Help Your Ideas Take Shape - Love PowerPoint!

It seems that "everyone" hates PowerPoint™! At one time there was even a website dedicated to how poorly presenters use the tool. I'm bucking the trend to tell you that I LOVE PowerPoint™. It's the tool I most use to share my visual messages, organize my thoughts, and convey what I'm thinking.I'm often asked how I do what I do with the tool. I thought I would share 7 ways to use PowerPoint to visualize your thoughts and convey what's in your head so that you, too, might learn to love the tool.And no - I do not have any financial interest in Microsoft or the MS Office Suite. I simply grew up on Wintel (Windows & Intel) computers using MS Office products and have learned how to make them indispensable tools in my business.So here are seven ways to visualize your ideas - your thoughts; what's in your head - with PowerPoint (or similar) presentation software.(Note: I use and reference PowerPoint™ 2010 in this article.)1. Idea Concept SketchUse PowerPoint shapes to sketch your idea. You can draw all kinds of figures and shapes, and add text, directional flow, highlights, and more with arrows and other shapes available in the "Insert Shapes" area. Circles, squares, lines, arrows, and the like can be combined to create drawings that, when grouped together, copied, and pasted as graphics, you can insert into documents, presentations, email and texts or post to social media.2. Idea concept buildSketch a concept, insert clip art or pictures, and use SmartArt to create a foundational visual... the base visual that you will build upon. Then add additional graphic components directly over the foundational visual. Alternatively you can create consecutive slides where you build increased complexity from the foundational slide so that you show how an idea concept develops and progresses layer-by-layer.3. InfographicSearch your favorite web browser for "infographic templates PowerPoint". A couple of free template sites I found for PowerPoint infographics (as of this writing) are Visual.ly and Infogr.am. My favorite templates resource is PresenterMedia.com which is all-PowerPoint-based. It also has a plethora of clipart, animations, and customizable clipart. There's an annual fee for PresenterMedia but it's well worth it if you do a lot of visualizations and create a lot of presentations.The alternative to using templates to create infographics is to create a PowerPoint "slide" however long you want your infographic to be. Do this by using the "Design" and "Page Setup" selections to set the length and width of the page size. Then use shapes, graphics, and colors to create your infographic.4. VideoVideo is a great way to take people on a tour with photos, show the development progression of an idea, inspire, teach, announce something new, or otherwise show sequencing and motion. And video is SEO-friendly for websites.


Create your slides with pictures, text, and whatever other graphic components you want to use to show your idea concept. Add narration and transitions to your slides, setting transition timing to work with your narration as appropriate. Then use the "Save and Send" option at the "File" menu tab and "Create a Video". You can add music as "narration" prior to this stage of the process, or queue music to the video with a video editor after you create the visual video. I've created many videos using PowerPoint without expensive video production software and equipment!5. Vision boardInstead of cutting pictures out of magazines and gluing them to poster board - which is a great activity in itself when you want to do this - find royalty-free photos online, buy pictures through websites that sell them, or do some cutting-and-pasting from online magazines (which you can do by using the "PrtScrn" key on your keyboard, "Paste"ing into PowerPoint, and then cropping only what you want for your vision board). Stack the pictures into one slide. "Bring to Front" and "Send to Back" individual photos to layer them; tilt them different ways for the appearance of pictures askew on poster board. When you have the "vision board" looking the way you want, "Group" everything together and "Save As Picture" onto your hard drive.If you want your digital vision board to be portable so you can carry your vision board with you at all times, upload the graphic you created to your mobile device.6. Composite photosThese are photos with text or other graphics superimposed on the photo. I do this a lot with the quotations I post on social media and put into my newsletters.Import a photo into PowerPoint and expand it as large as you can on a slide. "Insert Shapes" and insert a text box onto the slide over the photo. Type the text you want to superimpose onto the photo and set the text color so that it contrasts nicely with the photo as background. Group the components and you have a composite photo.7. Index / note cardsI organize my thoughts by creating slides in "thumbnail view". I select a slide, type my thoughts, and add any visualizations I want. With PowerPoint in "thumbnail view", I move slides around as if they are index cards as I organize my thoughts. Add / delete slides as appropriate. Then print all slides as 6 or 9 slides/per page to have a printout of the "note cards".Give PowerPoint a second look and see if you can use it as an idea visualization tool. Love it rather than leave it and you just might convey your thoughts and organize your messages more effectively.

