Management – Page 2 – Alphadog Success

Master Your Inner Critic to Be Successful

Our inner critic says, we get told the world is the way is and you just have to live your life inside that world as best you can. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family, have fun, save a little money. Don’t step on toes, don’t be too cocky. That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call ‘life’ was made up by people that were relatively no smarter than you. So, if you want to change something in your world… you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use too. You are more useful than you know. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again. This is the advice I learned from Steve Jobs. You know that billionaire guy with the Apple fetish? He rocked. And more than that, he knew he did. That was the biggest secret to his success on and offline – like you, he initially thought ‘I don’t want a job. I want to be an entrepreneur’. Most of us end there and then let self-doubt cloud any potential of getting any further. We make a few bucks, we live pretty comfortable and we dream realistically. We see the obstacles. But obstacles don’t stop us from going further, as we may think – it is actually how resourceful we are in dealing with them. We can’t let a few trials dictate to us where our ceiling of success is. And while being safe instead of bold is a good strategy if you like this life… there is no harm in a little self-love. It is this that creates the boldness, and ultimately the desired results. If you wonder what being bold has to do with being successful or you think that talking about self-love is a little too ‘new-agey’… then let’s get scientific. 55% of all of our communication (that is how we present ourselves to the world) is not what we say or the words we decide to use. It is our body language. It is what we do with our face and our tone. The words you say are a side note. And so, it is essential to believe in yourself each day before you ever set foot online thinking you’re going to make a million because – heck – if you don’t believe it and you are not congruent, not one customer is going to believe that you’re the one to solve all their problems either. So next time your inner critic says ‘I don’t want to sell myself’ or ‘I’m not sure people will like my product’ or ‘Am I charging/asking too much?’, make sure that the answer to that is in line with how much you value yourself. Be the value and people will pick up on it. Tell yourself you have lots to offer and that you can do it. And why not… many people talk to themselves negatively all day long and have nothing to show for it. So why not try looking at things differently? I’ll say it one last time… you want to succeed. Do it from the inside out – believe you can first. Don’t let your inner critic run the show. Believe you are worth that money. It is from a place of fear and worry that most people never pick up that phone and call when they should, most people never ask for what they want (at the price they want) when they know they should. That’s what separates the people that do things from the people who just dream about them. It’s up to you to take action. You must be willing to fail. You’ve got to be willing to crash and burn. And when it is all done and it’s time to get up, it’s not your legs that will lift you… it’ll be your self-belief, not your inner critic. Take a deep breath and say it out loud – “I am worth it!” Now get to work.

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Finding Confidence To Embrace Life’s Big Decisions & Overcome Fear of…

