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#Leadership : What Coach K Can Teach You About Leadership and the Morning Habits of NBA Stars…The most Winningest Coach in NCAA Division I Basketball History Wants to Show you How to Be a Better Leader. He’s Qualified to Do That, Don’t you Think?

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Mike Krzyzewski, or Coach K as he’s more commonly called, is much taller in person than he looks on TV.

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I guess that’s because the coach of Duke’s multiple champion men’s basketball team and Team USA’s gold medal men’s basketball team wasn’t surrounded by 6-foot-11-inch super athletes at the time I met him in a midtown New York office. Instead, Coach K was sitting with his business partner Chrissie Gorman, CEO of PowerForward, a new startup digital subscription service that will deliver interactive leadership and team-building videos to users.

He’s got trophies, medals and the respect and admiration of millions, so why start a business? “I don’t know how many more years I will continue to coach, but I wanted to be able to teach for the rest of my life,” Coach K told me. “And this platform will allow me to do so.”

I had the pleasure of speaking with Gorman and Coach K about their venture and the parallels between leading on the court and in business. I walked out of the room feeling energized, inspired and ready to throw down a vicious dunk on my opponents … if only I could figure out a way to grow a foot and a half on my way to the gym.

Last time I saw you, Coach, you had a big hunk of gold around your neck.

Coach K: I wish! They don’t give coaches the actual medals, we get replicas — but that’s OK, the main thing is we won!

How does PowerForward work?

Coach K: It is a video service a company would subscribe to. People from all walks of life — sports, business, military — tell a story about how they have adapted or how they have shown leadership. And as you watch the 20-minute video, the viewer is asked if they would have made the same decisions, if they would have done things differently and why. It is interactive. So you’re not just reading or watching — you’re able to feel it. And if you feel it, you might own it. And that’s how you get better.

 

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Related: Mark Cuban Talks Basketball, Hustle and the Wonders of Great Wealth

How did your partnership come together?

Coach K: Chrissie and CAA had the vision to put this startup together, which has been two years in the works. And they were able to help me understand the vision, because this isn’t a world that I am in. Just like she doesn’t understand the vision of attacking a zone or full-court pressing. And now it is a shared vision. I love what she and our team have be able to do.

Chrissie Gorman: We had an incredible opportunity to work with a man who has this amazing legacy of leadership. I came in to look at it and see if there was a need we could fill. I looked at the $10 billion B2B leadership market, and we saw a gap in focusing on emerging leaders. Who better to fill that role than Coach K?

Related: Leadership Lessons From Sports Legends

Your ability to lead spans between athletes fresh out of high school to athletes who are seasoned NBA All-Stars. What are the similarities and differences leading groups like that?

Coach K: It is completely different. There’s a big difference in maturity: age, physical and experience. So when I’m coaching the USA team in the Olympics, those guys are professionals, they’ve crossed bridges of experience. The quickest way of explaining it is that we adapt to each other. Then we find the best practices that that group can adapt to.

When I’m coaching the young guys in college, they pretty much have to adapt to me. The lessons I’ve learned in adapting to the pro players have been unbelievable. How you train, how they are able to be successful in certain situations — I’ve learned more in the past 10 years from these guys than I knew before.

Who surprised you most?

Coach K: Almost all of them, quite frankly. In some respect, that’s not the world I live in. In college, we have to train our guys. These professionals have their routines. What we do as a group we do as a group. But I have to allow them time to follow the routines that work for them.

Demar DeRozan is getting up at 6 a.m. to do his routine, Klay Thompson is going back to the gym and shooting at night. Kyle Lowry is one of the top scorers in the league, and he came to me and said, “What do you need coach? I don’t care how many minutes I play.” It is called selfless.

People always ask “How do you get these big egos together?” If you have a good common cause — to play for your country and win a gold medal — that’s a pretty good common cause. Like we say inPowerForward, they make a commitment to being part of something that is bigger than you.

Related: Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Quotes of All Time

Do you love to win or hate to lose?

Coach K: Both! I would say for me, the thought of losing is a bigger motivator than the thought of winning. But the hatred of losing causes you to prepare to win. Everybody wants to win, not everybody wants to prepare to win. You have to love the process of preparing to achieve that goal of winning. People who are less talented can beat you if they are more together, tougher and more unselfish.

My kids play little league, and there is a mercy rule that stops better teams from running up the score too high. Are you able to take your foot off the gas during a game?

Coach K: I would hope that I am faced with the opportunity in every game that I coach! A lot of people ask if I prefer a close exciting game or a blowout — as long as we’re the ones blowing out the other team, the sooner the better.

Does that competitiveness carry through in business? Do you look to crush your competition?

Gorman: In business, you have to be agile. You have to be open to someone coming in and disrupting you. You can’t rest on your laurels. It is always competitive, but in the end, it is all about your investors and your customers. You are working to make their investment of time and money worthwhile, that’s where your focus needs to be.

Coach K: I think your focus should always be on yourself, being the best that you can be. Your competition shows your flaws, your weakness. I’m into beating my opponents, not crushing them. Without competition, you don’t know how people are looking to beat you. So you welcome that. To “crush” someone means that you feel like you won. But if you’re committed to excellence, it’s not about one game, you have to be there all the time. You’re never at the end, you’re always “becoming.”

