Success Advice

7 Ways To Accelerate Your Success As An Entrepreneur

Published

6 years ago

Dec 30, 2015

There are two types of entrepreneurs. And knowing which one you are is critical to your development. There is the entrepreneur that just works hard. Someone who puts in unthinkable hours, is completely confident in their business, creates detailed plans – but at the end of the day, never seems to have much to show for it.

And then there is the entrepreneur who works smart. They put in as many hours as is required, only plan as much as needed, are confident but not delusional, are open to new ideas, and constantly look to the advice of people more experienced than them.

If you’re an entrepreneur and you’re reading blogs like this one, I’m sure you want to know how you can make sure you are the latter. The problem most of us have though, is not knowing exactly what to do to accelerate our success. If we’re going to be working hard we want to know we’re also working smart.

So the question is, what can you focus on to make sure you’re working smart, and making leaps and bounds in your business?

Here are 7 ways to accelerate your success as an entrepreneur:

1. Limit your time with people who bring you down

Entrepreneurs quickly learn that striving to do something bigger than those around them can be messy. People often start to project their own fears onto you, undermine your vision, suck energy from you, and ultimately drag you down.

Cutting people out should be a no nonsense process, but that doesn’t mean it should be rushed. Sometimes you just need to distance yourself or you need to redefine boundaries in your relationships. If you’re around people that don’t bring anything to the relationship, belittle your dreams, or talk you out of them, then you need to limit your time with them.

2. Set smaller goals

The number one factor that allows entrepreneurs to waste time is not having specific goals. Lack of clarity in your business does two things: You either spend too much time focusing on the wrong areas of the operation or you make yourself feel overwhelmed by the idea of reaching such a huge goal.

In order to see success you have to be specific about what you want to accomplish. If you don’t know what those steps are, that’s completely okay. It just means you need to do more research, read more books, talk to a mentor or even look for advice in forums. Remember, we’re in the digital age where almost any information is available, we just have to find it and act on it.

“Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement.” – Brian Tracey

3. Live by the 80/20 rule

The Pareto principle suggests that around 80% of effects will come from only 20% of causes. In practice this may mean that 80% of the market may be owned by 20% of businesses, or 80% of sales result from 20% of clients. For you, it means 80% of your results will come from 20% of your most important activities.

To live by the principle, constantly track and evaluate your time and results in order to determine what your 20% most effective activities are. You can then delegate, automate, or eliminate the rest.

4. Surround yourself by like minded people

It’s very easy for entrepreneurs to slip into the habit of trying to do everything by themselves. Unfortunately, this just slows down your growth. Finding a mastermind and being around likeminded entrepreneurs can help you in countless ways. Finding a mastermind group has many benefits including, networking with potential mentors, collaborating with other business owners, cross-promoting, or learning successful habits.

5. Invest in a coach

All world class athletes have a coach. Without them, they never expect to compete at the highest level. So why would you expect to reach your entrepreneurial potential without a coach?

What you may not know is that most world class business leaders have personal coaches. Everyone from Google Executives to U.S Presidents like Bill Clinton have had coaches. You may need help with strategy, habits, and self-defeating thought patterns, or you might just need accountability.

If you’re just starting out, coaches can seem like a big investment, but when you find the right one, they’ll pay it off tenfold. A lot of business coaches offer free consultations, so make sure you do your research and find a coach that resonates with you personally.

“I absolutely believe that people, unless coached, never reach their maximum capabilities.” – Bob Nardelli

6. Redefine your personal boundaries

If you want to get ahead in business fast, you have to learn to redefine your personal boundaries and put yourself first.

Putting yourself first means your business goals come before everything else; that includes drinking with friends, dealing with negative influences, watching Netflix for hours on end, or telling yourself that you can’t do something.

7. Meditate

Meditation is beneficial for everyone, and this goes tenfold for high performers. A huge proportion of successful people swear by meditation. From NBA players like Kobe Bryant, to US Marines to hedge fund managers like Ray Dalio, and Media Moguls like Russell Simmons and Oprah Winfrey—success follows meditation. That’s because it works. Get away from any ideas that it’s a fad, or it’s just not for you.

Meditation has some incredible benefits:

Improved immune function
Improves ability to focus
Decreased anxiety, stress and depression
Increase in Positive emotions
Improves emotional intelligence
Increases compassion
Improves introspective acuity
Improve willpower

The game of entrepreneurship is a long one. However, when you play it smart, you can see massive growth in a relatively short amount of time.

If tackling all of these at once is too much for you, just start with a few then add one a month and in no time you’ll be absolutely crushing it.

What are you experiences with these tips? Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

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Benjamin Fishel

Benjamin Fishel is co-creator of Project Monkey Mind – where he helps young professionals and solopreneuers channel their passions, improve their mindset, and lead a world-changing life. Do you want to get more out of your morning in less time? You can download our FREE eBook: Morning Mastery: the simple 20 minute routine for long-lasting energy, laser-sharp focus, and stress free living.

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Success Advice

How Your Friends Determine Whether You Succeed or Not

Published

1 week ago

Oct 18, 2021

TheThrives

Image Credit: Unsplash

Can anyone do without having friends? We all have our friends, we share ideas with them, talk together, have fun, and fight. Yes, that’s the baseline of friendship. But, do you know that aside from you, your friends can determine whether you achieve success or not?

There are two things in friendship which are the ability to ”love” and the ability to “influence”. This means you are loved and you are influenced. How do your friends affect your success in life? How are they one of the biggest deciding factors of your success? Let’s find out.

What type of friends do you keep?

