Managers Can Be True Leaders Not Just Taskmasters

A quick glance at articles comparing leaders with managers might lead to the hasty conclusion that a leader is broad minded and benevolent, capable of thinking in terms of the long term and motivating and inspiring employees. The manager role is typically described as coping with the status quo, thinking for the short term and issuing requests from the executive branch.

In my opinion, it's potentially damaging to put too much emphasis on contrasts. "Manager" refers to a position in an organization, while leadership is a quality. Experience tells me that some managers can also be excellent leaders. 

Managers are often in the most thankless positions. They must execute company objectives and are tasked with often unpopular actions like implementing cost controls or enforcing employee discipline and carrying out layoffs. Plus, in an entrepreneurial business, the manager acts as the buffer or gatekeeper between the president and owner and the rest of the organization. 

I spent a long time in managerial roles and am now privileged to run my own company, which has allowed me to see the convergence of leadership and management from a different perspective.

So, for new or mid-level managers hoping to move up into increasingly senior leadership roles, here’s what I wished I knew when I was in your position:

 

1. Hold the CEO accountable. 

Promoting accountability in the workplace does not involve the dynamics of a parent-child relationship. Yet managers are not just responsible for holding subordinates accountable. Rather, accountability should flow in all directions throughout the organization. To build and sustain a successful organization, every person in the company must hold one another accountable, including those of higher rank.

2. Be yourself.

Plenty of people will tell you how to act around your CEO or other senior leaders. The key is to always be yourself. Don’t put up a front. Be genuine and stay true to who you are. It's easy to see through a charade.  

3. Don’t sweat every last detail.

Managers sometimes don’t want to come forward until all of the data is tied down with 100 percent certainty. I would rather know the direction earlier, with less certainty, however. Don’t spend 70 percent of your time chasing down the last 5 percent, which may not even add significant value. By acting this way, you are showing an ability to make decisions in the face of uncertainty.

 

4. Avoid looking at the other guy’s wallet. 

There are times when a commissioned salesperson who is doing well could potentially outearn a key executive. Never let small thinking get in the way of how people should be compensated and certainly never cap commission plans. Create an environment that defines and rewards individual and team success. Never let anyone else’s jealousy distract you.

5. Be informed. 

Develop multiple data sources in your organization. Don’t let a culture develop where it’s politically incorrect for you or anyone else to speak with other people in the organization. To be successful, you need feedback from your frontline employees and beyond. Identify your key opinion leaders and listen to them. Make sure they feel empowered to communicate with you because I guarantee you they’re communicating with other employees and influencing perceptions.

 

6. Manage behavior.

A big part of the job is managing behavior. The minute some managers discover that this is a part of their job, they think it’s a kindergarten task. It’s not. You must ensure employee behavior is in line with your organization’s values and that your employees not only understand the company’s values but also never compromise them. As a key executive, managing behavior is one of the most important things you can do to engender a vibrant  culture and ultimately bring your company forward.

7. Put your mission and value statements into action.

The point of these documents is not to just place a poster on the wall. When it comes to your mission and value statements, you must have a plan to put them in action. Communicate them over and over again. Your employees are the ones who will breathe life into these statements, and it is your responsibility to be sure these goals and values are clearly understood. Employees will also pick up quickly on hypocrisy, when leaders post a set of values yet conduct themselves in a contrary manner. 

8. Know the 20/60/20 rule.

When your company is engaged in fundamental change, be sure you understand the 20/60/20 rule. This means 20 percent of your employees will already be on board, and 60 percent of the employees are winnable. And 20 percent will never be convinced, so don’t waste your time. Once you explain and implement the case for a change, the faster you can move forward with it. But always remember that you won’t win over everyone. 

 

9. You may be good today but what about tomorrow?

Sure, you as a manager may be in good shape now, but are you setting yourself up to succeed in the future? Keeping up with the trends, technology and what is happening in your organization and industry is essential to your company’s long-term success and growth. Develop your own personal plan and evolve and stay relevant. Don’t allow yourself to become a dinosaur.

