7 of The Most Important Negotiation Skills You Must Master

Developing the soft skills needed to succeed as an entrepreneur takes time. Focusing on your communication skills, from reading body language to summing up your value in a few sentences is one of the most powerful things you can do to advance your career and success. In this post, I share with you the 7 of the most important negotiation skills you must master.

There was a time when a bit of haggling was expected in nearly every transaction from the price of shoes to the cost of a loaf of bread. Sadly, negotiations are mainly used in the business world nowadays. Regardless, knowing how to negotiate effectively can save you and possibly make you big bucks over a lifetime. Increasingly, business negotiators recognize that the most effective bargainers are skilled at both creating and claiming value.

Your success as an entrepreneur is determined in large part by your ability to communicate. You can be the best at what you do, but if you’re not communicating effectively with clients, staff and the market, then you’re missing out on opportunities. Negotiation is all about communication and it’s a skill that many need to master for long-term success.

Here are 7 of the most important negotiation skills you must master:

1. Be Flexible

As prepared as you may be, the party you are negotiating with might throw you a curveball or two. Keep an open mind so you’re on top of the situation should things not go your way. Do not restrain yourself by setting an inflexible deadline because time urgency in other places is interpreted as a weakness. Even when you are under a time crunch, be calm and project the allure that time is not of the essence.

2. Patience

Negotiating can sometimes be awkward, especially for those new to the sport. Stay calm and try not to make the first offer. Why? Because if you’re a seller, that price may be significantly less than the buyer was willing to pay. And if you’re the buyer, that price may be significantly more than the seller was hoping for. It sounds like a twisted game of chicken, but the person who throws out the first number is usually at a tactical disadvantage.

3. Don’t Be Greedy

Greed is a trait that everyone demonstrates, but very few recognize in themselves. Unfortunately, nothing can destroy a relationship more quickly than a greed-driven negotiation. If one party pushes for too much or is too aggressive, the relationships can be irreparably damaged.  It’s only natural for people to overestimate the value of their product, position or contribution in a negotiation. It takes a special skill to recognize greedy behavior and to stop it before it gets out of control.

4. Build Rapport

Although it’s not always feasible to engage in small talk at the start of a negotiation particularly if you’re on a tight deadline, doing so can bring real benefits according to research. You and your counterpart may be more collaborative and likely to reach an agreement if you spend even just a few minutes trying to get to know each other. If you’re negotiating over email, even a brief introductory phone call may make a difference. This is one of the most valuable negotiation skills to master.

5. Listen Deeply

Most people are terrible listeners. The reasons vary, from being distracted by our own internal monologues to superimposing meaning on what’s being said before we allow others to finish. Instead, try and focus on the person speaking and verbally play back a summary of what was said to make sure you understand before adding your own input into the conversation.

6. Confidently State Your Value And Differentiation

Branding and selling are all about being able to confidently communicate both your points of value and what makes you different than anyone else on the market. The same skills are essential in helping you motivate yourself on a daily basis, hire the right employees and ultimately even connect with friends and partners.

Spend time getting clear about the value you bring to the table and your unique selling points along with your ability to confidently share that in different contexts. Practice boiling that proposition down to no more than two to three sentences.

7.  Ask Good Questions

You can gain more in integrative negotiation by asking lots of questions, especially ones that are likely to get helpful answers. Avoid asking “yes or no” questions and leading questions, such as “Don’t you think that’s a great idea?” Instead, craft neutral questions that encourage detailed responses, such as “Can you tell me about the challenges you’re facing this quarter?”

Conclusion

Developing the soft skills needed to succeed as an entrepreneur takes time. Focusing on your communication skills, from reading body language to summing up your value in a few sentences is one of the most powerful things you can do to advance your career and success. In this post, I shared with you the 7 of the most important negotiation skills you must master.

How To Make Yourself Stand Out On Instagram (Even When Everyone Else Is Doing It, Too)

In this post, I share with you the ways on how to make yourself stand out on Instagram (even when everyone else is doing it, too). The power of visual communication is hard to ignore. Take advantage of Instagram’s power by optimizing your Instagram presence is absolutely crucial for being recognized on social media.