Leadership, Management, Mindset, Sales / Drew

Confidence comes from a latin word affīdāre which means “to trust oneself”; therefore, finding confidence is just having more trust in one’s self and fear of failure. Confidence is a state of being clear headed either that a hypothesis is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. I talk to a lot of sales professionals and entrepreneurs, people starting their own businesses, and they want to learn: “How can I develop more confidence or even just get myself a bit more confident so that I can be more successful in what I do?” In order to make this happen, we have to realize where confidence comes from and what finding confidence means. Finding confidence is basically your ability to take action and feel good about yourself and the results of the action. Feeling like whatever it is you’re about to jump into, you can do a good job and you can come out of it looking and feeling good. Now, this doesn’t happen by accident. When you look at the way confidence shows up in our lives, it appears as a result of doing things over and over again and developing a proficiency from it. Confidence, in and of itself, is not something that you’re born with or not born with. It’s something that’s developed over time through practice and repetition. When you first learned to walk, at 12 or 13-months old or whatever it may be for you; you weren’t very confident at walking. In fact, you couldn’t walk at all. But you were determined to try, and determined to succeed. You stood on the side of the sofa and you pushed yourself off and you would fall. You would try it again and you would maybe balance for a bit and then fall. But you would do it over and over again. Your level of confidence in the beginning was tiny. In fact, there probably was no confidence. But you were so determined to do it, that you kept going regardless of the outcome. Eventually you took a step, you followed that with another step, and soon enough you were walking and now you’re an adult and you can walk from one room to another, you can walk for miles as an exercise or whatever, and not even think about the act of walking. It’s just something that comes naturally to you now. If someone were to ask you your level of confidence on a scale of 0 to 10, how confident you are that you could walk across the room, you’d probably say 11. It isn’t even something that you ever think to question…You just do it. The same thing goes for finding confidence in all areas of life – including your professional life. Let’s say your success right now requires your ability to sell. Doesn’t matter what it is. To sell a product, to sell an idea, to sell a service, sell a training program. I don’t know what it is for you. You might not be confident in your ability to communicate value in a way that exceeds the expense and closes a deal. So the important question becomes, how are you going to find that confidence? You weren’t born with it. Thinking about yourself going into a situation where you might have to sell somebody, makes you nervous or self-conscious. How do you get to a point where you’re confident in doing it no matter what you are selling? First, it’s natural to feel fear whenever you are stepping out of your comfort zone…it’s a biological response we have maintained from our “caveman brains”. Luckily there are many other, more evolved portions of our brain we can counter it with. So, the next time you’re feeling fearful, just try to put it into perspective. Recognize that fear is only a feeling, a chemical response to a thought. Fear can feel very, very real. But it’s only an emotion that survives and thrives when we feed it with our attention. The first step in mastering your fear of taking massive action is to remember to tell yourself that fear isn’t real – that it’s only a feeling that can’t hurt actually you. Remember, everyone experiences fear Everyone experiences fear before they try something new. Think Tony Robbins hasn’t experienced fear of failure? Sure he has, and I’m sure he would tell you that himself. Everyone has experienced fear of failure, the fear of looking like a fool, the fear of losing friends, the fear of being judged, a fear of being called an imposter, the fear of ending up worse than when you started, whatever it may be. In fact, statistics show that a whopping 85% of the population has some form of self-doubt. When a moment of panic comes over you, image your role model and remember that they too have experienced fear. But they moved through it anyway. Sometimes you’ll just have to do it afraid. Do it anyway. Take the first small step We’ve all heard Newton’s 1st Law of Motion: A body at rest tends to stay at rest, while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. Notice that feeling of fear, and then take that first small step in spite of it. Fear is a natural and required part of the process. Accept your ability to work through fear and do it anyway. You’ll learn from it and you’ll make mistakes and you’ll fall on your face, just like you fell when you were first learning how to walk. But you do this once and you’ll get a little bit of feedback, and you’ll get a little bit of insight. Maybe you can even find a manager or mentor to review your work and see a couple of things that you could improve on in the future. This is incredibly valuable feedback. Go to the next project, make the corrections, make a little bit of an improvement, and you will increase your confidence. Maybe you don’t close the sale, but you go to

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Does Anyone Know Who The REAL YOU Is Online?

