7 Decisions Incredibly Successful People Make Every Day

By Elle Kaplan

CEO, Lexion Capital Management

 Boost your success with these daily choices

Anyone who has ever been on a diet can attest that much of a diet's success has to do with making the right decisions constantly.

However, in entrepreneurship, there are a million and a half things that are out of our control all the time. That's why our success is largely determined by the choices we can make: from deciding on what to eat or wear, to what budget cuts will help keep the company afloat.
Successful people thrive, achieve, and enjoy success because they make smart decisions every day.

Without further ado, here are some of those decisions. If you incorporate them in your daily life, success will never be far away.

They choose to feel good about themselves.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
Like many other success stories, Roosevelt realized that she couldn't choose who was happy with her and who wasn't (and there were certainly plenty of people unhappy with her).

Although she couldn't control what people thought of her, she could control the way she thought about herself. Remember, no matter what life throws your way, this is something you can decide daily. So choose to realize your greatness. A baby step you can start today is leaving yourself positive notes daily.

They choose to set specific goals.

Successful people don't start with a million aspirations and attempt to work on every single one of them all at once. Pop icon Madonna hit the spot when she said, "I'm tough, ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a [expletive], okay."

To the successful, an aspiration is not vague, but rather it's a specific, well-conceived desire. You can do this today by turning your dreams into specific, time-sensitive goals, and placing them near the top of your priority list.

They choose to work hard instead of dream.

Yes, it feels nice to daydream and imagine the great things that could happen when we finally achieve what we've been longing for - from opening a business, to finally fitting in a dress two sizes smaller.

However, as the iconic author and poet Maya Angelou said, "Nothing will work unless you do."
Dreams don't come true just because you spaced off during the workday. Successful people don't only know this, but they use it to push themselves forward. They realize they'll achieve their dreams eventually, but they don't get discouraged when it takes a whole lot of elbow grease to get there. You can too--a great way to start is by evaluating your progress every month.

They choose not to cry over spilt milk

If you're waking up every morning thinking about what went wrong the day before, you're probably doing entrepreneurship wrong. Corcoran Group founder and Shark Tank mogul Barbara Corcoran spoke the truth when she said, "The difference between successful people and others is how long they spend time feeling sorry for themselves."

Learning from your mistakes is Entrepreneurship 101. But the ultra-successful take it a step further by remembering the lessons and then forgetting the rest. Their philosophy and your new one: the past is the past and it cannot be undone. Learn from it and move on.

They choose passion.

Some of us get excited about an idea and try to do everything in our power to make it a reality. But oftentimes, when the going gets tough, we lose the fire and our dream fizzles into thin air. Successful people are different.

Fashion designer Eileen Fisher said it best: "Life-fulfilling work is never about the money -- when you feel true passion for something, you instinctively find ways to nurture it."
Obviously, knowing your runway and having your financial ducks in a row are vital. But entrepreneurship never involves a steady paycheck or constant clear skies.

That's why you need to use your passion to keep yourself motivated, especially when the road becomes rough and your destination seems far out of reach.

They choose to surround themselves with positive people.

Just like a bad cold, negativity can be incredibly contagious. As Melinda Gates says, "If you are successful, it is because somewhere, sometime, someone gave you a life or an idea that started you in the right direction."

You can and should choose to surround yourself with passionate, motivated, and aspirational people. I do, and I know it challenges me (instead of dragging me down) daily.

They choose to enjoy life.

"It makes no difference how many peaks you reach if there was no pleasure in the climb." Oprah Winfrey said. 
 
You don't run a marathon by thinking "only 46,111 footsteps to go!" after the starting gun goes off. Similarly, to be successful in business, you need to adopt Winfrey's mentality and appreciate the small victories. You need to learn to love the journey, not just the destination.
Because your success won't happen overnight, but it will happen eventually.
What are some choices you make every day to boost your success? I want to hear them! Share them with me on Twitter.

 http://www.inc.com

4 Things Remarkable Startups Have In Common

By: Thomas Oppong

Why do some startups succeed and others don't? Here's a hint: It doesn't have to do with if an idea is good or bad. Indeed, the successful entrepreneurs are able to run with amazing concepts and pivot otherw when needing. There are a few more tried and true principles that can contribute to the success of your new company.