Instagram is one of the most popular social networking sites on the planet with over 200 million active monthly members sharing 60 million images and 1.6 billion likes per day. Instagram quickly outgrew its first impression as a fun app for kids and has become a serious content marketing, networking and audience-building tool for individuals and brands.

Instagram is one of the best places you can market your business and build followers for your brand. With its ability to reach out to a lot of prospective clients, this is the most utilized platform by entrepreneurs. There are different ways on how you can stand out on Instagram even though most brands are attempting to do the same. You need to be a step ahead of your competition to stand out.

Here are ways on how to make yourself stand out on Instagram (even when everyone else is doing it, too):

1. Get To Work On Your Profile

The profile is the first impression and the ONLY place on Instagram where links are active. That means if you want people to click-through to your site via Instagram, it has to be done here. The most important thing on your profile is creating a clear profile image that represents you.

After that, you want to create a bio that shares who you are and what you do. If someone stumbles upon your profile, he or she wants to know immediately if they should follow you or not. Lastly, you want to provide a link that is truly representative of you or your brand that people can click through and obtain more information from.

2. Optimize The Basics

Research shows that people remember 20% of what they read and 80% of what they see. You’re probably already using your logo as your profile picture and your company names as your profile name in other social media platforms so it only makes sense to do the same on Instagram. Consistency across social media platforms helps people quickly recognize your content no matter where they are.

3. Cross-Promote Your Dedicated Hashtag

Creating your own dedicated hashtag is nice and all, but it doesn’t mean anything until other people know to share your content utilizing that same hashtag. Make sure it’s in your profile but take the game offline and have it printed on your receipts, in print ads, on signage in your store and at relevant events. If you’re on radio and TV, direct people to use your hashtag. Integrate your hashtag with your offline campaigns and you’ll be in a better position to create more hype around it.

4. Use Hashtags

Hashtags are the only way to search on Instagram. This means if you want to be found on Instagram, you are going to have to use hashtags. People follow hashtags and there are a bunch of tags to use if you want to increase likes and comments right off the bat. My advice is to stick to hashtags that make sense for the image you are sharing and use them often. This is also your opportunity to create your own hashtag which can be a great branding tool. You can encourage others to use your hashtag to be featured on your page.

5. Engage With Your Instagram Followers

Everyone gets obsessed with the number of Instagram followers a page has. However, it’s not about the quantity but rather about the quality. You would much rather have 1,000 really loyal followers than 100,000 people who don’t care for your brand. Your aim is to build a relationship with your followers and get the most out of your Instagram experience.

Post photos on a regular basis so people don’t forget who you are. But at the same time, you don’t want to post too often. Sharing lots of photos at once since will take up a lot of space in the feed of your followers. Interacting with your followers is a great way to keep them happy and engaged. There’s nothing more rewarding than building lasting relationships with your Instagram followers.

6. Take Advantage Of Video Posts

Instagram is about visual content. That means you don’t have to focus solely on sharing photos. Videos are fair game too, especially now that Instagram is putting an emphasis on it with its launch of IGTV. You can utilize videos showing reactions to your product, more behind-the-scenes content and funny promotions to help bring your brand to life on Instagram.

7. Mix It Up

Avoid the boring route of posting the same images of your product over and over again. Instead, diversify your feed with various types of content. This could be re-sharing other content from other big pages in your industry, sharing stuff from behind the scenes or sharing content created by your management team.

8. Post Regularly

Consistency is very important to keeping your name out there and connecting with as many people as possible. Instagram works in the same manner. Post at least 3 times per week (at the minimum). The more likes you get on your images, the more you will show up on people’s feed and on Facebook. The more you post, the more you’ll get around and that’s a great thing!

Conclusion

The power of visual communication is hard to ignore. Take advantage of Instagram’s power by optimizing your Instagram presence is absolutely crucial for being recognized on social media. In this post, I shared with you the ways on how to make yourself stand out on Instagram (even when everyone else is doing it, too).

6 Tips For Managing A Remote Team Effectively

Managing remote employees is hard, but it’s doable. However, there are tricks on how to effectively manage remote teams and still be more productive. In this post, I share with you 6 tips for managing a remote team effectively.

