I never held a life-long ambition to climb Mount Everest, nor was I particularly sporty. Yet somehow, my enjoyment of hiking led to bigger and bigger mountain hikes, which eventually led to me trudging my way into Everest Base Camp – with the intention to climb to the summit! It seemed like a good idea […]
The Next Most Important Thing
Often I feel overwhelmed by the list of things I want to get done. But I’m just like most of us ambitious people who have more ideas than I’ll ever be able to action. I need to remember this will always be the case, and realise this means that; I’ll never get to the bottom […]
Self-Care for Entrepreneurs and Business Owners
Unfortunately, I know what I’m about to say will probably fall on deaf ears. After all, what entrepreneur or business owner has time for self-care, wellness or navel-gazing anyway? I would have thought the same way not so long ago too. But that was before I had a couple of big wake-up calls. I’ve now learned that […]
What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur?
So what does it take to be a successful entrepreneur? Of course, there are the stereotypical responses, but how accurate are these? This question was recently asked in a Facebook Group for entrepreneurs and some of the responses are not as you might expect…
Overcoming Fear in Business (7 strategies that work)
Overcoming fear in business is one of the most underrated yet important skills to master in any entrepreneur’s journey. And before you ask, yes, this is a learnable skill, and yes, if you’re starting or growing a business, overcoming your fear is probably relevant to you. If you’re not doing the things you need to […]
Here’s Why Optimism in Business Matters (+7 tips to regain your optimism)
Glass half-full? Business getting you down? Here’s why losing your optimism in business might be holding you back. Unlike many populist business articles, I believe that there are pretty much any personality traits can be ideal for entrepreneurship. That is to say, almost all personality traits can work, provided that you frame them in the […]
Starting a New Business? Here’s The Missing Ingredient You Need
If you, or someone you know, has tried starting a new business, you’ll understand that it’s *really* hard to get things going. One minute you’re full of inspiration and nothing can stop you… and the next minute, you’re stopped. You’re overcome by distractions, uncertainty, roadblocks and self-doubts.
Why Starting A Business Is So Hard – here’s what I wish people knew
Damn, starting a business is hard! Even though I’ve been here before, it’s still like pulling teeth. Most of the time it feels like taking one step forwards and two steps backwards. Running an existing business can also be hard work, but with a brand new business (or idea), there’s no momentum pulling you forward. […]
Why haven’t you started your business yet?
Yes, you. You who was were so excited to start a business but you still haven’t done anything meaningful towards getting it going. I know it’s hard, but waiting won’t make it any easier. Remember back to those weeks, months or years ago when the idea for your business first entered your head? Did you […]
Consistent Small Actions – The Boring Way To Succeed
Ever had a brilliant idea and then worked on it furiously for hours or even days, only to give up on it later? Me too. It’s disappointing that all that energy and excitement has been wasted, but unfortunately, that method was never going to work. What actually works is consistently taking small actions towards our […]
Stick it to them! (Create a rival enemy as a motivational tool)
Here’s a motivational strategy you probably won’t find in many self-improvement or productivity books… create a rival enemy and make it your mission to out-do them. I was reminded of this motivational strategy when I recently saw Adele in concert. She told the story of how her biggest blockbuster song – Someone Like You – was written […]
Why “Dumb” People Succeed in Business (where intelligent people fail)
This headline might be a bit harsh, but we’ve all looked at some people that are smashing it in business and wondered how they do it. You know you’re smarter, more educated, more sophisticated about business – so how do they succeed while you’re still struggling? How is it possible that “dumb people” can do so well in […]
The Dangers of Thinking Too Big
Some of us get stuck in the mud when thinking about our businesses, and others of us get stuck with our heads in the clouds. Last week we wrote about the dangers of thinking too small, but thinking too big is also a problem. Most advice encourages us to ‘think bigger’ and develop a ‘big vision’ for […]
The Dangers of Thinking too Small
All great businesses start out small, and before that, they get going with small actions. In fact, a series of small actions are the very best way to launch a new business. But thinking small only gets you so far. At some point you need to expand your thinking in order to take your business to the […]
6 Reasons to Run Your Own Business (that will get you motivated)
There’s no doubt that starting and running a your own business is tough. Like really tough. In fact, it’s probably one of the hardest things you can choose to do, and in the thick of it, it can be really difficult to remember any good reasons to run your own business. I recently came across this […]
How to Develop a Great Mindset for Entrepreneurship
Not quite where you want to be in business yet? Have you ever thought that maybe, what is holding you back might be your own beliefs about what you can or can’t accomplish? I know that the subject of mindsets, self-limiting beliefs and the like all seem a bit woo-woo and airy-fairy, but there’s actually […]
The Big Lie Entrepreneurs (have to) tell
Are you aware of the Big Lie Entrepreneurs Tell? It goes something like this… “Everything’s going great! Customers are loving our product. We were just featured in the press – did you see our article? We’ve got a great team in place! We’re absolutely killing it!” Although this sounds a bit over the top, it’s […]