4 Lessons You Can Learn From the Founder of Walmart, Sam Walton

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One day in the early 1960s, 44-year old Sam Walton founded his first department store in Bentonville, Arkansas a few years after being forced to let go of his first successful store for contract problems. Since this day, July 2nd, 1962, Walmart has grown to be the most successful retailer in the world (now is second to Amazon) with over ten thousand stores and more than $200 billion in market value. All that because of one dedicated and hard-working man who lived by his principles and gave many ambitious people, including me, the inspiration to do and grow more.

I have read Walton`s autobiography, ‘Sam Walton: Made In America’ and these are my top four lessons for you:
1. Understand the value of the dollar

Walton never believed in a having a flashy lifestyle and was capable of balancing the love of life with keeping expenses at bay. He had seen people selling their companies for little to enjoy the rich experience, then suffer later when it all goes down the drain. He also believed that to provide value to his customers he had to cut his expenses and be wise with spending money.

So he built a philosophy that every penny he saves, is a penny saved for his customers and created the famous Walmart motto: Save money. Live better. Walton dined at family restaurants, slept two to a room when traveling with his executives and among all of the eighteen airplanes he bought in his lifetime, none of them were brand new.

”Every time Wal-Mart spends one dollar foolishly, it comes right out of our customers’ pockets. Every time we save them a dollar, that puts us one more step ahead of the competition” – Sam Walton

2. Protect your success and learn from every mistake

After five years of hard work in Arkansas, Walton eventually managed to outperform his competitors and build the largest and most profitable variety store in the whole region. Unfortunately, he lost everything over a contract mistake. His landlord got greedy and wanted to give Walton’s store to his son, so he refused to renew his lease at any price.

To be honest, the man did offer Walton a fair price in exchange of his franchise name and inventory but this wasn’t what Walton wanted, and he had to leave behind all the success he’d just built and go.

But because of his positive mindset, Walton blamed nobody but himself for that mistake and vowed to learn from that mistake and spend double the time reading any future lease. He also realized his family needed someone with law experience who can also hold their best interest so, he encouraged his oldest son, Rob, to become a lawyer.

3. Learn everything you can about your business

Be desperate to learn everything about business and hang around those who know better than you. Wal-Mart stores have dominated the retail industry for years but did you know who made Walton interested in such business? His barber. The first rules Walton ever learned about retail work came from his barber and his brothers who had later grown their variety store into a sixty-store chain.

Walton also spent most of his Sundays at his manager`s house learning the business and talking about retailing. Even when he later left JCPenney and moved to Arkansas, he had to find someone experienced to learn from so he spent his lunch breaks at his competitor`s store and copied his best practices.

“Commit to your business. Believe in it more than anybody else.” – Sam Walton

4. Be competitive

The best word to describe Walton is competitive. He got that from his mother who taught him to take life seriously and try to be the best at everything he did. He worked as a lifeguard, waited tables in exchange for meals and stopped getting allowance as soon as high school began.  He also made a considerable sum of money during college despite living through the most prolonged, and most prevalent depression of the 20th century.

Walton was so competitive that he played baseball, football, and basketball all at the same time and won the state championship in two different sports. Not mentioning climbing up the Boy Scout ranks at a very young age and being elected president of the town’s Bible Class.

This intense experience helped Walton set his mindset towards success and understand the importance of teamwork. He realized that publicly exercising his ego wasn’t the right way to build a strong business, so he invested much in attracting the best, most talented, and most loyal people to his team.

What do you think of the entrepreneur who built one of the largest retail empires in the world? Comment below!

Read more: addicted2success.com

7 Steps to Conquering the Fears That Are Holding You Back From Success

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I remember the day in vivid detail. I was on a weekend trip visiting my girlfriend at the time in Arizona. She had decided that we should join her friends to go “cliff jumping.”  We were early on in our dating and she obviously had no idea that I was not fond of heights. So “cliffs” and jumping off of them… No thanks!

I inevitably found myself on the edge of a 40-foot cliff peering down at a vast blue canvas of water. Then I realized if I didn’t jump, I’d have to start the walk of shame back down the cliff. This was a lose-lose situation for me.

Fear had me. I didn’t want to jump, but I also didn’t want to look bad in front of my girlfriend’s friends. So I jumped and in that moment, I had defied my brain and my neurochemistry.

Our brains are wired to protect us, not to push us towards our goals. Our brains are wired to look for anything that could be potentially dangerous or threatening and keep us as far away from it as possible by using fear. The problem is not all situations warrant fear.

There is a saying in neuroscience that says, “the brain wires the way it fires”, meaning the more you do a certain activity, the more the brain lays down wiring to make that action or activity easier.

‘Fears are educated into us, and can, if we wish, be educated out.’ – Karl Augustus Menninger

When we let fear keep us stagnant and we continue to do the same things that are comfortable, our brain gets “hardwired” to stay comfortable. We become “stagnant.” This can become debilitating for some of us and prevent us from encountering the very experiences we need to grow and succeed.

