Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Five Elements of the Entrepreneurial Mind

You can win big in life by adopting an entrepreneurial mentality. It will allow you to overcome problems that other people find insurmountable, enabling you to detect hidden solutions and opportunities in difficult situations.

How can you train yourself to become more entrepreneurial? Taking risks, staying alert, and being quick at exploiting chance encounters are things that do not come naturally to most of us. Nevertheless, like any other skill, entrepreneurship becomes sharper through practice.
The best approach is simply to make a list of those traits that you wish to acquire and work constantly at improving the quality of your thinking. What are the characteristics of the entrepreneurial mind? My own list contains five points.

1. TOLERANCE: What does a moral virtue have to do with entrepreneurship? Everything. Intolerance and inflexibility are deadly poisons when it comes to detecting opportunities and taking initiative. Unless you push yourself to tolerate uncertainty and risk beyond normal levels, your mind will never operate on a high entrepreneurial gear.

2. INDEPENDENT THINKING: Start questioning things that seem self-evident. Why should you follow traditions that make no sense? Can things be improved? Why do we have to wait in line to purchase certain products or services? Is there a better way? When everything is expensive, try cheap. When everything is cheap, try borrowing. The best opportunities lie always below the surface.

3. CONSISTENT AMBITION: There is moral ambition and there is the search of wealth. In addition, many others are embarked in a quest for honours or simply desire to make the world a better place. Pick your choice and keep it present in your mind. What really counts here is consistency. Random changes in your goals will block your entrepreneurial vision. Confusion
generates chaos. Consistency of purpose sharpens the mind.

4. DETERMINATION: Whatever path you take, you will face opposition and criticism. Ambition is worthless unless it is accompanied by an iron determination to persist, to try again, to stand up and push repeatedly until the wagon moves. Why do different people possess unequal levels of determination? Personal philosophy plays a major role in this. Those who have a stable, rational, and integrated view of the world tend to advance faster on the entrepreneurial road.

5. A FEELING OF DISSATISFACTION: Contented souls seldom have the drive that is necessary to challenge the way things are. On many occasions, entrepreneurship is linked to personal dissatisfaction with a product, service, or environment. Annoyance and irritation can fuel the motor of change. A strong wish to turn the present into a better future is the thread line of many entrepreneurial careers.

Make your own list of the traits that you want to develop and place it on a visible place in your kitchen or bathroom. The world of tomorrow is shaped by those who reflect on their life's purpose while cooking and brushing their teeth.

See John Vespasian's blog

John Vespasianhttp://johnvespasian.blogspot.com
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Monday, April 13, 2009

Ten Tips To Achieve Success

It is unfortunate but, most people settle for what life gives them and never realize their full potential. There are some of us who won't settle for less than complete and total success. I suspect that if you are reading this, you are among the second category. Here are a few simple tips to help you reach for the stars. There is no particular sequence to this list.

Set a target. If you write down a goal or at least an intention, you are far more likely to have a greater degree of success. It has often been quoted that only 2% of the population have written goals but that 2% controls somewhere between 80 and 95% of the world's wealth.

Birds of a feather, flock together. Choose your friends carefully. Take a look at your 5 closest friends. In all likelihood you have all reached about the same level of success as you. If all your friends are making 30 thousand a year then likely that is also your income. Think about joining Toastmasters, local business groups, charitable fund raisers, art societies or other similar groups. Chances are that members of these groups are in a much higher income bracket and if you start to develop friends in these groups, you may very likely raise your own standard of living.

Be charitable. Wealthy people are not greedy. In fact, they are the biggest supporters of charities and if you someday wish to be wealthy then you should, within your means, dedicate a portion of your income to charity. Stay within you means but don't be greedy.

Be a life long student. You can never acquire enough knowledge. I am 62 and I still make it a point never letting a day go by without learning something new. In fact, I still take an occasional college class. It keeps the mind sharp and you never know when this new knowledge may be of use to you.

Do what you love and love what you do. Life is too short to be stuck in a job that you hate and you are far more likely to be successful if you are doing something you love. Procrastination is never a problem when you are doing what you love to do.

Take action toward your goals everyday. Even if it is only a small step, every action you take will result in progress. If a day goes by without taking some sort of goal oriented action, just remember we only have so many days before our stay on this planet is over and every single day is the most valuable things that we have.

