One of My “Ten Must Knows” for becoming a Successful Entrepreneur….
I came up with my list of “Ten Must Knows” for becoming a successful entrepreneur. Personal Growth is a big one. Years ago, I was fortunate enough to hear Brian Tracy talk about how he became a successful top salesman for his company. Every morning he would look in the mirror and say, “ I am great!!” He reset his mindset by doing this daily! He made such an impression on me that I bought every one of his cassette tapes and listened to those tapes while driving into work every day!! (Some of you may not know what cassettes are!!) Bob Proctor is another motivational speaker who says that the book, “Think and Grow Rich” transformed his life. Why has personal growth been so important to me? Early on in business, I took the early version of Landmark, called EST, which helped me with self-confidence and mindset, because: - I recognized customers wanted a positive experience when they came into our business. It got me to listen better to the needs of our customers. - I gained confidence about identifying myself as a business owner. There were times when a salesman came into our shop and asked to speak to the owner. They didn’t always believe me when I told them I was the owner, and they can speak to me. After seeing it upset them, I came up with an inside joke that “George” would be the owner. I even had business cards printed up for “George” with a last name of … Willoughby. I never knew if “George” would be in – “will he be” in, or won’t he be in. That was the inside joke. Not only does continuing Personal Growth help when dealing with customers, it helps with the whole business.
While researching this subject, I came across a gentleman, Makarand Utpat, who’s opinion is: “Entrepreneurship is really all about your ability to evaluate and analyze the risks and rewards of a certain opportunity that would help you in becoming successful. But before you can make such important decisions, you need to be certain of yourself. Entrepreneurs need an identity. They need to know who they are, what they aspire to achieve and have a sphere of ethics that they believe cannot be trespassed. This gives them a character that they can further hammer into their business practices in order to achieve success.
To come to such conclusions and conduct your business practices to excellence, entrepreneurs need to ensure their continuing personal development.” Four reasons Makarand feels Personal Development is necessary for entrepreneurs, are: 1) Personal Development allows you to be mindful of yourself – if your entire focus is on monetary reward, then you will end up jeopardizing your own health, due to constant stress. You must always monitor your physical health. Your Personal Growth cultivates a sense of individuality and allows you to tune in with your own spiritual, emotional, mental and physical needs. You can only cater to your needs if you identify them in the first place. 2) Personal Development will allow you to remain open to change – the world keeps changing every day; particularly with the progress of technology and the introduction of innovative ideas. You may find yourself slightly resistant to these changes. Personal development can help you accept your need to alter your habits and patterns to keep up with the world. 3) Personal Development keeps you open to learning – You want to be open to new skills. No human being is perfect. No matter how well-learned, well-educated or well-experienced you are, there is always something new that you can learn. This mindset is invaluable to your business growth and development. 4) Personal Development allows you to be more understanding – one of the reasons why most entrepreneurs fail to become successful leaders is because of a lack of empathy toward their employees. However, if you practice Personal Development, you will become more aware of your surroundings. You will become more understanding of your employees – and their productivity – on a personal and emotional level. In this way, you will be able to introduce motivational strategies that will help in boosting your employee’s morale and encourage them to become more active and productive.”
Where do I start my Personal Growth? Whether you want more money, better health, improved relationships, a career change or a combination of all these areas, successful Personal Growth is an ongoing process that requires motivation, the desire to improve, and the willingness to strive to make changes. An open mind and the desire to learn, being ready to get out of your comfort zone are very important. Personal Growth can help you in growing emotionally and mentally, and becoming a more considerate, loving and positive person. My favorite seminar experience, by far, has been from taking the Convergence Seminars. This group of classes might be a good place to start your journey into Personal Growth.
Become the entrepreneur living inside you.