Have you noticed that when you read about successful people, those who have reached high levels of achievement, more often than not they came from less than glamorous backgrounds? Rarely are they well connected, or born with a silver spoon in their mouths. They do not have ivy league educations, and they have had some pretty strong odds stacked against them. They are not exactly what you would call lucky.
You know the stories, Jim Carrey had to drop out of school to help support his family. Thomas Edison was fired from his job and failed countless times before inventing the light bulb. JK Rowlings was a single mother living on government assistance. Ben Franklin dropped out of school at age 10 and the list goes on.
What is it about accomplished people, what are they tapping into that the rest of us are not? Is it better business growth strategies or something else? Think about it, when you hear about these people or read their stories you find pretty common people, without remarkable connections or educations, yet they have overcome some unbelievable obstacles to achieve high levels of success.
I even find this in my own life. When I look around, I see people who are moving forward and those who are stuck; those who are reaching high levels of success and those that are not. There seems to be nothing remarkable on their resume, no one act or connection that made the difference for those moving forward. Instead, it is a type of attitude; a set of actions and some pretty uncommon business growth strategies that they use to succeed.
6 Uncommon Business Growth Strategies
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Always The Student
Successful people never see themselves as finished when it comes to learning and growth. They are always the student. No matter the situation and no matter the teacher, they always believe there is something to learn.
I was at a conference last week listening to the opening keynote and the two people next to me were talking about his presentation. One said, “this is just the same old stuff, leadership and why it is the most important part of business.” The other said, “yes, I have heard it before, too, but I thought the speaker made some good points. And there are a few things I can use.”
That is the difference, successful people find new ideas, information and ways of doing things everywhere they go and whatever they do. No matter the message or the position of the teacher, successful people find opportunities to learn and grow everywhere.
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Network Life Their Life Depends On it
Successful people get that connections are everything. The more people they know, the more people they help, the more successful they are going to be. In other words, they network like their life depends on it.
You never see successful networkers talking to the same old people at events, or letting a week go by without reaching out to connect with someone new or rekindle an old relationship. They use technology, grab coffee with connections and do whatever it takes to build their network, so they can enhance their lives. They understand that the more people they know, the more people they help, the better positioned they will be for success.
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Don’t Have Plan B
In other words, there is no other option but success. This one is my favorite, and the one I hear most often from people who have reached truly high levels of success. At the end of the day, those looking to succeed, just do not have a plan B. For them, there was no other option but success.
So, no matter the obstacles, no matter the struggles, they kept their eye on the ball and believe they are going to get there. The difference between those who succeed and those who don’t reach their potential, is how focused they are on the prize and how determined they are to stay focused.
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Protect Their Community
Successful people understand that community is everything. If you want to be successful, you need to hang out with successful people. You need to be the cheapest real estate in the most expensive neighborhood. Hanging out with people who have the same goals, support what you are doing and push you to go another level, will ensure that you are surrounded by a community that fuels success.
Similar to osmosis, the powerful energy of this successful community will move you forward. Protecting your community is about ensuring those people you interact with motivate you, support you, help you learn and grow, and put energy into you, rather than suck it out.
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Go The Distance
Failure is just part of the process. In fact, it’s a very important part of the process for successful people. They know that if they are going to reach high levels of success, they are going to fail, fail often and fail hard. So, they are prepared, prepared to go the distance. To get back up, learn from their failures and try again. Often, the difference between success and failure is not how smart, well-educated or lucky you are, but how much stamina you have.
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Conserve Energy
Last but not least, they conserve energy. They do not burn a single ounce of energy on things they cannot control or negative people. Instead, they put their time, energy and actions into the people, strategies and focus it takes to move forward. I think this is one of the most important of these strategies. Successful people spend very little, if any, time whining, complaining or focused on things they can’t fix.
So there you have it, the 6 Uncommon Business Growth Strategies successful people use to achieve great things. What I love about this list is, it is doable. There is nothing complicated or unobtainable about it. While it is a simple list, it is not exactly easy. It takes discipline, focus and at the end of the day, hard work.
Here is your challenge, and I am going to take it too! Let’s put these strategies into place, try them out for the next 90 days, see what success we get from them and let’s make 2017 Rock!
Motivational Keynote Speaker & 