A Dream Worth Pursuing
We all carry within us a basic need for independence. For some, this drive is so strong it leads to being your our own boss, having your own business, to writing your own ticket.
For others, if this basic urge is unfulfilled, a high level of frustration is the result. This can be the motivating factor that leads to actions required to satisfy the urge.
That’s one of the most fascinating aspects of the human psyche: what drives us to take certain actions?
Since before recorded history humans have responded to life’s challenges and frustrations by being inventive. Our ancient ancestors invented tools to answer those problems. They created methods of communication. The structure of great societies was developed. Trade and commerce evolved over the centuries to become our current financial system.
And throughout it all, individuals rose up to lead in certain areas, be it in thought, in religion, in government, in science, in business.
Let’s focus on leadership in business.
Just as the role of business leader is essential in corporate America, in the home based business arena, the role of leader defines success. To achieve true success as a self-employed entrepreneur you must learn and then exhibit leadership qualities that are evident to everyone you meet.
Let me ask you this? Are you someone who has a strong urge to be self-employed? But you find yourself working in a job where that dream is, as yet, unfulfilled? If so, you’re not alone.
If you find yourself in this situation and want to change it, here’s my advice. Start by working on your leadership qualities.
This may sound like strange advice if in fact you’re looking for a business opportunity. People spend hours researching business opportunities given their desire for financial freedom and independence. These are, of course, goals well worth pursuing.
What you must realize is that the foundation of success in your own business, whatever it may be, is your leadership skill. So while you search for the right business, developing those skills is essential.
The simple fact is, nobody is going to believe you’re serious about your business if you don’t project those strong leadership qualities. You need to ooze confidence. You need to be decisive. You need to have firm convictions about your choices. People who join you in business need to feel assured that you are someone they can follow with confidence.
Think about yourself and who you choose to follow. Would you follow a “non-leader”? Someone who couldn’t make a firm decision, who was insecure in their choices, who was unsure about which way to turn? The majority of people, if they start following someone they thought was a leader but turned out not to be, quickly abandon that person in favor of a leader to follow.
So, do you see my point? This is why developing your leadership qualities while you search for the right business opportunity is so important. When you find it, you need to be ready. That will not be the time to start working on your leadership skills! When you find that opportunity you need to be ready to demonstrate that yes, you are a leader, and move forward with conviction and confidence! That will give you the momentum to surge ahead to your success.
Click here to learn more about building your own home-based business.
Business Advice I Learned From My Dog
We just got a new dog. Not a young puppy though. She’s about 8 months old – a rescue dog – and appears to be a husky/shepherd cross.
We got her as a companion to our other dog, a lab/boxer cross. You see, we just moved into our new home on a large acreage and felt that “Jed” needed a companion.
Not being interested in all the work and possible damage that can come with a very young puppy, we searched for and found a dog that was almost full-grown.
So “Tasha” joined our “pack”.
For any readers of this who are dog lovers, you might be familiar with Dog Whisperer, Cesar Milan.
His mantra is to be calm and assertive. You must be the leader of your pack in order for your dog(s) to respect and follow you.
And this is where my dogs have taught me some very valuable business advice!
Just like Cesar says, you must assert your leadership to your pack. So it is in business, you must demonstrate your leadership to your team, and those around you!
This is a simple concept, but not always an easy one.
This article is not about dog training, it’s about being a business leader. And so it is vital that you begin to establish yourself as a leader. But what exactly does that mean?
Here are some considerations.
First and foremost, decide what it is you’re trying to achieve. If you are going to be a leader, you must have a clearly defined set of goals and objectives that you are aiming for in order to lead others who are on a similar quest.
The other critical aspect of leadership is you must add value to those you want to lead.
Let’s briefly explore these two items.
Where are you going?
If you ask a lot of people who have a network marketing business to tell you their specific goals and objectives, you’ll find that the vast majority of them have only a vague idea of what they want to achieve. It goes something like this: “I want to be rich.”
This is not a goal, it’s a wish.
A goal is a specific target, within a given time period with measurable action steps laid out as to how this goal will be achieved.
This could be along the lines of, “In six months I have a monthly income of $____. To reach this goal I will generate X leads per week, and sponsor X new distributors per month. To do this I will spend X hours per day working on my business in the following activities: X% of time on marketing, X% on calling new leads, X% on training and X% on follow-up calls.”
There are actionable steps with success indicators along the way to gauge progress.
That’s quite a different scenario than the lottery mentality of “I want to be rich!”
The other critical factor I mentioned is adding value to those around you.
This one stumps a lot of people, especially people who are new in an opportunity.
They don’t feel they have knowledge to impart, or that they are too new and therefore come across as weak and indecisive.
Mike Dillard talks about “Demonstrations of Higher Value” (DOHV) and the opposite, “Demonstrations of Lower Value” (DOLV).
The only way you can establish yourself as a leader in the eyes of someone else is if you consistently demonstrate to that person the higher value they will find through their relationship to you.
The fact that you are reading this article is an example that you are acquiring knowledge. And this knowledge can be imparted to others as part of your DOHV.
One of the most important things you will do as a leader is to continually learn. Make a point of exposing your mind to new training material and self-improvement on a daily basis. That way you’ll not only keep yourself motivated, you will have new and exciting things to share with others, which will go a long way to establishing you as a leader.
The other part of this value is simply the ability to provide positive support to those around you, particularly those on your team. Giving encouragement, which can be in the form of challenging people in a positive way to do better, is another great aspect of leadership.
Of course leadership is a massive topic, one that many volumes have been and continue to be written about.
But the business advice from my dogs holds true! By being calm and assertive, and in the case of business leadership, assuming a posture of confidence, you will attract others to you simply because these are qualities people want to associate with and be close to.
One of the best books on this topic as it relates to network marketing is Mike Dillard’s influential work, Magnetic Sponsoring.
But even before you get the book, you’ll have access to 7 information packed videos that will reveal some startling facts about this industry.
If you’re serious about success in network marketing, the best business advice I can give you today is to check it out!
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