Game On

The secret of victory resides in the practice before the game. The team who drills with serious planning and preparation for every possible situation during the days and weeks before the game, almost always performs better during the game. Most speeches are a success or failure before the speaker ever steps on the stage. Most sales presentations are closed or rejected before the presentation folder is ever opened.

The key is preparation. You will never hear your boss tell you to practice all week in order to make one sales call on Friday afternoon. That would be absurd. It is a known fact that being prepared and ready to speak intelligently smoothes the path to success.
Relaxed confidence comes from preparation.

A professional athlete practices for hours and hours to perfect his skill. A professional musician practices countless hours before a performance. A professional salesman has researched his product line and if possible has researched the needs of the customer before they ever walk in the door of the customer’s office. When I am delivering a speech, I have rehearsed it numerous times and perfected the timing, gestures and emphasis on words in order to maximize the impact. I know precisely the time required.

With a home based business, you will not be able to research the needs of the customer in advance; however, you do have the opportunity to determine certain important questions in advance. Personally, the more I know about the specific circumstances, goals and abilities of each individual, the more quickly and efficiently I can assist them in reaching their desired outcome. Each individual arrives with a different set of skills, desires, budget and time available to achieve those goals. Personalization assists preparation in designing your individual plan.

Game on for a home based business professional means caring about each person. That doe not mean doing everything for them. It does mean guiding them in the correct direction to find the answers and resources best suited for their individual situation. No one wants to be “thrown to the wolves” when they start a new business. In fact, that is one of the fears of a new entrepreneur; will you be there after the sale?

The home based business professional walks a fine line between being there enough to provide support and guidance or either leaving the new entrepreneur feeling abandoned or hand holding to the extent that the new business owner does not learn. Sometimes this is a razor thin line because each person is unique.

I am very good at many things, but mind reading is not one of them.

Let me know what you need but also be willing to learn and perform tasks on your own. Most resources and answers are available in the back office. Look once or twice or even three times before you dash off a quick email or pick up the phone to plead for help.

Athletes, musicians, entrepreneurs, and all professionals seek guidance and examples of excellent performances. Professionals ask intelligent revealing questions, practice and follow through on the information and skills until they reach the competency level desired. “Game on” means treating your business like a business and not like an occasional hobby. Professionals are always in “game on” mode. Professional entrepreneurs are not part time or some time but all-the-time achievers.

For more information on building your business and life success, visit me at Elaine4Success.com. You will find helpful articles as well as numerous other resources.

Active

You can debate the differences between being proactive, reactive or even interactive. The common denominator is active. Nothing happens until something moves. That is a basic law of nature.

In business it is always best to be proactive. Making intelligent decisions and taking action to implement them. You will never be ahead of the curve without being proactive. Look for ways to be creative in your business; look for ways to be creative in every aspect of your life. In dog sledding, they say the scenery never changes unless you are the lead dog. The same is absolutely true for business. You started your own business in order to be a leader, producer and improve your life. I have taken many risks in my life and my business. Did every one of them succeed? No. Did I make a concentrated effort to learn from every success and every failure? Yes. What worked really well? What did not work at all? What worked but could be much better with just a few tweaks and extra effort? Being proactive is all about being constantly observant about your results and making adjustments in order to improve.

This fact holds as true for home based business as it does for brick and mortar business. In fact it holds true for you even if you are an employee. The bottom line fact in every case is determining what you did right or wrong to bring yourself to this point in your life. Start today analyzing the causes, resolving to improve the results and taking the action necessary to implement those changes.

Being reactive gives the control to someone or something else. If you have a car suddenly coming across the center line head on for your car, then you have a right to be reactive. Those situations are rare but unpredictable in advance. In those cases, reactive remains your only choice. Business and life in general requires more of a proactive approach than a reactive approach. A home based business demands even more of a proactive approach even than a brick and mortar business or a franchise.

With a home based business, you naturally have more distractions. The kids or your spouse have easier access to your office. The kitchen, the laundry, the phone, the “honey do list” and many other things vie for your time and attention. Home based businesses require more discipline and focus. You are the boss looking over your own shoulder.

You must be interactive with other leaders. Mastermind with peers who are going the direction you choose to go. Mastermind with those who already achieved or are achieving the goals you seek. Be interactive with leaders and forward-thinking achievers. Spending time with people who drag you down mentally and emotionally will absolutely drag you down financially.

Look at your goals. Focus on the action which will take you to the summit, not drag you back to the bottom. Being proactive is essential. Being interactive with the achievers is critical. No matter what, in all cases you must be active. Focused and goal oriented action will always yield the best results. If it takes you toward your goal, do it.

Life is a staircase

Life is a staircase

We are either stepping up or down.

Every thought, every word and every action either moves us up the stairs or down the staircase.

Sometimes when it seems like the forces of life are conspiring against you, it is difficult to hold a 100% positive attitude and yet that is exactly what we must do. Every entrepreneur experiences setbacks and challenges. That is absolutely a part of life.

The questions to ask ourselves during those “less than ideal” times are “How can I learn from this.” Or ask, “What good can come from this? Or even, “How can I resolve this situation for the good of all?” In almost all situations, the more solution-focused you phrase the question, the more positive solutions result.

When we focus on solutions, we create positive potential. If we focus on blame or any negative response, we in fact create more negative.

You will always receive more of whatever you give your time, energy and focus.

Be careful how you phrase your requests and thoughts. If you focus on “I need to lose weight” for instance you are really focusing on being overweight. If instead you focused on “I am in the process of becoming my ideal weight of _____ pounds,” then your focus is on becoming you ideal weight.

If you focus on “I need more leads,” then you are really focusing on the lack of leads. Rephrase that statement into, ”How can I generate more leads?” That is totally solution focused.

Success is never a straight line. It has its curves or angles both up and down. For most, if not all, successful entrepreneurs, it is an increase followed by a plateau. How much increase and how long the plateau will vary from person to person and business to business. The bottom line is that it is not about education, background, age, gender, or even the financial status. We have had people in each and every situation succeed.

It is all about the desire and the follow through. How much desire and determination and how much follow through will Absolutely Determine the height of the step up. How consistent you are and how dedicated you are to continuous learning and improving yourself will determine the length of the plateau.

Don’t misunderstand, every successful entrepreneur has challenges. Every one of us had had to readjust and work through a situation from a different angle from time to time. Every business will have periods of increase, plateaus and yes, step downs. The height and length of each one of those depends on you and how you are working your business.

Zig Zigler stated that success is not something you can pay for. You must purchase it on the installment plan and pay for it every day.