10. Implement the three Ts.

Whether you’re dealing with a CEO or another employee, follow the three Ts: respectful treatment, transparency and trust. When these are upheld, you set yourself up for a successful relationship that has flowing communication. When any of these are violated, you risk potentially losing an employee or damaging a relationship.

More at:http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/235929

6 Things Effective Leaders Should Do to Inspire Their Teams

A leader’s job description can seem like an ever-growing list of bullet points, but the priority for CEOs, CFOs and staff managers alike is always the same: leading their team. The question is, “how?”

As a chief operating officer, my goal has been to foster excellence at my company, N2 Publishing, which is home to a range of personalities, skills and temperaments. I searched long and hard for the key to effective team management, and it is simply this: inspiration.

Employees will have challenging days. To get through them, they’ll need motivation, which leaders can supply by creating an inspirational environment, all day, every day.  

Finding ways to do this is not the easiest task, but it’s the right choice, always. Here are six basic steps to start motivating your staff: 

1. Be future thinking.

If your organization believes in promoting from within, let that be known. Scant opportunity for growth means little motivation for employees to work to their full potential. I personally sit down with every new hire at our home office within his or her first week and discuss, among other things, our promote-from-within culture.

I encourage workers to not allow where they’re at today to dictate how they think about the future. I personally have that belief in the way I look at my own life as well as how I look at an individual or a company. 

2. Share examples.

Speak of both failures and successes so your team can relate. At the annual sales conference for my company this year, I did not lead off by speaking of victories but rather of a time when I was unable to make a sale. This type of admission not only shows that I'm human, but also that my company doesn't gloss over struggles.

Share stories about people who have overcome adversity or obstacles and have succeeded. What one person can do, another can do as well.

3. Send messages designed to inspire. 

You never know whom your words will touch on any given day. So every message, no matter how short, should have an inspirational component. When speaking with employees -- whether one-on-one, in small groups or at a meeting of more than 100-plus, use the opportunity to connect and inspire. 

A word of caution, though: The ups and downs in an employee’s personal life can carry over into the office. This might impact the way an employee responds to even the most positive message.

4. Remember, good behavior is contagious. 

As leadership expert Ken Blanchard says, catch people doing something right. As a leader, when you do catch someone doing something well, praise the individual where others will hear.

Tell staff members to behave like an owner. When one employee took the time do extra research before making a decision on office furniture, it resulted in a lot of money saved. So I shared the good news with the staff. Putting the spotlight on this kind of behavior has a way of catching on and creates a positive and motivational work environment. 

5. Realize that consistency is key. 

It's impossible for employees to build a relationship with a leader who changes from day to day.  If you regularly promote positive, inspirational, motivational behavior, then that’s what you will see happening. This technique is the opposite of intimidation or manipulation, which are the lowest forms of management and leadership. Leaders must realize what they wish to promote  and stick with that message every day.

6. Just ask. 

What inspires one person might leave another cold. Make the effort to get to know your members of your team. For example, salespeople work on commissions. While many said larger paychecks motivated them, one team member found her inspiration in the things a paycheck would allow her to do (taking time off or going  to the kids’ soccer games).

So ask employees, “What’s your why?”  

You might not be able to use all of these steps in your organization, but by implementing even a few, you're telling employees you care. And that’s the best inspiration a leader can offer.

More at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/237203

5 Ways to Lead by Example at Work

As a leader of your business, you should send the right message to your employees, business partners, customers and colleagues. Your staff members and the people at your workplace are expecting that you will lead by example.

You may think that your work can speak for itself, but your professional image and everyday demeanor may not project the impression that you ultimately want.

Just as you make snap judgments every day about others, the people you come into contact with make assumptions about you based on each interaction. Use these five tips to ensure that your intentions are reflected by your actions:

1. Arrive to work early.

If you regularly show up late, your employees might assume it’s acceptable for them to do the same. In leadership, it’s important to eliminate the mentality of “Do as I say, not as I do.” Instead, exemplify the ideals and characteristics you’d like your employees to demonstrate when they come to work each day.

If you require members of your staff to arrive at a specific time, your duty as their leader is to arrive on time or earlier. The work ethic of your employees can be heavily influenced by your actions. If they see you hard at work bright and early every morning, they’re much more likely to mirror your behavior.