When we, in spite of our fear, do the challenging things that are outside our comfort zone, we begin to hardwire into our brain change, adaptability, creativity, growth, perspective, and happiness because we stretch the boundaries of our brain’s capabilities and force it to adapt rather than “playing it safe.”

An elite athlete didn’t make it where they are today by going into their training and never pushing past their comfort zone. They constantly pushed their limits of comfort to force their bodies and minds to grow to that of a top performer. The same principle applies to our brains. If we let fear dictate our actions in any area of our lives, it will stunt your growth in that area.

So what’s the first step? How do we go about conquering our fears whether it’s public speaking, starting a business, or launching the product or service? See below:
1. Journal Your Fears

Write down all the fears you have, big or small. Contrary to opinion “size does not matter.” Your brain still operates the same with all types of fear. The key is to first acknowledge what you are fearful about and bring it to light. Be as specific as possible.

2. Prioritize Your Fears

I then rank my fears from highest to lowest in terms of how often I think about this fear and/or how much it disrupts my life. You may find some fears combine into a broader category and that’s ok — we’ll get to that. So for now identify your biggest fear.

3. Support Your Belief in Yourself

I don’t mean just “believe in yourself.” What I mean is to build in support systems that will support your belief in yourself, so that when you start taking action, your support systems will solidify those new experiences and form deeper, more meaningful, and lasting beliefs in yourself.

It may look like building a list of affirmations that you say every morning or a meditation. Whatever it is, it needs to be uplifting and empowering you towards conquering your goals.

4. Take Action & Start Small

Look at your list and identify what your biggest fear is. That’s the beast we’re going to tackle long term, but for some that may seem like a big stretch at first. So instead, see what your 5th biggest fear is, and that’s where you’ll start.

What we will then do is build our way up and take a ride on the “Momentum Train.” Starting small with taking actions toward your lower priority fears and then building up helps your brain build momentum, which provides your brain with plenty of courage and motivation to tackle the #1 fear on your list.

‘Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.’ – Helen Keller

5. No Time Limit, Just Consistency

Most goals should be limited to a time domain. For the goal of tackling a fear, time can be a challenging factor to set. Some of these fears may have been unknowingly building up for decades without your knowledge. So I don’t recommend setting a time on when you are “going to conquer your fear.”

Instead set appointments to regularly meet and address your fear. If you’re fear is public speaking, then go to a local Toastmasters once a week. The more consistent you can be, the better.

6. Reframe and Reinforce

As you begin to address these fears, make sure you are reinforcing the experiences you have in a positive perspective. For instance, if you want to be less fearful of public speaking and decide to try out a local toastmasters group, your first time speaking to the group might feel like a train wreck, but when you look back on the situation you can acknowledge that that actually pushed past your fear and accomplished your goal.

7. Rinse and Repeat

This isn’t a quick fix. It may take some time. There’s always a new fear or challenge awaiting us. The key is to have systems like this in place to address those challenges properly rather than allowing ourselves to succumb to fear and derail our lives from their fullest potential.

How do you handle your fears? Comment below!

Image courtesy of Twenty20.com

Read more: addicted2success.com

41 Enlightening Bob Marley Quotes

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Bob Marley is an internationally respected musician, activist, and philanthropist. Hailing from Jamaica, his music has influenced both minds and revolutions around the world. Much of his wisdom can be found in the lyrics of his songs. Timeless, these words will resonate within young people for generations to come.

Here are 41 of Bob Marley’s most powerful words of wisdom:

1. “I don’t believe in death, neither in flesh nor in spirit.” – Bob Marley

2. “When one door is closed, don’t you know, another is open.” – Bob Marley

3. “Love the life you live. live the life you love.” – Bob Marley

“Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don’t complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don’t bury your thoughts.” – Bob Marley

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.” – Bob Marley

“Beginnings are usually scary, and endings are usually sad, but its everything in between that makes it all worth living.” – Bob Marley

“Don’t bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality.” – Bob Marley

“Don’t complicate your mind.” – Bob Marley

“The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for.” – Bob Marley

“Better to die fighting for freedom than be a prisoner all the days of your life.” – Bob Marley

“Don’t gain the world and lose your soul, wisdom is better than silver or gold…” – Bob Marley

“The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.” – Bob Marley

“It’s your own conscience that is gonna remind you; that it’s your heart and nobody else’s that is gonna judge.” – Bob Marley

“Judge not, before you judge yourself. Judge not, if you’re not ready for judgment.” – Bob Marley

“Man is a universe within himself.” – Bob Marley

“Your life is worth much more than gold.” – Bob Marley

“Judge not, before you judge yourself.” – Bob Marley

“Don’t trust people whose feelings change with time. Trust people whose feelings remain the same, even when the time” – Bob Marley

“You just can’t live in that negative way….. make way for the positive day.” – Bob Marley

