Let's talk about a few character traits that have been the most instrumental in the business world...
- Start before you are ready, and embrace failure as learning opportunities. When I first started coaching people as a life coach and a business coach I did NOT feel ready. I did not feel qualified. I remember shortly after I set goals and announced I was launching a coaching business I was scared. Really scared. Wondering how on earth my lofty goals would come true and who on earth would believe I was qualified enough to coach them? But I stayed committed. I did the work. It wasn’t always pretty, but I was growing with each day and each misstep. Not long after truly committing to this calling, a path unfolded before me to achieve all of my goals and more. It would have never happened if I let doubt and fear take control of my destiny. So just start, commit fully, embrace failure, and know that who you become along the way is everything. And make sure you stick to writing in your journal.
- Lock in your vision. Cast a vision for your life, move towards it every day and watch it come true. If you don’t have a vision for your life you’re letting the world, your environment, and everyone else dictate your life and where it’s headed. Once you have a clear vision for where you are going, the world steps aside and a path unfolds before you. The world will test you to make sure you are committed to your vision, but once it feels that energy there is no going back. I cast a vision for my first business, as previously mentioned setting lofty 6-month goals that scared the heck out of me. I made a vision board of these goals and put them in my office. I wrote down everything I could in my network marketing journal. I had NO idea how they would come true, but I committed to them and was willing to put one foot in front of the other every day. Reflecting back ALL of my goals happened, just not in the exact way I expected them to. The lesson in that was that I won’t always know the HOW, but when I know WHERE I am going and WHY I am doing it, a viable path will unfold.
- Grow yourself, and your business will follow. “Your success will rarely exceed your level of personal development” — one of my favorite quotes by my mentor Jim Rohn. I committed to doing everything in my power to grow myself as a person, as a leader, as an entrepreneur through reading books, listening to podcasts and audio/video of successful people, attending Toastmasters, hiring a coach, and surrounding myself with people who had achieved something I wanted to emulate in my life. As a result, I grew into a person capable of living out the life I desired and building a business accordingly. I’ve always found that as I grow, as I level up, my business follows suit. You want to build a million-dollar business? Become the person you need to be first, and let the rest follow.
Often leaders are asked to share the best advice they received, but has there been any advice you've received that you now wish you never followed?
This is a tough one because I feel like everything happens for a reason. The first thing that comes to mind is “if you want different, you have to move differently.”
Entrepreneurship is “different”. Especially as a network marketing professional. So when you first dive in, you’re going to face a lot of opposition, especially from people close to you. I believe this happens for two reasons. First, they are trying to protect you. The human brain craves safety and security and entrepreneurship is taking a risk, stepping outside of the norms and comfort zones we are accustomed to. The second is because they may see you growing and they don’t want you to grow away from them. So if there is any advice I’d say NOT to take it, would be the advice of anyone who hasn’t done what you are looking to do. When you step into entrepreneurship, there are going to be a lot of people cautioning you, even telling you it’s a bad idea. Yet they’ve never even tried it, thus their feedback can be appreciated, but shouldn’t be taken into account. Seek advice from those who have walked before you, not from those who have never stepped foot on the path.