2. Embody your company’s brand.

Is your online image congruent with your personal brand? Set aside time to regularly update your blog, website and social-media profiles to be sure they accurately and positively reflect what your business is all about. Then make sure you and your employees continue to deliver on the promise of your company's brand.

 

3. Dress the part.

What you wear is your personalized method of nonverbally presenting yourself to the world. How you dress and carry yourself can communicate to others that you are competent, knowledgeable, conscientious and powerful, among other things.

To dress the part, make classic wardrobe choices. Invest in quality clothing, create a consistent personal style and opt for an appearance that appropriately matches your business and industry.

4. Share the credit.

An entrepreneur cannot succeed by working solo forever. Collaboration is the key to success. You will quickly lose respect with your colleagues and co-workers if you tune them out and refuse to share the spotlight with them.

When you distribute the credit and shower people with praise, you’re much more likely to inspire and motivate them to do their best. Surround yourself with people who complement your strengths not just the ones who compliment you.

5. Fine-tune your listening skills.

Entrepreneurs need to listen to learn. Strive to become a better listener. If you’re tempted to glance at your smartphone each time it pings or vibrates, turn it off or leave it in your office. Practice patience and try to not interrupt when someone is talking. Be attentive, make eye contact, nod and ask pertinent questions. Insist that your employees follow your example. After all, courtesy and good manners never go out of style. 

 

More at:http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/238171

10 Awesome Tips for Being a Better Leader

Let's be honest. Being a great leader ain't easy. As in an effective, inspiring, well-respected leader for your company. 

The good news is that we've compiled this list of awesome, actionable leadership tips that will have you running your business...like a boss -- a good one. Some are relatively basic but are important reminders. Others, well, perhaps you've never considered before.

Consider these tips when upping your leadership game:

1. Lead by example.

Leaders need to show, not just tell. If you want your employees to be punctual, make sure you’re there on time -- or even early. If professionalism is a priority, make sure you’re dressed for success, and treat everyone you interact with (both in-person and online) with courtesy. Set the tone and your employees will follow it.
 

2. A little humility goes a long way.

There’s a difference between a leader and a boss. While both are in charge, a leader shares the spotlight and is comfortable crediting others. While it might seem counterintuitive, being humble takes more confidence than basking in glory. Your employees will appreciate it, and your clients will, too.
 

3. Communicate effectively.

Effective communication is imperative, both in the office and in life. Great leaders make sure they are heard and understood, but they also know the importance of listening. Communication is a two-way street, and making the most of it will have your company zooming forward instead of pumping the breaks.

4. Keep meetings productive.

As the saying goes, time is money. So, of course, you should want to limit tangents and other time wasters during meetings. If you trust your team to do their job, there should be no need for micromanaging, and meetings can run swiftly.
 

5. Know your limits.

Even the kindest, most caring leader has limits. Set your boundaries and stick to them. Knowing what you will not tolerate can save everyone in the office a lot of frustration, and keeping boundaries clear means there’s no confusion.
 

6. Find a mentor.

No man is an island, as they say. The best leaders out there know when they need help, and they know where to turn to in order to get it. Nobody can know everything, so finding someone you trust for advice when things get tough can make all of the difference.
 

7. Be emotionally aware.

While many people advise keeping emotions separate from matters of business, business is ultimately about relationships between people. To make these relationships last, you need to be emotionally intelligent -- to be sensitive to different points of view and different backgrounds. When using your head to do what’s best for your company, don’t forget to have a heart.
 

8. Watch out for (and avoid) common pitfalls of leadership.

Everyone makes mistakes, but some of them are avoidable. Being aware of common mistakes, while not focusing on them to the point that they become self-fulfilling prophecies, can be the first step toward not repeating them.
 

9. Learn from the past.

To once again quote an adage, those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. History, recent and otherwise, is filled with examples of successful business models and spectacular business failures. Think about what the people you admire do well, and consider what went wrong for those who end their careers mired in scandal or disgrace. Lessons can be found everywhere.
 