Among other things, these are four things remarkable startups have in common.

1. Founders are insanely passionate about the idea. Don't start a business without passion. You won't be able to see it through if you are not really into your idea. Founders of most successful startups started searching for solutions to a problem they cared about and made it their focus.

"You have to be burning with an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right. If you're not passionate enough from the start, you'll never stick it out," Steve Jobs has said.

Founders with great passion tend to inspire others to greater success, and they look out for those traits in new hires. According to best-selling authors and workplace strategists Kevin and Jackie Freiberg, passion enables innovation and creativity and makes employees want to stay in their jobs and contribute, even when they’re not feeling their best.

2. They don't try to do too much at once. Laser focus is immensely crucial for the success of every new business. What is the one thing your startup is known for?  Your startup should be focusing on the one thing that makes you stand out. All the successful and well-known startups you know today are doing the one thing that makes them stand out.


For instance, Snapchat knows a picture is worth a million words and have allowed users to send photos and videos that disappear a few moments. Dropbox wants to be the go-to solution for uploading and sharing files in the world.. Most great startups start out to provide simple services or products, but as they grow customers and users tend to demand more, the company needs to improve and make solutions even better.

"The most important things for startups to do is to focus. Because there's so many things you could be doing. One of them is the most important. You should be doing that. And not any of the others." says founding partner of Y Combinator Paul Graham.

3. They value their customers and take great care of them. Does your startup know how to design and deliver great customer service? Successful startups are constantly seeking to satisfy their customers. The importance of reinforcing awesome customer service should be made clear among your employees. Design your products with the customer in mind.

Remarkable startups listen and respond to their customers' evolving needs and expectations.

Strive to make your customers feel that signing up with you was one of the best decisions they ever made, and you will likely have their business for a very long time. As your product changess, the best opportunity you have at delivering the best service is a close relationship with your customers that value their feedback and user experience. Your customers are the people that support you, trust you and most importantly, rely on you for the service or product you offer. They could have chosen your competitors, but they chose you. Make them a part of your evolving development process. Startups that grow with their customers ultimately win.

4. Entrepreneurs don't forget the importance of culture. Successful startups establish and maintain some the best company cultures that promotes and motivates employees. The team behind a product or service is one of the most important factors for a successful business. The first people you hire for your startup are critical to your startup's success. And cultural fit is as equally important as competence when hiring your best people.

People with the right skills and personality are more likely to influence your small team to greater heights than just competent hires. Culture takes time and effort to build, but as long as you don't lose sight of it, you are on a journey to building a great company. It is well known that Google has a unique culture and some of the company's success can be attributed to this culture.
 

Source: www.entrepreneur.com

10 Power Words You Should Start Using Today

• John Brandon

Tired, boring, and dull. Those are the terms that typically describe most email, business documentation, investor summaries, and corporate prose. You almost want to find a paddle and hit yourself across the face to wake up a little or inject coffee directly into your synapses.

The words below have the same effect: They squirt a little fun juice into boring old email and those TPS reports you have to write ad nauseam. If you are looking to spruce up a customer pitch or get the attention of, say, a jaded journalist like myself, use these words and we might pay attention a little more. Remember there is a living, breathing, thinking person on the other end of that e-mail! Spice things up and see the results.

1. Immediately

Go ahead and tell people you'll take care of something immediately. It's one word but it carries some serious power: you are confident about taking action, it will be done quickly and efficiently, and you are communicating a timeline without any hesitation.

2. Fervent

This power word means to display something passionately, so it implies action and immediacy. If you are fervently pursuing a customer support issue or you are fervent about your marketing plan, it means you are excited, passionate, motivated, and persistent.

3. Sharp

Use the word sharp when you want to focus someone's attention; it has an unusual power. You can say you've seen a sharp rise in Web traffic on your site or a sharp decrease in customer support calls and people will understand exactly what you mean.

