best person for the job, or why your proposal will work. For example, point out that you have only two years experience instead of the required three, but then go on to explain the relevance of your past experience and how it puts you ahead of other potential candidates.

3. Emphasise potential loss

A study in the Journal of Organizational Behavior showed potential losses count far more in a manager’s decision-making than the same things presented as gains. What this means is that to be more persuasive, you should point out what they have to lose by not accepting your idea, as well as what they can gain.

So if applying for a job, or putting forward a proposal, make sure to emphasise what the company has to lose by not taking on your skills or suggestions. Just make sure you do so respectfully, and do your research on the company or your client first.

4. Highlight similarities

It is well known that people respect and listen to those who they believe to be similar to themselves. One way to influence this is by using what psychologists call mirroring. By mirroring the body language, tone of voice and interests of the person you’re speaking to, you’ll make them more likely to accept your suggestions.

Next time you meet a potential employer or client, do a brief background check on their company or personal interests. Find any similarities between them and yourself or your individual companies and bring them up in the beginning of your meeting – they’ll be more likely to say yes if they feel like you’re on common ground.

5. Appeal to their reputation

People are more likely to behave in a way that is consistent with their past decisions or beliefs, thereby upholding their reputation. This is what psychologists call labeling.

You can use this to your advantage by pointing out that someone has demonstrated a particular trait in the past, and then suggesting that their next course of action remains consistent with that label. For example, say, “Your company is cutting edge and cutting edge companies invest products like X.” This technique is tried and true and you’ll often see it used in marketing.

6. Use Social Proof

When people are unsure of which course of action to take or how to behave, they tend to assume that others around them are better informed, and will look to them for guidance. Psychologists call this Social Proof, and it is a powerful mode of persuasion.

If you’re trying to convince someone to hire you, mention that you have had interest from other potential employers. Or if you’re trying to sell an idea or product, highlight how the idea or product has been successful with other businesses. People will trust the decisions or behaviours of others and will be more likely to do the same.

7. Take it one step at a time

This is all about getting your foot in the door. If you’re pitching a proposal that’s a bit of a risk, if you throw it all on the table at once your potential employee or client is likely to say no to the whole lot. In order to build trust, you need to convince them one step at a time.

Try breaking down what you aim to achieve into small steps, and then gradually talking them into saying yes to each one – you’ll be more likely to persuade them into giving you what you want. This process can take time but remember small steps in the beginning can lead to big leaps in the future.

The Great Jim Rohn once said: “If you want more, you need to be more”. Something to think about.

We have found it, the Entrepreneurs Bible! No not really but this is what it would look like if it was ever created. Here are the 20 Great Tips for the budding entrepreneur, taken straight out of the “would be” Entrepreneurs Bible.

25 Great Tips For Entrepreneurs

1.    It’s rare when someone is their word; treasure it in others, cultivate it in yourself
2.    Call AND email – the squeaky wheel gets the grease
3.    Hold yourself to a standard of behaviour and business
4.     Live & breathe your pitch – know your story, know your vision and preach it
5.    Pay attention to detail
6.    It truly is win/win – don’t work with folks who think about it any other way
7.    Find a mentor – Don’t be too proud to ask for advice from great ones when you really need it
8.    Don’t bang your head against the wall – go with what works and continue to innovate
9.    Be kind but firm
10.   Avoid isolation – Expand your network and never get caught in the corner.
11.   FEAR:  False Expectations Appearing Real
12.    You always have a choice
13.    Say it in 30 seconds or don’t say it at all. - Be clear on what you need.
14.    Perception is reality – you’re always creating an impression
15.    Everything is a negotiation, even if you don’t think it is
16.    People hear what they want to and usually only remember the negative
17.    Don’t be a victim of your own B.S. - Don’t talk the talk unless you can walk the walk
18.    Have the difficult conversations – they’re always worth it
19.    It goes by fast and your health is the most important thing – take care of it/make it a priority
20.    Those old business axioms are true, e.g., take time to hire and be fast to fire
21.    The path to hell really is paved with good intentions
22.    Learn under fire. - Pressure will mould you, don’t let it break you.
23.    Generosity looks good on
24.    Never point out your flaws but do admit to your mistakes
25.    Focus – Keep your eye on the prize!

Sponsored By:

Carl Richards, a financial planner whose blog, Behavior Gap, features his witty take on personal finance and investing. Carl Richards has crafted 18 Money Saving Sketches on Napkins that I would love to share with you.

We hope Carl Richards‘ view of personal finance inspires you to think the same way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following article appeared in the Harvard Business Review. Why have you been so successful in reaching some of your goals, but not others? If you aren’t sure, you are far from alone in your confusion.

It turns out that even brilliant, highly accomplished people are pretty lousy when it comes to understanding why they succeed or fail. In fact, decades of research on achievement suggests that successful people reach their goals not simply because of who they are, but more often because of what they do.

9 Rules Of Success

No.9 Get specific

When you set yourself a goal, try to be as specific as possible. “Lose 5 kilograms” is a better goal than “lose some weight,” because it gives you a clear idea of what success looks like. Knowing exactly what you want to achieve keeps you motivated until you get there. Also, think about the specific actions that need to be taken to reach your goal. Just promising you’ll “eat less” or “sleep more” is too vague — be clear and precise. “I’ll be in bed by 10 p.m. on weeknights” leaves no room for doubt about what you need to do, and whether or not you’ve actually done it.

No.8 Seize the moment to act on your goals

Given how busy most of us are, and how many goals we are juggling at once, it’s not surprising that we routinely miss opportunities to act on a goal because we simply fail to notice them. Did you really have no time to work out today? No chance at any point to return that phone call? Achieving your goal means grabbing hold of these opportunities before they slip through your fingers.

To seize the moment, decide when and where you will take each action you want to take, in advance. Again, be as specific as possible (e.g., “If it’s Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, I’ll work out for 30 minutes before work.”) Studies show that this kind of strategic planning will help your brain to detect and seize the opportunity when it arises, increasing your chances of success by roughly 300%.

