Why What You Think Leads the Way

“People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves, they have the first secret of success.” ~ Norman Vincent Peale

There is nothing anyone can achieve in this world without their thinking making it possible. That is where achievement begins for everyone. Just name it, anything you feel like doing must first be well thought out. If not, chances of starting at all are very slim talk less of making any meaningful headway in form of progress. The thinking process helps to put the entire business or enterprise in proper perspective even before commencement. The thinking process gives the picture and the roadmap of what is to be done. Following what you’ve already thought about is a great way to measure progress and to be sure you are on course. Knowing you are on course at any point in time encourages more progress and eventual completion and success. Note that without what you already thought about, it is difficult if not impossible to follow this natural order.

If your thinking says it can be done, it will. If however it says it can’t be done, it is almost impossible to get it done. That is the real power of thoughts in the process of general achievements. First, you must believe you can and you will. Your thinking process makes that possible. If however you think you can’t, certainly you can’t. Putting efforts when your thinking says you can’t is one sure way to dissipate energy and time while achieving nothing. Some waste! That is clearly no way to go. To get anything done, you must first be sure you think it through before attempting to act it through.

Get busy right now because…. “No pains, no gains. To get the prize, you must pay the price.”


 

How Results Define Business Success

“It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop.” ~ Confucius
Success in business is not about pace. It is about results. Favorable results that is, no matter how long it takes to get them provided you get them. Every perfect job, every perfect business requires time to accomplish. If you are determined to achieve maximum success in what you are doing right now, you must respect the natural principle that progress is made one step at a time. Even if you are building a skyscraper, you need to add a brick at a time until the magnificent super structure is ready.  Every big accomplishment is a series of little accomplishments added one at a time until the job gets done. Even in some sports like football, games are won a play at a time over some time. Time is also of essence if you want to build a department store. You will discover that you can only grow it and make it bigger one customer at a time. This is the natural order. Recognizing this natural order and deploying the knowledge to your business helps your way to success.

If you run a business, first you have yourself to compete with before anybody else if ever. You are you and nobody else. You are not competing in a sprint event with anyone. Take your time and pace to get things done your own way provided you get good results at the end. So, it does not really matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop, you will get there. Slow and steady progress somehow manages to guarantee more and better success than rushing through things and crashing out soon enough.

Get busy right now because…. “No pains, no gains. To get the prize, you must pay the price.”

How Liking What You Do Helps Your Business

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” ~ Maya Angelou

My mentor once told me, “if your heart is not in it, just forget it, you are wasting your time, energy and resources for a lost course.” The import of this statement was lost to me at the time it was made. Years later, I came face to face with the reality of the statement when I had to be practically “forced” to do something I didn’t believe in because it was an instruction from my superior officer. Till date, I regret not declining that instruction outright and face the consequences later instead of going ahead half-heartedly and ending up in avoidable failure. In any business deal you want to negotiate, forget it if your mind and heart are not in the deal. A practical business lesson!

To succeed in any venture, you must have your mind on it, be focused on it and be determined to get it done. That is only possible when you like what you are doing. Liking what you are doing enables you to focus properly. Being focused on the task at hand is the key here. This is because at all times, success demands singleness of purpose. Without it, hoping to succeed becomes a mirage. What you choose to focus your mind on is critical because you will become what you think about most of the time. If you like what you do, and liking how you do it, it becomes easier to focus your mind on all tasks at hand relating to what you have to do. That way, getting it done to your satisfaction comes about more smoothly. That is success. Liking yourself, what you do and how you do it, helps the mind to focus better. It enables you to harness and concentrate your thoughts positively. The more you concentrate on the work at hand, the better the results you get. No doubt you know that the sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus. That is exactly how concentration helps everyone who wants to succeed.

Get busy right now because…. “No pains, no gains. To get the prize, you must pay the price.”

How Mistakes Can Help Your Business

“Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you’re going to do now and do it.” ~ William Durant

Everyone gets to make some mistakes in our everyday ventures. Some people make mistakes and press on while others allow mistakes to cripple their progress. Many are afraid to fail so they end up doing nothing. What about you? Are you afraid of failure? Have you been failing all along? Are you now paralyzed because of past failures? Cheer up my friend. You are not alone in your travails. It's OK to fail. Don't be afraid to fail. Don't waste energy trying to cover up failure. Everyone fails sometimes regardless of who they are and how gifted and talented they are. What matters is to learn from your failures and go on to the next challenge. Progress has got to be made no matter the odds because if you're not failing, you're not growing. Simple! Since growth is what you want, your failures become insignificant once there is evidence of growth. Think about it.

