Avoiding Dangerous Traps

In all the things that we go about doing each and every day in business, family or social life, being able to think realistically on our feet is perhaps one of the most important. Failure to do so will result in detrimental effects to the outcome of what we intend to achieve.

Being realistic means that we are focused not only what we are aiming to achieve but also taking into consideration our own abilities and the resources available for us to complete the task at hand. Most people disappoint themselves when they fail at their goals without knowing that they have in the first place subject themselves to completing their targets irrationally. As managers or senior executives in the corporate world, it's imperative that we give our subordinates a chance to develop and grow by being truthful and honest with them when it comes to job performance reviews, instead of being the naive with the goody-old-shoes character.

Another important area which most people fall prey to is timing, due to its complexity in understanding it. Motivational and leadership guru Dr. John C Maxwell sums up timing in the following way. The wrong action at the wrong time equals disaster; the wrong action at the right time equals a mistake; the right action at the wrong time equals resistance, and the right action at the right time equals success.

Whether it be setting up a business, managing a small conference or just planning a family holiday, it is absolutely essential to know the right way, know-how and skills to execute it to achieve your targets.

Product and Service Test-Marketing

Launching a new product or service can be a heart-wrenching chore when you do not make the necessary preparations before the start of your project and conduct proper test-marketing. There are a number of ways in which you can find out if people are really going to buy or use your particular service or product.
First, get a prototype or a sample of the product which you intend to market. Whether it be a service or product, let people touch it, feel it, see it and get an opinion on it. Get your close friends to critique on its usage, standards or even possible short-comings which they foresee with your invention. Similarly, you can even show your creation to potential buyers. After giving your invention a 'test-drive' they would probably be the ones to give you a frank opinion of how your product or service fit into their needs.
Next in line when you do your test-marketing is to determine the prices and delivery dates from your suppliers. You don't want to mess this part up as it will show your inadequacies in fulfilling your customers' demands. A good way to do this is again to get your buyer's opinion on pricing. You might want to check out your competitors' prices and quality build with yours before you attempt to set a particular price or rate for your product or service. At what price would you be willing to pay for a product or service of this quality? The person who will be making the buying decision would be able to give you an answer, so always call on your prospective buyers for an opinion.
Thirdly, do an extensive comparison of your invention with your competitors in the marketplace. Test it on build, quality, ease of usage, convenience etc. Would someone buy from you or from another competitor with a similar product or service range? You might also want to test your product out with a local store and see if they can carry a limited stock for you. From there, you will be able to see how your customers respond to your creation.
One of the most effective ways to do a test-market is to bring your product or service to a trade-show and have your idea displayed to thousands of prospective buyers. There are many sophisticated buyers during these trade shows, most of whom are industry players themselves, and they would be the ones to tell you if you have a winner.
What are some of the things which you can do immediately?
1. Have a product or service prototype created and show it to as many potential buyers as possible, and have them give you their opinion and feedback on it.
2. Check out all your major competitors in the marketplace and answer for yourself why someone would buy from you rather than continue with their local retailer.

The Key to Long Term Success

Countless books, articles, studies and research has been conducted, written and detailed carefully over the centuries on how and why certain groups of people become a great success in life as well as being financially independent during the course of their working lives. Some of the various factors involved include family lifestyle and background, education history, intelligence, influential contacts etc. As we dwelve deeper into all the aspects of personal success development, it would finally dawn upon us that the single most important key is the attitude - more so the attitude of the individual's mind.

Famous Harvard sociologist, Dr Edward Banfield termed this all-important factor "long term perspective". By this he means that the particular successful individual took the pains during the course of his early years to develop a well-planned and systematic layout of what he intends his future would look like. The more detailed he his and the more thought-out his plan of execution, the more successful he will be. In simple terms, the successful person takes the future into consideration with every decision he makes in the present.

Take a look at the legal and medical profession, for instance. The years of gruelling hard work and study, assignments, practical work, apprenticeship has groomed the individual to a level of competence where he is capable of earning a very good living on his own. This long-term perspective has been ingrained in them consciously or unconsciously and has made these sets of professionals one of the most respected in any society today.

How does one start to create such "long-term perspectives"? A simple and sure-fire way is to have a solid set of priorities in your daily life, be it for work, family or social circles. Will what you are doing right now have a significant impact on your life in the future? There is a co-relation when it comes to priorities and success, and it is simply measured by the actions and activities which you are doing in the present. Take for instance, an employee who takes extra night classes on her own to improve her personal confidence in speaking is acting on a long-term perspective. A husband who comes home after a long hard day at work, sits down, chats with his wife and plays with his children is placing a lot of emphasis on family life. He views the importance of quality family time for a rewarding future.

Having a long-term perspective on success also requires one to follow a strict set of guidelines on personal discipline, particularly delayed gratification. With a mind-set of having a little less of enjoyment at the present moment, you will be rewarded in the long run with personal satisfaction and greater success.