Working remotely has quickly gained a foothold in a wide variety of American industries, allowing significantly more flexibility that can be a positive for both employers and employees. Not only do many employees now work occasionally out of the office but about a third of the workforce spends at least four days working at home or on the go.

While there can be a variety of benefits attached to the remote revolution, it also brings a series of challenges that team managers have to be prepared for. From learning how to run an effective and engaging remote meeting to finding a balance between micromanagement and freedom, the best managers of today know how to handle the complexity as the remote trend intensifies.

Here are 6 tips for managing a remote team effectively:

1. Use The Right Remote Work Tools

Technology is important in a remote workplace because they enable you to better organize the team and keep everyone on the same page. A truly effective remote work team will have all of the vital remote work tools: email accounts, file sharing software, an instant messaging platform, screen sharing software, time tracking software, project management software and any tools or resources specific to your industry.

2. Take The Time To Build Relationships

Teams with unconnected workers are much more prone to a lack of engagement along with raised levels of turnover and the potential for lowered profitability, which can be avoided by a manager who is even mildly tech-savvy. As a manager or an owner, you still have to build relationships with your employees even if they are out of the country.

3. Implement Systems

Without systems, your business can fall apart rapidly. A business ran in an office can compensate to some degree for not having systems and processes simply by the fact that people can talk in person and look over each other’s shoulders. In a virtual team, each person is literally in their own world. They may develop their own processes and procedures that don’t mesh with the way other team members are working. It’s best to have a documented, standardized way of working that you’re constantly refining.

4. Don’t Leave Staff Members Behind

For younger generations, telecommuting is the most natural thing in the world. To other generations, it can be an awkward fit that doesn’t suit an employee’s lifestyle. If your company has started offering the opportunity to telecommute, it can be important to determine which employees are ready to go and which team members might need a few tips and a little push. Ensuring that everyone on your team knows exactly how to use any new software can be key to keeping employees from feeling alienated from more tech-savvy team members.

5. Articulate Project Goals And Objectives Clearly

You must engage remote workers and help them understand what they are working towards by setting the correct priorities and goals. You must help remote workers understand what they are working towards by setting the correct priorities and goals. In a virtual work setting, the importance of having clear project goals and objectives cannot be overstated. These goals should be clearly communicated during meetings, regular check-ins and performance reviews as well.

6. Organize A System Of Overlapping Times For Communicating In Different Time Zones

Timezones can kill communication in a remote team. If members of your team work in different time zones, then make sure that you have an overlapping period where everyone is working and organizing your virtual meetings during these times. However, this might not be enough. Depending on the type of work you are doing, you may want to consider only hiring people in the same timezone or where the time is only a few hours apart.

Conclusion

Managing remote employees is hard, but it’s doable. However, there are tricks on how to effectively manage remote teams and still be more productive. In this post, I shared with you 6 tips for managing a remote team effectively.

6 Powerful Reasons To Read A Book Every Month

In this post, I share with you 6 powerful reasons to read a book every month.Reading should become a habit to everyone. It not only improves memory and boosts the brain, but reading can provide tranquility and boost creativity. It lessens the day-to-day stresses that we experience.

When was the last time you read a book or a substantial piece of content? Do your daily reading habits center around tweets, Facebook updates or the directions on your instant oatmeal packet? If you’re one of the countless people who don’t make it a habit of reading regularly, you might be missing out.

Knowledge is one of the most powerful things in the world. The wealthy reached their pinnacle of success and stay at the top because of their constant thirst for knowledge. Reading not only opens the brain up, but it has a direct correlation with overall happiness as well.

Here are 6 powerful reasons to read a book every month:

1. It Increases Intelligence

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go. Diving into a good book opens up a whole world of knowledge starting from a very young age. Children’s books expose kids to 50 percent more words than prime time TV or even a conversation between college graduates according to a research.

2. Develops Critical Thinking Skills

One of the primary benefits of reading books is its ability to develop critical thinking skills. For example, reading a mystery novel sharpens your mind. Critical thinking skills are crucial when it comes to making important day to day decisions. Reading requires an individual to think and process information in a way that watching television can’t. The more you read, the deeper your understanding becomes about what you’re reading and its application.