Related: 10 Most Successful Entrepreneur Athletes (Slideshow)

When you are recruiting new players for Duke, you have statistics that show how talented a player is, but are there any tells that you look for to see if you want them on your team?

Coach K: We look for three things: talent, academic ability and character. Are they easy to coach? Is it all about them or is it all about us? We give those equal weight, and if one is missing, we won’t try to recruit that player.

Do those three pillars line up with recruiting employees in business?

Gorman: Yes, particularly when it come to character. I look for people who say “we” more than “I.” When someone says “we” that means that they feel a part of something being built.

Coach K: I ask every kid I’m visiting, “What are your goals?” I visited two this weekend who said, “I want to be part of a national championship team.” And you love to hear an answer like that. If they start asking how many shots they’ll take or minutes they’ll play, that’ll all shake itself out — most likely as you are playing for another team. The “we” concept is huge for us.

Gorman: It’s funny, as I’m building this team for PowerForward, if someone’s first question is “what will the salary be?” it’s not the right fit. This is a startup, this is about building something together and about the experience. You can go somewhere else if all you’re looking for is a comfortable salary.

Part of being a leader is dealing with the good and the bad. The NCAA just announced that they are pulling all championship games from North Carolina due to its controversial transgender bathroom law. How do you feel about that?

Coach K: I was asked about this law when we were preparing for theOlympics in Las Vegas. It was a very short answer: It’s embarrassing. And I still feel it is embarrassing because it is discriminatory. I’m all in on what the NCAA has done and I am proud that Duke AD Kevin White has stepped forward on behalf of our university to say that we are against discrimination, and to express our sorrow that it has hurt our great state.

Related: The Most Inspiring Moments from the 2016 Olympics

You coached all of these guys on Team USA, and now they’re all back in the NBA. So going into this season, who do you want to win?

Coach K: First off, I want them all to be healthy. I want them to be taken care of contractually. In 11 years, in the last five competitions we’ve won, we’ve coached 39 NBA players and they’ve all won gold medals. Some multiple times. I have anywhere from 16 to 20 former Duke players in the NBA. I want good things to happen for them all.

On Christmas, I’ll be watching the NBA games with my grandsons and I’ll be able to say, “On the court right now, there are six guys I’ve coached.” Then the next game will have four or seven. I just want them to do well. And I keep in contact with a lot of them. Relationships are another keyword that we teach in PowerForward. We want people to take these words, make them their own and be better for it.

 

Entrepreneur.com | September 15, 2016 | Dan Bova

 

#Life : 17 Minor Habits that are Making your Life More Difficult Without you Realizing It…Our Habits are What Ultimately Build Who we Are.

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If we build positive daily habits, we create ourselves in a positive and thoughtful direction. If we build negative daily habits, we find wake up in deep holes while at the same time wondering how we got there in the first place.

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The key, then, is to understand how these habits come to be — and having the awareness to spot those that prohibit larger, more positive growth.

Here are some of the most common “bad habits” that tend to sneak under the radar and cause more harm than good.

1. You don’t follow through

Yes, this is a habit. Whether you’re promising to take out the trash or you’re promising to get the merger deal signed and delivered by Friday end-of-day, both are a function of the same habit — you have to follow through.

And what you don’t realize is that in not following through, you end up creating more work for yourself on the back end.

2. You ride instead of run

A metaphor and a literal translation of one’s work ethic, “riding” the bus is a very different experience than running alongside it. Be the runner, not the rider.

Contrary to popular belief, you will feel much more alive when you are part of the experience and the collaboration rather than just tagging along. If you’re tagging along, you’ll feel groggy and disposable. Get involved.

 

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3. You don’t make time to sleep

This whole “I work more and sleep less than you” competition is pretty much a charade. Humans have to sleep. We all have to sleep.

You’ll fall asleep sometime, regardless. So make it a schedule, make it a daily priority, find your rhythm, and leave it at that.

Being a Negative Nancy does nothing but suck the energy out of everyone — including you. Find the positive and focus on that.

5. You “have to be right”

There’s nothing quite like an endless argument.

6. You forget to breathe

I mean this in the most literal way — if you don’t make time to get back in your body and actually feel yourself breathe, then you aren’t just busy. You’re coping. Get back in touch with your core self, ASAP.

7. You check your email every three seconds

Nobody is going anywhere. No one is dying. Relax.

8. You eat lots of sugar carbs

Health lesson here: Sugar carbs spike your insulin. If your breakfast is a fruit bowl, that might explain why for the first hour you feel great and the second hour you feel like you want to take a nap. Eat less sugar.

9. You drink too much coffee

The gray area between moderation and addiction lies somewhere between a Grande dark roast and a Venti black eye.

10. You only work and never play

Especially if you’re in a creative industry, you have to make time for input, not just output.

11. Your circle of friends is one dimensional

This can be exceedingly exhausting. Come on, branch out a bit and surround yourself with people who will make you think differently.

12. You don’t exercise

Again, it’s contrary to popular belief, but standing still doesn’t make you feel energized and alive. The body wants to be pushed, challenged, torn apart, and rebuilt again. Give it that freedom.