“I no have education. I have inspiration. If I was educated I would be a damn fool.” – Bob Marley

“Just because you are happy it does not mean that the day is perfect but that you have looked beyond its imperfections.” – Bob Marley

“Road of life is rocky and you may stumble too, so while you talk about me, someone else is judging you.” – Bob Marley

“Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you’re living?” – Bob Marley

“Don’t worry about a thing, ’cause every little thing gonna be all right.” – Bob Marley

“In this bright future you can’t forget your past.” – Bob Marley

“In the abundance of water a fool is thirsty.” – Bob Marley

“One love, one heart . . . Let’s get together and feel all right” – Bob Marley

“As a man sow, shall he reap. and I know that talk is cheap. But the heat of the battle is as sweet as the victory.” – Bob Marley

“True friends are like stars; you can only recognize them when it’s dark around you.” – Bob Marley

“Money is numbers and numbers never end. If it takes money to be happy, your search for happiness will never end.” – Bob Marley

“You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.” – Bob Marley

“Love, friendship, laughter… Some of the best things in life really are free.” – Bob Marley

“The most beautiful things are not perfect, they are special” – Bob Marley

“Live for yourself and you will live in vain; Live for others, and you will live again.”- Bob Marley

“We got to fight the system, because God never made no difference between black, white, blue, pink or green. People is people, y’know. That’s the message we try to spread.”- Bob Marley

“God create you to be free. Free up yourself, otherwise you worthless. ”- Bob Marley

“One love, one heart. Let’s get together and feel all right.”- Bob Marley

“Light up the darkness. ”- Bob Marley

“The people who were trying to make this world worse are not taking the day off. Why should I?”- Bob Marley

“Overcome the devils with a thing called love.””- Bob Marley

“Though the road’s been rocky, it sure feels good to me.”- Bob Marley

Which quote resonated with you the most?  Comment below!

Read more: addicted2success.com

5 Simple Tips to Help You Become Great at Anything

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Reading over 70 business and self-help books, traveling all around Europe teaching people soft skills like storytelling and self-awareness, has shown me certain patterns on how to become great at anything. These things sometimes hide in plain sight but we are too distracted to see them. So we skip them, day-in and day-out we keep plowing through, not knowing if the things we are doing are making us any better.

That’s why I will share the patterns I learned on the ground through personal experience and from the best business and self-help books out there. If you follow these tips, success will take care of itself.

1. The Score will take care of itself

John Wooden is one of the most decorated trainers in the history of NCAA. He won 10 national championships in the span of 12 years, including seven in a row. The one thing he never mentioned was the score. He was all about the process.

Of course, everyone who played for him knew that they were playing basketball and that they wanted to win. But the focus was always on the process of playing the game as best as possible. He would often say that the score takes care of itself (a phrase which later described Bill Walsh, another great trainer).

When you create your goal, put it aside and focus on the process that will get you there. If you work the process, the score will literally take care of itself. You can do this through daily habits.

If there’s anything you could point out where I was a little different, it was the fact that I never mentioned winning.” – John Wooden

2. Be, don’t do

The change in your life doesn’t start with you doing something, it starts with your mindset. You first need to become that to be able to do that. Here is an example. If you are a smoker and you want to quit smoking, you will fail if you take the approach of “I am quitting cigars.”

This doesn’t make a fundamental shift in your personality. The actions that we do stem from the perception of who we are. So for us to change our actions, we need to first change our beliefs about that or we will inherently self-sabotage ourselves.

The proper way to deal with this is to say “I’m a non-smoker.” This changes your entire belief about yourself as a person. “I’m a healthy person” vs. “I am going to the gym”. “I’m a reader” vs “I read books”. The examples are endless.

3. You will not rise to the level of your expectations, but fall to the level of your practice

You know in action movies when the main character suddenly gets a power-up through yelling and screaming and comes through with an impossible action? Well, that’s a Hollywood movie. In real life, we do not rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our practice. So the more (and better) you practice, the better you will perform.

Break down the skill which you want to learn into small sub-sets of skills and learn each and every one of those. If you focus on those small parts and improve them, you will become better in the overall skill. This is called deliberate practice.

4. Play the long game

There is a quote by Charlie Munger which goes “No matter what you do, a woman still needs nine months to give birth to a child.” What this means is that sometimes things just need time to catch momentum and start working.

I ran a blog for two years already and it took me a year and a half to cross even 20,000 readers. But in the last six months, I did three times that. Most great things take time to start functioning properly. So prepare for the long game because the biggest returns come at the end of the line.

“I’m not concerned with noise because I’m playing the long game.” – Jay Z

5. Learn daily

If you want to make better decisions, live a more fulfilled life and stay relevant with your skills, you need to learn daily. What better way to do this than to read books and borrow the wisdom (and skills) of the masters that came before us.

There are plenty of mistakes I avoided because of books and plenty of great decisions that I made because of them. All of this comes from the habit of learning daily, a mere reading of 20 pages of a book a day. If you stay hungry for knowledge, you will become (and stay) great at anything you do.