3. Mental Stimulation

Studies have shown that staying mentally stimulated can slow the progress of (or possibly even prevent) Alzheimer’s and Dementia, since keeping your brain active and engaged prevents it from losing power. Just like any other muscle in the body, the brain requires exercise to keep it strong and healthy, so the phrase “use it or lose it” is particularly apt when it comes to your mind. Doing puzzles and playing games such as chess have also been found to be helpful with cognitive stimulation.

4. Vocabulary Expansion

The more you read, the more words you gain exposure to and they’ll inevitably make their way into your everyday vocabulary. Being articulate and well-spoken is of great help in any profession and knowing that you can speak to higher-ups with self-confidence can be an enormous boost to your self-esteem.

5. Reading Can Help You Relax

There’s a reason for snuggling up with a good book (and maybe a glass of wine) after a long day sounds so appealing. Research suggests that reading can work as a serious stress-buster. One study showed that reading may reduce stress by as much as 68 percent. It really doesn’t matter what book you read, by losing yourself in a thoroughly engrossing book you can escape from the worries and stresses of the everyday world and spend a while exploring the domain of the author’s imagination. Not only that, but reading before bed is a far healthier practice than being on your phone or watching television.

6. Better Writing Skills

This goes hand-in-hand with the expansion of your vocabulary. If you write for fun or in your profession, reading is vital to improve your writing skills. When you read a professional authors book, you can learn a lot just by reading what they have to say.

Conclusion

Reading should become a habit to everyone. It not only improves memory and boosts the brain, but reading can provide tranquility and boost creativity. It lessens the day-to-day stresses that we experience. In this post, I shared with you 6 powerful reasons to read a book every month.

How To Deal With Being Smarter Than Your Boss Properly

In this post, I share with you the ways on how to deal with being smarter than your boss properly. If you think that you are smarter than your boss, you don’t have to brag about it. Instead, understand why they became your boss in the first place.

Have you ever wondered how your boss got to where they are today? Do you believe you’re more qualified to manage a team of employees because you have more experience, greater knowledge and better leadership skills? There’s a very good chance you may be right and according to experts, this is a common gripe for many people.

You want to work for a great boss, someone you can respect and learn from. But what if your manager isn’t good at his job? What if you’re more competent or have greater skills? Should you be raising a ruckus or keeping your head down? And how do you get what you need without making your boss look bad?

Here’s how to deal with being smarter than your boss properly:

1. Never Ever Badmouth Or Gossip About Your Boss

Never say a bad word or talk behind their back. No matter how unqualified your boss is, complaining about it to others reflects poorly on you and it can interfere with your ability to advance in your career. Badmouthing and gossip are bad forms of expressing your feelings about your boss.

2. Discover One Thing You Admire The Most And Focus On It

Now that you’ve admitted that your boss has a redeeming value, focus on learning it from them so you can be better in your craft. Wrap your daily routine around it. It could be their leadership skills, strategic acumen, connections, decisiveness or simply their likeability. In most cases, soft skills are what you can take away from any boss.

3. Be Honest With Yourself

Before you declare your boss an incompetent fool, take a closer look at what’s really happening. Some people need to believe they’re better to keep their self-esteem intact or they may just be more qualified in one area. Ask yourself if you’re genuinely smarter than your manager or if it’s possible that you’re more qualified in some areas but not others.

Be honest with yourself about what skills you have and which ones your boss may lack. Being smarter than your boss doesn’t mean you’re going to be more effective. After all, to be good at your job, you don’t just need smarts. You need experience, strong relationships, social capital and emotional intelligence.

4. Be As Useful As Possible

Make yourself useful to your boss and your team by taking on what you can. Look for places where their points of weakness match your strengths and focus yourself as much as possible in those areas. Being useful is a great way to commend yourself to your boss and to be noticed by those who are higher up.

5. Work Out Why They Got There

People get promoted for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they’re killer leaders, have proven track records or have an innovative approach. Sometimes they just appeared to work harder, spent long enough at the company or went to school with someone on the board.