No.7 Know exactly how far you have left to go

Achieving any goal also requires honest and regular monitoring of your progress — if not by others, then by you yourself. If you don’t know how well you are doing, you can’t adjust your behaviour or your strategies accordingly. Check your progress frequently — weekly, or even daily, depending on the goal.

No.6 Be a realistic optimist

When you are setting a goal, by all means engage in lots of positive thinking about how likely you are to achieve it. Believing in your ability to succeed is enormously helpful for creating and sustaining your motivation. But whatever you do, don’t underestimate how difficult it will be to reach your goal. Most goals worth achieving require time, planning, effort, and persistence. Studies show that thinking things will come to you easily and effortlessly leaves you ill-prepared for the journey ahead, and significantly increases the odds of failure.

No.5 Focus on getting better, rather than being good

Believing you have the ability to reach your goals is important, but so is believing you can get the ability. Many of us believe that our intelligence, our personality and our physical aptitudes are fixed — that no matter what we do, we won’t improve. As a result, we focus on goals that are all about proving ourselves, rather than developing and acquiring new skills.

Fortunately, decades of research suggest that the belief in fixed ability is completely wrong — abilities of all kinds are profoundly malleable. Embracing the fact that you can change will allow you to make better choices, and reach your fullest potential. People whose goals are about getting better, rather than being good, take difficulty in stride, and appreciate the journey as much as the destination.

No.4 Have grit

Grit is a willingness to commit to long-term goals, and to persist in the face of difficulty. Studies show that gritty people obtain more education in their lifetime, and earn higher grades.

The good news is, if you aren’t particularly gritty now, there is something you can do about it. People who lack grit more often than not believe that they just don’t have the innate abilities successful people have. If that describes your own thinking… well, there’s no way to put this nicely: you are wrong. As I mentioned earlier, effort, planning, persistence, and good strategies are what it really takes to succeed. Embracing this knowledge will not only help you see yourself and your goals more accurately, but also do wonders for your grit.

No.3 Build your willpower muscle

Your self-control “muscle” is just like the other muscles in your body — when it doesn’t get much exercise, it becomes weaker over time. But when you give it regular workouts by putting it to good use, it will grow stronger and stronger, and better able to help you successfully reach your goals.

To build willpower, take on a challenge that requires you to do something you’d honestly rather not do. Give up high-fat snacks, do 100 sit-ups a day, stand up straight when you catch yourself slouching, try to learn a new skill. When you find yourself wanting to give in, give up, or just not bother — don’t. Start with just one activity, and make a plan for how you will deal with troubles when they occur (“If I have a craving for a snack, I will eat one piece of fresh or three pieces of dried fruit.”) It will be hard in the beginning, but it will get easier, and that’s the whole point. As your strength grows, you can take on more challenges and step-up your self-control workout.

No.2 Don’t tempt fate

No matter how strong your willpower muscle becomes, it’s important to always respect the fact that it is limited, and if you overtax it you will temporarily run out of steam. Don’t try to take on two challenging tasks at once, if you can help it (like quitting smoking and dieting at the same time). And don’t put yourself in harm’s way — many people are overly-confident in their ability to resist temptation, and as a result they put themselves in situations where temptations abound. Successful people know not to make reaching a goal harder than it already is.

No.1 Focus on what you will do, not what you won’t do

Do you want to successfully lose weight, quit smoking, or put a lid on your bad temper? Then plan how you will replace bad habits with good ones, rather than focusing only on the bad habits themselves. Research on thought suppression (e.g., “Don’t think about white bears!”) has shown that trying to avoid a thought makes it even more active in your mind. The same holds true when it comes to behaviour — by trying not to engage in a bad habit, our habits get strengthened rather than broken.

If you want change your ways, ask yourself, What will I do instead? For example, if you are trying to gain control of your temper and stop flying off the handle, you might make a plan like “If I am starting to feel angry, then I will take three deep breaths to calm down.” By using deep breathing as a replacement for giving in to your anger, your bad habit will get worn away over time until it disappears completely.

The definition of “thoughts” is “An idea or mental picture, imagined and contemplated by thinking or occurring suddenly in the mind.” I believe if you can harness and channel the right thoughts you will be unstoppable in any walk of life. These 5 thoughts are mistakenly carried out by the best of us at times and may be the reason why you cant reach that level of Success you have been hoping for.

Break throughs are made when we change the way we think, when we alter our beliefs and open our mind to its full and witty potential.

5 Common Bad Thoughts & How To Break Them

Perfectionism

We have all heard the saying ‘no one is perfect’ and in my opinion……thank god! Could you image a world with total perfection? It would be boring and there would be no thrill of risk and nothing better to strive for or look forward to.

I believe imperfection makes something beautiful, real and different and this is how most successful people in the world get to where they are now, by embracing their flaws/imperfections and putting everything they can into their passion!

Thomas Edison invented 3,000 duds before he invented the lightbulb. He himself did not call it failure. Instead, he said: “Any of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Taking imperfect action is the best starting point.

Comparing yourself to others

There is only one YOU and trying to be like anyone is a total waste of time I say!

Many entrepreneurs push you to follow your passion and to observe successful people and do what they do. I also believed this. Do what they do but do it in your own way; add your own personal flare and passion along with your high energy and action and you will succeed on your own accord and merit.

Everyone is unique so embrace YOU and concentrate on what you can, do not what others can do.

Thinking that you’re not ‘good enough’

Ok, so I am even a culprit of this at times however who are you or anyone else for that matter to say that you are not good enough?

I truly believe that your mind is the most powerful tool you have and thoughts become things! Start telling yourself that you are good enough, or better yet that you are too good and even if you don’t believe it, you will start to etch this out and create what once was just a vision.

We are all put on this earth for our own personal journeys and success’s and I know that no matter what anyone says, everyone has it in them to do anything they put their mind to! All you have to do is start believing it!

Doing too much at once

I read 10 books at a time and yes as thrilling as it is getting lost in 10 different stories and becoming one with all those different characters and adventures, it sure is hard to concentrate and focus on one at a time! How many books do you think I end up finishing? None!

