What I've Learned After A Year Of Entrepreneurship
Most Important Lesson: Entrepreneurship is a Performance Based Pay Industry
The act of performing; of doing something successfully; using knowledge as distinguished from merely possessing it.
The downside is that most people go into Entrepreneurship and spend all of their time learning, but too terrified to actually take the steps to do it. You MUST perform using the knowledge you have, don't just possess it.
With that, here are the Mindsets and Skillsets required to succeed to the maximal level as an entrepreneur.
Mindsets:
"What Is The Biggest Check You Could Imagine Giving Away?"
This was the first thing I was asked in a meeting with other experienced entrepreneurs. This shaped the way I think about money. Allowing me to create positive associations with money and the need to attain more.
"You're Not One Until You Make One"
Set very clear and outlined goals. An easy 5 step goal is perfect. Here's an example:
My Goals:
Make first paycheck.
Become Profitable
Make Paycheck Every Week
Make $10,000 a month.
Teach this to another new entrepreneur
In your goals, you must always expect to take what you've learned and teach someone else. The only way to become a master of your craft is to learn, apply, and finally TEACH it to someone else.
"Do Whatever You Can To Genuinely Love and Care For Others"
I think that once we become entrepreneurs, our thought process is "On The Grind". However, we lose just WHY we become entrepreneurs in the first place: to provide value to others, not take from. A great leader, Nicholas Bosley, explained this to me. "The moment that you begin to genuinely care for the life and families of those you serve is the moment that everything you need comes your way. You shouldn't try to take anything from others, but provide the best paths, values, and opportunities.
"Stop Reading Just Because You're Told To. Find A Bible Book"
Before becoming an entrepreneur, I never read. For the first 6 months, I didn't see a need to. I even attended a national certification academy for entrepreneurship and leadership where I was assigned an amazing book to read, and still didn't read it.
There are books that outline everything you need in your industry. There are books that give you value more than you could even know. Finding that book that you can cite like a Bible will be the success generating tool for you.
A "Bible Book" is a book that you use to refer others to and that you go back to for refresher steps for your own guidance in business and life.
"Compete In Everything, Regardless Of..."
If there isn't a natural competitive aspect to your business, create one within yourself. Always seek competition to one up your skills and others' work ethic. Regardless of whatever excuse you give, no matter how logical it is, compete. Compete to wake up early more times this week than last. Compete to run the most effective process than the one passed to you.
Skillsets:
"Listening."
When people speak, they share dreams. They share dreams of a pain free lifestyle. Build your listening ear and your ability to ask layering questions to help others deeply define their own dreams and pain. The more they realize what they need, the more you'll be able to help provide value to them. Repeat their pains and dreams back to them.
"Calendaring"
While business is slow and not booming, build your calendar skills. Use different calendar software and practice blocking time for the non-negotiables, like sleeping, eating, family time, social media time, and so on. Spend every second like you would every penny: investing it like an asset.
"Developing."
If you don't block off 8 hours a week in large chunks, you're not giving yourself the best chance of development. Most developmental tasks take longer than 2 or 3 hours and are most effective when completed all in one. Pick 1 day a week for deep development into videos, books, trainings, webinars, podcasts, and so on. You must commit to that time. If not 1 day for 8 hours, try days for 4 hours. This is not time to be used doing paperwork or catching up, strictly developing yourself.
"Practicing."
Practice more than anyone. You must become an outlier in order to be successful. Outliers do more, are more, create more, share more, see more, and so on. They are different, massively different in one area. As an entrepreneur, you must get more practice than anyone else. The most practice that anyone has ever done has already gotten them that success. The path was paved, now you must do more in order to be the outlier.
"Implementing."
You must be an implementer. You will feel new to everything. All of the time. Entrepreneurship is filled with the sour toxins of Imposter Syndrome. Many people don't start because they feel new, waiting until they feel comfortable or knowledgeable enough. Understand that the only way to start the process of mastery is to start when you are new. There is no other way.
The 6 Stages of New:
1. Beginner: There is some skill that you must learn because you are new. You begin learning the necessary steps to take to begin developing this skill.
2. Breakthrough: After getting practice and learning this new skill, you have a breakthough of excellence where you will begin seeing the fruits of your hard work.
3. Wall: After getting great results, you will hit a wall because you reached the most learning that you felt was needed. There is more to learn. This wall hits hard and feels like failure, however, it is merely a reminder that you are still learning all of the ins and outs.
4. Consolidation: You begin to look internally at your systems and strategies. You learn new skills in order to start handling the objections of the field and maneuver the obstacles you hadn't handled before.
5. Mastery: Once you've finally tweaked your processes and systems, you've finally mastered your new craft. This is where we'd all like to stay, however, the Stages of New are not yet done.
6. Plateau: You will plateau and it will feel like failure, but this is only due to the fact that there is no higher than mastery. The steps you've taken for this skill has been completed and you cannot learn more about that specific skill to get better. The only way to continue to grow is to start with another skill and begin the process once more.
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