If you’re keen to get ahead in that specific organization, work out how and why they got to where they are. If you learn to play the game a bit, when the time is right for you, you’ll have the double threat of being qualified as well as going down the right route.

6. Take The Right Amount Of Credit

One of the most important things to remember is that your success is correlated directly with your bosses success as well. While a paranoid manager may look to take credit, be careful to take pride in your accomplishments. No need to boast when something major happens because you should always let your work do the talking.

7. Learn From Your Boss

If you have been looked over for promotion, being landed with a weak manager can be even more frustrating. Instead of focusing on their faults, see if there’s something you can learn from them since they got the job for a reason.

Respect that your boss may have experience or knowledge that you don’t and be prepared to learn from them. They may have better soft skills than you or simply be better at networking and managing their career progression. Watch them and see if you can adopt some of their strategies.

Conclusion

If you think that you are smarter than your boss, you don’t have to brag about it. Instead, understand why they became your boss in the first place. In this post, I shared with you the ways on how to deal with being smarter than your boss properly.

8 Valuable Lessons You Can Learn From Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone

Stepping outside our comfort zone is scary. But for us to grow, we must step out of our comfort zone and be prepared for what we will have to face. In this post, I share with you the 8 valuable lessons you can learn from stepping out of your comfort zone.

People talk about stepping outside their comfort zone like it’s stepping into the Twilight Zone, a mysterious place no one dares to voyage to on their own. However, the problem with this thinking is that it keeps us safe and that’s not always a good thing.

Being comfortable is fine, but allowing complacency to take over is never good. Comfort feels nice because it brings a sense of familiarity and calm, but it hinders are curiosity and ability to try new things. If you want to change your life, experience new things and break new boundaries, you must step out of your comfort zone from time to time.

Here are 8 valuable lessons you can learn from stepping out of your comfort zone:

1. You Deal With Life Like A Hero 

Are you guilty of looking at the world through rose-tinted glasses, pretending like uncertainty and fear are alien concepts? Stop. While comfort has a familiar flavor, exploring the unknown world tastes divine. When we look at things differently, dealing with sudden and unexpected changes becomes easier.

Taking controlled risks and doing things you normally would not is a brilliant way to taste uncertainty. By learning to step out of our comfort zone, you are going to be better prepared to catch the sudden curve balls life throws at us.

2. You Will Learn Something New

The definition of insanity is said to be doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different outcome. So if you want to change, you’ve got to get out of your comfort zone. Break out of that zone because you that you will end up learning something new. You’ll meet new people, you’ll see new places, you’ll learn new skills and best of all you’ll become a better version of yourself.

3. Teaches You to Deal With Change

Change is inevitable and many of us aren’t all that comfortable with it. But by regularly pushing ourselves outside our comfort zone, we can learn to deal with change so that when other big changes pop up in life, we’re more prepared to deal with them.

4. Learn About Yourself

Taking risks will help you grow as an individual and will teach you about your interests, passions, talents, strengths and weaknesses. Every time you accomplish something you didn’t think you were capable of, you become more confident, knowledgeable and skilled.

5. Your Productivity Hits An All-Time High

People often tend to use being busy as a sham to stay in their comfort zones and avoid new challenges. But comfort thwarts productivity. That little bit of discomfort that arises from having to cope with expectations and deadlines tends to encourage productivity, as people are generally more driven when they’re walking a tightrope. Pushing our boundaries helps us think and work smarter and hit our stride much sooner.

6. You’ll Discover A Reservoir Of Inner Strength

Nobody likes feeling uncomfortable, but sometimes in life, it is necessary. People often say after they experience something that they were afraid to try that they were absolutely surprised with how they dealt with it. When we push ourselves into unfamiliar territories, we tend to learn the most about ourselves. We learn that we are stronger and infinitely more capable than we ever imagine, which guides us in all our future endeavors.

7. You’ll Be In Control

Being outside the comfort zone enables you to actually acknowledge and manage your negative feelings. If starting the business of your dreams, writing a novel or meeting new people is a recurring dream, that can be quite scary and uncertain. However, if you break your dream into manageable steps, you’ll be in control. You’ll be working towards your dream at your own manageable pace slowly. Because you’re in control, you’ll be doing things you never thought were possible. Now you’re free to work and live life on your own terms.