Last thing at night or first thing in the morning, write down your daily accomplishments and then write out a plan for the new day. Call it a journal, a daily planner or a to do list, you will get far more done if you study what you have done and plan what you are going to do.

Seek success in all areas of your life. You can become a multi-millionaire and still be a failure if you don't take time out for family, friends, spirituality and just plain fun. Life is short and you should try to enjoy every moment that we have.

Find and use the tools that work for you. Goal setting, hypnotism, NLP, self fulfillment and success programs and much more are available to you to help you reach success. When you find the right tools for you, use them. For me, all I have ever really needed was goal setting and affirmations. No single program or method works for everyone. Search out the right tools for you.

Forgive and forget. It does us no good to relive past failures and offences. It is just a waste of precious time. In addition, it does us no good to worry about our future. If you are to live your live your life to the fullest, you can only do in the moment. The only thing that truly exists is today and you owe it to yourself to live it like there will be no tomorrow.

I hope you find this helpful. This is the way I have been living my life and it has worked for me. I have been around awhile-I am in my sixties going on 21.

Stan Pontiere has been an avowed self-help geek since high school-more than 40 years ago. For more information on self-fulfillment please visit: http://www.wealthbyaffirmation.com or my blog at: http://wealthbyaffirmation.blogspot.com/
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Wednesday, April 8, 2009

How to Think Big

Most people think too small. They chase small rewards, and that's what they get, small rewards. Donald Trump has been quoted as saying that it's a good thing most people think small, because that leaves the big stuff for him. "If you're going to think at all, you might as well think big", says the Donald.

How do you think big? Rather than say, "I plan to release a one hour audio", you could say, "I plan to release a series of excellent audio programs which will be a must have in my industry."
A good idea is to think in broader terms. You can take a job where you do one little thing all day, or you can prepare a business that will serve many, either through automation or more employees, or both. If you can add more value to your product or service than anyone else, and effectively serve more people than anyone else, wealth and success will follow.

Solving bigger problems leads to massive success. I used to work with a guy who worried way too much about tiny problems and issues at work. When he wasn't doing that, he was proposing to the company things that would not make money or add to the bottom line at all. When you think about solving a problem, think in terms of the World, or your country, or your industry, or a whole demographic, etc. Solve a big problem and sell your service to people who have that problem. Then get to work making a business plan and finding investors. Make sure your services are seen as superior and worth the price paid by your customers. If the world thinks your products or services solve their problems, you have succeeded on a big scale.

Associate with people who think big. Work for a company that is trying to make it big, by solving big problems. Start or join a mastermind made up of people who have serious ambition. Enjoy some coffee with those studious and ambitious business majors at school.

Piggy back on the back of an entrepreneur by working as an assistant, or at least follow his/her books, articles, corporate web site, and blog. This will give you some insight as to where that entrepreneur is going and where your industry is headed. You could invest in the company (or fund) that your role model entrepreneur is running. You are more likely to follow it if you own some of it.

When you make decisions regarding your success in business and life, ask yourself questions like: how will this increase the bottom line of my business? Am I taking a big enough project? Is the time requirement worth the reward? Will this help me take on bigger projects in the future? Can I take this company public? Can I expand this business internationally? Am I managing enough risk? You get the idea, think big.

In conclusion, make sure you are working hard enough on the things that matter the most, and be sure to always follow through when it comes to your customers.

David K Drews runs http://www.independentwealth.us - a site that will get you started thinking big, and preparing for a dream retirement. The best books and audio programs for people who think big are featured in the bookstore.

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7 Proven Habits of Success

If you are looking for ways how you can become more successful in your life and achieve greater results, this will be the right place for you because you are about to discover the proven 7 habits for success. If you want to be highly successful, you must first adopt the habits of success. It is your habits that will determine the decision you make and the action that you take in your life. Therefore, you must adopt the 7 habits for success in your life...

1. You must adopt the habit of responsibility. Everything that happens to you is because of your choice and what you did in your life. It is today's decision that will determine tomorrow's results. You must be responsible for everything you do in your life. You cannot change what has happened, but you can take the responsibility and change your reaction, thus, change your results and your life.

2. One of the most important 7 habits for success is that you must be willing to learn. The moment you stop to learn, you stop to grow. Every successful person is a person that commits to never-ending improvement. Rise 30 minutes earlier and read something related to your field if you want to be the top 5% in your industry. This is what separates you from the masses.