This is a perfect example of why you concentrate on one thing at a time and don’t overload your plate with too many tasks at once. Even though it sounds fun and the excitement of wanting to finish so many things at once drives you to take everything on board, it really isn’t practical and you end up getting ¼ of everything done and finishing none of them.

Focus on one thing at a time and the satisfying feeling of accomplishing and moving forward will be enough of a reward to help you to successfully complete one thing at a time.

“But I” (Excuses excuses…)

The 5^th and final rule is a ban on excuses! Everyone can find an excuse to do or not to do something, this is a known fact!

Excuses help us justify the doubts we already have about something so that the risk is lessened by a self belief for why we can’t do something.

However, I have a philosophy that everything works both ways so next time you find yourself making or finding an excuse why not to do something, change your way of thinking and force yourself to come up with an excuse as to why you SHOULD do that something!

Whenever I doubt something or find myself coming up with an excuse I ask myself this one little question:

What’s the worst that can happen?

Usually my answer to this is “It won’t work out the way I want it to” and if this is what happens then you know what not to do in the future or what to do when you try next time!

It’s all easier said than done and no one can help you unless you really want to help yourself  but one thing I do know is that we are all creatures of habit so if you start to forcefully change your way of thinking by following these rules then your body and mind will soon catch on and start to think differently in your favor, automatically!

 Article By: Charlene Barry | Addicted2Success.com

Here are 10 pointers that show the positive signs of a true and real entrepreneur…

Entrepreneurs are a special breed of human. No economy thrives without them. They create jobs and provide solutions that take things to the next level. Are you part of this elite group of people?

10 Signs That You Are Becoming An Entrepreneur

1. You Take The Initiative

A lot of people will complain about a number of things and ask questions like, “When would someone deal with this problem?” You discover that you don’t fancy such questions but would rather ask questions like: “What can I do now to start changing things for the better? They create solutions to problems they encounter. They don’t wait for anyone to do it for them.

2. You Believe Your Visions Will Come Alive

Are you an incurable optimist who believes that his/her visions will be actualized no matter how high the odds are stacked against you? Do you walk around with the confidence of someone who knows that it’s just a matter of time before it finally clicks? Well then, this is a strong signal that you are cut out to be an entrepreneur.

3. You Don’t Just Work For The Money

Do you find yourself working longer than you are actually paid to do? Do you take special pride in always giving the best even when the employer doesn’t give a worthy remuneration? Are you willing to work for free if it means it would give you the opportunity to acquire an important skill or get connected to someone you’d like to network with?

If you answered “Yes” to all these questions then you are unlike most people. You have a strong trait of entrepreneurs. The truth is that many people will NOT do more than they are paid to do. Many folks will NOT work unless they are guaranteed financial reward.

4. You Know How To Sell Your Visions To Others

Entrepreneurs know how to articulate their visions in such a way that they are able to strongly convince others that their dreams are actually possible. Have you found yourself easily selling your goals to others and getting them committed to them? If you have this gift then you have one special ability that sets entrepreneurs apart.

5. You Are NOT Afraid To Leave Security For Something You Believe

Would you happily leave your well-paying job because you have an idea that you believe will make a big difference in a few years’ time? Do you wonder why other people are so concerned about having a secured employment when they can have a great life exploring the great ideas they have?

That’s something that makes you rare. That’s the spirit of the entrepreneur: Leaving the secure but mundane for the opportunities of a better tomorrow albeit fraught with challenges.

6. You Look For Ways To Make Things Better

Are you never satisfied with the way things are? Are you constantly looking for ways to sell more, deliver more value, improve customer service or make the sales process more profitable? Are you never happy to leave a good thing alone? Do you think of making the best even better? That’s something that entrepreneurs have in common.

7. You Don’t Like To Live By Predictable Patterns Of Work

If waking up by 5am every day, getting into a cubicle and working from 9am to 5pm makes you feel less human. Then the idea of entrepreneurship may appeal to you. If you are sure you are meant for much more than doing just what you are told to do at work then you have something that all great entrepreneurs have. They don’t like to live by the predictable patterns of the 9-5 rat race.

8. You See Opportunities Where Others Don’t

Do you see money where others only see problems? Do you see opportunities where others only see setbacks? Do you see the solutions (and the opportunities that come with them) where others only see challenges? Then it means you have the valuable eyes of an entrepreneur.

9. You Like To Play By Your Own Rules

Do you find it tiresome having to wear a necktie to work every day because you just want to make your boss happy? Do you really believe what you wear should be determined by how it helps you get the job done and NOT by predetermined conventions?

Do you find yourself questioning the rationale for established norms and practices in your place of work (That you actually see as counterproductive)? Do you find yourself introducing your own set of rules whenever and wherever you can (For improved performance and productivity)?

Then you are a game-changer. You have one of he most important characteristics of a great entrepreneur.

10. You Like Being In Charge Of Your Own Success/Failure

Would you prefer being the pilot in a turbulent flight than being a passenger in a boat going nowhere? Do you take ownership for success or failure? Would you prefer a situation where you are given the tools to work, given a free hand and then held accountable for the end result (Whether favorable or unfavorable)?

Then entrepreneurship is your true calling.

If you answered Yes! to all 10 points above, congratulations, you are a true entrepreneur.

Article By Joel Brown | Addicted2Success

This list right here is the true meaning of “Age is nothin but a number.” This list shows you what we are all capable of and that anything is possible at any age.Some of these amazing people started their dreams in their 30s & 40s, some started as soon as they were born.

Read on to see what these amazing people were doing at your age.

1 yr old – . By this age, Christian Friedrich Heinecken had read the Pentateuch.

2 yrs old –  Speed skater Bonnie Blair began skating. She later won five Olympic gold medals.

3 yrs old – Jodie Foster began acting professionally at age 3, when she shot her first Coppertone commercial.

4 yrs old –  Singer/songwriter Tori Amos was accepted into Baltimore’s Peabody Academy of Music, the youngest student ever accepted there. She was expelled at age 11 for improvisation and playing rock covers by ear.