10. Never stop improving.

Great leaders -- indeed, great people -- are constantly learning and always trying to improve themselves. There’s always something that you can work on or a new skill to master. Be sure to keep your mind open to new ideas and possibilities.

 

More at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/238747

The Ten Keys to Happier Living

Do things for others

Caring about others is fundamental to our happiness. Helping other people is not only good for them and a great thing to do, it also makes us happier and healthier too. Giving also creates stronger connections between people and helps to build a happier society for everyone. And it's not all about money - we can also give our time, ideas and energy. So if you want to feel good, do good!

Connect with people

Relationships are the most important overall contributor to happiness. People with strong and broad social relationships are happier, healthier and live longer. Close relationships with family and friends provide love, meaning, support and increase our feelings of self worth. Broader networks bring a sense of belonging. So taking action to strengthen our relationships and create new connections is essential for happiness.

Take care of your body

Our body and our mind are connected. Being active makes us happier as well as being good for our physical health. It instantly improves our mood and can even lift us out of a depression. We don't all need to run marathons - there are simple things we can all do to be more active each day. We can also boost our well-being by unplugging from technology, getting outside and making sure we get enough sleep!

Notice the world around

Ever felt there must be more to life? Well good news, there is! And it's right here in front of us. We just need to stop and take notice. Learning to be more mindful and aware can do wonders for our well-being in all areas of life - like our walk to work, the way we eat or our relationships. It helps us get in tune with our feelings and stops us dwelling on the past or worrying about the future - so we get more out of the day-to-day.

Keep learning new things

Learning affects our well-being in lots of positive ways. It exposes us to new ideas and helps us stay curious and engaged. It also gives us a sense of accomplishment and helps boost our self-confidence and resilience. There are many ways to learn new things - not just through formal qualifications. We can share a skill with friends, join a club, learn to sing, play a new sport and so much more.

Have goals to look forward to

Feeling good about the future is important for our happiness. We all need goals to motivate us and these need to be challenging enough to excite us, but also achievable. If we try to attempt the impossible this brings unnecessary stress. Choosing ambitious but realistic goals gives our lives direction and brings a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when we achieve them.

Find ways to bounce back

All of us have times of stress, loss, failure or trauma in our lives. But how we respond to these has a big impact on our well-being. We often cannot choose what happens to us, but we can choose our own attitude to what happens. In practice it's not always easy, but one of the most exciting findings from recent research is that resilience, like many other life skills, can be learned.

Take a positive approach

Positive emotions - like joy, gratitude, contentment, inspiration, and pride - are not just great at the time. Recent research shows that regularly experiencing them creates an 'upward spiral', helping to build our resources. So although we need to be realistic about life's ups and downs, it helps to focus on the good aspects of any situation - the glass half full rather than the glass half empty.

Be comfortable with who you are

No-one's perfect. But so often we compare our insides to other people's outsides. Dwelling on our flaws - what we're not rather than what we've got - makes it much harder to be happy. Learning to accept ourselves, warts and all, and being kinder to ourselves when things go wrong, increases our enjoyment of life, our resilience and our well-being. It also helps us accept others as they are.

Be part of something bigger

People who have meaning and purpose in their lives are happier, feel more in control and get more out of what they do. They also experience less stress, anxiety and depression. But where do we find 'meaning and purpose'? It might be our religious faith, being a parent or doing a job that makes a difference. The answers vary for each of us but they all involve being connected to something bigger than ourselves.

More at:http://www.actionforhappiness.org/10-keys-to-happier-living/do-things-for-others/details

6 Keys to self Motivation

 

As a renowned public speaker, author and television personality, Les Brown has risen to national prominence by delivering a high energy messages which tell people how to shake off mediocrity and live up to their greatness. Today, he shares 6 Keys To Self Motivation that will build yourself up day in and day out.

Self Mastery
You must work on yourself continuously, never be satisfied with yourself. Always know that as you invest the time and effort on YOU that’s the greatest ability that human beings have above animals. A dog can’t be anything but a dog, a tree can’t be anything but a tree.

You’ve got unlimited potential, you can put effort on you, and by concentrating on you and developing you, you can transform your life no matter where you are right now.