Annual Budgeting Using The Hope and a Prayer Strategy

Every year all companies face the same challenge of developing the budget for the upcoming year... something that we are currently finalising. The extent of that planning will vary among companies, but generally companies need to have targets for the next year which are focused on revenues and expenses, resulting in what everyone hopes will be a healthy bottom line and reasonable growth.Great companies are very good at this planning process, understand what it takes to meet their targets and their forecasts will be fairly accurate, not withstanding the obvious impacts of recessions and other unforeseen calamities.Many companies however employ a less than strategic approach to their planning, and very often managers are allowed to feel like they don't actually "own" the plan. In these circumstances the numbers achieved are more a result of chance, than of planning and execution against a plan!"Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work." Peter DruckerThis is what I call the Hope and a Prayer Strategy.Step 1. Pick a numberStep 2. Share that number (maybe)Step 3. Hope you hit that numberIt is not a very satisfying way to manage, because every month when the numbers roll in those managers cross their fingers and hope. Invariably fate is not kind and the result is a habit of failure, and excuses for that failure."Planning is a process of choosing among those many options. If we do not choose to plan, then we choose to have others plan for us." Richard I. Winwood


Managers MUST truly OWN their plans. They need to own the targets, the responsibility for the tactics that will ensure their success, and for adjusting those tactics along the way when things don't go as planned!This is a more strategic approach to the annual budgeting exercise, and has a far higher chance of success!Step 1. Develop a budget with input from executive, management and delivery teams. It should be realistic but with adequate growth, and built based upon known opportunities and reasonable expectations.Step 2. Communicate the plan to all concerned, together with the tactics that will be employed to meet the plan. Adjust tactics at this point to ensure success and ensure that everyone buys into the targets. EVERYONE needs to accept accountability at this point.Step 3. Start to execute against the plan.Step 4. Measure on a regular basis, at least monthly to ensure that assumptions are reality, that activity is tracking as expected and that results are in line with expectations.Step 5. Adjust tactics as needed to ensure the next results meet expectations, and will compensate for any shortfall year to date.Step 6. Go back to Step 3 and repeat every month (or chosen cycle) through the fiscal year."By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." Benjamin FranklinThe big word here is ACCOUNTABILITY. Everyone needs to be accountable so that the culture is one of pursuing success, not one of developing excuses for failures.

The Principles of Goal Setting for Business Growth

When you decide that you want to start a business, there is a lot more that goes into building that company than just a thought. There is a lot of planning that you will have to do before you can allow that business to open up its doors and become established. Once you have opened your company you will not be able to stop there. Instead, you should continuously work on growing the operation. The growth of an organization is one of the best things to focus on as it enables one to become more successful and earn more of a profit.If you are looking for your organization to grow sticking to the old-fashioned rule of setting goals will help you out. You can start by thinking of different goals that you have in mind for essentially developing more satisfied clients. Ask yourself important questions. You might ask, "How much revenue do we want to be generating in say 5 years?" After carefully considering the answers to different growth-related questions, you can make goals for yourself and the company. Writing them out on paper will help to remind you of the goals you have set. You can even include a date that you would like to have those goals achieved. With a date set in place, you will likely feel more inclined to do whatever it takes to reach that goal, even if it means spending more hours on your business than you would like to.If your goal is to become more organized over the span of the next few months, take into consideration the valuable resources and tools that you can use, including assorted software designed specifically to help both SMEs and larger corporations. Using those resources will give you the benefit and advantage that you need to get your business where you want it to be. Organization is one of the several keys to success. If receipts, appointments, and inventory information are all organized, you can start putting your focus into other aspect of the business, ultimately reaching even more of the goals you have set.