4. Renewed

This is a power word with two meanings. When used to describe a product or service, it means something was new at one time (that's a plus, right?) and is new again. You might say you have a renewed investor commitment to the brand, which implies a once and future glory.

5. Shining

Avoid saying you have a shiny new gadget you are selling (that expression is overused and worn-out), but go ahead and say you have a shining example. It creates a word picture for people, an aura of importance. Something is shining — so pay attention.

6. Instantly

If you've used the word immediately too much in your e-mail and in your documentation to let everyone know you mean business, try the word instantly instead. It also implies action and power, that you will take care of something and not let it slide. It will happen now.

7. Invigorated

Do you have a newly invigorated plan to reach customers? That's good, because the word means to pass on energy or to enliven something. Suddenly, the word "plan" seems more important. It's as though the word invigorated itself has spruced up your sentence.

8. Responsive

The employee on your team who is responsive is probably getting paid a little more than everyone else. He or she is ready to tackle a tough subject and solve a problem. That's why EMTs say someone is "responsive" — they're completely coherent and aware.

9. Relevant

Here's one of the best power words you can use. Send an e-mail to someone today and use the word relevant — it packs a hefty punch. The word means closely connected and appropriate — in other words, it's helping the company instead of hindering it.

10. Known

One last power word for you. Try using it in a business document. The word known has an interesting effect on your prose. It means someone is doing the knowing about a topic, there's interest and importance, and something is worth considering. It's known.

JOHN BRANDON | Columnist

John Brandon is a contributing editor at Inc. magazine covering technology. He writes the Tech Report column for Inc.com.

The Biggest Thing Standing Between You and Success

BY Paul B. Brown

Hint: It's not money or time--even though you could probably use more of both.

Henry Ford got it absolutely right when he said, "Whether you believe you can, or you believe you can't, you're right."

There are countless things required to start a successful company: discovering the market need; coming up with a product or service that fills that need; communicating successfully that you have the solution that people have been searching for. You could go on for quite a long time describing what you must do to create a lasting enterprise.

And I would not spend a single minute debating with you that some things on whatever list you come up with are not important.

They all probably are.

But the biggest reason people fail is that they never try.

As basketball and hockey players have said forever: You miss 100 percent of the shots that you never take.

People can be extremely risk averse and the idea of a venture not working out can scare them to the point where they never get underway. They keep thinking about the idea or maybe doing more and more research, and so they never pull the trigger.

Or they don't start because their advisers (or spouses) are very conservative and keep pointing out reasons why they should delay, and so they wait and think and refine and tweak and refine some more.

Or they take too long to test the market, putting off actually beginning to the point where the competition has passed them by.

Or they think that just one more bit of market research or one more phone call will guarantee success.

All these situations are sad.

As I have written about before, if you think you have a good idea, get into the marketplace as quickly as you can, using as little money as possible. Take a small step toward your goals, and see what happens.

Maybe you find out right away you have a hit on your hands. (It does happen occasionally.)
Maybe--and this is much more likely--you will learn that the market wants you to fiddle a bit with what you have. (To play with the clichéd example, people aren't crazy about coming by your lemonade stand to get a drink every time they are thirsty, but if you could somehow figure out a way to get your lemonade into the break room at work, they would be more than willing to give you a six-month contract.)

And if your idea doesn't work in any form, you aren't out very much, since you kept the cost of your initial small step toward your goal to a minimum. That means you will have the resources to try again.

But if you don't try, you'll never know.

That's why I truly believe that the biggest thing standing between you and success is you.

PAUL B. BROWN | Columnist

Best-selling author (and Inc. magazine columnist) Paul B. Brown's latest book, Own Your Future, has just been published. Brown's blog appears every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.

www.inc.com

These 5 Character Traits Inspire Happiness and Success Even in Tragic Times

BY Larry Kim

How 5 inspirational people found their silver linings and experienced unlikely successes.