5 yrs old – Mozart began composing minuets. Once when a second violinist failed to appear for a string quartet performance, Mozart took his place, even though he’d never seen the music.

6 yrs old - Drew Barrymore, granddaughter of noted actor John Barrymore, was already a seasoned actress.

7 yrs old - Child film actor Jackie Coogan starred in the Chaplin movie The Kid and became the youngest person to make a million dollars.

8 yrs old - Three-time Olympic gold medal-winning runner Wilma Rudolph was unable to walk until she was eight.

9 yrs old - Daisy Ashford wrote her first and last novel, The Young Visitors, which sold over 200,000 copies.

10 yrs old - Recording artist Stevie Wonder was signed by Motown records.

11 yrs old - Country singer, songwriter and actress Dolly Parton made her first radio appearance.

12 yrs old - Filmmaker Steven Spielberg got his first movie camera and spent hours writing scripts, drawing storyboards and making movies of subjects such as head-on miniature train crashes and an exploding pressure cooker full of cherries jubilee.

13 yrs old – World champion Mario Andretti began racing.

14 yrs old - Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci became the first athlete in Olympic history to achieve a perfect 10. She went on to do it six more times.

15 yrs old - Inventor Thomas Alva Edison became manager of a telegraph office.

16 yrs old - Tennis player Tracy Austin became the youngest person to win the U.S. Open.

17 yrs old - The youngest player to play in a World Cup final, Pele won the match for Brazil, then passed out on the field.

18 yrs old - Elias Howe, who worked in a watchmaking shop, dreamed the idea of the sewing machine and worked on developing it for the next five years.

19 yrs old - Tired of watching friends fall prey to drugs and crime, Matty Rich fought back by directing the award winning movie “Straight Out of Brooklyn.”

20 yrs old - Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard and cofounded Microsoft.

21 yrs old - College dropout Steven Jobs co-founded Apple Computer.

22 yrs old - Olympic runner Herbert James Elliott, ranked by many as the greatest mile runner ever, retired undefeated at 22.

23 yrs old - Jack Nicklaus became the youngest golfer to win the Masters.

24 yrs old - Entrepreneur Ted Turner took over his father’s billboard advertising business. He later launched CNN.

25 yrs old - By this age, Charles Chaplin had appeared in 35 films.

26 yrs old - Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Italy.

27 yrs old - Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space.

28 yrs old - The Danish physicist Niels Bohr published his revolutionary theory of the atom.

29 yrs old - Blacksmith Kirkpatrick MacMillan invented the first real bicycle.

30 yrs old - Donald Trump persuaded bankers to lend him $80 million so he could buy the Commodore Hotel. + Bill Gates was the first person ever to become a billionaire by age 30.

31 yrs old – Gregory Pincus achieved in-vitro fertilization of rabbits. Later he invented the birth control pill.

32 yrs old - By the time of his death at age 32, Alexander the Great had conquered almost the entire known world.

33 yrs old - Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic alone.

34 yrs old - After defeating Antony and Cleopatra’s forces in a naval battle, Augustus became the master of the Roman world.

35 yrs old - American sprinter Evelyn Ashford won her final Olympic gold medal at age 35, old for a sprinter.

36 yrs old - German chemist Friedrich August Kekule discovered the ring structure of the benzene molecule in a dream.

37 yrs old - Jersey Joe Walcott became the oldest man ever to win the world’s heavyweight boxing title.

38 yrs old - Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon.

39 yrs old - Charles Goodyear discovered vulcanization and led the way to the effective use of rubber.

40 yrs old - Joan Ganz Cooney founded Children’s Television Workshop and became the mastermind behind “Sesame Street.”

41 yrs old - Rudyard Kipling became the youngest Nobel Laureate in literature.

42 yrs old - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the oldest NBA regular player.

43 yrs old - John Fitzgerald Kennedy became the youngest man elected to the United States presidency.

44 yrs old - Assistant cashier Jim Priceman returned an envelope containing $37.1 million in negotiable bearer certificates found outside 110 Wall Street.

45 yrs old - George Foreman recaptured the heavyweight championship with a 10th round knockout, becoming the oldest person ever to win the heavyweight championship.

46 yrs old - A Scottish surgeon, James Baird, discovered hypnosis.

47 yrs old - Edward Jenner, an English doctor, pioneered the use of vaccination against smallpox.

48 yrs old - George Blanda played his last year of NFL football.

49 yrs old -Well known author Julia Child published her book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

50 yrs old - Barbra Streisand won a 10-year film and recording contract estimated at $60 million.

51 yrs old - The Marquis de Sade, imprisoned for much of his life, wrote the novel Justine.

52 yrs old - Francis Chichester sailed around the world alone in a 53-foot boat normally manned by a crew of six.

53 yrs old - Inventor Walter Hunt patented the safety pin.

54 yrs old - Annie Jump Cannon, the dean of women astronomers, became the first person to systematically classify the stars according to spectral type.

55 yrs old - Richard Daniel Bass reached the summit of Mount Everest.

56 yrs old - Mao Zedong founded the Peoples’ Republic of China.

57 yrs old – Betty Ford was frank about her cancer surgery, in an effort to alert other women to the danger of breast cancer.

58 yrs old - Sony chairman Akio Morita introduced the Sony Walkman, even though nobody seemed to like the idea prior to its release.

59 yrs old - Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross.

60 yrs old - Playwright and essayist George Bernard Shaw completed a play, “Heartbreak House,” regarded by some as his masterpiece.

61 yrs old - Richard Milhouse Nixon resigned in disgrace, the first U.S. President ever to quit office.

62 yrs old - J.R.R. Tolkien published the first volume of his fantasy series, Lord of the Rings.

63 yrs old - Countess Rosa Branicka, a wealthy Polish noble, performed breast cancer surgery on herself and lived to be 82.

70 yrs old - Benjamin Franklin helped draft the Declaration of Independence.