Another goal that you might have for the business and its growth is to get a certain amount of additional customers. In this case, you might want to work on a marketing strategy that will help you reach the goal and see the growth you desire. Even if you are on a tighter budget, there are lots of affordable and even free marketing options, including social media outlets.Having goals as a part of your daily work activities gives you something to focus on. Never settle if you know that you have the ability to do better, especially when it comes to your business. If you are passionate about your business and love what you do, why cut back on its potential? Make your goals, stick with following through with them, and have the success that you deserve.

How to Prevent Check Fraud

Check fraud is an increasing problem that causes many individuals to be concerned, anytime they put pen to paper in order to write a check. It is also something that has been sensationalized, thanks to the 2002 film, "Catch Me If You Can". This true to life story showed how, in the late 1960s, one man passed $2.5 million in bad checks throughout the United States and in 26 different countries. How can you avoid being a victim of check fraud today?Avoid Using Checks When Possible - There are a variety of ways for you to make payments, including in cash and using credit card. If possible, it is a good practice to avoid writing personal checks in order to make payments. This is especially true for payments to take place in public locations, such as at the grocery store or at the drugstore. Consider the fact that on the check is personal information, including your address, name and phone number. Each check also contains the routing number and account number of your checking account, as well as your personal signature. In many cases, you also need to include your driver's license number on the check as well. This amount of information can result in a serious leak of security, which can be avoided if you pay by other means.Secure Your Mailbox - When many people pay their utility bills, they write out a check and leave it in their mailbox, waiting for the mail carrier to pick it up and send it on its way. Unfortunately, this also results in security problems, because the flag on your mailbox becomes a flag that alerts thieves to the possibility of committing fraud. If you must write out a check to the utility company, take it to a secure mailbox at the post office.


Balance Your Checkbook - You would probably be surprised with the number of individuals who did not balance their check books every month. If you are not keeping track of your checkbook in such a way, it is possible that you may not recognize the fact that a fraudulent check was passed. According to article 3, section 406 of the Uniform Commercial Code, you only have 30 days to notify the bank that there is a discrepancy on the statement (Source: "Chapter 104 - Uniform Commercial Code - Original Articles", leg.state.nv.us).Use Check Writing Software - Both businesses and individuals alike can use software to write checks on a regular basis. This can help to reduce fraud for several reasons. One of the ways in which it does so is by using a professional image associated with your business on every check. The software also can monitor your bank accounts closely to catch any issues that are occurring, shortly after they take place.Be Cautious at Tax Time - Finally, you should be especially cautious during certain times of the year. At tax time, many people are paying their taxes with a check, made payable to the Internal Revenue Service. Many fraudsters will watch for these checks to appear in your mailbox, steal them and modify the payee in order to deposit the money. There are additional options to pay your IRS bill, or you should send it from a secure mailbox, as was described above.Work Cited:"Chapter 104 - Uniform Commercial Code - Original Articles", leg.state.nv.us, http://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-104.html

Business Model Nitty-Gritty

A viable business model is an essential component of a successful business venture. The business model is the roadmap within the roadmap that is the business plan. The business model is the blueprint for the process by which a company will make and sustain a profit.Unfortunately, too many aspiring entrepreneurs do not roll up their sleeves and hash out the details that form its building blocks. When devising your model, think logically about the 360 degree customer experience as it applies to engaging with your enterprise.The business model illustrates how to make the venture work as you intended. The first big question it asks you to examine is, how will you and the clients connect? Will they find you via your website? If so, how will they know that your website exists? What should you do to drive them to your site and what do you want them to find and do when they get there? The type of website that you design and your call to action are business model issues.Or maybe you will connect with clients and prospects via referral. Who, then, will refer to you and what will motivate that behavior? Do you have, or can you create, referral relationships that will feed you a steady supply of prospective clients?For example, if you are a florist, do you have relationships with wedding and other event planners? Perhaps you've worked in a busy floral shop and know a few people who will send brides and others to you. Or do you think you can depend on networking to connect you with enough prospects to get the ball rolling on sales?Where transactions will take place is another issue the model asks you to examine. Will customers visit you at your floral shop, or will you operate as a Freelancer and go to them, toting a binder or iPad that shows examples of arrangements you can create?


