Success Advice
The Secret to Hacking Your Thinking Mind For Optimal Success
The mind is a funny thing. It’s useful, and we need it. But at the same time, it often causes us a lot of strife. Our minds spend an obsessive amount of time in two places, either in the past, or in the future. Both of these are important of course. Reflecting on the past can help us avoid mistakes in the future.
Visions of the future inspire each of us to reach our full potential. But in all of this, especially in the frenzied modern world we live in, we lose touch with the only moment that really matters, the present.
The irony is that all our thinking works in the past and the future, is often a desire to become more present in our lives. We are constantly trying to fix mistakes or to avoid them, so that life will be more pleasurable. But as we have all realised, perfection is an illusion.
As the saying goes, while you are making plans, life happens. And that’s exactly how it is supposed to be. Think about it for a moment: If nothing ever changed, if everything was perfectly predictable, how boring would that be? Nothing would ever grow. Life would lack all contrast and dynamism. Creativity would be frozen in stone.
“In the end some, of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths.” – Drew Barrymore
Thinking Isn’t Inherently Bad
It’s not that thinking itself is inherently bad, but rather what we focus on that can be. There are times to reflect, and there is a need to plan. But what we need, is the ability to discern when those moments are.
A simple question we can all ask ourselves is this, “Will focusing on the past or projecting into the future in the current situation help?” In other words will thinking in this way make any difference to the situation we now find ourselves in? The answer to this question If we are really honest, is almost always no!
So the next question is, what can we do about it?
Hacking Your Runaway Mind
The great thing about the thinking mind, is that you can use the very same ‘thinking mind’ to change it. Whenever I ask myself the question: “If how I am thinking now is helpful to changing, or improving the situation I find myself in?” and the answer I get back is a resounding “No!”. My next goal is to find thinking that will help. Every situation you find yourself in, will have thinking tasks that will immediately improve the situation you find yourself in.
The word ‘immediately’ here is important. Thinking that engages the present moment, is far more productive to the experience you may find yourself in, than thinking that may be holding onto past mistakes, or trying to plan what should be done to make things right.
Like it or not, often in life’s challenges, one is required to respond in the moment to the unfolding chaos. Finding single key words, a mantra if you will, in these moments, is a way to trick the mind into steading itself. It’s a way to anchor the thinking mind, with its very nature, thinking.
The difference this time is that you are making the thinking process purposeful. Often our minds are on autopilot, fluctuating between past and future thoughts. Any word you then choose to anchor yourself back in the present moment with, needs to be neutral.
I use single words, like breathe, calm, slow, etc. Telling yourself to breath for example does two things. Firstly it changes your thinking stream to something else. Secondly, because ‘breath’ is a single word, and it is not attached to past or future tense, its neutral.
“For the one who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends. But for one who has failed to do so, his very mind will be his greatest enemy.” – Bhagavad Gita
Find The Anchors That Best Work For The Situation
You can come up with all kinds of anchor words. Just think about situations in your life or work that really stress you out. Situations that make your thinking mind go manic. Then ask yourself, what kind of single action words could you use, in the moment you find yourself in those situations again, that would affect the immediate outcome of that experience? Often, you are looking for words that describe the opposite actions that make you upset or stressed out.
I know when I am stressed out, I tend to talk way too fast. The consequence of doing this is I forget my train of thought, or start thinking about what I should say next. Needless to say, it often results in a disaster. What I have learned to do, is to have a glass of water near by.
As soon as I recognise that I am talking too fast, I purposively pause, say to myself, “slow” and then reach slowly for the glass of water. The outcome, by using that anchor word immediately as I become aware of myself talking to fast, helps me come back more centred, and focused.
How do you take control of your mind? What are some things you do? Leave your thoughts below!
Success Advice
How to Alter Your Business Approach With Technological Advancements
Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner.
Technology’s evolution has impacted everything, and business is no exception. Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner. Entrepreneurs unable to do so are being wiped out of the market.
There is no doubt that AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) have taken over the business world. These technological advancements are impacting decision-making, success percentages, and other entrepreneurial aspects.
Adapting to these developments is integral to business success. Let’s explore how you can accomplish these milestones.
Embed the strength of AI and ML.
AI has modified business operations in major ways. For instance, companies have employed bots for customer support. These bots go through an effective learning process via Machine Learning before being able to answer like humans.
Bots can also perform detailed data analytics and make business moves with high success percentages.
ML is used more for the analysis of data chunks and generating successful predictions. This simply means that business owners do not have to worry about large-scale financial losses.
In terms of deployment and usage, a reputed company like Netflix employs machine learning for decision-making.