 

13. You don’t study your craft

Energy is earned. We have more energy about the things we feel good about. And you can’t feel good about something unless you work at it. Put in the work, and you’ll feel energized.

14. You try to do too much at once

It is an art learning how to take on just enough so that you’re comfortably busy, but not so much that you’re constantly drowning.

15. You don’t practice appreciation

Living a happy life has far less to do with what you achieve or earn, and far more with how much you can appreciate. It is a practice, and deserves attention every single day.

16. You don’t listen

By not taking the time to listen to others, you make them feel disrespected. In turn, they react negatively toward you, and on and on the cycle goes. Take the extra minute and lend an ear.

17. You aren’t doing what you love

The ultimate energy-suck is not doing what you are completely and utterly obsessed with. Do what you love, and you’ll have more energy than you know what to do with.

Read the original article on Inc.. Copyright 2016. Follow Inc. on Twitter.

Businessinsider.com | September 10, 2016 | Nicolas Cole, Inc.

#Leadership : 6 Effective Ways To Get What You Want In Life…Gratitude is the Greatest Drug on the Planet . And there is no side effect. From Hand-Written Thank-You Notes to Taking Two Minutes and Writing Down as Many Things you’re Grateful For as Possible: When we Actually take a Moment to Focus Exclusively on Gratitude, it Shifts our Mood. This is Real Stuff. This Really Works.

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Here are the highlights from my recent interview with Dave Kerpen, New York Times NYT +0.85% bestselling author and founder of Likeable Media, and his thoughts on outsourcing social media, being selfless, differentiating, staying top of mind and gratitude.

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William: Let’s talk about the connection between your new book, The Art of People,and the kind of work that you’re doing in the social media space.

Dave: How can you really even think about people skills without considering social media today? So many businesses want to grow, and they want to figure out how to use social media, but they don’t really have a lot of time. And that’s where our software comes in. But there are certain things that you can’t automate. And people skills are one of those things. No matter how much you take advantage of technology, tools, software, at the end of the day you still have to be a person, and you have to relate to other people.

You can outsource content, advertising, and paid tools to help grow your social media presence. What you really can’t outsource is your individual responses to people and how you talk to individuals. It’s impossible to outsource the one-to-one conversations. It’s okay to have a social media assistant, but you’ve got to be transparent about it.

William: You have identified the most important question you can ask if you want to stand out in a meeting. I’d love for you to share that.

Dave: I can’t have meetings with salespeople every day. But there was this one guy, Michael Kiplin, who said, “Dave, I have one question for you, and I promise I will not try to sell you anything.” This got my attention.

So I sat down with him, and he said, “Any thoughts as to how I can help you?” I said, “I happen to be fundraising right now. You could be helpful by introducing me to a venture capitalist.” So he said, “You got it. I’ll introduce you to a VC.” And I said, “Well, thank you. Tell me about yourself. Like, what do you sell? How much is it?” And he said, “You know what, Dave, I told you I wasn’t going to come in here and do that today.”

So he basically refused to sell. He followed up by introducing me to a VC who didn’t invest in us, but the sentiment was there. A few months later, I called Michael up, and he became our financial planner.

 

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If you act selflessly at first, it’s very powerful. That kind of thing is unforgettable. But you have to do it authentically. You have to truly want to help and have some ideas about how you can help. That’s the difference between somebody who’s going through the motions and somebody who’s very successful with this tip.

William: Is there another “people skill” that you get especially excited about?

Dave: I think that listening is the single most important skill in social media and business and really in life. I recommend truly zoning in, making eye contact, focusing exclusively on that person. And by the way, there’s an enormous difference between listening and waiting to talk. Most people are thinking of what they’re going to say next, and they’re planning. The true listener is really just seeking to understand and will think about what to say next after they’re done listening to what the person has to say.

William: You have techniques for effective networking. Can you share one?

Dave: Sure. I have a chapter in the book called “Wear Orange Shoes: The Secret to Networking.” When I was first fundraising for Likeable Local, I was trying to track down this one particular venture capitalist named Dave McClure out of Silicon Valley. He was in New York, where I lived, for a conference. There were probably over 500 entrepreneurs at this conference, so I found myself really struggling throughout the day to meet him. I was kind of bummed out. And I hear, as I’m staring down at my phone, “I need to meet the man that’s wearing those *** shoes.” And there’s Dave. And of course, I was wearing bright orange shoes as I tend to do. Within several weeks, Dave invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in our business. In a crowded place, having a specific personal brand that helps differentiate you is a very powerful thing.

William: For those of you who’ve never seen Dave in person, he always has on a lot of orange. It’s the brand color for Likeable. Let’s talk a little bit about how to stay top of mind. We get 8 million emails and phone calls. And we’re tweeting and we’re Facebooking and we’re in meetings. It’s pretty hard to stay top of mind.

Dave: Social media has brought an opportunity for you to stay top of mind by essentially staying top of feed, on top of people’s newsfeeds on Facebook FB -0.31%, onLinkedIn LNKD +0.07%, on Twitter, on Instagram. And the way to do that is to curate and share awesome content. We have found that it doesn’t even need to be original content, by the way.