75 yrs old - Warren Buffett set up a $30 billion contribution to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for use in various world-wide charitable causes. + Cancer survivor Barbara Hillary became one of the oldest people, and the first black woman, to reach the north pole.

80 yrs old – Jessica Tandy became the oldest Oscar recipient for her work in Driving Miss Daisy.

85 yrs old - At 85, “Coco” Chanel was the head of a fashion design firm.

90 yrs old - Pablo Picasso was still producing drawings and engravings.

95 yrs old - Nola Ochs became the oldest person to receive a college diploma, a degree in general studies with an emphasis on history.

100+ yrs old - Alice Porlock of Great Britain published her first book, Portrait of My Victorian Youth, when she was 102 years old.

Here is a list of “The Top 10 Fears That Hold Us Back From Success“. This list goes into detail about each element of fear and why it holds us back. I’m a true believer of “When I know why, Then I’ll know how!”, so by pin pointing the exact reason why you are scared to progress forward in your plan you are then able to work on beating that element of fear and succeed in what you truly want to accomplish.

“If we doubted our Fears instead of doubting our dreams, Imagine how much in life we’d accomplish”. – Joel Brown

Fears That Hold Us Back

10. Losing your freedom

While the exact definition of freedom and its value in a society are debatable subjects, the fear of losing your freedom has always been present in human minds because, even though it is not something that we think about every single moment, it has given us times of deep thought and wonder of what would happen if we were to lose the power to control our own lives. This fear starts with mundane things such as that time you were grounded in your room by yourself without the possibility of leaving until you finished your homework or our fear of the commitment that marriage establishes. But this raises a question, is absolute freedom the best thing for us? We have all seen people make bad decisions over and over again and wondered whether having someone else make their decisions for them would make things better.

9. The Unknown

The fear of the unknown is easily explained like this: the mind tells us that in order to move forward we must know what is waiting for us there, because “if I know, then I can control the situation, and if I don’t know, then I am not in control”. This second part is what scares us the most because control is what establishes a measurement that we can use to manipulate the result of our actions. And when we don’t like what is different, this is simply because we can neither understand it nor have a plan to control it beforehand.

This fear has been with us for thousands of years, and it is a great part of what has helped us survive as a species. Many of us, when we were kids, were afraid of the dark, mainly because we didn’t know what might be hiding in there, and similarly when we didn’t know what might be at the end of the hallway we felt the need to pull ourselves away from it. However, this fear of the unknown often stops our progress and makes it harder for us to discover and understand new things, encouraging rejection and closed mindedness.

8. Pain

Since the intensity of physical pain is a purely subjective feeling which is sensed differently by each individual, it is quite hard to make generalizations of what causes people pain. But physical pain can be described as an unpleasant sensation generally caused by damage to a certain part of the body.

Aside from a few exceptions, most of us are intolerant or afraid of physical pain, this can be noted in the fact that there are a great amount of medications related to pain relief, with different levels of strength and related to different types of pain. The rejection of pain is caused because we associate physical pain with illness and bad health in general. This fear can be linked with the fear of losing your freedom, such as in the case of people that suffer from chronic pain and usually see their physical freedom limited because they want to avoid doing the actions that cause or increase the pain sensation. Let’s face it, pain is not a good sensation (although, as stated before, some people believe otherwise), and like animals do, we tend to keep away from that which causes us pain, as it is one of the key elements in survival instinct as well as the way our brain tells us that there is something wrong with a certain part of our body or that the action we are doing is causing a negative effect on it. In this case pain in itself is not a bad thing, but a way to let us know that we must stop doing what we are doing to avoid further damage to our body.

7. Disappointment

This fear is somewhat hard to explain, since there are two different fears that are related to disappointment – one of disappointing others and one of suffering disappointment yourself.

We all as kids lived that awful experience in which we did something wrong or misbehaved and were expecting a punishment or at least some screaming from our parents, but instead got the unpleasant sight of our parents just staring at us with sadness in their eyes and saying “I am disappointed in you”, and how that single sentence hurt a lot more than any other punishment would have.

The fear of disappointment is part of the reason we avoid the unknown, disappointment is that feeling of dissatisfaction when our expectations do not match what actually happened. It is obvious that we make our best effort to avoid that, and like pain disappointment is a negative feeling that sometimes is followed by regret, in which a person wonders if their choices contributed to the outcome. “If I had done things differently, would it have made a difference?”

6. Misery

Poverty is defined as a situation that comes from the lack of the resources needed to completely fulfill the human needs. But misery is what we see as a more extreme case of poverty. It is the inability to cover our own basic personal needs. No one likes seeing or feeling human misery, because we know that the worst of human actions come out of the desperation caused by misery. It is what we consider as the lowest point in what comes to human needs and that is why we fear it so much. No one wants to feel that absence of things, and this has caused the media to feed us more of this fear in advertising, telling us that we need more things than those we actually do. And even though we all know how bad a habit this actually is, at the end of the day we can all acknowledge how hard not having basic goods to back you up is. Like it was expressed in the 2006 movie “The Last King of Scotland”, when Dr. Nicholas Garrigan tells Ugandan dictator Idi Amin that “money is no substitute for anything” he replies saying “[you say it because] you have never been poor”.

5. Loneliness

The fear of being alone is that dreadful feeling of emptiness caused by the absence of interaction with another human being. This fear has also evolved from one of our early survival instincts: we fear loneliness because it is more probable for us to survive if we live in group.

The fear of loneliness is related to doing something and no one noticing, we often feel that in order for our actions to be meaningful, someone has to notice them. This relates to the philosophy quote “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”. If you make a groundbreaking discovery but no one else ever finds about it, does it still count?

4. Ridicule

The fear of ridicule is related to the fear of getting bad criticism and is also caused by our social fear of not projecting a good enough image of ourselves to the others. This fear is most often experienced in what is called “stage fright”. We all have felt it at least once in our lives having to speak or perform in front of an audience. We fear that we might mess up and cause the audience to respond negatively, either by mocking us with laughter or, in the worst cases, booing. Even though some people practice hard enough to not feel stage fright or have a well built self-confidence that helps deal with the effects of being laughed at or criticized, the fear of ridicule never really leaves us because we don’t like the feeling of being in the spotlight for a negative reason and being at the mercy of the opinions of others.