Stop Settling
Most people settle, What have you settled for lately? You know when you make an out of court settlement that means that you have decided to take something less than you originally wanted to get had you gone in to court and the reason that you’ve settled out side of court is because you didn’t believe that you could get it. Many of us are making an ‘In life Settlement’. We are settling for less than what we actually deserve. We don’t feel good about it but we make it work in our minds.

Develop A Health Plan
You can’t perform if you don’t have good health, your health is VALUABLE. Develop a health plan, a plan that you will follow because this is the only vehicle that you have to carry you through this experience we call life.

Live Life with Energy & Passion
You want to make a conscious effort to be lively. In life you either ‘sing hello or sing goodbye’. You are either ‘on your way or in the way’. You want to smile, you want to be happy, you’ve got a lot to be thankful for.

Monitor Your Inner Conversations
Short circuit and override that conversation that’s always going on, 85% of what that conversation will tell you is NEGATIVE. It will tell you that you’re tired when you’re really not tired, it will tell you you can’t do it, it will fill you with FEAR. So you’ve got to watch that conversation, and when you find it going on you’ve got to stand up to it and say “I’m gonna do this anyhow, I’m afraid but I’m afraid not to do it, and I’m not gonna let you stop me”. The biggest challenge in life that you will have is with you.

There is an old African Proverb that says, “When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.”

Know Why You Are Doing It
It is important to know why you are doing it, because your mind will say “Why bother?” “Why go through all of this?”, “This is too hard”.

Here’s how you can override that… Write down 5 reasons why you deserve it, why you? Why do you deserve it? What meaning and value will it bring to your life? What’s so different about you, that you deserve your goal?

When you write down those 5 reasons, when you have those down moments and you will have them, you can pull that out and read it and it will build you up. It will be your rod and your staff to comfort you through some challenging moments, because you’re gonna have some. Life will knock you between the eyes, it will catch you on the blind side and come out of nowhere, stuff you can’t anticipate. That’s why it is important for you to work on your self.

 

More at:https://www.srpl.net/6-keys-to-self-motivation/

How The Power of Focus Can Lead You To Success

 

 

“You will get what you want, when you stop making excuses on why you don’t have it.”

How do you wake up in the morning?

Do you jump out of bed and look forward to starting the day?
Do you wake up in the morning and you did not want to get out of bed, hear the alarm clock ring and you press the snooze button over and over again until you are forced to get up and go to the bathroom?
Or wake up even more tired?
With the busy life style that we lead today, most of the time human beings are operating on autopilot, seldom do we stop and ask ourselves essential questions.
In addition we are being constantly bombarded with information (breaking news, whatsapp messages, tweets, emails…) and we are reacting to the situations, that our lives are being controlled by external environment that we have forgotten simple concepts of life.

What do you think about when you wake up?

Do you think about all the things you need to do, the list is endless and you feel overwhelmed before you get out of bed.
Or
You wake up in the morning, thinking about all the challenges that you are facing in your life, think about all the critics that people have given you, even the areas where you have not succeeded. Then you feel discouraged and de-motivated.
Or
Think about what is missing in our lives not enough money, no big title (Director, CEO) after your name or you do not have a flashy car and so on.

When faced with a problem what do you do?

Spend time discussing and analyzing the problem in great depth and then defining it in unsolvable terms?
Or do you find out who is to blame?

Our thoughts

Human beings think between 50,000- 70,000 thoughts a day (mental chatter, images or movies playing in our head) 95% of these thoughts are repetitive of previous days and 80% of the habitual thoughts are negative.
In order to achieve success we need to learn how to focus these thoughts on what we want.

Story

One day the Zen master wanted to show his students a new technique of shooting an arrow. He told his students to cover his eyes with a cloth and then he shot his arrow. When he opened his eyes, he saw the target with no arrow in it and when he looked at his students, they looked embarrassed because their teacher had missed.
The Zen master asked them, “What lesson do you think I intend to teach you all today?” They answered, “We thought you would show us how to shoot at the target without looking.” The Zen master said, “No, I taught you that if you want to be successful in life, don’t forget the target. You have to keep an eye on the target, otherwise you may miss a good opportunity in life.” They looked at each other, impressed with the lesson.
The moral of the story is we need to consistently focus on what we want and we need to realize that :

• What thoughts we focus on we FEEL, therefore our thoughts have a direct effect on our emotions
• What we focus on and feel we attract in our lives. Our destiny is consistently shaped by our thoughts.

“Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” – Joshua J. Marine

Tips: How to control the FOCUS of your thoughts

When faced with a challenge or a problem spend 5% of your time discussing the problem, 95% of your time finding innovative and creative solutions. Remember “The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude to the problem”
Ensure that you do the following on a daily basis:
Learn something new on a daily basis. Learning does not end when you obtain your degree or leave university. The journey of life is a learning process, successful people converted their failures into stepping stones by learning from it and moving on. When you try something and it does not work out, do not despair, all you have to do is find a better way to do it.
Enjoy – Ensure that on a daily basis that you are able to enjoy and have fun. You have the ability to create memorable moments on a daily basis. Remember

“life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but how many moments that take our breath away”

Appreciate – As soon as we develop a sense of appreciation (gratitude), we are shifting our focus of thoughts on what we have and what we have been able to achieve.
Reflect on your life. “An unexamined life is not worth living” Socrates. Reflection allows for self assessment, checking that you are on the right track. Reflection gives you time to monitor your thoughts and actions, to check whether they are in alignment with your purpose in life.
Negative thoughts have a way of coming when you least expect it to. People spend too much time thinking about what happen to them in the past or the possibility of negative things happening to them in the future.
To get rid of these negative thoughts ask yourself one QUESTION “If this was my LAST day alive, what would I Love to do..” then go and do it.
Do not postpone living.

 More at: http://addicted2success.com/motivation/how-the-power-of-focus-can-lead-you-to-success/

4 Reasons to Stop Waiting for Permission

 

Making big changes and chasing dreams is hard work. It’s actually easier to coast through a “good enough” life. The problem is that we only get one life to live, and living a life of regret shouldn’t be YOUR option.

Too often, we think all the stars have to align before we can chase our true passion. We think that we have to be at a certain point, or that the circumstances have to be just right. We are constantly waiting for permission.

For 12 years I waited for permission to lose weight, quit a job I hated and move our family from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to our dream destination of Maui, Hawaii. The time I waited for permission sucked the life out of me.
In 2011, I realized that permission would never come, and if I wanted anything to happen, I was going to have to be the one to make it happen on my own. I had to take action.

It took three years and more of me than I thought was possible, but I lost 170 pounds, quit a terrible job, and moved our family to Maui, Hawaii. We’ve been here for 10 months and it’s far surpassed our expectations. I learned to stop waiting and start living.

We wait and wait, and those perfect circumstances never fall into place. Before we know it, life has already passed us by. We wait for approval from people who think they have our best interest at heart—we’re crushed when it never comes. We miss the amazing life that could be ours while we wait for permission.

Here are four reasons why we need to stop waiting for permission and chase dreams that too many people consider “impossible.”

 

1. We already know what it takes to achieve success

In the past, information was hard to come by—it wasn’t cost effective either. Today, the Internet and social media have made information abundant and free. No longer do we have to wait to learn what it takes to achieve our success. YouTube alone has more answers than we’ll be able to comprehend and implement.

If there’s anything you want to learn, the information is readily available. We don’t have to wait for permission or knowledge; we can research and take action. We can be the master of our destiny and create our own success.

 

2. We have amazing tools and technology

Remember how hard it was to get a book published a few years ago?

Remember when you had to send checks and money orders for payment for products and services?

Today, we can self-publish a book in minutes.

Today, we have Paypal and Stripe to take payments online instantly.

Social media and the Internet have opened doors that were previously closed by gatekeepers. We don’t have to wait. We can figure out exactly what we need to make progress from the comfort of our home.

 

 

 

 

3. We can have a solid support system

In the past, we tried to prove we could do this alone. We tried to chase big dreams and success, and pick ourselves up when things didn’t go as planned. Reaching out for help was considered a sign of weakness.