Management, Mindset, Startup Basics / Drew

There’s thousands of individuals and companies marketing themselves out there – and you are one of them… So, here is my question for the day: Who are you? Because as you can see, when you search through products, people, and services online – mediocrity and conformity is already 99% of everyone else’s day. Not to sound harsh, but most people just follow what is trending or what is hot, and while that may be an awesome way to make some quick money – regarding a long-term and life purpose – it is not exactly fulfilling, is it? It is just a means to an end if we think about it that way, and not sustainable. But you probably started online to make money – that is a given. You also probably wanted to have the flexibility and freedom it brings. Internet marketing has great potential to earn a large amount of money in a short amount of time. It’s a great way to learn. Most times, it is easier than your best friend’s 9-5 job, isn’t it? However, when we skip from one affiliate product to another or try to promote several things aimlessly with no real long-term vision or lifestyle design goals, we are not really building a future for ourselves overall… And as human beings, our long-term goal always stretches beyond money. In fact, as we get older, it is much more about – How can you serve and add value? How can you discover your life’s purpose? What really makes you happy? Who are you? The most difficult part in life is to really discover who you are (you: not the kid of your parents, not the wife of your husband, not the student in school, not what society thinks about you or expects from you, etc.). Once we go away and discover the answer to that – to what we really want from life, we can then apply our knowledge of who we really are to what we really enjoy doing – and in marketing terms – that can also bring money to the table. That’s where the start is. Trust me: Do what you love and what adds value in your personal opinion –and the money will follow. Picking a job or service or product is not the first thing you need to do – not yet anyway. Discovering yourself is the starting point. There is nothing before that point. The only other thing is what others are and what your position is in THEIR circles – not what your position is in YOUR life. Take a break and make a list. List all of the things you loved as a child that you have forgotten about, but still like doing. Then name five strengths you have in business and by nature. Also list five weaknesses. After a while, you will start to see a pattern – things you are good at and that you can offer. There is a reason you have the specific skills that you do; you are unique in these delivery skills and traits. Focus on what you LOVE to do and what you are good at and live from that end first before you decide what path to take. You are here for a reason. What is it? Who are you really? “You did not come into this world; you came out of it. Like a wave from the ocean. You are not a stranger here.” – Alan Watts

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The Science of Analysis Paralysis: How To Overcome Over-Thinking

Management, Mindset, strategy / Drew

Let me start by saying that I’m a millennial. I can barely remember before the internet made all collective knowledge accessible for any question that crossed my mind. Unfortunately, despite having more access to high-quality information to help us make life’s decisions, it hasn’t made decision-making any easier. We can now research the pros and cons of each and every option available to us. A simple search can often open a time-sucking black hole of link clicking, article reading, video watching. That search may end hours later…with no new answers. Psychologist Barry Schwartz coined the phrase “Paradox of Choice”. He says, while increased choice allows us to achieve objectively better results, it also leads to greater anxiety, indecision, and dissatisfaction. Instead of making better choices, our unlimited access to information often leads to fear of making the wrong decision. This can lead to us spinning our wheels in analysis paralysis, all the while getting nowhere on our important projects. Naturally, I was curious about what goes on in our brains when we experience indecision; and what we can do about it. How overthinking decisions is holding you back Delaying action while over-analyzing information doesn’t help anyone get things done. In fact, a 2010 survey showed that employees spend more than half their workdays receiving and managing information. This takes away from time spent actually doing their jobs!