When life gets you down, how do you not only recover, but come out better than before?
Five inspirational people turned tragedy into a springboard to greater business success and personal happiness, thanks to these character traits:

1. Unstoppable Drive

Raised in poverty by a single mother, Jane Miller was driven from a young age. She graduated second in her class, attended college, and went on to earn her MBA at SMU.

Jane's corporate life was successful and lucrative. At 24, she started out in an entry-level position with Frito-Lay. Jane was surrounded by Ivy League-graduate co-workers with pedigrees and far more work experience. Even so, Jane was promoted her first year.
Over the next 20 years, she would hold positions of great power, managing $1 billion business divisions and leading her peers.

When her husband left her, citing her commitment to her work more than to her marriage, Jane struggled. When he became ill with cancer, she faltered. Her priorities changed forever when he tragically lost his fight in 2002.

She created JaneKnows.com to help other women navigate the tricky world of big business. Jane was ready for a career move of her own, too--she became CEO of Rudi's Organic Bakery.

"I run a company with products that I believe in, I live in a location that nourishes my soul, and I have time for a personal life," she says. "I have worked for many companies where I did not care about the products; I have lived in many locations that I hated; I know what it is like to not have time for a personal life."

Jane's drive led her to great professional success, but today it's helping her find personal happiness as well.

2. Empathy

Irina Jordan's 22-year old brother was killed in a home invasion and burglary. Years later, she unexpectedly lost a close friend, resurfacing the devastation of the death of her brother.
Once afraid to let go of the stable corporate environment, Irina was inspired to take a giant leap of faith.

"My brother lived his life to the fullest, and to honor it, I've been on a quest to face my fears, and pursue my passions," she says. An artisan at heart, Irina left her job and launched Artisurn.
Now, she spends her days crafting items people can display in their homes or wear close to their hearts to honor their lost friends, relatives, and pets.

"I was able to start talking to people outside of my immediate family and finding joy in my everyday life. That was when I knew I am healing, and I said to myself that my life is a gift that I should not take for granted," she said.

Irina found happiness and success in business through her empathetic nature and a desire to help others.

3. Resourcefulness

William Dockery escaped the poverty of his upbringing only to return home, years later, a widower and single father. This time, though, he built a successful business that brings in over $9 million in annual revenue.

Raised in poverty in rural Appalachia just after World War II, he spent eight years in the Air Force, and eventually earned his electrical engineering degree on the GI bill. Eager to make something of himself, William became a businessman and engineer, in Boulder, Colorado and in Silicon Valley.

These were happy times for William, his wife and two young children. Work was good. Home was good. Life was good.

The death of his wife in 1992 to a staph infection that started as a simple cut on her finger was a stunning loss.

William needed his family's support in raising his two small, now motherless children--but they were back in North Carolina.

In order to survive and thrive back home, William knew he needed to be resourceful.
"When I finished my small business presentation to the Vicor Board of Directors in 1995 and received the first start-up funding check, I knew things were going to change for the better," he says.

Did it ever. Aegis Power Systems Inc. is certainly atypical for the region.

"As part of the agreement with Vicor, I was able to access their marketing group and have access to existing accounts. Having a good financial partner allowed me to concentrate on organizing and growing the business," he explains.

William's resourcefulness drove his success in a situation where it was highly unlikely.

4. Tenacity

Joan Frances Moran lost the love of her life and her screenwriting partner in her later years, but it wasn't her curtain call. At 60, Joan began teaching yoga.

"Losing my significant other was deep and profound," Joan tells me. "He had given me so many tools for living, mental and emotional survival skills."

Her decision to take the yoga training her partner had pushed her to do changed Joan's life. After all, how many people switch careers and decide to push their bodies even harder well into their sixties?

She had no idea what her journey would look like, she says, but was determined to complete her training. And she did.

In fact, Joan went on to teach, create a corporate wellness program, become a motivational keynote speaker, and author her book, 60, Sex & Tango: Confessions of a Beatnik Boomer.

5. Ingenuity

The global fitness trend Sarina Jain had started stemmed from the sudden loss of her father to cardiac arrest when she was just a teen.