3. Rejection

This social fear is one of the main reasons people act the way they do, we tend to (sometimes blindly) follow the others actions because it helps us avoid dealing with rejection from the society. We fear rejection because, like the fear of being alone, most of us can only justify our existence through the acknowledgement and acceptance of others. There are people who argue that acceptance from the society is a mere illusion and that there is no such thing as “normal” behavior from an individual within a society – if this is the case, then why do we fear not behaving “correctly” and in accordance with the cultural norms? This really puts into perspective our whole ethical infrastructure as a society; is something really good or bad just because society says so?

2. Death

This fear is not no. 1 because even though it is the main reason our instincts tell us to act the way we do, it is a well known truth that we all in the end will kick the bucket, but that doesn’t mean we have death as our worst everyday worry because we avoid the thought of it as a near future occurrence in our lives.

The fear of death is tightly tied to the fear of the unknown; we don’t know for sure what will happen to us when we leave this world. In fact, we are so interested in death that we have even developed whole cultures and religious beliefs that have tried to give an explanation to death since the beginning of time, with almost all ancient civilizations having a godly form or worshiping death in some way, we’ve all learned to respect it and eventually accept it.

1. Failure

This fear deserves the top spot because it rules over all our actions and decisions, we all do and don’t do things in order to avoid failure. Failure can be a lot of things; realizing you don’t live your life the way you wanted to, not succeeding in your plans, finding yourself helpless, or in the worst cases even hitting rock-bottom.

Failure is a very ambiguous and subjective term because failure is not on the same level and perspective to everyone, what counts as failure to one might not be even halfway there to another. To some, failure is actually a way to learn lessons and try again, so it is not really an end, but a tool for future reference. The main fear of failing comes with the disappointment that follows, that feeling that despite your effort, nothing seemed to go as you wished it did, and it causes a feeling like you might not even want to try again. That is why this is the worst fear of all, the fear or failure is very often used as an excuse to procrastinate or not do anything to make situations better – “why bother?” and “I’m just not good enough”.

Last night I came across this video, I have watched it 4 times since and have been inspired just as much as the first time I saw it, each time it plays. I wanna share this with you. It reminds all Entrepreneurs out there to stay positive and to take more risks. It reminds us that we forget too easy what it was like to be a kid and believe that you could have the world. Why do we become more cautious as we get older?

Add this to your daily playlist. Be Inspired!

(Video) Entrepreneurs Can Change The World

Many people believe that good entrepreneurs are naturally born, rather than trained or experienced in the art of business. I believe there is a natural born component required. On the natural born side, some entrepreneurs seem to have a strong vision and the ability to inspirationally lead others. In this post we feature 7 skills that are needed by Entrepreneurs and must be learnt.

7 Skills That Entrepreneurs Are Not Born With & Need To Learn

• Ability to set priorities and focus on goals. Many people allow themselves to be driven by the crisis of the moment. Personal discipline is the key word here. Set yourself some priorities and goals, and live by them.

• Able to identify important issues. Some people call this common sense; others call it “street smarts.” In the normal startup environment, there are multiple forces competing for your attention every day, and you need to learn to delegate or ignore many. It relates back to experience and knowledge, more than genes.

• Conviction to be a passionate advocate. When you believe in something enough to turn your passion into action, you have become an advocate. That power and voice is then used to persuade others to make the correct decision. An effective advocate requires conviction, usually acquired during related first hand experience or training.

• Broad knowledge and experience. Experience allows one to tackle challenges with confidence in a given area. Broad knowledge facilitates the same success in other business areas. Entrepreneurs need this, because their challenges are across the spectrum from technical to legal, operational, financial, and organizational.

• Active listening skills. Above all, the ability to listen and understand the real meaning of what people are saying (and not saying) is paramount, because the most important information never arrives in reports or email. Some people pick this up from experience, and others find classroom courses most helpful in setting the focus.

• Sound judgment. I don’t think anyone is born with sound judgment; it has to be learned, but can be started at a very early age. Every entrepreneur must have the capacity to assess situations or circumstances shrewdly and to draw proper conclusions.

• Pleasant skepticism. Skepticism is not doubting, but applying reason and critical thinking to determine validity. It’s the process of searching for a supportable conclusion, as opposed to justifying a preconceived conclusion. It is a learned skill.

Article By: Marty Zwilling

In an ideal world every man, woman and child would be programmed for Success, the truth of the matter is that Success is a lot harder than you think. Success takes alot of Passion, Drive, Focus, Risk Taking etc… to get there and alot of people are just not up for that kind of work.

These are 10 of the most common reasons people end up failing, not just in business, but what they want to be successful at in life also. Read on and see how you can improve on your road to Success.

1. Because You Procrastinate- Yes this is one of the more common reasons for most people to never excel in fulfilling their chosen field or business. Instead of taking advantage of every waking moment you make excuses on why you can put it off until tomorrow or put the “grunt” work off until later, which is usually the most important of your daily task. Many will complain about why they’re not successful, but continue to put unimportant events ahead of what really should be a priority to anyone trying to better their situation or build a successful business and the answer is right in front of you and the sad thing is most know it, but fail to do anything about it.

2. Because You Blame What You Lack as your Reasons for Failure- Nine times out of ten if you ask any person or entrepreneur why they have failed in finishing or accomplishing a goal their sentence will begin with Because I don’t…. Depending on what field of business they’re in many of us could guess how that sentence will end. The sad reality is that most of us lack one thing or another and many of our predecessors have overcome many obstacles and proven time and time again that where you live, your financial status, your race, location, height, and/or belief has no take on whether or not you will be successful and it is ultimately up to you.

