When you work at your highest efficiency, everything seems easier. You complete projects more quickly, and balance work and personal time more easily. People become drawn to your ability to execute and volunteer to help you succeed (sometimes without even realizing it.) Success begets success.
It starts with attitude. Here are 3 easy things you can do today to start fine-tuning your performance:
Think like an entrepreneur, even if you work for someone else.
You and only you are responsible for your success. Even if you’re working for someone else, you have the power to decide how you contribute.
Think like a business owner. How many times have you complained about your job?
What if you acted as if you were the owner? How would that change your perspective? Your attitude?
If your job is so bad that you wouldn’t want to be the boss, devise a plan to leave within 6 months. (Or just make excuses and keep whining.) Either stay and change the way you think about your job, or leave and seek your success elsewhere.
Find the opportunity. They’re everywhere
Find something that’s undervalued, add value to it and sell it for a profit. Simple, right?
In 1975, Bill Gates thought: “If I could figure out how to make a computer operating system that was affordable, easy to use and added value to people’s lives, everyone would buy it.” He founded Microsoft with the mission to put “A computer on every desk and in every home.”
Before Steve Jobs, we never realized we had to have our music collections with us 24/7. I certainly never thought I’d choose a new car based on whether it has an iPod port.
Ray Kroc, the man who made hamburgers universal, knew that if he provided a fast food that tasted the same no matter where it was served, we would embrace the comfort of such familiarity.
And, when it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight*….FedEx founder Fred Smith knew we’d be willing to pay to get it there.
Where do you find these overlooked opportunities?
Where no one else is looking. Create your market and you’ll own that market.
Think of things that no one else wants to do nor believes can be done profitably.
Take a risk. Failure is an option.
Because successful entrepreneurs believe strongly about whatever market opportunities they’ve decided to capitalize on, they’re willing to accept high personal, professional or financial risk to pursue that opportunity.
Do you fear failure, or accept it hand-in-hand with opportunity?
Fear tells you you’re missing something important: it might be knowledge, experience or a skill. You can overcome the fear by figuring out what you need to succeed. Do you need to go learn how to read financial statements so that you can overcome your fear of losing money? Maybe you need to beef up your customer interaction to offset your fear of losing business.
If you didn’t know how to swim, and someone took you to the edge of a deep pool and asked you to jump in, you’d be scared and unwilling. And that’s perfectly reasonable.
Now, same scenario, except there’s $1 million on the bottom waiting for you to take it. Now what?
You could mitigate the risk. You’d have incentive to learn how to swim and be comfortable in deep water. Once you did, could you still drown? Yes, but, it’s less likely than it was before. And of course, you’ve now got a chance at riches.
Analyze risk by looking at the worst-case scenario. If you can live with that, then the action’s worth the risk. If you can’t live with that particular worst-case scenario, improve your odds through knowledge and training.
Start with easy risks. Practice negotiation by calling your cable company and asking for free channels or try to get your cell phone company to reduce your monthly bill.
No matter how you determine your personal risk tolerance, you have to act. There are tons of people who are smart but unsuccessful, because they’re unwilling or unable to act.
*Yes, I know their current slogan is “Relax, it’s FedEx” but the original slogan is the better one.
“Where there is love there is life.” ~ Mohandas Gandhi