Masala Bhangra is the dance workout Sarina created to honor her father and to promote a healthy lifestyle. Her unique blend of Indian folkdance bhangra with exotic Bollywood moves and modern dance became an international sensation.

Teaching classes and creating videos of her dance workout set to the beat of Indian music helped Sarina keep her father's cultural influence alive.

She landed a spot hosting the first Indian dance program on Discovery Channel's FitTV. Eventually, she would sign a sponsorship deal with Nestle that saw her creation featured on millions of breakfast products.

"Staying focused on creating Masala Bhangra helped me to keep my Dad's spirit alive and allowed me to create something productive out of my grief," she says.

Where Does Your Happiness and Success Come From?

These 5 people inspire us to find our own silver linings and to build something awesome from the ashes of personal tragedy.

What has inspired you to focus on finding happiness or led you to greater success? Share your story in the comments!

www.inc.com

6 Make-or-Break Steps to Go From Big Idea to Successful Business

BY: Scott Elser

A great idea is only the first step toward success.

This week, I had the chance to speak with a friend who's created a truly unique design in a product category that has relied on the same basic approach for quite a while now. He's got a prototype, has a patent pending and is working to figure out how to manufacture it. The countless hours of research he has spent on the category, technology and market are impressive, however it's clear that he's completely starting from scratch in terms of actually taking what he's done so far and turning it into a real business.

I've found this most often to be the norm, rather than the exception, with startups. It's human nature to get immediately excited about a great new idea, but the simple belief that, "If you build it, they will come," is not the way any new idea becomes successful.
A few key steps are absolutely critical to any successful launch:

1. Have a business plan.

Yes, you heard it here first. OK, you actually heard it basically everywhere. Writing a business plan isn't fun, but it's one of the single most important things you must do to stop dreaming and start making your business idea a reality. A well thought out business plan forces you to consider all aspects of business operations that will be necessary for success, including production, distribution and marketing. Without one, no investor will even consider providing you with the capital you need to become successful--in fact, you'll have no real way of even knowing just how much capital you're going to need. There are tons of examples you can tap into online, or for more guidance invest in a software package like Business Plan Pro.

2. Execution often trumps idea.

Think about how many amazing ideas die on the vine. Great ideas are only great if they're well executed. This has far less to do with the actual product than with the more mundane elements of finance, marketing, sales, production, etc. Failure to consider all of these critical elements upfront means that success is unlikely. Which brings us back to why investors first want to see that business plan.

3. Define your promise.

In ten words or less, describe why someone would want your product. When put to this test, most entrepreneurs immediately dive into the detailed minutiae of product design and functionality. While that's very important to the person who designed the product, it's not at all what I meant when I posed the question. What I'm looking for is that reason for being, the passionate gut reaction a consumer experiences the moment they first engage with the product. What problem have you solved? What emotion have you generated? What promise are you making about all your current and future offerings? Yes, the details are very important­­­--but most people simply don't care about them like you do. They want to get excited about the potential your product has, not bored by all the details..

4. Distribution matters... A LOT.

I've had some start-ups succeed and some that didn't. My first startup had it all: Great snacks that were both tasty and healthy, low-cost production and a great brand that everybody resonated with. What we lacked was any real experience or knowledge of the retail grocery environment. While we were able to achieve substantial retail penetration, the major retailers literally ate us alive. Slotting fees, marketing fees, promotional fees, return fees, broker fees, distributor fees--at times we were almost spending more than the price of the product just to put it on the shelf. Needless to say, this was not a model for long-term success. Understanding where to sell your product, and how to effectively enter those channels is one of the single most important aspects of any business. And if you are in a business where the majority of sales are in retail and your plan is to just start selling online, think again. It's hard enough to succeed as a start-up without the burden of believing that the wonder of mere presence will alter consumer behavior forever.

5. Package things simply.

It amazes me how many times someone shares an idea simply by flipping through a hodgepodge of different documents, websites and materials. I'm always left with the impression that this person really hasn't fully thought through what they are sharing. Being buttoned up is important, especially for a start-up. Put together an easy-to-review presentation that walks through the basics. Keep it top-line, and be prepared to walk anyone through it in 10 minutes or less. I said anyone--because you should go in assuming your audience knows little about your product or category.