Today, we can have support in many ways and it’s considered a smart thing to do. Whether it’s family or a close friend, you can have that shoulder to cry on when things don’t go as planned.

Today, we can join or form mastermind groups that give us accountability and support with fellow dream chasers who are all over the world. We don’t have to do this all alone.

 

4. Life is too damn short

At the end of your life you’ll regret trying to play it safe. You won’t remember all the stuff you had; you’ll remember your experiences. Those experiences will be filled with amazing moments or things you regret.

When you wait for permission, you squander your most precious resource: your time.

My father died unexpectedly at 54. The two weeks before he died all he could talk about were his regrets. He’s gone now. He died too young and unable to do something about the things he regretted in his life.

It doesn’t have to take a death in your life for you to realize how quickly life goes by. You can probably remember what seemed like yesterday, but was years ago. Life is short. We only get one chance to make it count.

 

Here’s the biggest thing to understand: no one will ever give you permission. Your doubt and fear will never give you permission. If you’re going to experience success in your life, you have to step outside of your comfort zone and take action.

It’s going to be hard. It’s not going to happen overnight. It’s going to be harder than seems necessary, but your dream is possible. More than that, once you reach your success, you’ll realize the struggle was worth it.

Stop waiting to claim the life you truly deserve. The stars will never be perfectly aligned, but that’s OK. This is your journey and the bumps and bruise make it special. They teach you to appreciate what you have.

Are you waiting for permission?

 

More at:http://addicted2success.com/life/4-reasons-to-stop-waiting-for-permission

 

6 Great Lessons You Can Learn from Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt was one bad ass American politician and author. He was also the leader of the Republican Party and was elected as the 26th president of the United States of America at the age of just 43 (He is the youngest American president in history).
In 1906, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating an end to the Russo-Japanese War. His famous ideology was “speak softly and carry a big stick”.
Here are some life lessons that you can learn from several of Theodore Roosevelt’s famous quotes.

1. Make the best use of what you have. No Excuses.

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” -Theodore Roosevelt

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. This lesson is especially true for entrepreneurs. No matter what you have or where you are, always try to make the best use of your circumstances to pursue your goal. Don’t point fingers or whine if you get the short end of the stick. Utilize every resource available to you. Look around you, what resources you have? Are there any alternatives? The key here is to start immediately with everything you have.
This quote also strips away every excuse you might have for not doing something. Don’t say “I don’t have this or that, so I can’t do this or that.” That’s bull shit. If you want to do something, you can just do it with what you have or you can search for alternatives. No excuses for yourself. Never let your circumstances stop you.
For example, you don’t need to have a gym membership to get fit. You can learn which workout routines are suitable for you from Youtube and workout on your own in your own home. Going to the gym is not the only way to get fit.
“I attribute my success to this – I never gave or took any excuse.” -Florence Nightingale
You want to succeed? Then, never give any excuses. Ever. Never point fingers at anything. Never blame anything. You can’t change others, only yourself! You’re one step further away from success in your life every time you find excuses for yourself.

2. Self-Discipline is essential in our life.

 “With self-discipline most anything is possible.” -Theodore Roosevelt

Self-discipline is the ability to control ourselves to do the right things. With self-discipline you can overcome procrastination. You can get yourself to do what you should have been doing. You have a clear idea on what you should be doing.
Put it in a simple way, self-discipline is what makes you do the things that you should do, yet you aren’t willing to do. Just like waking up early in the morning to jog around the park no matter how tired you are the previous day. Your body will doubtlessly resist doing it, but with self discipline, you’re able to force yourself to stick to the plan.
Self-discipline is really important in order to succeed. Without it, we will be lazy, we will procrastinate. It’s one of the most important ingredients of success as it allows us to stick to our schedule, our plan. It allows us to focus on the goal, the end game, and that’s what going to make us succeed in the future.

