Success Advice
4 Ways to Make Sure You Catch Your Next Big Idea Before It Passes You by
Research suggests that we have between 40,000-70,000 thoughts a day. We carry out most of our daily activities without even thinking. These can include brushing our teeth, driving a car or even breathing. So most of these 70,000 thoughts are new thoughts, how many do you pay attention to?
Within all of these thoughts, there is at least one a day that could change your life or the world as we know it, but how many do we let slip through our fingers never to be thought of again?
Here are some great ways to ensure that those ideas don’t pass you by:
1. Journal In The Morning
You’ve been asleep for 8 hours, imagine what magnificent thoughts have been running through your mind all night. We need to get them down on paper. This is why it’s a perfect time to journal. Write anything down that you’re feeling or thinking. Go crazy and write as if no one else will read it. It doesn’t even have to make sense.
When we wake up those thoughts can slowly dissolve as the day progresses. The sooner we can get our ideas down the better. There’s nothing like a fresh idea in the morning to start your day right.
“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” – Dr. Seuss
2. Use A Notebook or Dictaphone Every Day
No day is ever the same in our lives. You come across different problems each day which present different thought processes. You may have a solution in mind for a problem that you’ve found, again this has to be recorded or written down before your next thought comes along.
Having a notebook or a Dictaphone is one of the most important things to do if you’re going to change anything. If you like to sketch ideas, or mind map then a notebook is great. If you’re a person that doesn’t have those extra 20 seconds to write something down then grab a Dictaphone and record.
Again these notes or recordings don’t have to make sense, just make sure they are down somewhere as soon as possible. Are you seeing the theme here? Get the ideas down as soon as possible with as much detail as possible.
3. Use Social Media To Get Instant Feedback
Thought and ideas are great things to have throughout the day, but it is even better to get instant feedback. The majority of this audience have access to one form of social media, on their phones, so get your ideas on there.
Ask your audience “Would people benefit from an App that gives fashionable clothing suggestions for today’s weather?” This will give you instant feedback. No waiting for surveys or sending out hundreds of emails. People love interaction on social media, why not get them interacting with your ideas to get some real and quick feedback?
“We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve.” – Bill Gates
4. Recap At The End Of The Day
At the end of every day you need to re confirm your ideas in your mind, so they don’t slip away again. Take your notebook or your Dictaphone and write down each idea or thought again in a more detailed form, with a bit more structure. Having a nice notebook for this makes the experience more enjoyable.
This practice of writing each idea down again will reconfirm them in your mind, so you’re more likely to act on them. Remember this has to happen on that day, if you go to sleep in between writing the idea down and reconfirming it then some of the “magic” of that idea has gone. Don’t leave it too long.
It’s all about catching these ideas before they pass you by. The quicker and the more detail you can put into each one, the more ingrained those ideas will become in your mind. This way you are much more inclined to act on them.
What do you do on a daily basis to ensure that you don’t miss any golden ideas? I’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments 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
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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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…)
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
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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