“Mindset”, this is probably the most important key and the irony is that we all have heard it but few (The Successful Folks) actually apply it. How you think determines how you act and how you act determines what results take place whether it is positive or negative. This is where the laws of attraction and the effect of your attitude takes place. To be a positive person and to expect good things are essential and to take action is critical to success. It is a good practice to work on self improvement. Implement good habits and behaviors. Reading books, listening to audio’s and watching videos on the subject is highly encouraged. It has gotten to the point that I can almost tell how fast someone is going to have success or if they are going to be successful by just speaking with the individual.

“Taking Action”, I am often asked “What attributes to some of the successes you have had.” I simply reply, “It’s not just what I know but the fact that I apply what I know and am constantly applying myself to improve my results.” It is said that “Faith without works is dead” and nothing could be more true. Although mindset is crucial, if you just sit around your house doing nothing but thinking happy thoughts, nothing is going to happen except that you had happy thoughts.

Here is a true story for you, several years ago I bought a course for about $700 on one of those T.V. infomercial’s on real estate. The funny thing is that when I look on my shelf it is still sitting their unopened and collecting dust. Now I know for a fact that people all over use those strategies and information to make tons of money yet I have not even opened the seal. Is this the companies fault or the authors fault that I have not so much as even opened the product or applied what’s inside? Is the product garbage or some scam? The answer is a definite NO. I failed to take action and apply what’s inside. Now with another informational product I purchased on “Pay Per Click” marketing that cost me about $50, I opened the file, applied what’s inside and have made a killing on what I learned. The funny thing is that thousands of people have bought the book but only few actually apply the techniques and I can tell who actually has used the information in their marketing and most of those people do very well in their marketing that have applied the information. The point in these two stories is that in once instant i did not take action and in the other I did and have had great results. ps not really a true story but you get the point.

“Educate Yourself”, Let me ask you a question….. You didn’t get your drivers license without going to drivers ed, did you? Nor are you in the place you are in with your career or job without first going through the process of pre-school, grade-school, high school and potentially college or a trade school, did you? My sister for example is a hair stylist, she went to school to learn her trade so that she can apply her trade. Funny thing is that she still has continued education on new styles and techniques to apply to her trade. My father on the other hand is in the financial industry and at his age still has to go for continuing education classes even though he has been in the industry for many years just to maintain his licenses. Both are successful in their respected industry and education plays a big role in that. The fact is that in order to be successful we must continually be educating ourselves on our trade. Complacency can kill your business. If you do not keep yourself in a “student” mindset, one of your competitors just might learn something that you don’t know that might effect your business in the future. As a good business practice, be a student of your business. If you have to market, then buying ebooks and attending seminars might be for you. If your more of a sales person than the same would apply. I try to read at least one new e-book each week to keep me abreast of what is going on in my world. Of course I will make this statement again. Educating yourself is one thing, you must apply what you learn to be affective.

“Planning”, Let’s say that you want to go to Seattle and you live in Chicago. Would you just jump in your car and drive without, mapping out your trip or asking for directions? No you wouldn’t, that would be silly. You might end up in Mexico with one wrong turn. One of the major keys to success is planning. Goals are a big part of that planning. Write them down, assess them on a regular basis and update them. The point of Goal Planning is not necessarily that you will hit your target perfectly, but that you get close to the target. To stay on track and to effectively execute and make decisions is also an important component and result of good planning. Also let’s not for get your marketing plan, your business plan etc. The point is to have an idea of where you or going or want to go and make the necessary action steps in order to attain your goal.

“Consistency”, Whether it is your marketing or whatever it is that is giving you results, stay consistent in your actions. When you stop doing what is working for you than your business will surely fade away. A plant does not grow unless it is watered, you have planted a seed, now it is time for it to grow. One other point in being consistent is that the definition of insanity should be doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same result. With that being said there is always room for improvement so even though you may be consistent, utilizing proper planning and never get complacent in your activities.

“Perseverance”, This is a big one. As you may know, life has it’s up and downs. Do you think “Successful People” have a situation come up and let that situation effect what they do? Do you think that a situation will make that person quit? Quite the contrary. Successful people thrive in adversity. They persevere through the tough times and enjoy the good times. There will be ups and downs, what are you going to do…QUIT? It took Thomas Edison over 1000 tries at inventing the light bulb. He could have quit after the first failed 100 times or so but he decided to persevere and as an end result we all have a commodity that is taken for granted and that is electric light. He was asked in an interview, does it bother you that you failed 1000 times prior to you finally coming up with your invention? He replied “No, I didn’t fail, I just figured out a 1000 ways not to make one.” Nobody succeeds the first time the attempt a challenge. I sure didn’t, it has taken much perseverance to get where I am today. The point is that you only fail when you give up otherwise it is just a speed bump.

“Time Management”, is so important. You can make more money, but you cannot produce more than 24 hours in a day (If you figure out how, please let me know). Balancing the day between all your activities is a must. A wise man once told me to always be productive. That doesn’t mean to always work, it means that you should always do the most productive activity and that includes sleep and spending time with your family.

“Personal Responsibility”, successful people don’t make excuses and blame others when something doesn’t work out. All to often, folks are trying to find the “easy” or “shortcut” to success and when they don’t find it blame someone else because they can’t get off their lazy bum and pick up a book or go through a course or take action. If its going to be it’s up to me, nobody in this world is responsible for your success. That does not mean that having a mentor and great resources is not a difference maker, the question is what are you going to do with what you are given and at the end of the day who’s fault is it when you don’t get what you want. Discipline and holding yourself accountable is a major key to success. Make up your mind that you are going to reach your goals and make it happen (again, it’s what successful people do)

“Patience”, The old adage is “Rome wasn’t built in a day”, neither is a business, a relationship, a baby being born or when you plant a seed in a garden does a plant suddenly sprout out of the ground. The point is that everything takes time, whether a week, month or year, you have to be patient, do the necessary actions such as “watering” your business and taking the proper care for it to one day blossom into your dream. Many fail because they quit to soon.

“Testing”, in the marketing world, if you want to be successful you must never become complacent. Successful marketers are continually testing new ideas, ad copy, techniques etc. to find the best scenario for the time at hand. Things change just like in everything else in life. When you feel you have the right mix you test it again. TEST, TEST, TEST your results. This keeps you sharp and your marketing fresh. Listen to any marketing guru, that’s what they do, it makes sense to follow suit.