No matter how unpleasant your past experiences are, don’t allow that to divert your attention from the work at hand. Focus on whatever you have to do and ensure you get it done. That is the best way to make unhindered progress irrespective of your past experiences no matter how unpleasant. Everyone fails sometimes so what is the big deal here. Learning from your failures and adjusting to do things better is always the way to go. That is the route to success.

Get busy right now because…. “No pains, no gains. To get the prize, you must pay the price.”

Why You Must Persist to Achieve

“You’ve got to say, I think that if I keep working at this and want it badly enough I can have it. It’s called perseverance.” ~ Lee Iacocca

To achieve anything worthwhile in this world, you must have the staying power to see things through. That is persistence. There is nothing in this world that can substitute for persistence. Nothing can take its place when it comes to achieving set goals. Even if you are very talented, it is not enough. There are numerous unsuccessful people who are talented. Even if you think you are a genius, many unrewarded geniuses are walking around the streets in desperation. How about education? Well, being educated is OK but without the ability to persist in anything you are doing, you can’t make it. The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. They are the main tools you need to get things done in our highly competitive and repressive world. 

Ask people who have attained some measure of success in the business and you’ll get to appreciate this relationship more. One of such successful persons is H. Ross Perot who wrote that "Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game, one foot from a winning touchdown." He should know because he was out there for quite a while. 

Get busy right now because…. “No pains, no gains. To get the prize, you must pay the price.”

Why Success is Gradual

“To succeed… You need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you.” ~ Tony Dorsett

That something must also be worthwhile and challenging enough to set you in positive motion for results. Many people are not lazy. They are simply not finding anything worthwhile that challenges them enough to achieve something. That is why they may appear lazy. The moment they identify things which challenge them, their talents and zeal to get things done simply get ignited. That is exactly when success beckons.

Once you decide to do something, you will discover that every big accomplishment is a series of little accomplishments. As you achieve little accomplishments, growth begins. These little accomplishments add up to big accomplishments as you continue to make progress. The reason is because, the person determined to achieve maximum success learns the principle that progress is made one step at a time. A house is built a brick at a time. Football games are won a play at a time. A department store grows bigger one customer at a time. Growth, progress and success take gradual pace with incremental progress made from little accomplishments along the way. Once you identify something that holds your attention, motivates and inspires you, you are on your own way to success.

Get busy right now because…. “No pains, no gains. To get the prize, you must pay the price.”

Why Failure Isn’t a Stop Sign

“Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” ~ Winston Churchill

Do you want to achieve something worthwhile? Why wait? Just go for it no matter the odds. Don't be afraid to fail. Don't waste energy trying to cover up failure. It is all part of the bargain to get something done. Even if you falter and fail in some steps already taken so what? It is good to learn from your failures and go on to the next challenge. It's OK to fail. If you're not failing, it simply means you're not growing. The good news is that anyone who has never failed has never really done anything worthwhile. That is a cold fact. In any case, why quit when you haven’t gotten what you want yet? Sadly, most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. That is just like quitting on the one yard line. You can’t afford that because you can never tell how close you are to succeeding. The reason you must always find the strength to press on.

Success and action somehow appear to be intricately connected. That is why successful people are always on the move no matter the odds. As human beings, they make mistakes like everybody else, but they don't quit. They just manage to press on with the ultimate goal in mind. As Lloyd Jones likes to say, “A person who tries to do something and fails is infinitely better than a person who tries to do nothing and succeeds.”

Get busy right now because…. “No pains, no gains. To get the prize, you must pay the price.”

Why Ordinary People Succeed

“You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.” Zig Ziglar

Success like winning has rules. If you can follow the rules, you can succeed like all others. That has nothing to do with your race, creed or color. It is the rules that count and nothing else even if you are an ordinary everyday folk. Once you follow the rules, you too can succeed. As David Joseph Schwartz rightly points out, "The person determined to achieve maximum success learns the principle that progress is made one step at a time. A house is built a brick at a time. Football games are won a play at a time. A department store grows bigger one customer at a time. Every big accomplishment is a series of little accomplishments." With discipline and determination while following the rules, any folk can succeed too.

Vince Lombardi adds a very thrilling dimension to the argument when he says, “Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all time thing. You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.” Those who succeed to win are people and by the way, so are you!

Get busy right now because…. “No pains, no gains. To get the prize, you must pay the price.”

Why Everyone Needs Courage

“Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” ~ John Wayne

For us all as human beings, it is not the size, age and strength that count the most when it comes to courage. What really counts is the WILL. Everyone fears something somewhat but those who’ve got the will to carry on always get the prize. That you may fail is not news. Even at that, so what! Show me anyone who has never failed and I will show you someone who has never tried to do anything worth doing. Just do something, anything you’ve decided to do despite your fears. That is courage, raw courage and that is all you need to succeed in that new business venture you have been planning on. Just start something and continue to do something. Success will be yours no matter how long it takes to come along.