6. Leverage your network.

You have friends and family. You've worked with people who respect you. Many of them can offer expertise, networks and occasionally, investment potential. Often, they would love to help--that is, if only you would ask. Not all will, of course. Often, the ones who help the most are those you originally expected the least from. Don't be afraid to engage the people you know, and be prepared not just to share your idea but to express the ways they can add value.

www.inc.com

 

 

How to Rewire Your Brain for Success

BY Geoffrey James

The latest neuroscience suggests you can literally "edit" your memory. Here's what this big breakthrough means for you.

The most recent edition of The New Yorker magazine contains an article about neuroscientists who study the way the brain retrieves memories. What they've found out is probably the most important breakthrough of all time in the field of success training.

How the Brain Remembers

Most people think about human memory as a videotape or computer memory.  When you remember something, you're playing back the memory, which is vivid or vague depending on how good you are at remembering things.

It turns out that human memory isn't like that at all.  When you remember something, your brain is "rewiring" the connections between neurons, literally changing the structure of your brain.
Rather than video playback, human memory is more like video editing.  When you remember something you are recreating, changing, and re-memorizing. The memory is subject to change every time you remember it.

According to the latest research, it's possible to intentionally edit bad memories to remove the bad feelings associated with those memories. This new memory therapy is being used treat to PTSD sufferers.

What This Means to You

Your attitude and behavior--the two things that make you successful--are heavily influenced by your memories.

For example, if you've experienced a painful failure in the past, you're more likely to avoid taking risks, even when they're smart risks.

Similarly, if you've had successes in the past, you're more likely to take actions to repeat those successes, if you have vivid positive memories about them.

The reason that this research is so important is that we now know that you can:

1. Edit your bad memories so that they don't hold you back.
2. Edit your good memories so that they propel you forward.

In other words, you can literally rewire your brain to make you more successful.

How to Weaken Your Bad Memories

The method described in the article is almost exactly the same as a method that author and motivational speaker Anthony Robbins (of all people) has been training people to use for the past two decades.

To extract the poisonous fangs (as it were) of your bad memories, bring the memory into your mind, and then imagine it getting smaller and dimmer, like you're watching a tiny black-and-white TV.

Now add details that scramble the memory.  For instance, if you're remembering a time when you flubbed a presentation, turn the audience (the little bitty audience in the little bitty screen) so that they're all wearing clown suits.

Do this five or 10 times and you'll discover that the bad memory simply doesn't sting any longer. If anything, the memory of that presentation will make you chuckle, because you have literally and physically rewired your brain.

How to Strengthen Your Good Memories

To make your good memories more powerful and motivating, you do the same thing in reverse.  You call the memory up as vividly as you can, on a huge IMAX, surround-sound screen.  Make it bright and loud.

Most importantly, insert or increase the wonderful feelings that you experienced in that situation.
Do this five or 10 times and you'll discover that what was once just a happy memory is now a driving motivation.  The more you experience the memory, the more you'll want to make it real again.

I've been using this method on and off for years, without really understanding why it works. Now that I know the neuroscience behind it, I'm going to make editing and improving my memories into a daily habit.

GEOFFREY JAMES | Columnist

Geoffrey James was recently named a "Top 40 Social Selling Marketing Master" in Forbes magazine and his blog has won awards from the Society of American Business Editors and the American Society of Business Publication Editors. His writing has appeared in publications as diverse as Wired, Brand Week and Men's Health and he is the author of numerous books, including "The Tao of Programming," "Business Wisdom of the Electronic Elite," and most recently "Business Without the Bullsh*t: 49 Secrets and Shortcuts that You Need to Know."
www.inc.com

Workplace Success: Ten Points to Encourage Every Worker in Your Shop

This article is designed to give you the basics for a fun introductory or mid-season training conference.

It doesn’t need to be endless, or even much more than an hour, but it does help you to establish priorities and set some standards for your people. All of your people.