8. You’ll Learn To Conquer Your Fears

Taking any type of risk in life is scary. Since the world outside your comfort zone is effectively an unknown quantity, stepping outside of it can feel a little jarring at first. Think about the last thing you did that scared you, whether public speaking, starting a new hobby or traveling the world. Then think about how this made you feel afterwards, perhaps the word euphoria comes to mind. When we do something that scares us, we learn that there is nothing to fear but fear itself.

Conclusion

Stepping outside our comfort zone is scary. But for us to grow, we must step out of our comfort zone and be prepared for what we will have to face. In this post, I shared with you the 8 valuable lessons you can learn from stepping out of your comfort zone.

12 Things You Can Do To Improve Your Life Instantly

In life, you always aspire to something better and develop. Follow your heart and do what feels right for you. In this post, I share with you 12 things you can do to improve your life instantly.

To succeed at work and in life, do not always do the same thing over and over again. Instead, be open to changing and adapting so that you can grow and improve. The only way to get better each day is to be aware and willing.

Over the years of being an entrepreneur, I’ve learned a lot about business and my personal life. Some of the changes and lessons haven’t been easy, but I’ve always had a willingness to grow and adapt. As a result of this, I’ve been able to improve and I’ve learned quite a bit from doing so.

Here are 12 things you can do to improve your life instantly:

1. Exercise Your Willpower To Change Direction

You don’t have to keep doing what you’ve been doing the last six years if it’s not yielding the benefits you want. Pick a new destination and go that way. Use your willpower to start the process. You don’t have to repeat last year if it didn’t go the way you expected it to. Clean up the errors, be open to what’s working and not working and do something about it.

2. Do Five-Minute Phone Calls With Friends And Loved Ones

Unless you have an hour-long commute after work, setting aside a block of time to catch up with friends and family can be tricky. Instead, opt for a quick five-minute call to say hi, ask what’s going on, or to wish them luck for an important project or event. A few minutes of casual conversation with someone you care about lifts your spirits without sucking up your time.

3. Identify What’s Keeping You Stuck

This approach gets you to be both reflective and active, which are two steps necessary for change. If you feel stuck in any aspect of life, ask yourself what it is that’s keeping you there.

4. Refine Your Goals

Start the process, set some higher end goals and always be reaching for a higher purpose. Go for something beyond what you thought you could do.

5. Develop A Consistent Morning Routine

The key to having a productive day and saving yourself time in the morning is breaking down every task into small steps. Then, schedule everything by starting from the end of the day and working backwards. This means you know exactly what activity you’ll do from the moment you wake up.

6. Believe In Yourself

You’ve got to believe in the possibilities. You’ve got to believe that tomorrow can be better than today. Believe in yourself. There isn’t a skill you can’t learn, there isn’t a discipline you can’t try, there isn’t a class you can’t take, and there isn’t a book you couldn’t read. The only limitations are the ones we set on ourselves.

7. Declutter Your Space

Let’s face it, decluttering can be a daunting task but organizing a space where you spend a majority of your time has countless benefits. Dedicate one morning to sort through your clothes, books, shoes, or papers to determine what you want to keep. By organizing yourself, you’ll just feel better overall.

8. Practice Self-Kindness

Observe your habits, behaviors and thought processes. Then, ask yourself if you are gentle with yourself. If not, try to pinpoint why and when this occurs. Then, do your best to actively offer yourself compassion and grace.

9. Keep A Gratitude Journal

The best way to pull yourself out of a funk is to actively focus on the good in your life. If you have a few minutes every morning, pull out a notebook or the Notes app on your phone and jot down three things you’re grateful for. It doesn’t have to be extensive: a bullet-point list will do. Taking the time to thoughtfully consider what you’re thankful for puts your life into perspective and allows you to focus on what you’re lucky to have, instead of what you don’t have.

10. Write A List Of Simple Things That Give You Pleasure

Do this at least a couple of times a week. Write down the things that give you a sense of pleasure and happiness and review the list regularly. It will be a good reminder to keep some time slots open for the things you truly enjoy in life.