Dentists typically send two postcards a year. You think, “Well, that probably costs a lot.” And it does. But what if you could send two postcards a week? And what if that was basically free? Well, it starts to get pretty interesting. Social media allows you to stay top of mind as long as you’re adding value. I’m not talking about trying to sell stuff every day.

William: You must have a mind-shifting takeaway for folks.

Dave: Gratitude is the greatest drug on the planet . And there is no side effect. From hand-written thank-you notes to taking two minutes and writing down as many things you’re grateful for as possible: when we actually take a moment to focus exclusively on gratitude, it shifts our mood. This is real stuff. This really works.

William Arruda is a personal branding guru and co-founder of CareerBlast, a video platform and virtual coach that helps you get promoted faster. Download his free eBook 13 Things All Successful Professionals Do To Fuel Their Careers.

 

Forbes.com | August 21, 2016 | William Arruda

Your #Career : 20 Signs You’re Destined to Become a Millionaire…In Reality, It’s a Lot More Common Than you Think and Completely Possible If you Have the Right Mentality to Become Rich.

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Becoming a millionaire may seem like an unobtainable dream. I’ve been there and felt like it was unattainable and something that would never happen to me.  Then I started reading, studying and mimicking countless different successful millionaires.

Free- Lock in Door

In reality, it’s a lot more common than you think and completely possible if you have the right mentality to become rich. Here are 20 signs based on observations from several millionaire friends of mine, that you’re destined to become successful.

1. You started making money at a young age.

One of the most common traits that the wealthy have in common is that they began earning money at young age. For example, a 12-year-old Mark Cuban sold trash bags door-to-door, Warren Buffett sold packets of gum to his neighbors when he was just 6-years-old and Richard Branson bred and sold parakeets as pets at the age of 11.

If you had this entrepreneurial spirit as a child, then that’s a solid indicator that you’ll become a millionaire since you’ve always been on the lookout for ways to make money.

 

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2. You’re an overachiever.

Were you that student who wasn’t satisfied with a B in class? Millionaires have the mindset to shoot big. They’re not satisfied with making just $1 million. They want to make $10 million.

3. You’re really, really good looking.

I know. This sounds like a bunch of bull and discriminatory, but research conducted by Daniel Hamermesh, an economics professor at the University of Texas in Austin found that this is the case. According to his research, “attractive people are likely to earn an average of 3 percent to 4 percent more than a person with below-average looks.” That may not sound like a fortune, but that adds up to “$230,000 more over a lifetime for the typical good-looking person.”

Related: 10 Ways to Become a Millionaire in Your 20s

Hamermesh found that attractive people are able to charm interviewers and are able to land more sales.

4. You have an action-oriented mindset.

“Are you the kind of person who sees an opportunity and then takes action to take advantage of it? If so, congratulations, because it’s that kind of action-oriented mind-set that can propel you to financial freedom,” says Todd Campbell, author of “Your Guide to Better Stock Picks.”

“For example, it’s been proven time and time again that long-term investing can produce significantly more wealth than short term trading, yet many Americans fail to make the most of their best long-term investment vehicle: their workplace retirement plan.

Do you contribute to your plan? If so, do you contribute 10 percent of your income? More? Less? Considering that someone who contributes 10 percent of their $40,000 in income to a 401(k) plan at a 6 percent return has $311,572 more after 35 years than one who contributes 3 percent, underutilizing retirement plans is a surefire way to derail you on your way to millionaire status.”

5. You possess a sense of urgency.

Millionaires don’t wait for the perfect time to invest or launch their business. They realize that there’s no better time than the present to start making money. Sitting back and waiting is one of the best ways to squash your dreams.

Bottom line — start right now.

6 You’re focused more on earning than saving.

It’s no secret that the wealthy are frugal with their money. While they excel at saving and spending wisely, they also know that the best way to make money is to invest it.

7. You keep an open mind.

You never know when an opportunity is going to present itself. And, if you immediately shut the thought of investing in this opportunity, then you could be losing out on making a fortune. When I started my online invoicing company, I saw an amazing domain and had to make a six-figure purchase in a matter of three days. This meant moving around some money and convincing my spouse to go along with it. We both have open minds which help this process even happen.

That’s why the wealthy always keep an open mind on new ideas. It may not be something that they would have supported in the past, but if it can make them a couple of bucks, then they may reconsider it.

As Warren Buffett once said, “Opportunities come infrequently. When it rains gold, put out the bucket, not the thimble.”

8. You were Mr. or Mrs. Popular in high school.

“We estimate that moving from the 20th to 80th percentile of the high-school popularity distribution yields a 10 percent wage premium nearly 40 years later,” stated the abstract to the work of Gabriela Conti (University of Chicago), Gerrit Mueller (Institute of Employment Research), Andrea Gaeotti (University of Essex) and Stephen Pudney (University of Essex).

In other words, if you were popular in high school, meaning that you had a lot of friends, then you have a better chance of earning more money.

9. You’re able to live below your means.

Another common trait that millionaires have in common is that they’re able to live below their means. Instead of flaunting their wealth they drive practical cars, live in modest homes, and don’t spend their hard earned cash on items which are a useless luxury item.

Related: How to Become a Millionaire by Age 30

For example, my wife and I try and budget at least 50 percent of everything we make into our savings account to which we can put towards investments. These make us a lot more money in the long term. We could go out and splurge (which we do occasionally) but we’re more in it for the long term.