For those who sell other types of products, will you sell from a physical location, will you place items into the stores of others on consignment, or will all be sold via your website?Providers of intangible services must know how clients expect to engage in the type of transaction offered. Will an office be needed (accounting or law), or is the client's location the preferred space (HR services or management consulting). Your model calls for you to explain why it makes sense to sell in the way you've chosen. As your operation grows, the business model will change accordingly, to accommodate increased demands on resources and client expectations.Finally, your model will ask you to also address customer service issues, such as the policy for receiving payment for your products and services or the return and replacement policy, in the event that a few customers are not satisfied with a product, or if an item breaks while being shipped.The business model impacts many facets of your planning and its fine points deserve careful consideration before you take the plunge and start spending time and money on a concept that you cannot make work. Ask yourself a few questions and devise guide posts to assist you as you develop a model for a new venture, or revamp the one you're in now.Thanks for reading,Kim

The 90-10 Rule

You may have heard of the 80-20 rule, which states that 20% of your activities will result in 80% of your profits. Actually, it's a rule that applies everywhere-80% of your customer service complaints will come from 20% of your customers, and 80% of your productivity from 20% of your employees. In reality, however, the figures are more likely to hover about 90-10.For example, it's a sad truth that most entrepreneurs spend 90% of their time thinking about what they're going to sell, and 10% of their time thinking about the market they're going to sell to. This is a terrible mistake -- you need to turn that 90-10 ratio around. It's better to find a market full of people who need help with some problem, and then put together a product that addresses that problem in a satisfying way.How do you do that? By getting to know your market as well as you can. Put yourself in your prospect's shoes: try to understand where they live, where they work, their income, marital status, and what their biggest problems are. Even better, try to understand their perceptions of those problems, so you can give them the exact solution they want -- not necessarily what they need, or what you think they need. Try to step into the minds of your customers, see from a realistic perspective what they want to buy, and provide them with that product.Don't just put something together and decide it ought to be useful to a certain market. You might end up broke if you do that, especially if you let your love for the product blind you of the fact that no one wants it. Get to know the market intimately first, and everything will fall into place.


Here's a corollary of the 90-10 rule: most business people spend 90% of their time thinking about all the ways they're going to bring new customers into their business, and spend about 10% of their time thinking about ways to make more money from the existing customers they already have. Change that around. The lesson here is that the market comes first -- always -- and the best market is the market that's made up of people who have already done business with you. This is the secret behind all major successes.Customers are the life-blood of any business. They're the oil that keeps the whole thing running. Without oil, an engine is worthless; it'll wear down and melt down from the heat. The customers are you profits. It's safe to say that most businesses could double or even triple their profits right now by going back and working with their existing customers and developing more products and services specifically for them.Drawing in new customers is an important process, because you do have to replace those you lose to death, moves, changes in lifestyle, and other "leaks" that will gradually drain your existing customer base. But don't forget your existing customers. Create new and exciting offers for them, too -- or you'll just enlarge the holes in the bottom of your own bucket, and lose the loyal client base you've worked so hard to build.

Do You Know Who Your Best Customers Are?

If you're in business then you have customers. You might have a few, or a few thousand, but understanding who your customers are is absolutely vital for the survival of your business. So who are:Who Are Your Best and Worst Customer?
Who Are Your Best and Worst Customer?- and especially who your *best* customers are - is absolutely essential and allows you to target new business too. Think about your ideal customers and even make up an avatar for them. Think about where they live, what type of house, do they have a garden, what they read, what kind of hobbies do they have, do they have children, how old are they, what sports do they watch, where they shop, what other businesses do they use, is there anyone you can build a strategic alliance with for your mutual benefit and what frustrations they have.I heard a story of a wedding photographer who built up a Avatar of his ideal client, from this he realised that they would purchase expensive engagement ring at top end jewelers, so he contact a jeweler that he'd identified, offered to do free engagement photo;s for any couple spending over a thousand pounds, guess who the couples came too when it was time for the wedding.Once you have done this start thinking about who your current customers are, do you have customers that you love working with, they're easy to get on with, pay on time, really appreciate everything you do for them. Then at the opposite end of the scale do you have customers where you heart sinks when they get in touch, they seem to be constantly getting you to work for less money and take up more of you precious time.