Blockchain is increasing the count of business opportunities
Tampering of financial transactions is quite common and causes severe monetary damage to customers. With the rise of digital payments, this risk has increased.
Blockchain is used to elevate your experience for monetary transfers. It combats penetrating events to extract confidential customer information.
Most business sectors are using block chain but finance and supply chain management sections have a higher count. These two corporate sections have several monetary deposits and withdrawals taking place.
In terms of percentage, approximately 72% and 5% of finance and supply chain firms have implemented block chain successfully.
Dedicate Yourself to Continuous Learning and Individual Development
You invest in learning some of the very important skills, including digital marketing, financial management, and how to gain customers as an entrepreneur.
You need to set up your knowledge base about doing business on Coursera and Udemy with the basics that are necessary for the business, building further by networking with experts through webinars.
Besides, Agile methodology will introduce elasticity to your company: this review and feedback system with further correction regularly will allow for enhancing efficiency and promptly reacting to the market.
Developing key skills to achieve goals
Running a business successfully is not only about having niche/domain knowledge. Business owners need to have communication / soft skills as well in addition to niche information.
Here are some key technical/domain-related areas that business owners should have a strong grip on.
Data Storage on Cloud: These days, companies do not store their data on physical servers. Therefore business owners should know how data is stored/edited/removed/updated via AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and other platforms.
Data Analysis/Interpretation Qualities: These days, data is as precious as gold. Business owners with data analysis abilities make correct predictions. As a result, their ventures grow in volume.
Development/Coding Knowledge
Programming knowledge gives business owners an edge whether the application is developed in-house or outsourced. It assists in getting updates deployed and handling application underperformance without getting professional support every time.
Hacking proof framework
There is no benefit of having an advanced automated system if can be penetrated. Successful business owners have above-average knowledge of cyber security and hacking attempts. They are able to choose top-notch anti-hacking software without much of an ambiguity.
Communication Abilities/Soft Skills
Here are some key communication qualities that business owners should have:
Communication/Conversation: Business owners should use to-the-point sentences in both written and oral communication.
Issue Resolution Abilities: Business owners should be able to drill down to problems and solve them. This is done successfully only if an entrepreneur has in-depth business domain knowledge.
Agile Implementations
It is mandatory for business owners to have knowledge of iterative/agile models. With such a competitive environment, it is impossible for business owners to succeed without adopting an agile framework.
Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy
A productive business venture starts with a clear vision. The first factor making a business successful is the idea behind it. It helps with endless growth and combating competition successfully. Katherine Philips once mentioned that business goals are inevitable if goals are set concretely.
- Goals should be based on smart achievements instead of complexity. Focus on the value that each one of them adds.
- Business objectives should not be vague. Key indicators should be constructed to measure the success/failure of each milestone.
- Be realistic when setting goals. Do not aim at impossible milestones since they can be demotivating.
- Milestones/goals need to be time-bound. Set a completion deadline for each one of them.
- Business goals should not be alien. Owners can think out of the box but not be obsolete / unrelated.
Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy
Business owners cannot succeed without having a network. Some tips help in this case. Attend conferences and professional gatherings to connect with other entrepreneurs.
Here are some other related points business owners should pay attention to.
- Attend meetings and conferences to stay updated with trends and meet business owners who already have well-set ventures. This helps in enhancing the learning curve of new / growing entrepreneurs.
- Being a part of business communities/groups is very productive. When one shares opinions and discusses decision-making tactics, it helps in preventing errors and enhancing success rate.
- Even the most experienced business owners have mentors as learning never stops. Take part in mentorship programs so there is an assurance that you are following the correct roadmap.
Conclusion
There is absolutely no doubt that business dimensions have evolved with technological advancements. Successful entrepreneurs have grabbed these changes in due course of time and continue to evolve. On the other hand, people following old paths and conventional steps fade out of competition. In a nutshell, keep an eye on the processes and practices you follow as these factors decide success rate.
Success Advice
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Motivation
From Couch Potato to Go-Getter: A Step-by-Step Motivation Plan for Everyone
By understanding what motivates you, you can turn your dreams into reality
Are you tired of feeling like a couch potato? Do you want to transform your life and become a go-getter? You’re not alone! Many people struggle with motivation, but the good news is that change is possible. (more…)
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10 Micro Financial Habits for More Wealth and Peace of Mind
The World Economic Forum still reports that half of U.S. adults lack financial literacy
You’ve heard about developing financial habits, but what about micro-financial habits? Micro habits are the tiny things you can do every day with minimal effort that, together, transform your future. (more…)
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