People always want to know how.
How-to books are big. How-to videos are even better.
Both are incredible learning tools.
And yet, in my book, iSucceed, I talk about gratitude, time management, language and many other simple, yet practical ideas on how to approach life. But not so much the how-to but rather the mindset.
Why is that?
I most certainly understand the importance of how-to’s but without the right mindset, success, if it does come, leaves quickly.
Having the right mindset is the foundation of everything and yet, most people overlook it.
Many entrepreneurs are too busy looking to make money or busy building their brand that they forget to build the single most important piece of the puzzle – themselves.
That might not what many people want to hear, but it’s the truth.
One single person can make, or break, any company.
Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg started, built and grew their businesses into multi-billion dollar companies.
And at the same time you have Nick Leeson, the trader who single-handedly bankrupted Barings Bank, and Jon Corzine who brought down MF Global just months earlier.
Since you’re on this site, then you’re looking for ideas to either help you become more successful.
And I do that in much the same way the Bible does:
- Examples
- Warnings
Examples to guide you, warnings to help protect you. And sometimes it’s the later that gets us into more trouble.
That’s why nearly every successful person I have studied from is a continual learner.
They know that success can be short-lived and the only way to stay ahead of the game is to keep at it. Continually studying, learning, testing and implementing.
But here’s the catch – we can’t learn everything.
There isn’t enough time in the day for us to get everything done.
That’s why we have to focus on our strengths and find others to help us speed up our own learning process by trusting them and letting them focus on their strengths.
What do I mean?
One of my hobbies is taking photos.
I’ve got two professional cameras, a compact camera and, of course, my trusty iPhone.
But overtime cameras do get old and there will come a time when I’ll want to upgrade.
I could head over to the local store, play around with the cameras there for a while, ask a few questions to the sales people and hopefully, come home with a new camera. Total amount of time – about 2 hours.
Alternatively, I could simply ask an expert and then place an order for their recommendation online. Time invested – 5 minutes.
Simple, yet powerful.
Too many people overlook how important their time is and waste it on things they really don’t have much idea about (but like to think they do).
I used to be one of them. These days when it comes to cameras, I head over to Ken Rockwell’s site, click on “recommended cameras” then go with his one of his suggestions.
Why? Because he lives and breathes cameras.
And every camera and lens I’ve bought that he recommended were winners.
Once I started applying this simple concept to other areas of my life, time management became a thing of the past.
I no longer spent hours playing around with ideas that I thought would work.
I would go with tried and try ideas that experts in their field had used and, lo and behold, I got similar results.
When it comes to self-development I listen to Tony Robbins and Bob Proctor.
When it comes to communication I turn to people like Peter Thomson, Earl Nightingale and Dale Carnegie.
Overtime, I started to develop my own ideas based on their own principles, but only AFTER I had tried theirs.
Too many I people I know simply overlook other people’s ideas and choose to do it the hard way.
“Don’t try to reinvent the wheel,” is an expression I’ve come to live by and it gives me much more peace of mind.
Sure, experts can be wrong…but they have a much better track record than I do.
Would you rather spend months studying the stock market or simply go with Warren Buffet’s picks? I think the answer is obvious.
But there’s something about people, men especially, that they have to prove to themselves they can do it alone.
How silly is that? Success is a team sport. Gates and Zuckerberg didn’t build their businesses alone, and it’s something that many entrepreneurs have trouble getting over.
Now I choose to focus my time on:
- Marketing (a big thing this year)
- Finance (see my previous posts here and here to know why)
- Success Principles (to ensure my mind is wired correctly)
- Time Management (to get the most out of what I’ve got)
And under each category I defer to experts.
I look for, and invest in, the best material I can find.
I have my team of experts, and yet they don’t even know I exist. I get everything I can from them and then go through each book, audio lecture and DVD set with a fine tooth comb.
Some I go over twice or three times – why? Because they’re that good.
Having the right mindset allows me to make the right choices when working with the right people.
The combination is, as I’m sure you’ll find, the simplest and most powerful time management tip there is.
Adrian Shepherd