Personal Development – Action vs Daydreaming Personal Development (PD) is one of the hidden pillars of the successful home business and for business leaders in general. The will and drive to build success has to be sustained over time. We actually need to work harder on ourselves than we work on our business to sustain our commitment. Its about controlling and disciplining our minds and becoming more because success is not something we pursue – success is something we attract.

Attracting Success

In order for us to attract success we need to become that person that attracts success. We are not going to attract success if we are not mentally ready to attract success. At least 30 minutes of PD every day. The key here is not to look outward for excuses, fall guys or success – everything is in our hands. There is no outside force that is going to make us change. Invest in books, magazines, etc. in terms of expanding your mind and becoming more prosperous.

Also, no one book is going to answer everything for you, even if you are saying to yourself right now “YES – I have the magic Book”. YES – it is funneling ALL wisdom about everything to me right now”. What you need to look for is material that resonates and moves you the most – start there.

Because the more you do – the more/faster your circumstances will change. It’s not about working hard – it’s about becoming more. So we can achieve more. Personal Development is not an end in itself it is a tool, one of many in your tool kit. Don’t get lost in empowerment or feel good messages. PD HAS to become accompanied by action – it is NOT a replacement for your plan.

Communicate with people and tell them where you are going at every opportunity. Giving your vision a reality through declaration and then implement. Implementation is one of the hallmarks of a becoming a leader.

Being a leader is a process. We can all say the same thing but it is how we language it to our teams. This is a process we are all working to become better all the time.

Practice it — Every opportunity with your team/friends/family/etc. – tell them where you’re going. Is it frightening – YES. Why? Because you committed yourself to take action by exposing your vision to the world.

Problem Solving The only person who doesn’t have problems is in the cemetery. So all of us are and have been here. Formula for embracing problems:

We all come from backgrounds that say avoid problems FORGET THAT We need to get better at facing challenges and solving problems.

Good problem solvers and going over obstacles and being able to talk about to other people about and through it is incredibly liberating. We want to become a person to see a problem as an opportunity to get us where we want to go. We need to embrace problems and work to solve them. Obstacles, challenges, problems are all the same. Why?

The bigger the problem- the bigger the check.

Overcoming Fear

Here’s what I like you do. The great thing about PD is that when you take action you do really feel better. Start manageable and grow. Write a list of what you don’t like to do – what makes you feel uncomfortable.

This lays out action items and it puts you in control. If it we put ourselves out there – we are going to get more of we want so we need to be prepared to put ourselves out there and the first step is to make a list – make it real – get it out of our heads.

After you compiled the list – make the opportunity to do those things. In this world we all have choices – nobody’s forcing us to anything – we need to become willing to do and become more (see time management piece). Then you have to be willing to DO the things to get you where you want to go. No magic – just choice. Am I willing to do that? If you see something to be taken care of – you step up and take care of it.

In general, people are not willing to do the things which are uncomfortable – that is what keeps them where they are. A good leader is someone who is willing to do the things that make them uncomfortable. First, you do it yourself and then tell others to do the same. Your team, family, etc. is thinking the same as you used to – let them that no one is going to put an obstacle in front of them except for them. And that the faster we remove our barriers the faster we are going to move forward.

Becoming a Leader

To be a leader the best thing you can do is to be around leaders

Understand their thinking

Feel their belief and passion

Know that YOU can join them anytime YOU wish Get Committed — Don’t hold back — Willing to learn

I was thinking the other day why I have enjoyed consulting with small business owners for so many years. Talk about reality shows. What is more real than talking to the person who created, owns and operates a business? They have made their dream a reality. It’s a whole different conversation and level of engagement from talking to a marketing or business development manager working for a small or mid-size company. I don’t mean to imply that the marketing or business development manager knows less about the company’s business than the owner. It’s about the level of passion for the business. Passion or entrepreneurial zeal, as we know, doesn’t always translate into being able to run a company successfully but I love to hear their story.

I enjoy the initial phase of a search engine optimization or pay per click management campaign for any new client. We call this the discovery phase where we gather quantitative and qualitative information about a business to lay the groundwork for the project. The more we know about what they do, how they do it, who they are trying to reach and what their goals are the better we can develop and implement a successful online marketing strategy for them.

One big difference I notice almost immediately when talking to an entrepreneur is the desire to talk about their business. You never have to worry about keeping the conversation going that’s for sure. Entrepreneurs love to talk about their business. It’s their passion. That’s why they are doing it. Many businesses, if not most, are built based on the personality of the owner and more often than naught these owners have an outgoing, engaging personality. That is why social media marketing can be so powerful for small business owners.

Social media marketing is not just about creating profiles on facebook, myspace, LinkedIn and other social media networks to try to create buzz and links to your web site. It’s about being actively engaged in the networks. Let people get to know you. Be real. Tell them about your business, why you do it and how you do it. Not from a sales and marketing stand point so it sounds like every other Tom, Dick and Harry selling the same thing but from your personal stand point – your personality – let it shine through. Just a warning here, if you are a real drone with a negative view point on the world this might not work. :>) Find people with the same interests as yours and participate in their discussions. It has to be a two way network for it to work best.

Are you thinking how in the heck am I supposed to find enough time to do this plus run my business? This is a valid point but if done correctly this can reap big benefits for your business. Millions and millions of people are participating in social media networks every day. Instead of actively participating in 4 or 5 determine which one best fits your desired demographic and focus predominantly on that one. Also, you might really enjoy it. Just talk about your favorite topic – your business.