Are You a Leader or a Slacker?
Do you claim to be a Leader in your business or your field of expertise? I have noticed that many people claim to be Leaders, but I consider them Slackers instead. A Slacker is someone that basically likes to give instruction or direction, but takes no action on advancing themselves or their business. Does this describe you, your up-line or someone else on your Mastermind Team? Here are some clues that might help you out. Leader: Praises his/her team and offers encouragement Slacker: Quick to find fault and slow to give praise Leader: Holds himself/herself to a higher standard that his/her team Slacker: Has a high level of expectation for his/her team but doesn’t hold himself/herself to that same standard Leader: Leads by example and is a role model for his/her team Slacker: Blends in with crowd and never steps up to take a leadership role Leader: Has deep rooted belief in his/her business and leads new teammates through the growth process (learning the business and facing obstacles) Slacker: Convinces a person to join his/her team then pawns them off on someone else or simply pushes them to the side (Referred to as “sign and drop”) Which of these characteristics, best describes you and your teammates? Be honest with yourself. Just remember, that a leader must lead and nourish others through the growth process. If he/she loses integrity and fails to take action, then this same failure mindset will ripple down to his/her teammates. A team will duplicate their leader and their leader’s actions. Let me ask you one last time…Are you a Leader or a Slacker?
3 Powerful Ways to Recognize an Opportunity
If you want to be a successful entrepreneur one of the things that you’re going to have to do is be able to recognize opportunity when it knocks. An opportunity to fill a much needed gap in the market or to change your business to take advantage of a trend could mean the difference between a little bit of success and a huge amount. But you must know what these opportunities look like so that you can grab them when you see them. Here are three ways to recognize an opportunity. It Might Not Be Perfect One of the earmarks of a good opportunity is that it doesn’t sound too good to be true. A true opportunity that has great potential isn’t going to be perfect when you encounter it. You’re going to have to do the work to make it into a successful venture. However, one thing that should have is potential. If you can see it becoming a great idea in the future than it might just be the opportunity that you been looking for but just be sure that just because an idea is imperfect that you don’t discard it completely. It Is Built on Previous Failures The best ideas are the ones that have evolved over time because they have been honed through past failures. If an idea has been through the furnace of discovery, there is a much greater chance of it working when you decide to implement it. In other words, you might want to give an idea time to fail a few times before you decide to run with it yourself, because otherwise, you’ll be making all of those mistakes yourself and that won’t result in the grand opportunity the you’re envisioning. It Might Not Be What It Was Intended to Be Used for Originally Some of the best ideas that have ever been thought of were completely different takes on what a product or service was originally intended for. The idea might’ve been a failure as it was intended but it sparked an entire new thought process and brand-new applications. These accidental inventions ended up being something completely different because someone had the ability to see past the original application. For example, both the slinky and silly putty toys were intended for industrial application. However, they failed as intended and instead became some of the most popular toys ever invented.
Leadership: Is It For You?
Leadership is something that is fundamentally part of a society. It is necessary in any good society that someone stands up and takes charge. Leadership is essential, we know that, but does that mean everyone out there is a leader? The fact of the matter is that some individuals are not made to be leaders. They are followers. And just as important in society as leaders are followers. So, where do you lie? Are you going to play leadership roles within your life? For many people, the instincts to take those leadership roles just comes to them. It is just something that happens. They step up to the plate when needed. They respond first in class. They take charge of the baseball game on the playground. They step up to the plate on the job. While you can not be first in every case, individuals that have leadership skills will often be seen and heard throughout their lives. But, not all leaders are born with this talent. Many of them must learn it. People with an ambition to be a leader can do so by taking classes and studying the necessary skills that it takes to be a leader. While all of this may sound simple, it can be quite a task to learn. It is hard to teach a person to react in a situation that is not planned well. Because leaders are determined by their actions, we often see that leadership roles are filled with individuals who put themselves out there to be chosen, so to speak. But, this is not always the case. In many cases of emergency, leaders are those that take charge long before anyone else reacts. In that, these individuals will have a cool head about themselves and be able to see the necessary work ahead while others are worrying, panicking or simply in shock. These are probably the true leaders in our society.
Relax Your Way To Public Speaking
Believe it or not, fear of death is actually second to the one greatest fear that the majority of humanity seems tensely afraid of: fear of speaking in public. If fear is all that you are thinking, then forget about that presentation that could earn your company and you the necessary sales. Presentation and public speaking is one of the most efficient as well as effective manner in making your products and services known. Why deny your product or service the chance to be heard? If you are still afraid, try your very best to focus on the various positive after effects of making that presentation. Create in your mind the numerous clients, customers and contact persons you might not get to see or be involved with if you let that unnecessary and irrelevant anxiety take hold of you. Your presentation may only take thirty minutes but the long term effects of your pitch or presentation might go a long way. If the fear is still gripping you, try to do the following exercises to help your body relax and warm up to whatever it is you plan to do in your presentation. Turn that negative energy into a positive one and see who benefits best from it. Warm up your body Are you wearing high heeled shoes now? If you are, please take them off now. Then go and stand up. Try to stand on only one leg. Then shake the leg that is off the floor. Switch legs and do the same thing again. What you are doing is taking the negative energy of anxiety towards the floor and out of your body. Though this may appear and sound so out of this world, it actually works. For your information, actors use this as a warm-up exercise prior to attacking any scene. Hold out your hands, shake them, fast. Put your hands over your head and bring them to your sides. Repeat the same process. Doing this continually will take the tension off your hands and arms so any movements you make with them during your presentation gets to appear natural. Ease the tension present in the muscles of your face. In order to do this what you could do is chew in a manner that is exaggerated. These exercises are done for the purpose of warming any part of your body that is edgy, uptight or taut from being too nervous thinking about how you will do in your presentation. Do not think too much though as it only adds unnecessary stress. Relax and your audience will relax along with you.
