My #1 Secret to a Successful Business
I can't begin to tell you how many times I've been asked this question, "How do you keep up with everything you do"? For those of you who don't know me, I'm currently working a day job at my cousin's business, I go to classes twice a week, I run this business on the side and I'm planning my wedding for this coming summer. I keep busy, and it always surprises people when I tell them what I do.
Today I'm going to answer that question as fully as I can.
THE SECRET
Start every day with a goal and end every day with learning something new.
That's it. Really. That's how I built my own business. That's how I go to school and work and run this business. That's how I wake up at 4am to make time for Bible studies. It's all about figuring out the best ways to do things.
Okay, maybe that one sentence doesn't make sense, so let me break it down and explain what that really means.
Every. Single. Morning. Wake up, and make a goal for yourself.
- Today I want to write a blog post.
- Today I'm going to go skydiving.
- Today I'll learn HTML coding.
- Today I'll find a way to donate 10% of my income to XYZ.
- Today I will share God with 10 people.
- Today I'll meet someone new and connect.
It doesn't really matter what that goal is, just as long as you make one. How many times have you written out 10 to-do list items in the morning and gone to bed with only 2 of them crossed off? Make one goal. ONE. And meet that goal every single day.
Go ahead and write a to-do list, and get those things done too, but make the goal your #1 priority. Do it first and do it well. Then let everything else happen as it needs to.
The second part of this sentence is to learn something new every day. Learn to be resourceful. DIY things, teach yourself the skills you need. Every day has 24 hours in it. If you go the whole entire day without learning one new thing, you need to get out more, or at least watch some history channel.
If you learn one new thing, trivia, a new skill, a new word, a new trick, you will know how to do 365 new things every year. Want to be successful? You need to always be growing and learning.
The world changes every single day especially in online business. If you're learning new skills regularly, those changes won't phase you. You'll be able to adapt and grow along with everything else instead of getting left in the dust.
HOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN
That sounds great, right? Make a goal. Learn something new. But I'll be honest with you, sometimes it is not easy. Some days I want to sit down and watch Netflix for 8 hours. Even on those days, you can still better yourself and get stuff done. Here's some ways to make sure every day is productive.
DON'T STOP LEARNING
You don't have to learn how to build a rocket ship every day, but learn something. If you want to binge watch TV all day, watch a documentary. Watch the news. Consume content that helps you. Watching re-runs of Friends or Gossip Girl will not teach you new things. Go ahead, watch an episode of some crap TV, but then read a book, or go for a walk, or do something proactive.
Personally I love reading. I try to read every day, whether that's a business book, fiction or the Bible, I read something every day. Reading is a fantastic way to learn and it can actually make you a better writer.
You could learn the name of your next door neighbor, or learn a shortcut into the office. It doesn't have to be life-changing knowledge, just something that improves your life a little bit.
You can also take this to the next level on days you really feel it. Take an ecourse online, get certified in a new skill, watch a course on Lynda. Just do something that will put a new piece of knowledge in your brain that can be used later.
DON'T BE AFRAID TO FAIL, FIGURE IT OUT!
If you want to make me crazy, tell me you're not launching something or making something or trying something because you don't know how. That's my pet peeve. If you don't know how to do something - google it.
Don't know how to start a newsletter? Take a course on it. Don't know how to change a tire? Watch a YouTube video. You have an entire wealth of knowledge in that little phone of yours. The excuse that "you don't know" is the dumbest thing you can ever say.
Just because you might do something wrong the first time, or you might look silly doing it, doesn't mean you shouldn't do it.
You will fail a million times in your life, but you will learn something every single time you do. Failure is not avoidable so you might as well buckle down and do the best you can. I had 4 different businesses before this one. If I had let those failures stop me, I wouldn't have over 5,000 people reading my blog every day.
The fear of failure will keep you from living.
TEST, TEST AND TEST AGAIN
So when you fail, and you will eventually fail, dust yourself off, and try again the next day. Some mornings I wake up with a goal and at the end of the day I achieved nothing. You know what I do? I wake up the next day with a new goal and I hit it.
If something doesn't work the first time, try again.
WHY IT WORKS
Humans are goal-driven. We love to feel accomplished and valuable. Whether that's winning an award or being able to cross something off your to-do list, victories keep us moving forward.
When you set your own standards every single day, and you make a habit of hitting those standards, you're actually teaching yourself how to be successful. Reaching your goals isn't just good for your moral, it makes you a good parent, a good spouse, a good employee, a good friend, a good human. Learning to be self-sufficient and overcome obstacles is a skill that is transferable into EVERY industry.
When you strive to better yourself on a daily basis, you'll learn discipline, self-sufficiency, confidence and whatever new things you learn as you strive for those things.
Not only will you be learning something new daily, you'll also be creating habits that will improve every other part of your life.
Goal-Learn-Repeat
Do me a favor. Try this strategy for 20 days. Write your goal on a post-it or in your phone or tweet it out. Whatever you need to do. Hit that goal. Learn something new. Then do it again the next day. At the end of those 20 days, if you don't feel more productive, accomplished and focused, you let me know.
Try it out, and let me know how it goes for you.
