Whatever business you are in, you must realize that you are a leader. You have to be a leader in order to succeed because you must learn to lead yourself firstly in order to keep doing the work that must be done consistently, even when you do not feel like it.
And also, if you want to grab the attention of your ideal prospects and stand out in your marketplace, you must lead them into your business. You must become someone they look up to. I know that you may not think about it this way as you are caught up in selling your wares but this is critically important if you intend to be in business for any length of time.
To get you started in being the leader you must be to rule in your business, here are a few traits for you to consider.
1. Leaders wake earlier
Most regular people start their day at the same time as everyone else in their household. In fact, they may be the last person to wake up especially if they think that they get to work form home so there is no need to wake too early. Of course, the problem with this is that they always feel a little behind the curve when it comes to doing their work.
As leader in your business, this is not an option for you. You wake up earlier than others and you set the tone for your day before you start getting pulled in the direction of everyone else's agenda for you. You must know what you are about and determine to do whatever is necessary to ensure you stay on path. Start by planning to wake up early and plan your day.
2. Leaders work harder
This is a fairly obvious one. Highly successful leaders work pretty hard and they are very productive each and every day. Again, this is where the normal person lacks clarity "“ They keep looking for a magic solution that will get them from zero to hero in no time at all but all that happens is that they waste their time. And you do realize that time is the only thing you cannot replace.
Stop looking for secret tips, tricks or techniques that will get you results and just get on with doing the work consistently and persistently. Every great leader works hard.
3. Leaders do not play to the beat of anyone else's drum
As a leader, you stand out because you are not the same as everyone else out there. You know your uniqueness and you play to that. You know your strengths and you use them in your every day life. People do not always understand you but you have stopped caring about that because you know that you are not the norm. And you own that.
You no longer try to be everyone's friend and satisfy their whims. You are on a mission and your business is a strong part of that and so, you take some advice but ultimately, you follow the beat of your own drum. You know instinctively what will work for you and you are willing to go against the flow of normalcy in order to test it out.
Yes, there may be fear within you but there is passion beating beneath your breast and you must explore it. Allow yourself to truly explore it, OK? The world needs creativity and innovation and you can only do that when you break free from popular opinion. The fickle thing about opinion is that when you become the success you know you are born to be, everyone starts beating their drum your way. Choose to be that pioneer.
4. They know the power of a journal in creating clarity
The thing about standing alone as you build your passion-fuelled business is that it gets tough to remain clear. You may be a leader but you are also a human being and the chances are that you have lived the regular life for far longer than you have lived this entrepreneurial experience. As a result, it gets murky inside your head at times and you start to feel unclear about what to do and whether you are doing the right thing. The tendency at this point is to stop taking action and to start doubting yourself instead.
Why not use a journal to remain clear?
Buy a simple notebook or a lovely leather bound journal (whatever takes your fancy), and start to jot down your thoughts. Instead of ruminating constantly in your head, get it out of your head and write it down on paper. It is incredible the clarity that comes from working through the murky thoughts in your head. The thing is not to get so addicted to journal-ing that you stop doing the work.
A great journal-ing technique is to ask yourself a question about what you want out of your life and business and then take the time to record the answer. You may be surprised at what comes out when you allow yourself to freely write whatever occurs to you. You can then envision being someone who gets the results you just wrote down and ask yourself what you did to get there. You then write down a few actions that pop into your mind and then you start to take action in the present.
5. They refuse to allow their past define their future
Everyone has a past and it is not always a great one. The problem a lot of people face is that they are unable to leave the past behind and create a new future. Everything they do seems to be coloured by blame and shame and this holds them and their business (if they start one) back.
As a leader & entrepreneur, this cannot be your story. You must know deep inside that your past has absolutely no control over your future unless you let that be the case. Yes, lessons from the past can make you wise about dealing with new concerns, but overall, each day, each moment, you get the choice to create something new in your business and your life. Will you?
6. They read more books
The books you read will determine the person you are in five years time. Remember this. In a book, you get access to the wisdom of someone else's experience; you can then pick out the relevant bits and make them yours. Choose to do that. Choose to be someone who reads at least 2 books each month. I personally read at least a book a week because I choose to continuously increase my knowledge. Who knows when I will need it?
Who know when you will need the knowledge you could have gained in a book? You may not be able to experience every single thing that life has to offer in your one lifetime but you can take advantage of the experience of others in the pages of a book.
7. They are passionate about the service, not just the money
The most effective and successful leaders are more committed to serving people with their skills, passions, strengths than they are just to the money. Of course, the money is excellent but it is a by-product of supporting other people in getting what they want out of life. As Zig Ziglar said "You can have everything you want in life if you will just help enough other people get what they want".
This is absolutely true and the cornerstone of every successful person. The regular types may have opinions about how the wealthy made their money but when you look closely at the impact of the wealthy, you see that it is because they are giving people what they want and need. No, I do not say that all the wealthy have great intentions but most do. And for those that do not have great intentions, unfortunately or fortunately, the laws of life work equally. If you give enough people what they want, you will get all you want too.
Make it your focus to be a business owner who serves people while keeping a great mission and purpose as your mantra. Instead of being concerned about what others do, be YOUR best. You cannot change the world by trying to change anyone else. You change the world by choosing to be your best and serving wherever you see a need.
Are you ready to be a highly successful leader?
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