3. Next, you must practice the habit of putting in 100% commitment in everything you do in your life. Are you willing to sacrifice your movie time? Are you willing to stay up late just to get your work done? This is the commitment you must be willing to put in if you are serious to achieve what you want in your life. Success is never easy but it is never complicated. As long as you are willing to put in 100% commitment into your dreams and your goals, you will eventually achieve them.

4. Believe in yourself and have faith is another habit that successful people possess. It is impossible for you to achieve what you want if you do not believe that you can achieve it. When you believe that you are able to do it, you will automatically tap into the full potential of yourself and everything will seem possible for you. This is the secret behind every successful person. Believe it and you will achieve it.

5. Of all the 7 habits for success, this is the most powerful; you must visualize what you want everyday. Visualization will inspire you and keep you going on in your life. The only difference between a successful person and an ordinary person is that successful person thinks about what he wants most of the time. Successful people think, dream, talk, and visualize what they want all the time. Can you do this?

6. Another important habit that you must adopt in order to be successful is this, you must be willing to venture out of your comfort zone and dare to change. Many people live a mediocre life because they are afraid of doing things differently. This is not what a successful person will do. You must be willing to change and get out of your comfort zone, do the things that you believe in and you will someday make your dreams come true.

7. Finally, you must adopt the habit of thinking positively all the time. No matter what happens to you or how bad the situation is, always think positively. It is just like what Dr. Robert Schuller says, "Tough times never last but tough people do." When you are facing difficulties, treat them as challenges and opportunities to grow yourself.

These are the top proven 7 habits for success. If you are serious in becoming successful in your life and you want to achieve your dreams, you must follow through and adopt these habits into your life.

Looking for the proven 7 habits for success? Do you want to make your dreams and goals come true in a simple, easier and faster way? Are you really serious to live the kind of lifestyle you desire and do you want to be more successful? With all the Proven Success Systems that I provided, you will be able to achieve anything you want in your life...without sweat!
Download your FREE REPORT today by visiting http://www.Master-Your-Mind-Now.com/ now.

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Success Through Small Percentages

Now what if I told you that for every 100 things you did, only two of them would be a success. I probably don't have your attention anymore and there is no inspiration, why should you even continue to read this article. Failure is the part of life that has no glory, success on the other hand provides people with money, satisfaction and further inspiration.

If you could only succeed 2% of the time, this could actually be enough to create a financial empire beyond anything you could have ever possibly dreamed of. Now do I got your attention again. Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about.

You start with something that's not expensive or complicated and most people can obtain the knowledge easily. You become a real estate agent and for every 100 people that you meet with, you sell two homes. Each one of these homes is worth $500,000 and you get a 3% sales commission. That's $15,000 each, is this going to inspire you to find your next 100 people or even figure out a way to increase the percentage from 2% to 4%. Sometimes small percentages can lead to big profits.

Would you try to sell homes that were worth more money. 3% sales commission on a $2 million house would be $60,000. You've just quadrupled your income. Now were getting somewhere with a small percentages.

Success every once in a while, comes in large numbers, large percentages with unbelievable inventories, but sometimes we have to make our way through the tough times with low percentages and small inventories. If you are writing books, and came up with one best-selling book from your first 50 books written, this could provide you with millions of dollars in income for the rest of your life.

The problem was small percentages, is that it takes too much effort to become successful. Most people want success, fast, when they write their first book or meet their first client looking for a home, they can become discouraged and never attempt to try again. Don't let this happen to you, keep pursuing your passion and reap the rewards.

Starting with Education

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing and personal development.

Greg is currently working on a inspirational video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world.

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Six Daily Habits of Highly Successful People

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to have the Midas touch while others fail no matter how hard they try or how much effort they put into something? Me too. So much so that I decided to really look into what it was that made the successful people successful and the rest, well, unsuccessful.What I learned was astonishing. There was actually a commonality in the set of daily habits, or activities, that successful people take on each and every day. It is these activities that make them successful. It gives them that "Midas Touch".
So what are these common activities?

Personal Development

At any moment we are where we are because of our best thinking. Our current situation is simply a culmination of our past thoughts and actions. If we want different results, better results, then logically it makes sense that we should start with our thinking. Evolution through personal development will have an astounding impact towards the accomplishment of one's goals
Our success is going to be predicated upon 'who we are being' more than any other factor.