Here’s what they need to know.

1) Environment

You take it seriously. So should they. As of today, you need to hear what bothers them. Throw out the old, ugly art and bring in the new. It’s important. And it keep people happy. That’s just the beginning. It’s their environment too. Let’s make it better.

2) Organization

What’s the official hierarchy? Why? How long has it been that way? Understand the aims, structure and purpose of the entire organization. That gives everyone a more confident and positive place to be (see above).

3) Values

Though we’ve touched on Core Corporate Values in other posts, there’s still work to be done. Make sure everyone understands how you arrived at the core values and try to build enthusiasm around each of them.

4) Ethics

Not every company has to face issues of right and wrong. But slacking off and avoiding the tough jobs costs money. Good work ethics are cultivated and highlighting the best workplace behaviors is a good place to get going.

5) Organize

We said “Organization” above, but spend some time on how each of your employees can organize or optimize their own workplace. Point out “best practices” and keep them in peoples’ minds – for good.

6) Creativity

This one is, ultimately, one of the most important. Highlight the true creatives – problem solvers, hands in the air types – who ever has really thought through completing tasks more efficiently, with better results or corrections. Everything counts.

7) Stress Management

Just pointing out that the organization knows about stress is a huge plus. It’s a terrific way to get your employees on your side. Some techniques for coping – and some best-practices – are in order too.

8) No Taking Work Home!

This is a very good policy to enforce. Take a stand for work-life balance and your better people will be devoted to you. Again it’s just a matter of understanding.

9) Attitude

This one can seem tough. It helps to go back to the values mentioned above, but if you haven’t convinced the higher ups to go all in for a values-centered organization plan, don’t worry. Instead, just crack a smile on the faces of even your most cynical players. That can lead to a big learning moment – for everyone! Mentioning attitude is also a great opportunity to highlight the creative, the ethical and the hard-working.

10) Respect

We almost wrote “Getting Along” but this isn’t the moment to force everyone to hug people they don’t like. Rather, use it as a moment to reinforce that one of your core values – however it’s written – emphasizes common purpose with all customers, employees, and whoever else you can think of at the moment. It can include suppliers or delivery people and even the people cleaning the workspace. Everyone deserves respect.
Workplace success depends on all of the above, and for all of your people. Maybe most importantly,  just mentioning all of the above also has a positive effect on your entire work crew from team leaders down to the newest employees.

SIX KEYS OF SUCCESS

1. Attitude 

 Bloom where you are planted. You have a choice to get back up after temporary set backs. Attitude is a small thing that makes a big difference!

2. Direction 

If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there. Write your short term goals down on paper. I have discovered and continue to discover that putting your dreams and goals down on paper lock in or focus your belief that they can be achieved--even if you have to take a course correction in achieving your goals. Success comes in cans, failure comes in can'ts.

3. Values

Explore what is important to you. Maybe it is family, friends, your spirituality or working hard at any given task. I can assure you that your priorities will change as you grow older. Very important that you value yourself and treat yourself like the valuable gift from God that you are.

4. Interests 

Birds of a feather flock together. This is to say that if you are hanging around winners or others with a "can do" mind-set, you'll likely adapt to this same kind of thinking. Remember--"SUCCESS LEAVES CLUES!

5. Commitment

Feelings may change, commitments do not. "Success is getting up one more time than you fall." I have often wanted to give up, and then I must think to myself about what the consequences of giving up will be. Generally, this is more than enough of a motivation to make us stick to the task at hand even if we don't feel like it. When the task is achieved, Whow!--IT FEELS GREAT!

6. Encouragement

 Be an encourager and comforter to friends that are feeling discouraged. I promise that you will not regret this as you will be encouraged by one, if not many, when you are feeling down. Encouragement and love are contagious qualities that can change the minds of the most stubborn and "hard-to-get- along-with" people you know. I have seen it happen over and over again.

6 Signs You're Sacrificing Too Much for Success

BY John Brandon

As a founder, your job is never done. It comes with the territory of starting a business that you'll need to sacrifice a little blood, sweat, tears (money, time--the list could go on) to achieve success.