Read more: addicted2success.com

10 Reasons You Need to Write That Book You’ve Always Thought About

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I’m willing to bet that many of you out there have thought about writing a book. You may have even started jotting down a few ideas. Perhaps it’s a fiction book, the next 50 Shades of Grey, or maybe you want to write the next tell-all expose on the life and times of Donald Trump. You might even consider writing the next great self-help book, akin to “The Secret” or “How to Make Friends and Influence People”.

According to a study done nearly two decades ago in 2002, 81% of Americans feel that they had a book in them. This means that nearly 260 million people want to write books in the US alone. Approximately 600,000 books are published in the US each year, and many of those are self-published. Few sell more than a few copies (the average is around 250 copies sold).  Yet I’m here today to tell you to write that book that you’ve had on your mind, and to dive into the realm of self-publishing.

Here are 10 reasons you should take that leap and write a book already:
1. It makes you think more clearly

When you first think about writing a book, it may seem like a daunting task. It is an exciting idea, sure, but the more you consider how to actually get started, the harder it becomes. When you actually pick up the pen (or the laptop) and start typing, you will come to realise just what a clarifying effect the writing process can have on your mind.

2. It helps you channel your creativity

Writing is perhaps one of the purest forms of self expression and creativity accessible to humans. We all learn to write from an early age, yet few of us cultivate the skill of self-expression through writing long past our early childhood. Good books, nonfiction or fiction, tap into the reader’s minds by telling creative stories and tapping into psychological forces related to specific emotions. The book you write need not be dry or boring. Think about how you can make it interesting and then go full-steam ahead.

“The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.” – Ryan Holiday

3. It gives you a sense of purpose

Every November, nearly half a million people take on the challenge of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). The challenge is for writers of all ages, talents, and skill levels to set aside time out of their busy schedules to write like mad over the course of the month. The goal is to reach a ridiculous number of words (50,000) in as few days as possible. Taking on a challenge of this magnitude, or just setting a deadline for yourself in your head on a certain number of pages to write in a certain amount of time, can provide you with an incredible sense of purpose and drive.

4. It forces you to plan ahead

Most people who write books don’t do so as part of their full-time job. They don’t have large advances or massive budgets to spend on marketing and PR. Instead, they have to work on their writing, promoting and planning around their already busy lives. Deciding to write a book requires careful planning and attention to detail. It also forces you to outline a plan for when to publish your book and when to start marketing.

5. It motivates you

Once you have an outline in place for your book and a schedule for how many words you need to finish each day (or how many sections of your book you need to complete) you will be surprised by how motivated you become. Just having a set of tasks to complete which align so closely with a creative endeavour is incredibly fulfilling, and will be very motivating over the course of your writing.

6. It creates good habits

The creation of good habits is a positive byproduct of outlining, planning, and writing a book. By planning out your activities, you develop a deeper appreciation for time and the time you spend on certain tasks. You will make an effort to be more productive, to cut out things that are of less value to you, and to prioritise those things which will help you achieve your next goal or task. All positive things which lead to the development of good habits.

7. It develops new connections

Don’t mistake the process of writing a book with the process of editing a book. When you write on a schedule, you may not feel like writing, but the sheer force of will you employ to get the words out on a daily basis will be a powerful motivating force. Not only that, the more you write, the more likely it becomes that you will develop new connections, thoughts, or ideas that you’ve never had before. As you write, something may become clear to you which has been shrouded in mystery for years or decades of your life. By writing, you will uncover these new connections and change your whole way of thinking.

“The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are: Hard work, Stick-to-itiveness, and Common sense.” – Thomas A. Edison

8. It makes you more interesting

Writing a book will make you more interesting. Not only will it give you something to talk about at parties, it will help you understand the challenges that many people face when it comes to motivation or challenges at work or in their personal lives. By writing a book, I would argue that you will become both more empathetic and energetic in your interactions with others.

9. It opens up more doors

When you spend a significant amount of time writing something, chances are that you are a dedicated and trustworthy individual. You are labelled a self-starter and someone who can be self-motivated to reach large goals. By telling people you’ve written a book, you will open doors you didn’t even know were doors in the first place. People will want to speak with you, have lunch with you, pick your brain, learn from you. The sky’s the limit.

10. It drives deeper understanding

Ultimately, writing a book allows you to develop a deeper understanding of yourself, of others and of the world around you. I would argue that writing a book is both a selfless and a selfish act in that it allows you to pour your heart and soul into something which may benefit the world as a whole.

In 2002, an author and professor at Northwestern University by the name of Joseph Epstein told readers in an Op-Ed in the New York Times that they should never write that book. A lot has changed since 2002, and looking at the world now I would argue strongly for the opposite. People should be spending more time thinking about, and writing the books they have buried inside. Only then will we be able to develop a truly complete view of the world and of humanity.

What book is on your mind that you haven’t started yet? Comment below!

