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Success Advice

Set Yourself Up for Success in 40 Minutes or Less

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Confession: I am not a morning person—I never have been. As someone who consumes self-improvement content like a child eating popcorn by the fistful, I have read over and over that successful people don’t hit the snooze button. Still, shamefully, I always hit the snooze button, and usually more than once.

I am not one of those people who is energized and inspired from the moment my feet hit the floor; therefore, I refuse to believe that only those people can be successful. Over years of trial and error, I’ve come up with a simple routine that helps me get motivated, focused, and proves that you don’t have to be a “morning person” to make the most of your morning

Brain Warm-Up (10 min.)

The best way to shake the brain fog and ease yourself into the day is to get the gears grinding upstairs as soon as you’re ready to open your eyes. The best part is, you can do this while you’re still in bed! When your alarm goes off (whether it’s the first alarm or one of the three backup alarms you set), reach over and grab your source of brain fuel off the nightstand. 

Brain fuel can be anything from a sports article, to a sudoku puzzle, or a word search app on your phone. Journaling is a great way to wake up your mind—or watch a few clips from your favorite motivational speaker on YouTube; anything that will jump-start your thought train, works. Once you’ve finished your puzzle or completed an entry in your journal, you’ll have a little more clarity and awareness as you move into the day. 

Affirmations (5 min.)

Now that your mind is engaged, begin to remind yourself of your goals. Come up with and recite affirmations that will lead you toward what you want to achieve for the day, week, month, or year. Whether it’s a long-term career goal, or an aspiration to do better in your relationships, reminding yourself of those intentions establishes a foundation for focus and motivation.  

Body Warm-Up (10 min.)

Ok, time to get moving. The body warm-up is not exercise per se, it’s just something to get your blood flowing. It can be as structured or as loose as you would like, as long as it’s effective in energizing you. Do some high kicks and hip twists—jumping jacks are great, or take a stroll around your backyard. 

If you’re lacking inspiration, look at your favorite workout routines and replicate some of the low-impact moves in your bedroom or living room. If you want more structure, spend five minutes stretching and then go for a five-minute walk. Again, you’re just trying to move your body enough to level up your energy. 

“If you win the morning, you win the day.” – Tim Ferriss

To-Do List (10 min.)

Writing down your tasks for the day is essential. Making a to-do list encourages you to maintain focus. If all of your important tasks are written down in front of you, it becomes easier to allocate your time and successfully manage your day. I’ll tell you my secret to making to-do lists: keep it simple. 

Don’t set yourself up for failure by jotting down a number of things you know you can’t complete in one day. To-do lists should be manageable and bring a feeling of relief, not a feeling of dread. Don’t forget to double-check that all your to-do’s line up with your intentions for that day and are on track with your goals. 

Two-Minute Tasks (5 min.)

If you have a chore or a task that takes two minutes or less to do, do it now. Things like: emptying the dishwasher, scheduling a dentist appointment, or placing an online order for more of those special treats your dog likes, usually fall into this category. Most people procrastinate in performing these types of menial tasks because they see no serious consequence if they get put off until later. 

But when small tasks start to pile up, they can cause a big problem, cluttering up both your mental space and your physical space. Get the easy stuff out of the way first so you can focus on the bigger stuff. When I don’t have any two-minute tasks, I usually spend this time straightening up a messy room in the house, or I log into my email and do a quick clean-up of my inbox. If you’re able to get a couple of things off your plate before your day even gets started, you’ll feel more empowered to take on whatever lies ahead.

Personalize It

Play around with the above routine to see what works for you. Maybe you prefer to get your body moving first because everything gets easier from there. If starting the day with affirmations sets you in the right mindset, do that. Don’t overcomplicate the routine by pushing yourself too hard. If you’re not a reader, watch a TedTalk for brain fuel. If you’re not able to come up with your own affirmations, find some examples online. Use this series of actions as a base to build your motivation in the mornings and then customize as needed. Set yourself up for success regardless of when your day gets started.

Jenna M. Angelo is a California, Bay Area native who graduated with a dual degree from California State University, Chico, and worked in professional sports for six years before deciding to become a content writer for hire. She writes feature articles and web content, specializing in travel, sports, community, and self-improvement. Jenna enjoys indulging in good food, getting lost in a great story, and spending as much time as possible outdoors. She loves getting to know new people so stop by her website or her social page @jmacontent and say hello!

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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.

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Image Credit: Midjourney

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.

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Success Advice

Understanding the Power of Yes and No: How to Create Boundaries For Success

These words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds

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Creating legal boundaries
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The two smallest yet most powerful words in life, “Yes” and “No,” have a big impact on our growth on both personal and professional levels. In addition to affecting the choices we make every day, these words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds. (more…)

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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

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How to be motivated
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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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Success Advice

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

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micro financial habits
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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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