Rehearsing: A Way To Eliminate Public Speaking Anxiety
It is almost impossible for one to go through his or her adult life without having been asked to speak in public at least once. You might have proposed a toast to a wedding, or reported in front of a class. At work, you could have done an oral presentation for a promotion. Or you could have faced a group of interviewers before you actually got hired for the job that you now have. All of these and more would require a person to get up and speak out in front of a number of people. This can either be a good or a bad experience for the speaker. In the United States, studies show that public speaking is one of the most common fear that Americans have. How do we eliminate this widespread public speaking anxiety? The key is to face your fear, master your material, and rehearse. Here are some helpful tips on how you can use rehearsing to eliminate the fear of speaking in public: Have a “dress rehearsal” before the big day If you are making a formal presentation in a particular place, go to the venue a day ahead or several hours before the presentation to familiarize yourself with the surroundings. If there is a rostrum, stand in front of it and test the height. Make the necessary adjustments so that the audience will have a clear view of you as a speaker. Know your material. Prepare an outline of your speech and look for bits of information which could be a major point of interest. Read about every aspect of the topic so that it will not be difficult for you to answer unexpected questions should they come up through the course of your discussion. This is also a good time to check out the equipment that you need to proceed with your presentation. Create charts and photos for a slide presentation to make your presentation more informative and interesting. Time is also important so you can have a run-through of the entire speech and record your voice while doing so. This would give you an idea of how long it will run. The recording will also reveal the focal points where you can vary your tone of voice for a more lively speech. It is also a great idea to tape yourself or have somebody do it for you while you are rehearsing your actual speech. Review the video and look for ways to improve your overall presentation. Practice makes perfect, so it is very important to rehearse before giving out that all-important oral presentation and help you reduce your public speaking anxiety.
MASTERMIND TEAM: DO YOU HAVE ONE?
The key to life is to be around the people who will empower you to reach the next level in life! In order to exceed your present reach, you need to be around people who will help you stretch a little farther. The secret to a productive mastermind team is for you to surround yourself with people who you can always learn from. A sign of a very intelligent person is to be smart enough to realize that you need to learn from others who can contribute to your WHY in life. As you know, my ultimate outcome is to develop the #1 personal self-development company in the world. Each and every day I strive to immerse myself in material and people who will enable me to achieve our corporate mission. As you look at your own mission in life, you need to ask yourself a very honest/straightforward question ….“Is my personal development engine in Forward, Neutral or Reverse?” The answer is very simple. All that you need to do is to write down the top 10 people you regularly associate with. As you review the list, realize that you will become an exact duplicate of those 10 people — financially, spiritually, physically and psychologically. Once again, be honest with yourself. If you are not 110% happy about what you see yourself becoming due to your present relationships, you need to take ACTION immediately! Make a decision to develop a mastermind TEAM! Unfortunately, 95% of people will never take the action needed in order to become part of a mastermind team. They will continue to live their lives and wonder WHAT HAPPENED to their LIVES and all of their DREAMS. You need to stop whining and begin working on yourself to become part of a Mastermind Team! I am proud to say that each and every day I associate with people who are either at my level of enthusiasm, excitement and intelligence or even more so than I am, which is the key to a personally productive mastermind team. You need to be a part of a group of people who make you want to exceed your present reach. Be honest with yourself and know that you need to change your associations in order to achieve your God-given dreams! You will be amazed by the results. Your life will SOAR like an EAGLE to the ends of the earth if you change your associations!
Leadership Is Action… Not Position
People respond to good leadership! Period! It is in all aspects of our lives, not just business. A mother is a leader in her home; a son may be leader of a team sport or a daughter the leader of the debate team. A group relies on the person in charge to actually lead them to success. A true leader is highly ethical, honest and respected. In our society we have leaders and followers. Are we born to one or the other? No! Can you hone your leadership skills? Absolutely! The leaders that I admire seem to have all of these in place: a) They think BIG! They don’t put a ceiling in place. Instead, no limit is set as to how big or how much better something can be. b) The goals are firmly set in place and the eye does not come off of it. c) They make known to all involved the final product that they are all going for, example, if you sell widgets, it takes x number of widgets to be affluent, or you want to win that football game and ultimately the title. Know what you’re going for. d) They can get compliance to orders. e) When goals are met they set new goals or raise the bar. People will follow your lead willingly if you are honest, ethical, if you are consistent and treat them with respect. Rewarding someone when a job is well done is always appreciated. A good leader will also off load someone who consistently hinders the group who is just not a team player. You can improve your own self- respect and become an inspiration to others. How great is that!