Read more: addicted2success.com

7 Ways Successful People Deal With Their Weaknesses

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Nobody is perfect; even the wisest people have weaknesses. We sit back and assume that successful people have it easy, but that’s not true, they have struggled and kept going until they reached that position. What’s different about them is not their traits or money or opportunities, it’s how they see life and how they do things differently.

They are aware of their weaknesses, but they rather focus on their strengths and work towards improving them. Don’t believe it yet? Well, take the most successful people you know, and think about them. You only know them for their best skills and talents, not their weaknesses right? Well, neither do they. This is the exact mindset we should all adopt.

Here are 7 ways in which successful people deal with their weaknesses.
1. Concentrate On What Interests You

If you are running behind something that does not interest you but you are just doing it for the sake of it, then your performance would be mediocre. It will only reflect as your weakness, as your mind cannot perform well at that task. Instead, look at what makes you feel better. When you work hard towards achieving something you are passionate about, success will follow your path.

“It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” – Herman Melville

2. Managing Time

We often try to get too many things done at once, or nothing at all. And neither is good. You need to analyze how much needs to be done and how much you can do. Organization and time management are two skills you need to be efficient at if you want to become successful. Just by being more responsible with time, people can get more work done in less time.

3. Enhancing Key Skills

Don’t we all have certain skills that we are exceptionally good at? And it’s just easier for us to do well at it. As discussed above, people who are smart, focus their time and energy on improving what they are already good at, which only sharpens those strengths even more. When you excel in what you are best at, nobody will even notice what your weaknesses are.

4. A Set Goal and a Plan

Making a concrete plan can give you proper focus towards where you are headed. Without focus, we tend to lose our way, and it only delays the journey towards success. Figure out what you want and how you plan on achieving it. Even someone who are successful today had to make a plan, and struggle all the way up.

5. The Will to Take Risks

Anything that is challenging won’t come without risks. The uncertainty is a part of success, only the will to keep going through it all will keep you active in the game. One of the biggest fears we all face is the fear of losing. This stops us from even taking a chance or going the extra mile. What makes successful people different is their will to take a risk.

6. Not Letting Failure Stop You

There are small failures that await you along the way, and that’s the truth. Even successful people have faced failures in life, but they struck back. Don’t let one single failure dictate your life; it’s only one weak moment. But fight the weakness with your strengths. We all fall, more than once, but unless we learn to get up and gear up, we would never be able to succeed.

“Opportunities don’t happen. You create them.” – Chris Grosser

7. Surrounding Yourself With Positivity

The worst enemy to any mind is negativity – it can easily drag you down. By steering clear of negativity around you and having a clear perspective, you can follow your goal with no distractions. Successful people get a lot of negative vibes, but they always have their guard up. If you let it get to you, it will only make you deviate from your path.  

There is not much difference between someone who is successful and someone who is not – it’s just their approach to life. They may be doing the same things as we are, but they do it differently with more focus and direction, and with a fire that keeps their passion burning. Let the stories of others inspire you to forget your weaknesses and be successful.

How do you overcome your own weaknesses? Comment below!

Read more: addicted2success.com

Answer These 4 Questions to Have a Successful Social Impact for Your Business

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Answer the right questions before you start your Social Media Strategy and you will achieve the best results for your brand. Businesses are key players on the social media networks today. Social Media is a direct and real-time way of relationship of consumers with brands. Social media users really connect in a personal level with their favourite brands.

Social media platforms are in fact a new storefront for products or services, a way of reaching new clients and it can also be another sales funnel that actually increase sales and revenue. For all those reasons, most businesses, entrepreneurs and brands do not want to miss the huge opportunity of having a presence on Social Media.

But in many cases, if you do not have the right approach to your marketing strategy and if you don’t answer the right questions, you may end up wasting your efforts and time and not reaching any clear positive results.

So if you want to avoid failure and wasting your efforts, answer the following questions before starting your strategy:
1. What is my final goal?

The first thing you need to think about is what is the final goal of your business. What do you want to achieve as a business owner, entrepreneur or a blogger? And how can you achieve that final goal? In most cases, the answers boil down to one: increasing your revenue. To achieve that goal of increasing your revenue, you simply need to increase your conversions, sell more or get more clients.

This sounds pretty obvious but oftentimes we lose perspective and focus on doing things that are not leading us to our final goal. So it is important to make sure that you are clear on the final goal of every (lucrative) business.

“Time = life; therefore, waste your time and waste your life, or master your time and master your life.” – Alan Lakein

2. Who is my target audience?

The second question you need to ask yourself is who is your target audience. You most likely already have this clear through your experience, but it is a great idea to create a “customer avatar” or “customer persona” to be able to identify that particular potential customer.

A “customer persona” or “avatar” in Marketing is a representation of the traits, features and behavior of a business’ target customer. Having a customer persona can help you to identify and address your target audience, and you can create more than just one avatar, if you have more than one type of customers.