Break your customers up into Grade A, B, C and D customers. A's pay the most and take the least time, D's pay the least and take up the most time. The idea is to educate all of your customers to be As! Do they fully understand how good you are or all of the benefits of being with you in comparison to your competitors? A lot of this education moving forward can be done in the initial meetings with the client even before you take them on as a client.However if you have a D client who seems impossible to educate, look at the time and what returns you're getting and then maybe think about recommending they do go to a competitor as you feel that they would better match their requirements, plus they'll end up sucking time and money away from your competitor, which is good for you.Have a great weekBy Alan Adams

What Is Energy Management?

Energy management is a term referring to saving energy in businesses, private homes, public sector and government organizations. Specifically, it is the process of monitoring, controlling and conserving energy in a building or organization. Typically, this term applies to existing buildings and equipment, and finding ways to make these existing assets more efficient.Energy management isn't just about saving money, although that is a key component for businesses and homeowners alike. There is also a global need to conserve, reduce our carbon footprint and make sure we leave behind a sustainable future.By initiating energy management strategies, businesses can get a better handle on their costs, find new opportunities for efficiency, reduce risk, and make more intelligent decisions. Long-term energy planning is becoming an important component to many businesses.With the diminishing amounts of fossil fuels and rising dependence on foreign energy supplies, reducing our energy usage is one way a company can contribute to the community and environment that is good for everybody.Some companies have begun to implement a position for an energy management consultant to help them find ways to reduce their consumption. These positions can do things such as metering energy consumption and collecting data; find ways to save and estimate how much each action would save; recommending and taking action on these any opportunities; and finally analyzing and tracking progress on how each of these actions have saved the company finances.Some of the detailed projects one might tackle include gathering data on current energy consumption and finding out specifics on consumption on a daily, sometimes hourly basis. After compiling data for a period of time, the energy management consultant should be able to pinpoint high-energy usage patterns and find out if there is routine energy waste occurring. Pinpointing routine waste provides an easy starting point to saving energy.


After consumption has been researched and identified areas where a company can improve energy conservation, actions should be taken to achieve a specified goal. These actions should be planned by the consultant and should be able to be measurable to ensure that progress is being made.Some actions may be as simple as requesting and implementing employees to turn off their computers and lighting in their work spaces when they leave every night, some could be as complicated as purchasing new or upgrading old equipment that will help energy savings.There are energy management consultant firms that are employable by businesses to come in and identify the weaknesses and areas that can be improved upon for each business. Many large companies may employ their own full-time position, or even a department, devoted to energy management, however medium- to small-sized companies may find it more financially feasible to hire a consultant to work on their energy management.Some of the specific areas an energy management consultant may evaluate include a company's controls system, they may conduct a retrofit feasibility study, and they will look into network and system integration. Looking into system design will evaluate how efficient the business's equipment is. It looks at the current application of the equipment and makes recommendations on how to best execute the system design.Studying the feasibility of changing out an old energy management system and replacing it with new technology is a big undertaking, but a consultant will have the experience to make the best recommendation to a company. Because energy management consultants are looking out for the best interest of the companies who hire them, their opinions should be unbiased and trustworthy.