10. You had a mentor.

It’s no secret that you associate yourself with can affect how successful you’ll be. Think about that for a second. If you’re spending a majority of your time with people who are negative or don’t have a drive, then do you think that they’re going to influence you in being motivated and optimistic?

In other words, if you want to be wealthy, then start hanging out with millionaires. Not only will this keep you motivated, you may be able to find a someone who is willing to become your mentor and can show you the ropes.

If you don’t personally know any millionaires, don’t be afraid and reach out to them on social media or through an email after meeting them at a networking event and start building a rapport.

11. You’re not stuck in the past.

Right now we’re in an interesting presidential election, to say the least. Regardless of who you’re voting for, we hear a lot about restoring the country back to the “good ole’ days.” While that statement may work for politicians, it’s not going to float for millionaires.

These are people who have gotten over failure, rejection, and fear. And, they’re more concerned about putting their energy into their future. I’ve lost millions in lifetime, I’ve moved past it and the fear of failure will never hold me down.

12.You’re a goal-setter.

Speaking of the future, the wealthy think about their long-term goals and needs.

“You don’t make a million by accident. If it’s not a goal you sure as hell won’t hit it,” writes Peter Voogd, founder of the Game Changers Academy, who made his first million before turning 26.

13. You aren’t divorced.

A study of around 9,000 individuals found that divorce reduces a person’s wealth by about three-quarters (77 percent) compared to that of a single person, while being married almost doubles comparative wealth (93 percent).

“Divorce causes a decrease in wealth that is larger than just splitting a couple’s assets in half,” said Jay Zagorsky, author of the study and a research scientist at Ohio State University’s Center for Human Resource Research.

“If you really want to increase your wealth, get married and stay married,” suggests Zagorsky.

This isn’t to say that you can’t achieve greatness if you’re divorced. I’m previously divorced and have made millions since.

14. You can defer gratification.

Jason Hall, a writer and editor for the Motley Fool, says “deferring gratification is one of the most important steps to becoming a millionaire.”

Hall adds, “The reality is, building wealth generally takes a lot of time. Even Warren Buffett, one of the richest people alive and arguably the best investor ever, created more than 80 percent of his vast wealth after he turned 50.”

Related: You Deserve to Be a Millionaire. Follow These 12 Tips to Get There.

Learn to defer your gratification.

15. You know how to maximize your strengths.

“I suck at 99 percent of stuff, but I go all out on that 1 percent I’m good at,” Gary Vaynerchuk once said.

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t learn something new or work on some of your weaker skills, it means that millionaires are able to capitalize on their greatest strengths and then surround themselves with people who can enhance their weaknesses.

16. You’re optimistic.

How many people do you know are constantly whining and then blaming others? I bet those people aren’t well off financially, are they?

Millionaires don’t whine, complain, or point fingers. Instead, they accept challenges and look for ways to conquer them.

As T. Harv Eker, author of “Secrets of the Millionaire Mindset: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth”, says “Rich people believe, ‘I create my life.’ Poor people believe, ‘Life happens to me.'”

17. You may have a drink, but you don’t smoke.

Did you know that men who are self-reported drinkers earn 21 percent more than male abstainers, while women who drink earn 8 percent more than non-drinking females. The reason? Drinking enhances social capital, which leads to superior market outcomes.

Jim Britt, author of, “Do This. Get Rich!,” adds that,”A person who doesn’t drink at all — not that that’s a bad thing — is probably very conservative, and that would keep him or her out of a lot of social circles.”

However, the wealthy are not smokers. “Smokers spend an incredible amount of money on smoking,” says J.L. Zagorsky. Eventually, those packs of cigarettes add up. And, that money could have been spent more wisely, like on investments.

18. You have thick skin.

When you’re consumed by what others think of you, you’re allowing yourself to be held back. Instead of worrying what others think about you, the wealthy have a thick skin thanks to being mentally tough.

In fact, being mentally tough is one of the key ingredients in making a successful entrepreneur since it assists them in handling pressure and overcoming challenges and setbacks.

19. You keep up with current events.

The most successful people in the world kickoff their early mornings by catching up on current events. For example, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates read publications like the “Wall Street Journal,”the “New York Times,” “USA Today,” and the “Financial Times” so that they can make more informed investment decisions based on what’s going on in the world.

20. You’re constantly improving yourself.

While having a college degree can make a difference in determining your net wealth, that degree ultimately doesn’t determine if you’ll become a millionaires or not. Bill Gates is one of the most famous college dropouts of all-time. But, that hasn’t stopped him, and wealthy people like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, from continually improving himself by feverishly reading and learning new information or skills.

Here is to becoming the next millionaire.

 

Entrepreneur.com | August 9, 2016 | John Rampton

Your #Career : 11 Mistakes Standing Between You and Your First Million (4 min read)…Becoming a Millionaire isn’t as Far-Fetched as You would Believe. With Dedication, Patience and Focus, Becoming a Millionaire is Completely Obtainable. If I can Do It, Anyone Can.

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I’ve been a millionaire three separate times in my life. The first time I saw $1,000,000 in my bank account, I almost fainted. Even though I knew it was hitting my account, it still caught me off guard.