One of the things that the avatar is going to help you with is in terms of taking a decision of what type of message your brand is going to send. The message is important indeed, but how you express that message is vital to reach your customer. You need to speak their language!

Once you know who your “persona” is, you need to find out where can you find your “persona”. There are probably lots of places where you can find out your target audience but in most cases, today you can find your avatar on social media. Once you are clear about what you want to achieve and who is that particular customer that can give you that goal, it’s now time to look at the social media channels and ask the next questions:

3. Where is my target audience?

Where on Social Media can I find my target audience? To properly answer this question, think about your persona or personas, and find out what their favourite social media platforms are. Also, ask yourself within the main social platforms where in particular can they be found.

For example if your target audience is young people, they will most likely be on Snapchat. If they are millennials mums, they will mostly be on Instagram. If your business is about selling services to professionals, you will probably find them on LinkedIn. If your persona is a forty-something guy, you probably will find him on Facebook.

Go deeper once you figure that out. That forty-something year old guy on Facebook probably is also a member of Facebook groups related to sports, or tv shows. The millennial mum is probably interested in fashion accounts on Instagram. The professional on LinkedIn probably follows some experts or “gurus” in a certain professional field.

In other words, here is where you have to take your time to research and find out where your potential customers can be found. Once you know this, you can select the right social channels where your business should be present. When you know where your potential customers are, you will know where to concentrate your social efforts to avoid dispersion and waist of time.

“To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others.” – Albert Camus

4. How can I connect with my target audience?

In this final question the most accurate answer is: with your message. Your message is WHAT you have to say and most importantly in terms of connection with your target audience, HOW you say it.

“How you say it” equals to your content: your content goes from a range of elements that goes from your images to your texts, and everything in between. The secret of having an engaging message that connects with your target audience, is that it must be aligned with your potential customers’ language, colours, icons, style, images, captions, expressions, etc. All that “look and feel” your brand is projecting, must connect with your target audience, so that your message can penetrate that barrier and they can receive it.

And finally, one of the core values of your message is “What you say”. This means you have to describe or talk about your business, your brand, your services or your products, but the key in social media to make your message powerful is to be CONVERSATIONAL.

Making your message conversational simply means don’t try to sell! Focus on offering solutions to your clients and engage in conversations on the platforms or communities where your target audience is!

Conclusion

Make sense of your social media presence. Answer these questions and let them lead you to the right choices on your social media strategy. This way you will be able to build a targeted community where your business will get lots of opportunities to grow,

Tell me, what do you currently do to make a successful approach to your social media strategy? Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

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5 Questions You Need to Ask Yourself to Stay Cool in Difficult Situations

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We all face challenging situations at work and in our personal lives, yet few of us deal with these experiences in a systematic way. We encounter obnoxious bosses, rude customers, and infuriating family members on a daily basis, yet we often don’t articulate the best way of dealing with these situations. Over time, these strains on our emotions and our mental resources take their toll, so it’s important to find ways to deal with challenging experiences efficiently and with the least about of work.

What do you do when you find yourself becoming overwhelmed or frustrated? Do you lash out or disengage from those around you? If you’re like me, you struggle to hold back your strong reactions when you experience a setback or a challenge.

Here are 5 questions you can ask yourself to help slow down your reactive brain and assess your current situation so that you can respond more effectively to challenging situations:
1. Why do I feel triggered by this situation?

Start by asking yourself a broad question to assess the current situation. Why do you feel the way you do about this situation? This question allows you to take a brief pause to examine why you feel the way you do about a specific situation. Asking why is powerful because it forces you to consider your own feelings and emotions more closely. Sometimes, you may not even be fully aware that you are feeling stressed, angry, or threatened by a particular situation. Take the time to recognise those feelings and ask yourself why you are feeling them.

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” – Henry Ford

2. What would I be thinking if I was in the other person’s shoes right now?

Often times, emotional stress or strain comes from an interaction with someone else – be it a work colleague, a client, or a loved one. Most of our lives we live in a bubble of “me”. We constantly think about our situation as it relates to ourselves, rather than those around us. Ask yourself what the other person is thinking in this situation, and why they might be acting the way they are. Maybe they aren’t lashing out at you because they’re rude, rather, they may be worried about their own job or career.

3. How would an outsider look at what is going on right now?

Take one more step back and look at the situation from the perspective of an outsider. If the situation is too close to your heart, chances are that putting yourself in the other person’s shoes may prove impossible. Instead, consider how an outsider would react to this situation if they were in the room with you. The outsider’s point of view will be more well rounded, and you will have the opportunity to judge whether your reactions are being influenced by the situation itself or by unconscious biases, thoughts, worries or concerns.

4. If I wasn’t tired, hungry, grumpy, sad, how would I react to this same experience?

Chances are, if you still feel the need to react or lash out in a forceful way, you may be experiencing a weakened mental state brought on by being tired, hungry, grumpy, sad, etc. By asking yourself how you might react if you were well rested and clear headed, you will give yourself a few much needed seconds to slow down and cool off before reacting emotionally. Just by realising that your mental state may be compromised, you will give yourself valuable insight before overreacting to a situation.