Visualization of Goals

This is one of the most crucial steps in this success process. Not surprisingly, it is also one of the things that you will almost never hear about from a person who is failing.
The visualization that I am talking about here isn't merely a quick "close your eyes and think about what you want for a minute" visualization. No, this is a full, blown-out, five senses type experience. You want to bring the visualization to life. You want to see it, smell it, taste it, hear it and feel it - you want it to be real.

Why is this so important? Well, if you don't know where you are going then how in the world are you ever going to know when or if you get there? The visualization makes the experience real and the amazing thing is: Once you know the end result, the how pretty much takes care of itself.

Income Producing Activities

We can spend all day making ourselves better, aligning our thoughts with those who are where we want to be and we can visualize our wants and desires until the cows come home. BUT, unless we take some action, nothing will manifest itself.

So, what are your income producing activities? You have to think about this and it really shouldn't be that difficult. But be careful and don't fall into the trap of thinking that all the ancillary things you do are actually producing income, because they're probably not.
For me, in my business, it's simple. I generate leads. I sort those leads and get the qualified leads information and then I collect a decision. That's it. Nothing else I do is income producing. The writing, blogging, social networking, etc., those aren't putting any money in my pocket. They are fun and they might generate a lead or two but that's not why I do it and I need to keep that in perspective.

Do the things that make you money first and then get to the other stuff.

Mastermind with Other Leaders

Earlier I talked about our best thinking. What is the best way to change the way we think? It is to surround ourselves with people who are getting the results we want. By surrounding ourselves with these individuals something amazing happens. We start to model the behavior of those individuals and this is vastly different than imitating them. We start thinking like them. We start becoming them. (And remember earlier when I talked about your success being tied to who you are being...)

This masterminding can be done in various ways: conference calls, personal calls, email, etc. The important thing here is that we cease to take the advice from people who aren't getting the results we want (which are typically those closest to us) and we start modeling those who are.
You can even create a board of directors for yourself. Depending on what your desired goals is, choose people who are where you want to be. These don't even need to be people you know, or talk to. For instance, if you are looking for success in business then perhaps you'll have Donald Trump on your board. When you are confronted with a pivotal decision, think to yourself, "What would Donald do?" There's your answer and there's your mastermind.

Cultivate the Expectation of Leadership

If you want success then you better damn well be the leader. Nobody wants to follow a loser. Step-up and take on the role of leader.

Do you want to know how you become a leader? It's easier than you think... Just 'be the leader'. Make the decision to do it and take action like a leader would.

In addition to expecting leadership from yourself, you should also expect that the people you are now attracting into your life will be leaders as well. You are going somewhere; make sure that the people coming with you deserve to be there too.

Gifts & Gratitude

Let's start with gratitude. The most powerful position to operate from is that of gratitude. Why? You might ask. Well it is simply because if you are operating from a state of gratitude then you have already achieved your desired result. You are thankful for it and no longer wondering about it and wanting for it. You are thankful for the result and it has been realized. There is no doubt. There is nothing holding you back.

Now comes the point where I get a little 'new age' on you and talk about how giving opens the floodgates to receiving. Whether you want to believe it or not, there is a harmonic flow of wealth in the universe. If you horde everything you get then there is no room for whatever it is that you want. You must make room in your life for the things you want and the best way to do that is by giving.

For instance, if you want a new wardrobe then you better clean out the closet first, why not donate, or there won't be room for all those new clothes. Similarly if you have been eyeing that new luxury car but your garage is cluttered with mess, where is that going to go?

The universe knows when there is or is not room for the things you want. If you make the room, it's funny how things start to show up.

So there you have it. These are the things that you will find highly successful people doing on a daily basis.

Here's the great news. You can choose to incorporate these activities into your daily routine. Before long, they will become your daily habits and you too will find the success that you're looking for.

If you would like to learn more about creating wealth in any aspect of your life you can sign up for your FREE subscription to the 'Wealth Theory Direct' by visiting
http://www.WealthTheoryDirect.com. This online video newsletter is focused on helping people achieve their goals and live the lives they have imagined. Isn't it time you lived 'Your Best Life Now'?

Brian Pray is one of the truly "good guys" in the home business industry. Fueled by an unyielding desire to help others achieve great success he believes that his prosperity comes as a byproduct of this. You can learn more about Brian Pray by visiting http://www.WhoIsBrianPray.com.

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