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Becoming a millionaire isn’t as far-fetched as you would believe. With dedication, patience and focus, becoming a millionaire is completely obtainable. If I can do it, anyone can.

The hardest part? Actually reaching your first million. After that, everything else falls in place. But why is it so difficult to reach your first million? I find that most people are pretty close, but hold themselves back with the following mentalities:

1. You’re not thinking the right way.
As Napoleon Hill discovered in his landmark 1937 book “Think and Grow Rich,” wealthy individuals think differently than the average person. After interviewing 1,200 of the wealthiest individuals in the world, self-made millionaire Steve Siebold agrees with Hill’s findings. They include:

The rich believe poverty is the root of all evil.
Selfish can be a virtue.
They have an action mentality.
The rich acquire specific knowledge.
They dream about the future.
They follow their passion.
The rich enjoy challenges.
They use other people’s money.
Millionaires focus on earning, not saving.
They know when to take risks.
In short, if you want to become a millionaire, start changing the way you think about money and success.

 

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2. Being too concerned about perfection.
Here’s one of the most important and valuable lessons I’ve learned in life — nothing is perfect. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can move forward, instead of being stuck in one place.

If you’re starting a business, the more time you spend perfecting your product or service, the more time your competitors have to tap into your market and take away potential customers. Don’t hesitate to experiment. Get to market as soon as you can. You can always work out the kinks later while you’re still making a profit.

3. Spending everything you make.
You just received a fat six-figure check. It’s tempting to go out and buy a luxury car. The thing is, wealthy people know how to live below their means, as opposed to spending everything that they just made. Many wealthy people, like Warren Buffett, live in modest homes and drive practical cars.

As Dale Carnegie once said, “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”

4. Setting unrealistic expectations.
While the wealthy definitely dream big, they also set realistic expectations. They’re well aware that they’re not going to become millionaires overnight. It takes a lot of hard work and patience to achieve their goals.

As any marathon runner will tell you, you can’t expect to run 26 miles without the proper training and conditioning. Review the progress you’ve already made and where you’re headed.

5. Following others blindly.
It can be incredibly beneficial to seek mentors or read words of wisdom from those who have struck it rich. The thing is, what worked for them may not work for you. For example, launching a company like Apple or Microsoft may not work today. So, following how Jobs and Gates became successful step-by-step isn’t going to help your subscription-based cleaning service.

Understand what works for you and your business and how you can be successful in that industry.

6. Relying too much on plastic.
Credit cards can be useful if you need to build your credit or invest in your business — as long as you’re smart with how you use them. It’s incredibly easy to get yourself into credit card debt. That means that instead of making wise investments or putting money into your business, you’re busy paying off your credit card bills with those high interest rates.

7. Plan for the long run.
The wealthy have a knack for always looking and planning for the future. They know where they want to go and what it will take for them to achieve success. This allows them to anticipate any obstacles and have a plan in place to handle those challenges.

If you are starting a new business venture, you need to have a long-term plan that addresses how to attract and retain clients and customers and outlines how you’re different from the competition.

8. Spending time with the wrong people.
The rich don’t waste their time by associating with the wrong crowd. I’m talking about the naysayers and negative people who keep telling you that you can’t achieve your dreams, or the people who are using your success to their advantage.

Instead, the rich spend time with like-minded people who are driven, passionate and are thinking about how amazing their future is going to be. They are always building their brand.

9. Doing everything yourself.
Despite wearing multiple hats and being a jack-of-all trades, it’s impossible to do everything on your own. Let’s say that you just launched a startup. You need to hire talented individuals who enhance your strengths and pick-up the slack in your weaker areas.

Related: The 4 Golden Rules of Millionaire Time Management

Learn how to outsource and delegate the tasks that you’re not familiar with or aren’t as strong in. This is one the secrets that entrepreneurs rarely tell you, but it’s essential if you want your business to grow.

10. Not being in the right place at the right time.
Whether it’s making an investment or starting a business, timing and location is everything.

Take Ryan Graves, for example. He simply tweeted “hire me : )” to Travis Kalanick in 2010. Graves became Uber’s first employee, then the company’s head of global operations. He’s estimated to have $1.4 billion in equity.

Instead of daydreaming, seize the opportunities that are right in front of you.

11. You don’t believe in yourself.
What’s the biggest thing holding you back from becoming successful? It’s probably the fact that you don’t believe in yourself. Instead of second-guessing every move you make, trust your gut and go with your intuition instead of waiting for insights from those around you.

As Dale Carnegie once said, “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”

 

Entrepreneur.com | July 27, 2016 | John Rampton

#Leadership : Sage Advice for Entrepreneurs From America’s Greatest Risk Takers…With the Founding Fathers as your Ancestral Mentors, Here are 5 Sage Pieces of Advice that will Inspire Every Entrepreneur/Manager on their Journey.

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Today, on Independence Day, many are thinking of summer BBQs, water sports and beer drinking in celebration of our national holiday. However, there’s much to remember about the Fourth of July for entrepreneurs. As the founding fathers came together to write the Declaration of Independence, and consequently started the American Revolutionary War, there was something very entrepreneurial about their actions.