But at a certain point, if all you're doing is making sacrifices, perhaps you're paying too high a cost for that success. 

Check out the list below. Do any of these signs sound familiar? Maybe it's time to rethink your priorities:

1. You sacrifice your family time for work.

I've lived this one. Using the excuse that you need to feed your family might seem acceptable at an early stage, but it's still an excuse. Take a serious look at your overall time investment. Don't count the hours you are in the office. Count the hours you answer emails on your phone, the time you drive to work, the time you spend thinking about work, and the time you have left for everything else.

2. Your work and leisure time always intersect.

Here's one that is hard for me as well, mostly because my job can be fun at times. Playing around with a new app on the iPad doesn't seem like work. No matter which field you're in, it's best to figure out where the delineation lies between actual work and actual relaxation. Sometimes, you have to be intentional about this: take up tennis as a recreational sport because it has nothing to do with your cooking business. While work is changing and some entrepreneurs have to work extremely long hours to kickstart a company, having no margins means you are not working that smart anyway.

3. You can't take time off.

I've been reading the book "The Everything Store" about how Jeff Bezos became such a celebrity entrepreneur. In his early days, he had a cot in his office in case he needed to sleep at work. (I bet he has better margins in his life now.) If that's you, think long and hard about whether it makes sense. Maybe in an early-stage startup it seems reasonable. But the truth is that your inability to take time off from work is a sign that you have poor boundaries. Someone is paying for that extremism.

4. You're constantly living in stress and anxiety.

There's scientific proof for this one. Constant stress is chipping years off your life, and it's not worth the strain. By thinking about work from sun-up to sundown, you are fixating your brain on one thing. Extremism at work is a way to control the work, but it usually backfires. In most cases, business needs time to grow and evolve. If it's 9 p.m. at night and you are thinking about a sales meeting the next morning, then you don't have good margins. If raking in the cash means a shorter life, live on less.

5. Your gadgets are always on.

I seem to always have an iPhone at the ready, which is easy to justify. But letting the plastic gizmos die once in a while is a good thing. When your phone or tablet is not available to you, it forces you to look outside once in a while, to have a conversation with someone, to think about something besides work. In science jargon, this is called sensory dynamism. When you stare at the iPhone, you are only experiencing a few planes of reality. When you look outside, you are seeing millions. Your brain needs a reprise from the gadgets, and overuse is not advised.

6. You have no friends.

If the only relationships you have are at work, you might have a problem. Workaholics have plenty of income and no social life. In some cases, that's okay for a while. But take a long look at whether you are actively developing friendships outside of work. True friends will tell you when you are working too much; business colleagues will just encourage you to work more because they reap the rewards. You might end up with a big successful company, but life is about more than just financial success.

 

Successful Habits

Whatever you do again and again turns into a habit.
And your habits have a profound effect on the
quality of your life.

Look honestly at what you do each day.
What things are moving you forward, and what
things are you doing that keep holding you back?

Your actions are yours to control.
And your habits are yours to develop or abandon.

Though habits rarely come or go overnight,
you can indeed choose and control them.
Add an empowering habit, or get rid of
a destructive one,
to dramatically improve your life.

Even a small positive habit will make a
big difference. because each time you do it,
you steadily add more power to it.

Think of what you can do,
beginning right now,
to add a habit of success to your life.
And watch as that small success,
done again and again, turns into plenty of
big achievements.

Some Suggestions for Success

1. Work at something you enjoy and that's worthy of your time and talent.

2. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

3. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.

4. Be forgiving of yourself and others.

5. Be generous.

6. Have a grateful heart.

7. Persistence, persistence, persistence.

8. Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.

9. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.


10. Commit yourself to constant improvement.

11. Commit yourself to quality.
12. Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect.

13. Be honest.

14. Commit yourself to quality.

15. Be a self-starter.                                                                                                                            

16. Be decisive even if it means you'll sometimes be wrong. 17. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.

18. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did.

19. Take good care of those you love.