(Does this sound like you?) Unfortunately, that’s just the start of the bad news. Studies in psychology and neuroscience reveal that analysis paralysis impact our productivity and well-being more than just the lost time. Here are four not-so-obvious ways that overthinking your decisions is holding you back: 1. Analysis paralysis lowers your performance on mentally-demanding tasks In short, our working memory is like computer RAM, allowing us to focus on the information we need to get things done. Unfortunately, our working memory is in limited supply. You can think of it like our brain’s computer memory. Once it’s used up, there’s not much we can do. Studies have shown that high-pressure, anxiety-producing situations lead to lower performance on cognitively demanding tasks – the tasks that rely most heavily on working memory. Furthermore, the more participants want to perform well on a task, the more their performance suffers. Researchers believe both anxiety and pressure generate distractions that take up space in our working memory. When you overanalyze a situation, the over-analysis, anxiety, and self-doubt decrease the amount of working memory you have available to complete challenging tasks. This causes your productivity to plummet even further. 2. Analysis paralysis kills your creativity A recent Stanford study suggests that over-thinking not only impedes our ability to perform cognitive tasks, but keeps us from reaching our creative potential as well. “Participants in the study were placed into a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine with a nonmagnetic tablet and asked to draw a series of pictures based on action words (for example, vote, exhaust, salute) with 30 seconds for each word. (They also drew a zigzag line to establish baseline brain function for the task of drawing.) The participants later ranked each word picture based on its difficulty to draw. The tablet transmitted the drawings to researchers at the school who scored them on a 5-point scale of creativity, and researchers at the School of Medicine analyzed the fMRI scans for brain activity patterns. The results were surprising: the prefrontal cortex, traditionally associated with thinking, was most active for the drawings the participants ranked as most difficult; the cerebellum [the part of the brain traditionally associated with movement] was most active for the drawings the participants scored highest on for creativity. Essentially, the less the participants thought about what they were drawing, the more creative their drawings were.” These findings suggest that overthinking a problem makes it harder to do your best creative work. 3. Overthinking eats up your willpower A fascinating (and rather alarming) study published by the National Academy of Science looked at the decisions of parole board judges over a 10-month period. They found that judges were significantly more likely to grant parole earlier in the morning and immediately after a food break. Cases that came before judges at the end of long sessions were much more likely to be denied. This phenomenon held true over 1,100 cases regardless of the severity of the crime. As a lawyer – this was important! The judges were experiencing what psychologists call decision fatigue. Each decision that we make, from whether or not to hit snooze to what outfit we’ll wear to what we’ll eat for lunch, draws on the same limited supply of willpower. You can think of willpower as a muscle (I like to think of it as MANA from a video game).The more you use it, the more it wears out, leaving you feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. That’s why so many dieters start out strong at the beginning of the day with a healthy breakfast and lunch, only to succumb to the temptations of junk food from the office break room in the afternoon. Actions that we take automatically, like brushing our teeth, take little willpower. However, when we agonize over a decision, we deplete our limited supply of willpower much more quickly, causing us to feel exhausted and overwhelmed. Not only does this decision fatigue inhibit our ability to clearly assess the situation at hand, it also makes us more likely to choose unhealthy food, skip exercise, and put-off working on side projects in favor of watching TV. In short, analysis paralysis makes it much more difficult to make high-quality, long-term choices later on. 4. Analysis Paralysis makes you less happy Essentially you are either a Satisficer or a Maximizer. Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project says: “Satisficers make a decision once their criteria are met. When they find the hotel or the pasta sauce with the qualities they want, they’re satisfied.” In contrast, “Maximizers want to make the best possible decision; even if they see a bicycle that meets their requirements, they can’t make a decision until they’ve examined every option.” Research suggests