Sage Advice for Entrepreneurs From America's Greatest Risk Takers

They took a great risk, perhaps the greatest risk, and followed their vision through all the hard work and impossible odds to create an independent America. They collaborated, invested in and gambled on the world they saw fit to create.

With the founding fathers as your ancestral mentors, here are five sage pieces of advice that will inspire every entrepreneur on their journey.

There! His Majesty can now read my name without glasses. And he can double the reward on my head! — John Hancock

Be bold.
John Hancock signed America’s Declaration so big and large that his name alone has now become synonymous with the word signature. You have to remember that signing this document was not just a declaration for America — it was a declaration of war and treason. They risked their lives, the safety of their loved ones and everything they owned to be independent from England. There is a bold brilliance about the outright madness, stubbornness and defiance of Hancock’s confidence in that risk.

To be an entrepreneur, you have to be unapologetic about your purpose and your vision. Hancock certainly was bold in his risk. Are you?

 

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Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you. — Thomas Jefferson

Take action.
Much like risk requires boldness, achievement of your goals requires action. Thomas Jefferson pointed this out more than 200 years ago. Asking will only get you so far, then you need action. Take action and start creating your vision now!

Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee. — Benjamin Franklin

Mind your business.
Not only is Benjamin Franklin one of the original signers of the Declaration, he was an entrepreneur and inventor. His printing press was famous for producing materials like his still-treasured Poor Richard’s Almanac, which dispensed all kinds of wisdom and sage advice for then and now.

Franklin knew that to run a successful business, you have to mind your business properly. Ignore it or overdo it and your business won’t last long. Franklin believed in solid business practices. As an entrepreneur, so should you.

Old minds are like old horses; you must exercise them if you wish to keep them in working order. — John Adams

Always learn.
John Adams signed the Declaration on July 4, 1776, and would go on to become America’s second president.

This quote sums up the truth that all entrepreneurs already know: never stop learning. You must always be innovating, trying, tinkering and playing to keep your mind ahead of the curve. Innovation comes from constant learning. Don’t ever stop.

It is better to be alone than in bad company. — George Washington

Choose your company wisely.
Perhaps one of the most recognized and best known men in all of American history, General and later, President, George Washington led a courageous life of risk, sacrifice and service to his ideals. He knew it was better to forge a path alone than to wait on the sidelines with the wrong company.

Entrepreneurs know the same and risk the scorn, criticism and naysaying of others to forge their own path and live their own vision. Being an entrepreneur can mean holding true to your ideals in periods of doubt or isolation.

Stay true to your unique mission and know that your company is better kept alone than mixed with a life that is someone else’s.

Note: This piece was originally published on July 4, 2014.

 

Entrepreneur.com | July 4, 2016 | Andrew Toren

#Leadership : Anyone can Use the ’20-Minute Rule’ I Learned From 5 years of Studying Rich People… “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” – Steve Jobs, 2005 Stanford Commencement

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In other words, don’t put your ladder on someone else’s wall. Pursue your own dreams. Not those of your parents, teachers, or some other significant influence in your life.

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In order to make that ideal life a reality, you need to follow a process:

1. Define each specific dreamthat is part of your collage of your ideal life.

2. Build individual goals around each dream. In order to realize a given dream, it may, for example, require that you accomplish numerous goals.

3. Forge daily habits (I call them “goal habits”) that, when accomplished each day, bring you closer to achieving each individual goal.

As I learned from my five-year Rich Habits Study of people at both ends of the income spectrum, good habits are like snowflakes on the mountainside. You hardly notice the cumulative positive effects these habits have on your life on a daily basis, but over time, they create an avalanche of success.

When success hits, it appears to the untrained observer that the person became an overnight success. Of course, what the untrained observer does not realize is the fact that success was the byproduct of years and years of doing certain things every day.

 

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Building new daily habits isn’t difficult if you know what to do. It simply takes time and persistence. Consistency is the key. There is an easy trick that you can use in order to forge new goal habits to help you accomplish the goals behind the dreams that make up your ideal life: It’s called the 20 Minute Rule. The 20 Minute Rule is a simple three-step process.

Here’s how it works:

1. Define any new goal habit you wish to adopt.

2. Devote 20 minutes a day to that new goal habit.

3. Repeat that daily goal habit for a minimum of 30 days.

The new goal habit could be:

• 20 minutes a day of reading to expand your knowledge in a particular area that you need to become more proficient in, in order accomplish an individual goal (i.e. getting some license or certification).

• 20 minutes a day of networking to develop relationships with other successful individuals doing what you want to do. These relationships will open the door to opportunities that will help you accomplish your goals and realize your dreams.

• 20 minutes of listening to a podcast related to one or more of your goals to gather knowledge and insight you didn’t have before.

• 20 minutes of watching a TED talk in an area you need to become more knowledgeable in, in order for you to realize your individual goals.

• 20 minutes of developing a side business you hope to one day devote yourself to full-time.

In 30 days, your brain cells start talking to one another, forming a synapse. Once the synapse is formed, the tracks are laid for habit formation to occur. Over time, it becomes easier and easier to engage in the habit. At some point, between 66 and 256 days, according to the latest science on habits change, the habit becomes an automatic, unconscious behavior.