3. Because your idea isn’t as Brilliant and Unique as you think- I know this doesn’t come as a a suprise to most of you especially if you have ever started a business or had an idea that you thought was just revolutionary or unique with no competition, but once you do a little research or decide to launch you see ten other businesses doing the same thing. As I’m sure you have heard this before, but it is obvious most need to hear it again a successful business begins with a great execution and a failure is well… lack there of. Most ideas have been thought of or tried and tested, but many failed because of their execution and how it was brought about. There are many reasons why the same businesses fail while others succeed timing has a lot to do with it, capital, the person or entrepreneur, knowledge on the subject and much more.

4. Because some of your Best Ideas are just Memory or Were Never Brought to Life- I definitely think this is one of the biggest reasons most are never successful. Many of our best ideas that would have spread virally or been a necessity in life were never brought past the brainstorming process or seemed like one of them unobtainable goals, because most of the time the brilliant ideas are the hardest to accomplish or will have you facing the most obstacles to see them come to life. I read an article about how almost everyday people think of at least two million dollar ideas on their way to work during a 5day workweek, but over 90% never put any of them into action pass the the thought phase and without reasonable doubt I agree.

5. Because you’re not patient- Many of us fall into this category and I was once a very impatient person (still am at times) when it came to seeing results with a new venture or goal I wanted to attain. I think the above title is why many of us fall victim to all of these get rich quick schemes we see in our email inbox everyday or on late night TV infomercials. In reality there is no quick-legal ways to get rich or becoming successful anything that is worth attaining will take time to acquire. Many of us abandon a business before we give it time to get over the first years slump or automatically mark it as a failure before it has time to reach its full potential.

6. Because there is always somebody working harder than you- This article goes back to the first reason on procrastinating and reinforces that you’re not taking advantage of every waking moment. Every moment you sleep or take off for a break or make time for anything other than the goal you want to accomplish or the business you want to be number one there is always another team of people or a person working toward the same goal. I think every time you decide to tackle an objective or start a new business that you want to succeed in that you should keep in mind…there is always be somebody putting in harder work and longer hours than you. Remember the number one spot or your accomplished goals wouldn’t feel so good if you were the only one going for it, because it wouldn’t be worth attaining.

7. Because you wait on Luck or Opportunity (Meal Ticket) to be given to us- In most instances opportunity is not given to you it is created and you’re lucky if you are prepared. That is why it is important to always be prepared for the unthinkable, because opportunities usually arise when you least expect it and that is why in most cases we’re not prepared and that is what we call bad luck. You can’t wait fo rANYTHING to come to you or for somebody to hand it to you. If you want financing for your business go out and get it, if you want to relocate to another city go do it, if you want to be a millionaire before 25 get to work today not tomorrow anything is attainable with hard work and being persistent no matter how small or large the obstacles to success may seem.

8. Because the odds are against you- In most cases people want to be successful from starting a business whether it is online or offline. The reality is over 50% of small businesses fail within the first five years and out of all businesses started 85% fail within the first five years as you can see the odds are not in your favor to succeed. Many people who have weight loss goals will most likely not meet them considering that more than 65% of the United States population is either overweight or obese and it was up more than 16% from the year before. Your chances of being a millionaire are not as bad when compared to the other odds, because the average American has a 1 in 13 chance of becoming a millionaire and more than 741,666 become new millionaires every month. Will you be next months millionaire??

9. Because life is too short- This reason basically takes into mind all of the above reasons for reaching success, tried and failed and taking time for granted for when opportunity is presented to you. You should take advantage of every SOUND opportunity that is presented to you, make use of every free second you have available, read up on any topic relevant to any goals you want to accomplish, make no excuses for tasks or goals not completed, and realise that you have nobody to blame, but yourself for any failures that you have or goals that you didn’t accomplish within your lifetime.

10. Because you will NOT make a change today- Even though this article stated in the beginning that “you will never be successful unless you make a change today” most of us will read it in its entirety and actually agree with its content, but will still go back to our same habits of procrastinating, blaming what we lack, putting together half-thought out ideas with poor execution, never bringing our greatest ideas pass the brainstorming process, being impatient and not persistent, letting someone work harder than you for that number one spot, waiting on our meal ticket, still understanding the odds are against you, but not working harder to overcome them, not taking advantage of all our time on this earth to see our dreams and goals manifest into something greater than we could ever imagine.

It is still in your hands whether or not you will become successful and defeat these odds. Just don’t become a victim to one of these common mistakes and reasons for not being successful within your lifetime.

Article By: Cream BMP

Guy Kawasaki, once the Chief Evangelist of Apple, now Author of 10 Venture & Small Business development books. Guy runs his own investment bank at Garage.com, helping entrepreneurs raise money from venture capitalists.

I heard the name Guy Kawasaki pop up every now and then and have been meaning to checkout his work. I came across one of his speeches a few nights ago and I have to say, I’m very impressed! In this video Guy shares his Top 10 Guidelines for Entrepreneurs along with a bunch of Microsoft jokes and what its like to work under the incredible innovator, “Steve Jobs“.

(Video) Guy Kawasaki “The Art of the Start” @ TiECon 2006

(Bonus Image) Guy Kawasaki – How To Increase Your Likability

Physician, author, inventor, and renowned consultant, Edward De Bono is the originator and father of Lateral Thinking. Edward De Bono has taught many of the best businessmen and inventors around the world on how to “think outside the box”. He teaches you how to to move outside your habitual thinking style to get a more rounded view of a situation. The value of being a little mad and out there is one of Edwards beliefs to reach Success

Watch these 3 Videos as Edward De Bono shares his valuable advice on thinking creatively for the ultimate success for you and your business.

Highly Successful People by Edward De Bono

Edward de Bono on creative thinking in business part (1 of 2)

Edward de Bono on creative thinking in business part (2 of 2)

Edward De Bono’s 6 Thinking Hats Technique – 6 Different Ways Of Thinking For Greater Results:

You can use Six Thinking Hats in meetings or on your own. In meetings it has the benefit of blocking the confrontations that happen when people with different thinking styles discuss the same problem.