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Grow Your Biz Faster With Focused Efforts

How To Grow Your Business While Doing Less By Working Smarter And Focusing Your Efforts

Management, Mindset, Startup Basics, strategy / Drew

I get it…you’ve been working hard to grow your business…but for some reason you aren’t seeing the results you were expecting. But don’t worry, it happens to the best of us, it’s all part of the learning and growth process. After talking to numerous business owners over the last few years I realized most of them were facing a handful of very similar issues. Below is a quick outline of exactly what I tell clients. How to grow your business without adding hours of additional work to your already busy schedule! Review all the products or services that have brought in profits and will grow your business. Make a list of everything your offer or would like to offer. (If you’re brand new, then this will be something you can revisit when you have more numbers to work with.) Find the one or two core services (If you are in e-comm then you can get away with 5-10 products). Separate the ones that produced the best profits and focus all of your effort on selling more of those. SAY NO to anything that does not fall under those core products and services. This allows you to control your time and scale your business with more predictability and profitability. STOP following fake idols and countless guru’s. Find a real mentor, join a mastermind group, and pay the money to get into a REAL course. Outsource the time-consuming work so that you can focus on income-producing activities and being the best at what you do. If you think you’re getting all you need from YouTube videos and other free trainings, you are sadly mistaken. People come to you for your expertise or for the products you sell. It’s NOT because you were the person doing the marketing. Find someone that can help with your marketing and enlist them for training or services. Stop listening to all the noise. Stop chasing shiny objects. Focus your ad dollars on things that actually provide a return. If you’re unable to track a client’s engagement with your business from click to customer, then that’s your first priority. You should think twice before making any additional investments until that’s managed. Start with Google Ads then follow up with a social media campaign. According to the National Sales Executive Association, Very few people (≅ 2%) will actually purchase a product the first time they see an offer. The vast majority of them, ≅ 80%, will purchase between the 5th and 11th touch. This makes follow up and retargeting crucial aspects of your marketing campaign. Visitors that come from Google PPC campaigns are typically more responsive to social retargeting campaigns. They are more likely to become customers after viewing additional relevant ads/content on another platform. Data and Tracking are THE most important parts to grow your business effectively. If you do not understand what you are looking at and how to read the reports that are given to you, it’s a sure way to lose money. Make sure you understand which numbers are important to pay attention to, and how to find them. If you are using an omnichannel marketing strategy, then you will need to know exactly who came from where. This was you’ll understand which campaigns are successful and which you can do without. This may mean creating a custom tracking URL for each platform or campaign. Each type of business will have different performance indicators (KPI). Understanding what is essential to your business will help dictate how and where you choose to grow your business. Treat your social platforms like a job. Unless your business requires you to be on social media, 24/7 (it almost always doesn’t) use it only when you need to and then get off. Don’t worry about all the NOISE happening on social because it is just that…NOISE. You don’t need to field every reaction or comment as it comes in. If you want to use social media for your business, come up with a plan and stick to it. In general, I tell companies to start posting three times a week and gradually work their way up to everyday. Make sure the content is of high quality and features your core products or services. Most small businesses see success by posting original, authentic content and using up to 30 relevant hashtags (where applicable). YOU DON’T NEED A MILLION FOLLOWERS to be successful, do not buy into the cheap follower programs or software. Social platforms are getting smarter, and they WILL suspend your account for utilizing shady tactics. Plus, it’s much better to have fewer, more engaging followers than a bunch of empty numbers. Do you believe that YOU are why you can’t grow your business? Throughout the day the average person thinks over 50,000 thoughts, including good and bad, empowering and limiting. It is natural to doubt yourself, especially if you own or operate your own business. Sometimes you don’t see the progress because you are in the thick of it, or you lose track of your goals because life happens, and that’s normal! Creating confidence and finding your ability to overcome self-doubt happens gradually over time; there is no magic pill. What does help is controlling your mindset, managing your mental state, working with a coach, having a proven process, and keeping track of your goals. Having a proven process will keep you on task regardless of how you feel about yourself and your abilities. Writing down your goals and creating check-in’s is how you begin that accountability process. As you see yourself accomplishing and checking off goals, the fear of not being good enough goes away and the motivation to continue increases. So now I guess you are thinking, “Drew, this is great… but, what are my next steps?” First, as I mentioned above, you need to focus your efforts, so start by finding the most profitable products or services you offer. Having more offers will not grow your business. Second, choose no more than 2 subject matter

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Embrace Your Unique Self And Build A Business Around YOU

Management, Mindset, Startup Basics, With Audio / Drew

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson And here’s another one…(not quite with the Emerson flair, but still quite eloquent): “You can’t fit a round peg into a square hole.” In the digital world, we’re more exposed to this than ever before! People online will tell you what to do. How to do it. When to do it. And are always happy to point out everything you’re “doing wrong”. They’ll tell you to get up two hours early and work on your business before work. Or set a timer for 30 minutes and work without distraction. Or enter a niche just because there is money there. They’ll tell you all sorts of things. And they’ll even get righteously indignant when you don’t do what they tell you to do. So now I’m going to tell you what to do. Seriously. Know yourself first. Yes, you can get round pegs into square holes, but it does a tremendous amount of damage to the round peg. If you like to sleep in until 10:00 am, then maybe that’s what you should do. You probably do your best work in the afternoon and evening anyway. If you have a flair for an odd niche, maybe you should find a way to monetize that, instead of going into a more popular and overcrowded field that everyone is telling you to enter. If you don’t like speaking to people in person, why are you buying that course on how to do marketing for local businesses? Figure out who you are and what you’re good at. Then build your business around YOU. For example, if you’re great at seeing the big picture and hate details, then focus on what needs to be done and have other people do the actual work through outsourcing. If you love to write but hate to deal with websites, have someone else set up and run your blog. If you hate writing but love talking, make a vlog instead of a blog. Or do a podcast. Or both. Just don’t do the thing you hate to do, because guess what? You cannot force yourself to do the things you don’t like for any real length of time. It just isn’t going to work. To be successful, figure out who you are and what you like. THEN figure out how to build a business around you, instead of trying to mold yourself to a business you simply aren’t suited to. “You have to remember the value of your individuality – that you have something special and different to offer that nobody else can.“ ~Wishing you success!Drew