Why 2014 May Be The Perfect Year To Sell Your Business

In the entrepreneurial ecosystem, business owners looking for an exit strategy are likely to find 2014 an optimal year for selling.- Peter Lehrman, Entrepreneur Magazine Timing any market is always a tricky proposition, especially in this era of diminishing returns and lowered expectations. The market for selling a small to mid-sized business is no exception.Anyone considering selling a business, especially boomer business owners thinking about retirement, should have a list of compelling reasons why they want to sell and a plan to help them do so.For most business owners, the timing will never be perfect, so waiting until the ideal moment to sell could be an impractical course of action. However, certain indicators are pointing to a better than average success rate for selling a business in 2014.That's why it's a good idea to employ strategies right now that will help you get the maximum money for your business.2014: The "Year of The Seller?" Three or four years of turmoil in a struggling economy makes some business owners understandably cautious when it comes to optimistic projections for 2014. However, there are some very good indicators pointing to the possibility of a perfect selling environment for at least the next 18 months or so.For example:• The majority of businesses have experienced increased profitability for the past 2-3 years. For numerous business owners, 2008-2010 were flat as far as profits were concerned. Those who survived this period felt lucky to break even, much less put profits on the books. With demand down across the country for services and solutions, business owners were unhappily treading water.However, the recession is slowly retreating, allowing businesses to recover. Many are now in a position to show the three or four years of solid growth that qualified buyers want to see when they build projection models.The ability for a company to demonstrate upward trends in their financials shows prospective buyers that it is right to make positive projections for future growth. This in turn gives owners better valuations and does wonders to make the deal viable. Buyers want to know that a business they purchase is poised to survive even a serious economic downturn.• Low interest rates (for a little while longer, anyway) You don't have to have an advanced degree in economics to understand that the artificially maintained low interest rates we now experience will soon be a thing of the past. Forecasters have been fretting that the Federal Reserve will be forced to curtail its' bond-buying program soon.A growing number of experts now say that 2014 could be the year when that finally occurs. This means, naturally, that waiting too long to sell might mean an owner will see higher interest rates and a lower price for his or her business.The reason for this is that interest rates always have a direct impact on the price of capital used to purchase a company. Buyers who rely on loans to acquire a business will feel the sting of these rising rates since earnings are used to pay the interest on loans. An increase in the price of capital will almost certainly lead to lower valuations for businesses.


It makes sense that the more expensive it is for buyers to get capital, the less willing they are to pay top price for a business. As soon as rates begin to rise in 2014, there will be a negative impact on business valuations.• Low levels of debt and lots of positive cash flow Credit Suisse reported in February, 2014 that 73 percent of U.S. companies and 56 percent of European companies have incredibly low levels of debt on their balance sheets compared to their total market capitalization.Private equity companies are awash in cash, with nearly $1.1 TRILLION in cash on hand. At the same time, levels of corporate debt are falling to new lows. So, what does this mean for you as a business owner who is seriously considering selling?Well, for one thing, since all this cash needs to go someplace other than under the CEO's mattress, private buying groups will be out en masse looking for successful businesses they can buy and from which they can see immediate cash flow.For another thing, there is a natural mood elevation that goes on when so many dollars are in play.The old saying "a rising tide lifts all boats" is applicable here. Every billion dollar mega-deal that goes down makes every smaller business deal more attractive. Small businesses are sure to benefit from the optimism that comes with any boom.• Changing demographics are pushing boomers to sell. The first half of the "Baby Boomer bubble" (2005-2010) has passed. During that period, older Boomers were able to sell to younger boomers, although the success rate was still a mere 3%.However recent research indicates that the number of boomer owners indicating they wanted to retire increased from 50,000 in 2001 to over 750,000 in 2009.It is possible we could see over one million businesses go on the market in the next 10-15 years in a transition tsunami. If this holds true, then it makes sense to sell ahead of the herd and reap the benefits of the current buying frenzy fueled by low debt levels and loads of cash.Even if you think you aren't ready to leave your business yet, you should plan as if you are. Positioning your business to sell is never a bad idea or waste of time.By crafting a well-thought-out exit plan, you will be prepared if circumstances (either good or bad) push you to sell, or if you get an offer from a qualified buyer that you just can't afford to pass up.You never know, maybe 2014 will be the year you make a profitable transition from your business and start enjoying everything for which you've worked so hard.