11. Say “Please” And “Thank You 

Basic manners go such a long way in creating a positive environment. Being kind is important. Being kind and sincere is even better. The more genuine kindness you offer to others, the more genuine kindness you’ll see in return.

12. Start A List Of Things That Should “Stop Doing”

Take note of the non-productive ways to spend your time and focus on breaking those habits. Once you break old habits, devote your energy to start new, healthier habits that lead you to self-improvement. They usually say it takes roughly a month of consistency to develop a new habit.

Conclusion

In life, you always aspire to something better and develop. Follow your heart and do what feels right for you. In this post, I shared with you 12 things you can do to improve your life instantly.

Everyone Has The Same 24 Hours

Everyone has the same 24 hours, but what you do with it is the key to life. In this post, I share some a spoken word video of me sharing wisdom on the topic of time.

I wanted to share something real quick with you guys. I’ve become a huge fan of spoken word and have decided to dish out knowledge and wisdom in the form of spoken word.

This is my first spoken word video that I have created. I have a higher quality microphone coming and I definitely can improve on a lot of things, but I didn’t want to wait on those things before jumping in. This one is titled, “Everyone Has The Same 24 Hours”. It will speak on how you can make the most of your time and how you should spend your time doing sh*t you actually enjoy.

If you enjoyed watching this, I would really appreciate it if you can like, comment and share this video!

7 Harsh Truths You Must Learn To Become Better

In order to become a better person, we need to be slapped with the hard truths of life. Only then if we know the truths will we be able to make the right decisions. In this post, I shared with you 7 harsh truths you must learn to become better.

They say that you only want to surround yourself with friends who will keep it real and be honest with you. The truth is that the only way to improve and to better yourself is to be completely transparent with yourself.

Denial is never healthy for you if you are really focused on improving yourself. You need to be able to surround yourself with people who criticize you and you must be willing to accept criticism as well. It’s much easier to face harsh truths when we know there’s a roadmap.

Here are 7 harsh truths you must learn to become better:

1. The World Only Cares About What It Can Get from You

The world is filled with consumers. Everyone wants something from someone and almost everyone is always in a consuming mindset. They need houses built, they need food to eat, they need entertainment, they need fulfilling relationships, etc. as the list goes on and on.

Either you will go about the task of seeing to those needs by learning a unique set of skills or the world will reject you no matter how kind, giving and polite you are. When you realize this truth, adapt to it and develop a philosophy that you’re comfortable with, life will begin to change for the better.

2. Many People Will Love You, But Many Will Not And That’s Okay 

Whether you are a celebrity, a charity worker or just a normal guy, there are going to be people that love you and what you do, but there’s also going to be plenty people that don’t like you. There are many possible reasons such as jealousy, similarities to them or just not being someone’s ‘type’.

Not everyone is always going to like you and that’s perfectly fine. If people want to spend time talking about you, then that is their problem. You are perfect just the way you are. You shouldn’t need everyone to like you to have some form of self-esteem.

3. You May Be Better Off Without Some People

It may seem impossible to think that the friends who mean the world to you right now might not be there for you anymore in the future, but it’s the reality of life. People come and go. As you grow older, your priorities will change.

Allow yourself to move on and head towards a new chapter in life even if it means letting go of incredible friendships. Accept that growing older means you’ll have to leave a lot of things in the past no matter how hard and painful it may be.

4. If You Are Not Falling, You Are Not Living

We tend to like to play it safe when it comes to life. We don’t like to fail and we don’t like being vulnerable to rejection. The most successful and the happiest people have failed multiple times. The harsh truth is that you cannot achieve the tangible and intangible signs of success if you are not willing to fail.

Don’t be afraid of failure, consider every setback as a step towards success and you will be released from the invisible chains that keep people from trying new things or daring to pursue a dream.

5. Be Accountable For Your Behavior

If you behave badly, rudely or take unnecessary risks, then you have to be totally accountable for what you have done. Taking the consequences, not blaming others and apologizing for harm done has to be on your to-do list. The best of the best make mistakes and being able to admit those mishaps are extremely important.