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How To Start Over & Build A Business From Scratch In 3-Months

Management, Mindset, Startup Basics, With Audio, work from home / Drew

Someone asked me what I would do if I had to start a business from scratch in 3 months (90-days). And that got me thinking, if I could take the experience I have and use it to start over from scratch… How would I do it? When I say starting over, I mean it. In this hypothetical I wouldn’t have my mailing list. I wouldn’t have organic traffic, a following, name recognition – none of that. Just my experience as to what works and what doesn’t and the drive to make it happen. Now let’s say that my life depends on me having a full-time income at the end of those 3 months. No pressure there, right?It sounds unrealistic, but a lot of people find themselves in a remarkably similar situation – make more money or else… Or else they’re in trouble, or else the bills go unpaid, or else they’re facing losing their home, or… worse. So, with that in mind, here’s what I would do: I would stop looking for magic ‘make money online’ products, strategies and ideas. There is no secret combo of tricks and buttons to make money. It’s not a printing press – It’s a free market. It may sound counter-intuitive, but in that free market the way to make money is to stop focusing on the money. Simply make yourself indispensable to people who need your solution to their problem. That’s the best way to start a business. Do that and the money will follow. When you’re focused on providing solutions, you no longer be distracted by ‘Shiny Object Syndrome’ that steals your time and your money. Now, I’m not saying all programs are bad. In fact, many of the “how-to” and “step-by-step” trainings are useful as building blocks to the larger puzzle. But that’s usually all they are – they’re puzzle pieces – not full-blown businesses. So, I would start with the outcome first. What is my market? Will I offer a product or a service? What solution can I provide that people will gladly pay for? What’s THE ONE BIG BENEFIT I can provide to my customers? What is my goal (How will I know when I’ve “made it?”) Clarity is key here. You must know where you are going and how you plan on getting there. I don’t mean that you need to have all the specific tactics worked out. I’m talking about the big picture. Think of your business as a GPS. You must know exactly where you are and exactly where you want to end up; plus your chosen method of transportation, in order for it to work properly. This is the starting point of everything that will come next. Next, I would build my website. Odds are it’s going to be a blog. Now, I’m not going to spend a ton of time on setting this up because I only have 3 months to start a business and generate an income. I’ll spend an hour maximum choosing the URL, I’ll get the hosting, I’ll choose a simple, streamlined theme, I’ll get the autoresponder and I’ll be ready to get started. Yes, it takes money to get started. Not a lot, but some. You’re making an investment into your future. And if you think spending a couple of hundred dollars to set up your internet business is somehow a lot of money, consider the alternative: Spending at least that much each month just to drive to and from a job, or spending tens or hundreds of thousands for a brick and mortar business. Time to create content for that blog. But this isn’t about running a blog, it’s about running a business. The blog is just a tool to get the business done. So, here’s what I would do: Look at the big benefit I deliver, and then write down all the stumbling blocks people encounter trying to get that big benefit. Then pick out 3 of these and write detailed posts on how to overcome those barriers. Then repurpose those posts into videos (for YouTube or Facebook) and podcasts, or some type of lead magnet/incentive to get people to join my list. Notice I’m only creating 3 pieces of great content initially, not 300. And I’m repurposing those in multiple ways. Some folks spend years trying to get everything exactly right, but in this hypothetical, I’ve only got 3 months, so forget perfection and just get it done. Don’t get carried away with content creation either. Keep it simple to start, there will be plenty of time to expand later on. The blog posts should be highly focused on getting my prospects to take the next step, which is likely going to be a free consultation. Think about the format of a successful sales funnel that drive people to take a specific action. It’s not very easy to sell a $300 a month coaching program or a $1,000 website optimization package online. Especially if you are under a time constraint. But its typically much easier and faster if you can talk on the phone or in a meeting first. Next, I would offer a service or coaching. Do you know why? Because it’s the quickest way to make real money. Offering products is great, but it takes time to create the products and more time to build the lists to promote that product to. When your list is small, it’s best to focus on services or coaching because it’s the fastest way to start a business that generates a profit. Most people are already experts at something. And to be an expert you just have to have lived through and overcome a specific problem. Get people on a free call, help them solve a problem, and invite them to participate in your coaching program where you will share what is actually holding them back and how to overcome that based on your personal experience. In its simplest form, we are simply sharing our personal knowledge. Now, I’d focus on getting as many people on the phone as I can, because I know two