“I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it.” – Estée Lauder

5. In a week’s time, what would your best self think about this situation?

By thinking about how your “best self” would react to a certain situation in a week’s time, you are doing two things. First, you are shifting your perspective to think about the problem through the lens of your “best self”. This means understanding that you are coming to this situation from a state that is less than perfect, and you must adjust your expectations. Second, you are distancing yourself from the situation by forcing your mind to consider what things would look like in a week’s time. By doing both of these things, you are ensuring you react in a balanced way.

The more you practice asking yourself these questions in times of stress, the better you will be at reacting to any challenges that come your way.

Are there any questions you ask yourself to frame problems or challenges differently?

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Successful People Create Wealth, Poor People Demolish It

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Some people still believe that you need to have the right conditions in life to be wealthy such as wealthy parents, attending prestigious schools, knowing elite individuals, working in high income jobs or owning your own business.

This could not be further from the truth. There are plenty of individuals who grew up with access to the ‘right conditions’ who have absolutely nothing to show for it. Likewise, there are plenty of poor people who chose to ignore and deny their dire situation and do absolutely nothing to change it.

However, there are many stories of ordinary people who became successful to prove otherwise. Every day you can read articles on Addicted2Success about entrepreneurs living on friend’s couches, surviving on a meagre income, working tirelessly for years on end to achieve their dream and persisting despite the never-ending challenges to finally come out on top like Scott Everett Co-founder of S2 Capital and Daniel Katz of No Cow.

Irrespective of where you start, those whom create wealth are the masters of their universe. They believe in themselves and their life’s mission. They consciously choose to adopt a growth mindset and are massively committed to doing everything possible to turn their dreams into reality from becoming an international pop star, a New York Times best-selling author, a famous TV personality, or building a billionaire dollar empire.

“Becoming wealthy is not a matter of how much you earn, who your parents are or what you do…it’s a matter of managing your money properly.”  – Noel Whittaker

Wealthy, successful people choose to create their wealth and are committed to managing their money effectively whilst poor people demolish their wealth at every turn by choosing instant gratification, adopting a scarcity mindset and mis-managing their money. What separates the two, comes down to three factors:

How you choose to play the game – Is your focus strategic or short-term?
Do you have a growth or fixed mindset?
Your daily spending habits – are you building or destroying your wealth?

Below, are the eight daily habits that set the wealthy apart:
1. Master of their universe

Their number one value in life is financial security over status. The wealthy understand that by building a strong foundation via small sacrifices creates a plethora of choices and ultimately freedom. Their money works for them as they refuse to live a life where they are not the Master.

2. Highly regarded

The wealthy know exactly what they want and have a game plan to get there. They believe wholeheartedly in their life’s work. They have high standards for themselves and others and expect people to adhere to those standards. They won’t back down from letting people know that they have disappointed them or offended them by their actions or conversations.

3. Self-Assured

Actively invest and build their wealth via businesses, investment portfolio and purchasing real estate. It is through education, connections and research that the wealthy are able to invest wisely. If a mistake is made, they learn from it rather than allowing it to hold them back or repeat the same mistake. They are confident in their own abilities and trust their intuition.

4. Intentional

They are committed and disciplined to each activity they engage in from gardening, investing, speaking at a conference or motivating a team. They do not tolerate others excuses such as: I am sick, I got stuck in traffic, I did not have time to resolve the situation,  I’m sorry, I forgot to call him back and so on.

5. 10X Action

They actively engage in 10x action and thrive on challenges. They will achieve more in a day  than most people do in a week. A challenge to them is excitement, it is a game to be played and a problem to be solved which is how they end up positively impacting people’s lives.

“What you choose to do with your money shows whether you are truly powerful or powerless.” – Suze Orman

6. Risk Taker

They take risks others are too afraid to such as borrowing enormous sums of money, investing in a risky business or purchasing a large piece of land to develop an empire, marketing a product that does not yet exist or taking a chance to work with an unknown professional as they realise their potential. They borrow other people’s money to invest in assets and grow their business.

7. Consistently spend less than they earn

The wealthy are experts in managing money and know where every cent of their money goes unlike the majority who fritter it away at every turn, not realising how much they are throwing away. Some may consider them to live frugally despite having millions of dollars. That is because they value and appreciate money and therefore more money flows to them, it is a constant cycle.

8. Generosity

The wealthy understand that life is a two-way street and is important to be able to give and receive. Often, they focus on a few charities that are close to their heart and give alot of their time, energy and money to support the charity. They offer support by way of attending fundraising events, giving donations, hosting events, and becoming a member of the Board.

Decide today whom you want to become and how you want to live your life. What is your dream? How many people do you want to impact? How could you build a talented team who love what they do? What inspires you to get out of bed each morning? How do you want to feel each day? How do you want to spend each day? What does an awesome weekend look and feel like? What drives you financial security or status, simply looking good to others?