Get busy right now because….“No pains, no gains. To get the prize, you must pay the price.”

Small Business Solution: Don’t Be Content with Success

 Every small business owner wants to succeed. That is because success is great and the feeling is always good. Even at that, it doesn’t mean you should be wholly satisfied once you achieve any minor goal you set for your business. Very sadly, many small businesses always fall into a holding pattern once they’ve achieved some semblance of success. When that happens, such small businesses usually fall behind the competition and slowly become irrelevant. Small Business Experts are of the view that, it is best to stay hungry and keep that fire in your belly that got you where you are. Complacency is fatal to any small business. As your business grows and expands, it helps to keep your eyes permanently on the ball. Don’t ever forget what got you started in the first place. You can’t sustain any level of success as an entrepreneur if you take your eyes off the goal because your business has got larger and larger to the level where you adopt less hands-on approach to the business.

Always bear in mind the motivation you had to grow your business when you were just getting started. As the business grows and you are likely to need some more managers and other team members to step in and help with the day-to-day business operations, you must continue to give direction to the business. Remain the undistracted pilot no matter the level of success the business has attained. You can’t afford to be complacent at any time. If you are in charge, remain in charge and be seen and felt by everyone as the person in charge.

Quick Mood Boosting Tips

As an entrepreneur, your mind must be alert at all times if you hope to make it in our highly competitive world. That’s why your mood swings count a lot. According to some experts, very simple things are always available to you to help give your mind a boost for utmost performance. Successful executives attest to this fact. Some of such executives are:

Jay Hoag, founding general partner of TCV
Jessica Bedard, shoe designer
Nitin Chhoda, CEO, Total Activation
Diego Rossetti, president, Fratelli Rossetti
Rachel Wenman, co-founder, vice president, Urban Seed Inc.
Maci Peterson, co-founder, CEO, On Second Thought



These executives live by example and they readily share their thoughts with others particularly on ways to boost your mood at work. Here are some of such ways which have turned out to be highly effective.

1. Cooking: If you like to cook and once in a while you get into the kitchen to cook something amazing, it helps your mood. Cooking is a very relaxing and creative thing to do. When you get compliments from people who love your cooking, it helps your mood.

2. Sitting out in the open air and garden: Views of nature, the free air and aromas of the field can be very relaxing and mood boosting. Sitting out quietly without distractions is very helpful here.

3. Listening to soothing music: Music has been known for ages as a real mood booster.  Depending on how you feel, the type of music which can help your mood also varies. If when you press the play button and you suddenly find yourself singing and dancing along, your mood benefits most. It helps to have a customized playlist of genres and decades of songs that bring back fond memories to your mind. That is some music that really makes you feel something. Music that is good for the mood. Good music is sure a good mood booster anytime any day.

4. Jogging and hiking: When you are down in the dump, it helps to get out of the home for a jog or a hike. The outdoor panorama, good fresh air and picturesque landscapes help the mood a great deal. These activities help to clear your mind for proper thinking while at the same time leaving you totally refreshed when you get back home.

5. Looking at family pictures albums: This habit also helps to bring back to your mind fond memories of your childhood, your family, your children, your adventures and your travels over the years. If you find yourself upset after encounters with some sour persons or you’ve just had a bad deal or some confrontational conversations, relaxing at home looking at fond pictures albums does help in some way to lift your spirits.

6. Watching favorite TV channels or Videos: Some people love cartoons, sports, travels, adventures or just plain musicals to help lift their spirits. Whichever of these you feel good about is a mood booster which helps your relaxation.

10 Motivational Quotes to Get You Going Everyday

Well, I have heard it said by motivational speakers, that “Successful people don’t do different things. They do things differently.” That is what motivates me to get out of bed every morning to find ways to do very common things differently. When I remember these 10 motivational quotes, as soon as I get out of bed every morning, my bounce increases and the hunger in me to get things done is ignited. 

I sincerely believe that if I want to succeed each day, I must always see every day as an opportunity to improve, to be better, to get a little bit closer to my goals. That might sound like a lot of work but I know that so long as I have the hunger in me to succeed, I will always have the power within me to achieve it. Thanks to these here 10 motivational quotes!! Give them a chance to work for you as well if you want to see expected changes in your life and business.

01. Wake up with determination. Go to bed with satisfaction.

02. Don’t wait for opportunity. Create it.

03. Success doesn’t just find you. You have to go out and get it.

04. Don’t stop when you’re tired. Stop when you’re done.

05. It’s going to be hard, but hard does not mean impossible.

06. Dream it. Wish it. Do it.

07. Push yourself, because no one else is going to do it for you.

08. Sometimes later becomes never. Do it now.

09. Dream bigger. Do bigger.

10. Little things make big days.