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How To Overcome a Fear of Taking Action

Leadership, Management, Mindset, With Audio / Drew

Fear of taking significant steps towards our dreams is a common experience we all share. It’s essential to understand that fear is a natural reaction to leaving our comfort zones. However, acknowledging fear is different from allowing it to immobilize us. To transition from fear to action, consider these strategies that can help you gain perspective and move forward effectively. Understanding Fear as an Emotion Fear, while intense and sometimes overwhelming, is just an emotion. It’s a relic from our ancestral past when physical dangers like predators were a real concern. Today, our fears are often psychological, rooted in concerns about social acceptance or financial stability. By recognizing that fear is an internal response rather than a reflection of external reality, we can start to diminish its power over our actions. Universal Experience of Fear Remember, you’re not alone in feeling fearful. Even the most successful people, like Tony Robbins, have faced fear of failure or judgment. This universal experience means that fear isn’t an insurmountable obstacle but a common hurdle that everyone encounters. When you feel fear creeping in, think of those you admire who have pushed through their fears to achieve great things. This realization can be a powerful motivator to act despite fear. Initiating Movement with Small Steps The hardest part of overcoming fear is often just getting started. Inspired by Newton’s 1st Law of Motion, taking the first small step can set the stage for continuous progress. This initial action, no matter how small, can shift your mindset from fear to empowerment, sparking a cycle of positive actions and outcomes. Once you start, the momentum you build will make the next steps easier and more exciting. Seeking Support When Needed If fear seems too daunting to tackle alone, it’s okay to seek support. Reach out to friends, family, or professionals who understand your goals and can provide encouragement. A simple conversation can offer new perspectives, alleviate fears, and strengthen your resolve to move forward. Having a support system can be incredibly reassuring, providing the extra push needed to take action. In conclusion, transforming fear into action requires self-awareness, understanding, and a willingness to take small, consistent steps towards your goals. Remember, fear is a common emotion that can be managed and overcome with the right strategies and support. Embrace the journey of personal growth and let your actions define your path to success.

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Do It Your Way: The Secret of Self Discipline