First, what type of friends do you keep? Who do you call your best friend? There are two different kinds of friends, good friends, and bad ones. A lot of people have lost their pathway to success and some have also found their road to success all because of the friends they keep, the people they mingle with.

Who is your best friend? Answer carefully. Having a best friend means you find each other compatible and understanding. Analyze who your best friend is. If your best friend has not motivated you to do something positive, if who you call your bestie has never given you positive advice, lastly if your best friend has never informed and advised you on your shortcomings, then you don’t have a best friend.

This quote tells us “birds of the same feather flock together”. Countless people have changed from their good nature into a bad one all because of friends. One thing to note is, “negative people move with negative aura”. If your best friend is filled with negativity inside-out then you will surely be affected by his/her negative aura.

They influence your success with positivity or negativity

The friends you keep can either influence you with positivity or negativity because your friends have the power to change your kind of person completely.

This is how your friends influence you:

They influence you indirectly with what they do
They influence you directly by teaching and giving you advice

Yes, that is how they influence you. For instance, you watch a movie and you like the way the actor walks. The question is if you truly like the way the actor walks, won’t you try to imitate the actor? Of course, you will.

Just the way you imitate the actor is the same way your friends can influence you with their character. However, the funny part is, they don’t have to teach you to do things like them. You just find yourself imitating and copying them gradually.

An important question to ask is, are you imitating a good friend or a bad one? If you imitate a good friend then you will be good, but if you imitate a bad person, you will surely become a bad person.

Everyone wants to succeed, a good friend will always teach, enlighten, and motivate you for success. A bad friend will only motivate you to do evil things (smoking, drinking, fight, envy,).

And you should know that things like that are a great enemy of success and even of God. So, if you have these bad elements in your life, how will you achieve success? There is no way!

And also, they can teach and advise you directly. But, what do your friends teach you? When you ask them for advice do they inspire you positively or teach you the bad stuff.? A lot of people have regretted lifelong decisions just by listening to the advice of friends.

The company you keep has the power to influence and change you. Never forget that a positive influence will teach, motivate, and brush you up for success. While a negative influence will inspire you to become a bad person, change your good nature, and leave you with regrets in the end.

Success Advice

The 3 Step Process to Building a Profitable Pitch

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Monique Maley

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As a communication coach, one of the top questions entrepreneurs ask me is how to deliver a winning pitch to potential investors. They want to know if there’s a magic formula to get an investor to say yes and buy into their dream and their business. (more…)

Success Advice

The 4 Pillars of Wealth and Abundance

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Dalia Escobar

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Have you ever wondered what the formula for a wealthy and abundant life is? Many people have. Lots has been written about the subject of wealth creation and living an abundant life. It was a breaking point in my journey and pursuit of success when I found out that there is a clear path to achieve success in life. Thanks to those who have shared their journey, we can clearly see and follow the principles of prosperity. (more…)

Success Advice

Here Are 4 Reasons Why You Should Have a Podcast, Youtube Channel or Online Show

Published

2 weeks ago

Oct 14, 2021

Timothy Craggette

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Confidence comes from a place of strong understanding of self. After close to three years on radio, I’ve grown from a shy introvert to a shy introvert with an extrovert persona. When the mic is turned on, I can channel a version of myself that some say is attractive, strong, and of course, confident but it wasn’t always this way.

What I want to share with you is what I discovered on this journey into broadcast that you can apply to your life, your ventures, and your personal development. This doesn’t require any fancy gear. It does require a leap of faith on your part because once you go down the road of media; it can change your life.

1. Perceived Expertise

When you go to a doctor, you expect their knowledge will guide them to a solution to your problems. When you have a show, you become your listeners’ doctor. For all the multiple thousands, maybe millions, of YouTube channels, podcasts, and user-created content in the world, each person that gets behind a mic takes a position on their passion, their opinions, and their themes.

They challenge the status quo for the benefit of their listeners in hopes to entertain and educate. With consistency on your side, those fans place you on a platform and give you permission to influence them.

2. Global Acknowledgement

One of the benefits to increasing confidence is when you receive thank you notes from people you may never meet. The feeling of enriching someone’s life from halfway around the globe, provides validation you’re enhancing someone else’s life with your wisdom and your wit.

The very first time I was told I was making a difference in someone’s life in a country other than my own, I felt like I caused massive impact that transcends my circle of influence. When you experience just how much you can cause impact and it comes back to you, it’ll change your worldview.

“Be grateful for what you have and stop complaining – it bores everybody else, does you no good, and doesn’t solve any problems.” – Zig Ziglar

3. Backed By Numbers

One of the most exciting ways to measure success is to quantify your growth. It’s not enough to just broadcast. Having subscribers and downloads helps to know, numerically, how well you’re doing. Word of caution. This can be a way to set yourself up for distress because of number envy but if you understand what the numbers mean; you can control the narrative of the numbers.

The major number that makes most people smile is 10,000. I’d advise it to be 1. Here’s why. As you grow in your industry, so does your reach. If you learned that the one person that subscribed totally changed for the better because of you, wouldn’t that be worth the effort?

4. Effective Communication

While it’s not talked about much, having a show is documentation. You create a dynamic account of your life, your industry, and the pulse on what’s important simply by having a show. When you find a channel to improve your communication skills, you demand attention and people will listen to you. You become more trusted as a leader and people will follow you once they believe you can lead them to their wants and needs.

“To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” – Tony Robbins

These insights have helped many people become leaders and, ultimately, move others to their best selves. It’s worked for me and I hope it works for you. At the end of the day, it’s all about showing up and showing out.