The Key to Happiness

You will be able to measure your success when you are able to achieve a level of happiness in your life as a person. All through history the key to happiness is the same.
I've realized that most people who are really happy in their life are those who dedicate themselves to developing their natural abilities and talents. They simply do what they love to do, and doing it better and better everyday of their lives. Here's a big statement by Brain Tracy - Being happy requires that you define your life in your own terms and then through your whole heart into living your life to the fullest. It is also a big commitment that it means happiness requires you to be selfish in order to develop yourself to a point where you can be unselfish for the rest of your life.
It is a fact that happiness is an inside job. No one person can define it for you. Please yourself first - that's the first rule of thumb as you can only be as happy as you can be when you are living your life in the best way possible.
Some people say when you please others you'll then be happy yourself as well. Let me ask you a question - Can you give money to others when you don't have money? It's pretty obvious you can't provide for others and give away to others what you don't have for yourself! It's the same for happiness as well. You simply can't make someone else happy if you yourself are miserable. The very best way to assure happiness of others is to be happy yourself and then share the happiness with them. Thus, start by living the kind of life and doing the things that make you happy first.
Here are some steps which you can take immediately:
1. Define for yourself what activities you enjoy and love at work, at home, and then organize your life accordingly so you can do them more often.
2. Believe in yourself, trust your instincts and please yourself first in all things.
3. Determine what it is that you do that brings happiness to others, then do it more often.

Setting Your Goals

Over the years as I recollected all my interviews and casual conversations with the top earners in their respective industries, I found out that all of them have one thing in common. They have all taken the time to sit down and create a blueprint for themselves and their future before starting out on any business venture. Most started out with a little skepticism, but as the process of goal-setting and personal strategic planning begins to bear fruit, every one of them becomes a true believer. As they followed their planned journey with determination and discipline, they soon found out that they finally accomplished even more than what they had first believed possible. That's the power of the goal-setting.
Even after many sessions on goal-setting, many still do not take the necessary action of planning where they want to go and achieve in life. Simple as it is, many do not follow through with them. Do you ever wonder why you aren't getting everything out of your life?
In the process of working towards your set goals, you will find that you are actually progressing step-by-step towards something that is important to you and you will instantly generate that continuous feeling of success and achievement. You begin to feel more motivated and positive. You begin to take more control of your life. Thus in the process, you begin to feel much happier and will soon develop a psychological momentum that enables you to overcome obstacles. You feel like a winner.
The very successful entrepreneurs develop a very strict regime of following their set of planned goals and make every effort to stick with it till the end. They are also extremely clear about their values, whereas the many unsuccessful ones are unsure and fuzzy about their wants. Complete failures have no real values at all.
So what can you do right now? First, decide for yourself what truly makes you happy and then organize your life around it. Write down your roadmap on how to achieve them. Second, begin with your values by deciding what it is you stand for and believe in. Commit yourself to live consistently with your inner most convictions - and you will never make another mistake.
Set your Goals Today and reach your goals tomorrow!

Getting Results

Very rarely do we get great deals on management books these days, more so online. While the craze nowadays or rather for the past few years has been on e-books, there are still plenty of hardcover as well as paperback books which are selling off the racks at an incredible pace.
Recently, I just happen to find an excellent package from the Brian Tracy collection. This incredible package which features 3 of Brian's top titles on leadership and management today comes at an unbelievable 20% discount! As an ardent reader of Brian's collections over the years, I have seldom come across an offer so tempting.
I believe this package would really serve the corporate top guns well as it contains strategies on how to groom the best managers in your business. If you are a senior manager yourself, these 3 books will be like a bible for your success in your line of work. In the Leadership for Results package, Brian teaches you the best strategies ever discovered for getting the most out of yourself and others. Among some of the topics covered are:

• Leading your team to maximum results - so you can stand above the rest
• Maximize your natural leadership capabilities
• Build a team to take you to the top
• Develop creative ideas to improve operations and effectiveness
• Taking your management career to the next level

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Build Your Own Business

After a nice lunch with a close long-time friend of mine, and sitting back with a tall latte in front of me, I was asked one of the most common questions by fascinated employees who are getting bored with their routine nine-to-five jobs, "What does it take to be a successful self-employed business person, and why is it that so many people failed in their attempts to get their businesses running profitably?" Well, there are actually several mini questions in that one question alone.

First, to be successful in business, a sharp business acumen with a good knowledge of your industry and marketing principles is a must. Being self-employed doesn't make the whole situation that much prettier even, as your personal discipline and enthusiasm play an extremely critical role in the outcome of your business plan. There are many many other factors involved and a lot boils down to your ingenuity, creativity and experience.

The second part of the question revolves around why start-up businesses fail at such an alarming percentage. It's a fact that most businesses started by inexperienced people fail. And this could be the one reason why many employees still prefer to stay safe in their bosses' palaces and making them even more wealthier. They feel the fear, the fear of losing their money and for good reason. Well, they might have an idea or product or service which they would like to market to the world, but they havent got the slightest idea where to start, how to get the ball rolling, and when the ball's really rolling how to maintain the momentum and survive the competition.

Surprisingly enough, a good 80% of businesses started by experienced people succeed. Why is that so? The reason is simple. These people know what to do, how to do , where to find the resources, when to launch a certain promotion, which is the best alternative should one strategy doesn't produce the desired results etc etc. So, these people know a lot of stuff which others don't - the whats, the whys, hows etc. How to sell, how to negotiate, how to market and purchase and how to manage their finances. So the key word here is experience. It's therefore vital that one needs to acquire and improve on the business knowledege and skills required before starting out. With so many tools and resources available online and offline, it's not impossible to achieve the skills necessary in no time.

As we can see, business success is not a matter of luck. It's rather a combination of what we have listed above. It's a matter of application, ability, experience, skill and intelligence all moulded into one. And what better way to start off by working for someone else in a field which interests you. You can learn tons within just a short period of time. Keep asking questions. Learn from the experts in the field. Learn some more from entrepreneurial newsletters, books, CDs, seminars, business magazines that's published in your field. Never stop learning and growing!