6. No One Will Care For You Better Than You Will

Another harsh truth you need to accept is that nobody will care about yourself as much as you do. We are all born into this world to find our purpose and fulfill our own aspirations. Do things for you, not for other people. Invest in something and spend a lot of money only if it’s for the sake of making your life better. Work hard to improve yourself at the things you want to get better at on your own pace. Do your own thing and live your life on your own terms.

7. You Will Die

We all know it, but nobody says it quite that bluntly. We pretend that we have all the time in the world, but we really don’t. Every second is precious. The most valuable commodity in the world is not money, it’s time.

Stop procrastinating. Live. Learn. Love. Know that suffering and pain are a part of life. You will become more resilient and even joyful in the face of suffering. The unimportant things will be stripped away and it will sharpen your focus on what matters most.

Conclusion

In order to become a better person, we need to be slapped with the hard truths of life. Only then if we know the truths will we be able to make the right decisions. In this post, I shared with you 7 harsh truths you must learn to become better.

7 Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Can’t Be Perfectionists

Perfectionism is self-destructive for one very simple reason, there is no such thing as perfect. You need to know what perfectionism may be costing you so that you can find a way to abandon your need to be perfect. In this post, I shared with you the 7 reasons why entrepreneurs can’t be perfectionists.

What’s wrong with wanting something to be perfect? Nothing, unless it’s leading to your failure and that is exactly what can happen to many trying to be a perfectionist. Perfectionism refers to an all-or-nothing mentality, there is only one right way and the rest are wrong.

Striving for perfection can garner you a lot of great perks. It can lead to immense financial rewards, career achievements and so much more. However, placing that much pressure on yourself can also expose you to a lot of perils that more often than not lead to an eventual crash.

Here are 7 reasons why entrepreneurs can’t be perfectionists:

1. When You’re Perfect, You Don’t Take Risks

Being an entrepreneur is risky; being an industry leader brings tons of uncertainty. Being perfect may make you feel bulletproof, but it’s really keeping you stuck within the status quo. Risks are a necessary part of growing and improving.

2. You Strive To Keep Everyone Happy

As a perfectionist, you are often a people pleaser wanting others to think highly of you. With your all-or-nothing thinking, you see yourself as “good” if people like you and “bad” if they don’t. With people pleasing comes a lot of difficulties in making decisions and avoiding important conversations solely for the fear that you’ll upset someone else. As a result of this, your work may often be crippled.

3. You’ll Be Exposed To Excessive Levels Of Stress

Because your benchmarks for success are unreasonably high, life basically becomes a ground fight between you and the stress you’re placing yourself under. You’ll be exerting so much effort at perfecting even the non-essentials that finding opportunities to relax and get refreshed becomes non-existent. There’s no doubt about it, you’ll eventually burn out and the lows will become much lower.

4. When You’re Perfect, You Cannot Adapt To New Situations

In today’s environment of complex challenges and rapid change, adaptive problem solving is a crucial ability. Adaptability is not just a “nice to have” competency but an important competitive advantage. The addictive nature of perfectionism keeps us from adapting to new situations that can help us evolve.

5. You’ll Waste Precious Time And Opportunities

This is a major reason experts dissuade entrepreneurs from ever becoming perfectionists. You’ll never get things done on time. You’ll spend too much time planning and perfecting a product or feature before launching it. That’s one of the most dangerous business mistakes you can ever make.

6. You Can’t Delegate

Being a perfectionist often means you have a hard time delegating tasks to others. With an all-or-nothing mentality, you most likely believe that there is a right way to do something and that everything else is wrong. By not delegating to others, you limit your businesses growth and overwhelm yourself.

7. You Won’t Find True Happiness

While everyone wants a perfect life, a perfect spouse or the perfect business, nothing of the sort has ever existed. It’s merely your warped perception of how others live that causes people to want to emulate the lives of others. Rather, well-balanced people tend to experience the most happiness by cherishing what they have.

Conclusion

Perfectionism is self-destructive for one very simple reason, there is no such thing as perfect. You need to know what perfectionism may be costing you so that you can find a way to abandon your need to be perfect. In this post, I shared with you the 7 reasons why entrepreneurs can’t be perfectionists.