Tag: entrepreneur - Page 7

Happy people are more successful, just ask Shawn Achor, the author of The Happiness Advantage.

"People who cultivate a positive mind-set perform better in the face of a challenge and in every area of your business, you will show improvement if your brain is positive" said Achor at a recent speech to 800 global entrepreneurs.

In fact, sales people who were happy outsell their less positive colleagues by more than 37 per cent and positive people in organisations are not only happier, they perform better and live longer, healthier lives.

How many famous people have you heard started out as entrepreneurs selling lemonade or doing the local newspaper run?

I have heard hundreds of stories over the years about how some of the world's most successful entrepreneurs started out as children, making first few dollars when they were still in primary school.

If you feel that your spirit is being squashed down, then push as hard as you can and stand up for what you believe in.

Key to success is being able to withstand the negativity that may cross your path, and rise to any occasion with the same enthusiasm and depth that you had the first day you came up with your new business idea.

In Australia, it's Mother's Day today.

A day that we show appreciation for our Mother's and tell them how important they are to our lives.

My Mother is an interesting woman. She is highly religious, has an incredible sense of resilience and shows compassion to people around her like no-one I have never seen before.

As a child, I remember looking up to her. I loved that she wasn't showy like some other people's Mother's and that she always stood in the background, quiet, yet very supportive. She was the type of Mother that would bake a cake, pop into the school unannounced and give a slice to each of the kids in our class so that they could enjoy her delicious baking for morning tea. Knowing that I had a phobia of eating food out of a lunchbox, she also use to drive 10 kilometres to drop me off fresh lunch, or my favourite fish and chips, on days when the canteen didn't operate - so I would not starve.

I woke up this morning at 3.30am and could not stop thinking. My brain was on overload. All I could think about was business.

Expanding a business internationally is not exactly the easiest task to undertake. It requires a lot more work than you think and some serious planning.

When a person has a big business goal, it can be all-consuming. It's a 24 hour, 7 day a week gig. And when you put that sort of effort into something, you are looking for one hell-of-a-return. I know I am!

Most entrepreneurs think about the end goal. What is it that they are trying to achieve. Then they work back from there. What steps need to be taken to achieve this goal.

To me, this is the norm, but what sets one successful person apart from the run-of-the-mill entrepreneur can often come down to a set of traits. So, what traits make a successful entrepreneur?

21 Traits of a Successful Entrepreneur

Theories by Freud and Carl Jung gained prominence and influence as much in history as they do today. While the relevance to their theories vary depending on who you talk to, there is one general consensus on 'unconscious state of being'.

The question I pose to you is 'Are you sleepwalking your business away?'

Let's not pretend we have never done this. That it is not you. Surely, if you have been in business for a long time, you can relate to this.

At some stage, all entrepreneurs fall into the trap of sleepwalking through life. It may be only for a week, a month or perhaps, a year. Where we wake up, shower, get dressed, travel to work, get a coffee, and start work. At whatever hour in the evening, we finish, we go home, we eat and we go to sleep - only to do it all over again the next day.

Freud had a theory, albeit, flawed, about people existing in an unconscious state of being. At one time or another, many entrepreneurs fall prey to this unconscious state of being, because work dictates life and we forget how to live.

A wake up call for me wasn't so dramatic. In fact it was something that I hold dear to my heart and appreciate more than the words that were written.

We think we have it all - a good business, people who follow us and even some who say they are inspired by us, yet have we really got it all sorted?

Entrepreneurs are unique. They have drive that comes from an inner place that very few people understand. Instead of laying in front of the television every night, entrepreneurs usually pick up their ipads or a good book and learn about how other entrepreneur became successful. Coffee on the go is essential and sitting still for too long usually means that there is something going wrong - or at least entrepreneurs think this is the case.

When I was younger, things were so much easier. I started my first business, Insomnia, when I was just 25 years old. I didn't have a care in the world and I had way more confidence in my capabilities than what perhaps was a reality. I truly believed that I could do anything, go anywhere and achieve what others may think is unachievable.

As you ride the wave of being an entrepreneur, one thing sticks out. No matter how enthusiastic and positive you are, there is a wave of excitement that at times diminishes. That does not mean that you give up or even want to give up - but it does mean that life is not all a rosy 100% of the time.