Each ‘Thinking Hat’ is a different style of thinking. These are explained below:

• White Hat:
  With this thinking hat you focus on the data available. Look at the information you have, and see what you can learn from it. Look for gaps in your knowledge, and either try to fill them or take account of them.
• This is where you analyze past trends, and try to extrapolate from historical data.
• Red Hat:
  ‘Wearing’ the red hat, you look at problems using intuition, gut reaction, and emotion. Also try to think how other people will react emotionally. Try to understand the responses of people who do not fully know your reasoning.
• Black Hat:
  Using black hat thinking, look at all the bad points of the decision. Look at it cautiously and defensively. Try to see why it might not work. This is important because it highlights the weak points in a plan. It allows you to eliminate them, alter them, or prepare contingency plans to counter them.
• Black Hat thinking helps to make your plans ‘tougher’ and more resilient. It can also help you to spot fatal flaws and risks before you embark on a course of action. Black Hat thinking is one of the real benefits of this technique, as many successful people get so used to thinking positively that often they cannot see problems in advance. This leaves them under-prepared for difficulties.
• Yellow Hat:
  The yellow hat helps you to think positively. It is the optimistic viewpoint that helps you to see all the benefits of the decision and the value in it. Yellow Hat thinking helps you to keep going when everything looks gloomy and difficult.
• Green Hat:
  The Green Hat stands for creativity. This is where you can develop creative solutions to a problem. It is a freewheeling way of thinking, in which there is little criticism of ideas. A whole range of creativity tools can help you here.
• Blue Hat:
  The Blue Hat stands for process control. This is the hat worn by people chairing meetings. When running into difficulties because ideas are running dry, they may direct activity into Green Hat thinking. When contingency plans are needed, they will ask for Black Hat thinking, etc.

Edward De Bono Quotes To Live By:

A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen.
Edward de Bono

An expert is someone who has succeeded in making decisions and judgements simpler through knowing what to pay attention to and what to ignore.
Edward de Bono

An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.
Edward de Bono

Argument is meant to reveal the truth, not to create it.
Edward de Bono

Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.
Edward de Bono

Creativity is a great motivator because it makes people interested in what they are doing. Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea. Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone. Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting.
Edward de Bono

Dealing with complexity is an inefficient and unnecessary waste of time, attention and mental energy. There is never any justification for things being complex when they could be simple.
Edward de Bono

Humor is by far the most significant activity of the human brain.
Edward de Bono

Humour is by far the most significant activity of the human brain.
Edward De Bono

I must say, I don’t feel very qualified to be a pop star. I feel very awkward at times in the role.
Edward de Bono

If you never change your mind, why have one?
Edward de Bono

If you wait for opportunities to occur, you will be one of the crowd.
Edward de Bono

In a sense, words are encyclopedias of ignorance because they freeze perceptions at one moment in history and then insist we continue to use these frozen perceptions when we should be doing better.
Edward de Bono

In the future, instead of striving to be right at a high cost, it will be more appropriate to be flexible and plural at a lower cost. If you cannot accurately predict the future then you must flexibly be prepared to deal with various possible futures.
Edward de Bono

It has always surprised me how little attention philosophers have paid to humor, since it is a more significant process of mind than reason. Reason can only sort out perceptions, but the humor process is involved in changing them.
Edward de Bono

Many highly intelligent people are poor thinkers. Many people of average intelligence are skilled thinkers. The power of a car is separate from the way the car is driven.
Edward de Bono

Most executives, many scientists, and almost all business school graduates believe that if you analyze data, this will give you new ideas. Unfortunately, this belief is totally wrong. The mind can only see what it is prepared to see.
Edward de Bono

Most of the mistakes in thinking are inadequacies of perception rather than mistakes of logic.
Edward de Bono

One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and to look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity.
Edward de Bono

Opportunity ideas do not lie around waiting to be discovered. Such ideas need to be produced.
Edward de Bono

Anonymous quote: “Advertising sure brings quick results – last week I advertised for a night watchman–the same night my safe was robbed. “ After watching Don Draper (Jon Hamm) from the Hit TV Show Mad Men and you will soon realize that advertising is based on inspirational ideas.  Don Draper will not be able to explain where his ideas are coming from – they just seem to work anyhow! Is it possible to run a successful business like Don Draper?

Running A Successful Business Like Don Draper

Some basic principles never change and here are the 4 most important business principles Don Draper applies, which will always be valid for a successful business:

1. Appoint the right team players and use their strengths collectively. That is exactly what Don Draper did – he balanced his weaknesses with the strengths of his co-workers.
2. Remain as flexible as possible. Keep your monthly overheads and expenses as low and flexible as possible. If you need extra employees, rather appoint them on a contract basis and retain only your core staff members on a fulltime basis
3. Use the opportunity when it arises. Too often we procrastinate instead of implementing an idea with vigour the moment it occurs. It is like the well-known saying – if you snooze, you lose.
4. Be different and do not be afraid to take well calculated risks. Clients love new approaches and fresh ideas.

On the other hand, there are also a few things we can learn from Don Draper as he provides us with excellent examples of what not to do:

1. Never put your eggs in one basket. If you rely on only a few customers you are short-sighted. You need to grow your business potential constantly with a variety of customers.
2. Appoint a diverse group of co-workers with different ideas and allow them to develop as your business grows. The market place change and so is our customers. That is why you need a team that can develop even quicker.
3. Never get into partnerships or joint ventures with people you cannot trust. This is vital for your success.
4. Rather be conservative than flamboyant. Think of your offices for example – you can have very comfortable offices without paying an enormous amount of monthly rental. After all it is quality of your work and your ethics that impress your client, not the size or shape of your conference table.

When we start out a new business venture or a new idea, how many times do we tend to think that we need to change the basic rules? We need to think more like Don Draper, despite the fact that he is running a successful business in the 1960 era; a lot of the principles applied by him is still valid today and will remain valid in future. One thing is for sure, despite all his mistakes as a fictional character, he is very successful in business.

Mad Men: Meet Don Draper

Don Draper’s Advice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-U3Kg2LWk0

Don Draper’s Guide To Picking Up Women

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV4X-0TxBos