The bottom line is you must take action to change your life and choose to commit to becoming a financial warrior by knowing what you want, adopting a long-term game strategy and knowing that you have the power to live an audacious life.

What habits have you adopted to achieve greatness? Comment below!

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3 Areas You Can Apply the Science of Goal Setting to Improve Its Effectiveness

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Did you know there are currently 9,996 results for goal setting on Amazon right now? Crazy, right? By now, goal setting should be something we understand. Every motivational speaker has taught us that the first step to success is setting goals. The process is almost always the same. Figure out what you want, write down your goals and get after it.

But if goal setting is that simple, why do we need almost ten thousand different ways to tell us how to do it? Isn’t there one right way? Fortunately, the world is filled with scientists who don’t really believe in positive self-talk. In fact, they are so skeptical, they performed scientific experiments to figure out whether goal setting works, and how to improve it.

Before you panic, the findings were good. It turns out, if you are setting goals, you are setting yourself up for success. However, we should be interested in that second part. How can we use science to improve the way we set goals?

It turns out there are 3 different areas we can apply the science of goal setting to improve our effectiveness:
1. Setting Intentions

What many of us class as goals are actually intentions. We would like something to happen, but never develop these ideas into fully fledged goals. To create goals, we need to come up with a more defined approach to achieving them. However, the starting point is always intentions.

Understanding how intentions are formed helps you understand why you might be deciding the goals you set for yourself. There are three elements that contribute to intentions:

1. Values – What is important to you will influence your goals. If health is important to you, setting a goal to run a marathon wouldn’t be a surprise. Winning a cheesecake eating competition might be more surprising as it is incongruent with your values. Goals aligned with our values are more likely to be followed up, especially long-term. Goals that fall short of accomplishment often just aren’t that important to us, and at the first sign of resistance, we tend to get frustrated or give up. Clarity around your values will help you identify great goals.

2. Peer Network – The people whose opinions you value will directly impact the challenges you set. If you grew up surrounded by businesspeople, you are far more likely to have them encouraging you to be entrepreneurial. You don’t have to go through with it, but sometimes, peer pressure can be extremely useful. Unfortunately, peer pressure can work in the opposite direction as well. Your friends are all broke? Every relationship in your family ended in divorce? This shouldn’t stop you setting the right goals for yourself, but maybe you also need to think about creating a more supportive peer network.

3. Self Belief – How much do you think you can earn this year? How many more clients could you attract to your business next month? Your self-belief will affect how high you aim your sights. Aim high, but believe in yourself to accomplish these dreams by conditioning and working on your self-efficacy levels. Roger Bannister first broke the 4-minute mile at a time when everyone (other than him) thought it was impossible. As soon as he broke through that glass ceiling, others started to believe too. Your beliefs about yourself will limit how high you set your goals.

“Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.” – Bo Jackson

2. Moderating Factors

Once we are clearer on our intentions, additional factors impact how successful we are with our goals. Our commitment level will determine whether we follow through when things get tough. If the goal is important, and we believe in our ability to succeed, we are more resilient and creative when our progress slows. When we start on an important path, there will be hurdles, and it is commitment that keeps us in the game.

Feedback is essential to success. Feedback isn’t always pleasant, but how we react will determine whether we are on track for our goals or falling away from our proper path. Find a way to get external feedback from people you trust, and don’t hide away from it when it gets more constructive.

Finally, ensure the goal is challenging, but not too far out of reach. Extravagant goals are great as long-term ambitions, but we need to break down goals into manageable, yet challenging action steps. If we don’t do this, we will either be overwhelmed by our bigger goals or bored by our smaller goals. Make each step of the journey equally rewarding and challenging.

“Stay focused, go after your dreams and keep moving toward your goals.” – LL Cool J

3. Follow Through Behaviour

Lastly, we will never achieve our goals unless we follow through with the action steps. If you don’t have a defined path to success, it is often easy to appear to be busy, when in reality, your efforts are not focused. Instead, think about how to concentrate your efforts, like a magnifying glass focuses the sun, and stay working hard on that one track.

One thing that reduces follow-through behaviour is lack of self-efficacy. We need to believe in ourselves. We need to know we are destined for success and it will come. For some, that journey is quicker than others, so don’t get disheartened when others around you are crushing it.

You don’t know their journey and the effort they put in behind the scenes. Focus on you. Be better than yesterday, model people, reward your smallest successes, play your favourite music on full volume, then go out and be awesome.

If you read the goal setting science papers, maybe their language is a little less colourful, but ultimately, every single one of the goal setting tips has scientific research to back it up. If you want to read it, drink some strong coffee, head over to Google Scholar and then type in ‘goal setting’. Alternatively, trust these steps, set your goals now, and make today the day you accelerate your success!

How do you use goal setting to find success? Comment below!

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