The brain loves habits. Habits conserve brain fuel and save the brain from work. But it does take repetition and time in order to get brain cells talking to each other. Thirty days gets the conversation going inside the brain.

Once the new goal habit sticks, then you can move on to the next new goal habit, following the same three-step process. In the course of a year, it is possible to add three or more new goal habits using this three-step process. In a few years you will have created dozens of new habits and your life will begin to improve as you accomplish one goal after another, and realize one dream after another.

Businessinsider.com | February 3, 2016 | Thomas C. Corley, Contributor

 

#Leadership : 8 Ways Smart People Use Failure to Their Advantage…Failure is an Inevitable Part of Life, but Smart People Know How to Make it Work for Them.

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One of the biggest roadblocks to success is the fear of failure. Fear of failure is worse than failure itself because it condemns you to a life of unrealized potential.

Free- Lock on Fence

A successful response to failure is all in your approach. In a study recently published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, researchers found that success in the face of failure comes from focusing on results (what you hope to achieve), rather than trying not to fail. While it’s tempting to try and avoid failure, people who do this fail far more often than those who optimistically focus on their goals.

“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” –Winston Churchill

This sounds rather easy and intuitive, but it’s very hard to do when the consequences of failure are severe. The researchers also found that positive feedback increased people’s chances of success because it fueled the same optimism you experience when focusing solely on your goals.

The people who make history–true innovators–take things a step further and see failure as a mere stepping stone to success. Thomas Edison is a great example. It took him 1,000 tries to develop a light bulb that actually worked. When someone asked him how it felt to fail 1,000 times, he said, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”

That attitude is what separates the successes from the failures. Thomas Edison isn’t the only one. J. K. Rowling’s manuscript for Harry Potter was only accepted after 12 publishers denied it, and even then she was only paid a nominal advance. Oprah Winfrey lost her job as a Baltimore news anchor for becoming too emotionally involved in her stories, a quality that became her trademark. Henry Ford lost his financial backers twice before he was able to produce a workable prototype of an automobile. The list goes on and on.

“If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” –Henry Ford

So, what separates the people who let their failures derail them from those who use failure to their advantage? Some of it comes down to what you do, and the rest comes down to what you think.

The actions you take in the face of failure are critical to your ability to recover from it, and they have huge implications for how others view you and your mistakes. There are five actions you must take when you fail that will enable you to succeed in the future and allow others to see you positively in spite of your failure.

1. Break the bad news yourself. If you’ve made a mistake, don’t cross your fingers and hope no one will notice, because someone is going to–it’s inevitable. When someone else points out your failure, that one failure turns into two. If you stay quiet, people are going to wonder why you didn’t say something, and they’re likely to attribute this to either cowardice or ignorance.

2. Offer an explanation, but don’t make excuses. Owning your mistakes can actually enhance your image. It shows confidence, accountability, and integrity. Just be sure to stick to the facts. “We lost the account because I missed the deadline” is a reason. “We lost the account because my dog was sick all weekend and that made me miss the deadline” is an excuse.

3. Have a plan for fixing things. Owning up to a mistake is one thing, but you can’t end it there. What you do next is critical. Instead of standing there, waiting for someone else to clean up your mess, offer your own solutions. It’s even better if you can tell your boss (or whomever) the specific steps you’ve already taken to get things back on track.

4. Have a plan for prevention. In addition to having a plan for fixing things, you should also have a plan for how you’ll avoid making the same mistake in the future. That’s the best way to reassure people that good things will come out of your failure.

5. Get back on the horse. It’s important that you don’t let failure make you timid. That’s a mindset that sucks you in and handicaps you every time you slip up. Take enough time to absorb the lessons of your failure, and as soon as you’ve done that, get right back out there and try again. Waiting only prolongs bad feelings and increases the chance that you’ll lose your nerve.

Your attitude when facing failure is just as important as the actions you take. Using failure to your advantage requires resilience and mental strength, both hallmarks ofemotional intelligence. When you fail, there are three attitudes you want to maintain.

6. Perspective is the most important factor in handling failure. People who are skilledat rebounding after failure are more likely to blame the failure on something they did–the wrong course of action or a specific oversight–rather than something they are. People who are bad at handling failure tend to blame failure on their laziness, lack of intelligence, or some other personal quality, which implies that they had no control over the situation. That makes them more likely to avoid future risk-taking.

7. Optimism is another characteristic of people who bounce back from failure. One British study of 576 serial entrepreneurs found they were much more likely to expect success than entrepreneurs who gave up after their first failure. That sense ofoptimism is what keeps people from feeling like failure is a permanent condition. Instead, they tend to see each failure as a building block to their ultimate success because of the learning it provides.

8. Persistence. Optimism is a feeling of positivity; persistence is what you do with it. It’s optimism in action. When everybody else says, “Enough is enough” and decides to quit and go home, persistent people shake off those failures and keep going. Persistent people are special because their optimism never dies. This makes them great at rising from failure.

Bringing It All Together

Failure is a product of your perspective. What one person considers a crushing defeat another sees as a minor setback. The beauty is that you can change how you see failure so that you can use it to better yourself.

How do you handle failure? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.
PUBLISHED ON: JUN 2, 2016
BY TRAVIS BRADBERRY