Nike's Three Simple Words

Just Do It. The athletic shoe company Nike has made a fortune off those three little words-and so can you, if you take the philosophy to heart. You see, most of us learn better through action than we do by reading books and taking courses. In fact, we tend to learn in a much deeper way by going through the pain of solving daily problems, by working on new promotions, dealing with challenges, or by setting bigger goals and biting off more than you can chew. Just Do It!What happens in most situations is this: we know what we need to do, we know we need to do it, but we just don't do it. When I look back on my life, I can see that I could have used this secret over and over again. Years ago, when I was first getting started in my own home business, I kept telling myself, "I want to start a home business. I want to start a home business." I kept buying moneymaking opportunities and dabbling, but I never started my business. I knew that if I could just get it started, it would send me in the right direction. But I built it up in my head that this was a huge deal.At the beginning of the year I'd write down on my goal list, "I want to start a home-based business," and then I'd get caught up in other things and I wouldn't do it. Sometimes I'd just talk myself out of it, because of potential problems. Many of us do this, rather than just making the decision and doing whatever it takes to make it happen. Successful people charge ahead, dealing not only with the potential problems, but also with real problems as they pop up. They just keep taking action and moving forward.Keep this philosophy in your head: Just Do It. If there will be challenges, then there will be challenges; so be it. As long as you're drawing breath, I guarantee you there will be challenges in your life. If you don't have a home-based business, you're going to have challenges in your career, in a relationship, or elsewhere. If you're doing teleseminars or recording audio products, they're going to pop up there. But you need to persevere no matter what- because the most successful people are those who succeed in spite of the challenges. They never let difficulty stop them. They never let it make them turn back. In spite of all those challenges, they keep moving forward.The way that you break through fears, the way that you become confident in yourself and your own abilities, is by doing the things you don't know how to do. That's one of the key things I've learned over the years. When I was younger, I thought I had to become an expert before trying something-that I had to read every book about it, and go to all the seminars, and learn everything there was to know, because I didn't want to fail. Failure is pain! But I realized over time that everybody who tries something new fails at some level. Nobody gets everything perfect the first time they do anything, whether it's learning how to ride a bike or run a multimillion-dollar company.


Everybody's going to make mistakes here and there. So I decided to get out there and start making mistakes. I needed to fail forward. In doing that, I realized that that's what it takes to achieve success: taking action, failing, and moving past the failure. I was able to succeed faster because I wasn't afraid. And the things that kept me from being afraid were those three words: Just Do It!Don't let things bother you. Be willing to make mistakes. You'll learn from then, and the biggest thing you'll learn is that most mistakes aren't fatal. You learn by experiencing adversity; and the more money you want to make, the harder it'll be. Accept that you're going to have to deal with adversity. You're going to have to deal with trials and tribulations. And you will become stronger. You will become wiser. You will learn the things you have to learn, and you'll develop the skills that you have to develop.I wish somebody had told me 25 years ago that yes, I could make all the money I wanted -- but I'd have to be willing to suffer some adversity and develop the knowledge, skills and abilities to deal with it. If somebody had really convinced me of that, like I'm trying to convince you right now, it would have saved me so much grief, and I would have learned more than I did along the way.If "Just Do It" doesn't work for you, think of it as the "ready, fire, aim" analogy. You don't have to wait until everything is perfect. You don't have to have all your ducks precisely in a row before you begin. Just begin, and correct your aim after you fire. This is how artillerymen zero in on their targets. Yes, there are a thousand things you could worry about... but Just Do It. Get out there and get started. Don't be afraid of all the things that could go wrong, or all the mistakes you could make. Acknowledge that they're going to happen, because everybody makes mistakes. It's called being human. We're all a bunch of goofballs -- we've all failed multiple times. If someone doesn't fail, it usually means that they've never tried anything. And who wants to go through life being that kind of person?We all have our failures. Everybody, from the poorest person who's barely scraping by to the wealthiest person in the world, has gone through challenges and made mistakes. If you run with the "Just Do It" motto -- or "ready, fire, aim," if that one suits you better -- it doesn't mean you're reckless, or careless, or that you intentionally make errors. But it does mean that you're willing to get out there and do it, and worry about all the things that could go wrong later.Worry about the details when they show up. Meanwhile, get out there and just get going. Start building relationships, start marketing, and all those other things will come together later. There's time to worry about the details after the money starts flowing in.