Management, Mindset, With Audio / Drew

In order to achieve your future vision, you must have self discipline. With the proper approach, its easier to take directed action, regardless of your present emotional, psychological or physical state. It can be more difficult at certain times than others. That lifestyle can even seem unreachable, but it’s important we remember that no matter what, it’s still possible. And it’s all up to you! I’m sure there are numerous qualities you like about yourself, that you’re surely proud of, since they directly contribute to your personal success and achievements. If there aren’t – stop to think of some…I’ll wait. Now, there’s also one simple time-saving hack that could bring you more self-confidence and abundance in everything you do. That productivity hack is mastering self discipline. Self discipline is a type of behavior that is learned through persistent practice. It all stems from a choice that you consciously must make. Therefore, to unlock the mysterious chest of self discipline, you only need the right key. The greatest secret for achieving this state of mind is this: don’t give up and be sure to forgive yourself when things don’t go according to your plan. It is never easy to establish a whole new way of thinking. So, don’t be too hard on yourself. When you make a mistake, just move on and try your best not to repeat it. If you don’t continually move forward, unwelcome emotions will arise, like anger and frustration, and emotional triggers only create obstacles on your journey. Master Self Discipline in the modern world. In today’s world of technology, when it’s all too easy to get distracted by so many different things, you need focus to acquire self discipline. Try to turn off your phone for a few hours, don’t check your e-mails more than a few times per day, or throw away the food you’re trying to avoid. These little things can really help to keep your mind focused and on-task. Ditch all the bad influences and remove possible temptations. Realize, too, that you can take a break, just make sure it’s a short one. For example, if you’re dieting, then choose one day in a week to have a reasonable sized piece of chocolate cake; if you’re trying to save some money, spend a little bit less each time you go to the mall, or set a spending limit. Strict rules that you cannot or will not follow will do you no good. Besides, you will feel refreshed and at ease when you have a recess. After that little pause, you can get back in the saddle quickly and efficiently. Finally, don’t postpone. If there’s something you need to do, do it right away! This will change your routine and habits immediately. If you have to do something, and put it off because you really don’t want to, you will only create unnecessary suffering continuing to think about it. Procrastination is your biggest enemy, and your discipline can completely fall apart once you start your own waiting lists. You don’t have to sacrifice all your pleasures to achieve self discipline. Find a balance, and keep your mind clear, with positive thoughts. Learn to forgive yourself. But still, create a plan for commitment as well as for discipline and order. Start where you are… Work within your personal boundaries so that this new lifestyle will last. It defeats the point to live an insanely rigid lifestyle if you will only quit after a week. Maybe for now you can only handle one or two new disciplines per week before you run off chasing more freedom. Everyone has their own styles. Stay true to you. I don’t want you to start waking up at 4am every day if it isn’t conducive to the future that you are visualizing for yourself. It’s entirely natural to be truly satisfied with everything you have, and still desire more. But, you will need self-discipline if you want to create a lasting change in your life. Keep up the great work. ~Wishing you success,Drew

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Perfectionism is Really Just Procrastination

Leadership, Management, Mindset, With Audio / Drew

Let’s explore how perfectionism is really just another form of procrastination. If you continue finding yourself locked into being a perfectionist, it will waste a lot of your time and energy. At a certain extent, the more energy you put into making something perfect, the less real productivity you’ll experience. Everyone has some measure of perfectionism within them. We set our own high goals and then push ourselves to achieve them. We have high personal standards and integrity, and that always makes us want to do our best. This dedication to perfection helps us get the results we want and enjoy the success that comes with achieving our goals. But perfectionism, in an extreme sense, has more negative repercussions than positive results. Some examples of how perfectionism aids procrastination: Math shows perfectionism can turn into procrastination. A bell curve is commonly divided into standard deviations. There are 3+ standard deviations in each curve, where each standard deviation takes the same amount of time/energy to accomplish. So, in order to reach 70% it’s 1 standard deviation, from 70% up to 95% is the 2nd standard deviation; and the 3rd only brings you brings you from 95% to 99.7%. With that knowledge, we can see that it will take us the exact same amount of time to get 3 products/offers to 70% completion, as it will to bring 1 product to 99.7% completion. Nothing will ever actually reach 100% complete. There will always be something you can do differently. This is why many large companies, like Microsoft or Apple, have been shown launching products at that 70% point, and then making additional refinements and updates as they learn of different bugs or issues. I’m sure you can see why they may take this strategy! Now, surprisingly, we’re not saying that you should stop being a perfectionist. But you should, however, be aware of when your perfectionist tendencies go overboard. Keep tabs on yourself so you can be honest when you are instead procrastinating by using the excuse of wanting to make something perfect. Always keep a balance between perfection and productivity, and procrastination will become a thing of the past! This starts by increasing your awareness and empowering your mind. This free course is a great place to start. You may also enjoy this blog post on the power of focus.

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