3. Self-confidence is the key.

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” -Theodore Roosevelt

Believing in yourself is really important in allowing you to live your life to the fullest. Without self-confidence, you can’t succeed. Why? If even you yourself can’t believe in your own abilities, who will? How can you convince others if you can’t even convince yourself? To succeed, you must first believe that you can succeed. Do that, and you have won half of the battle!
“They succeed, because they think they can.” -Virgil
Even Virgil, Rome’s greatest poet, believed in the power of self-belief. Believe in yourself before anyone else can believe in you – that’s the key of success. You see, self-confidence plays an important role in our life. Without it, we will felt depressed whenever stuff doesn’t go our way, we lack the courage to pursue our dreams and we will give up the moment we face any hardship or obstacles.
But how do we improve our self-esteem? See the positive in the negatives, develop a positive mindset. And, don’t ever doubt your own capability. Remember, everyone is meant for something great, you just haven’t realized your potential yet!

 

4. Don’t afraid to try to succeed.

“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” -Theodore Roosevelt

Don’t be afraid to speak out whenever you have any ideas. Don’t be scared of failure. Always remember the simple fact that if you never try, you will never know what the result might be. Yes, there is a possibility that you might fail after you try, but you can rest easy knowing that at least you tried. Also, don’t give up even if you experience failure. Take it as a lesson in life. Did you know that Walt Disney got turned down 302 times before he got financing to build Disneyland?
Yes, failure is hard to accept, it has always been. But failure is also an opportunity to grow. It’s part of the path towards success. Every successful person faced failure multiple times before in their lives. Why did they finally succeed? Because they dared to try. They dared to take action to make their dreams a reality. More importantly, they dared to fail. They are never afraid of trying and taking action in their path to success.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.”  –Mark Twain
Craving for success? Take action now, don’t ever allow yourself to regret your inaction in the future.

5. When it’s time to enjoy, enjoy. When it’s time to work, work hard.

“When you play, play hard; when you work, don’t play at all.” -Theodore Roosevelt

This quote is speaks of an important lesson. When it’s time for entertainment, enjoy yourself, but when it’s time for to be serious, you got tostay away from all distractions. Pay full attention to the task at hand. FOCUS!
The front part of the quote tells us that, it’s okay to take a break from your for some entertainment and to relax. There is no sin in taking a break. You don’t need to burn yourself out. However, you have to maintain a working balance between work and entertainment. Don’t forget that you’re human too.
“Play” when necessary. But when it’s time to work, you should put 100% of your effort on it. Focus on the tasks you’re doing.  Stay away from anything that will distract you: smartphones, television, snacks, the internet & etc. Especially when you know you get distracted easily. Stay focused until you have done your job.
“The successful warrior is the average man, with laserlike focus.” –Bruce Lee
That’s how some people become successful. They focus like a laser when it comes to work. Maintain a balance between work and play in life and never overwhelm yourselves with a heavy workload.

 

6. Grab every opportunity that comes to you.

“When you are asked if you can do a job, tell ‘em, ‘Certainly I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it.” -Theodore Roosevelt

When any opportunity comes to you, grab it, even if you’re not fully prepared. Opportunities are rare and far between, so when you come across an opportunity, make sure you don’t miss it. Don’t hesitate. Don’t doubt your own ability! Seize the moment!
Like what the last part of the quote says, after grabbing the opportunity, get busy and find out how to get things done. When you accept a job, you will want to do a good job. Thus, you will definitely find out how to do it. Why am I so sure? Because when there is a will there is a way.
“Either I will find a way, or I will make one.” – Philip Sidney
If you can’t find one? Just make one.

The message Theodore is trying to send is to grab every opportunity you have in your life, even if you aren’t prepared. If you don’t seize the opportunity, you may regret in the future. Besides, do you see the positive mindset in the quote? “Certainly I can” You’ve just got to believe in yourself!

More at:http://addicted2success.com/quotes/6-great-lessons-you-can-learn-from-theodore-roosevelt/

How Successful People Stay Calm

LinkedIn Influencer, Dr. Travis Bradberry, published this post originally on LinkedIn.

The ability to manage your emotions and remain calm under pressure has a direct link to your performance. TalentSmart has conducted research with more than a million people, and we’ve found that 90 percent of top performers are skilled at managing their emotions in times of stress in order to remain calm and in control.

If you follow our newsletter, you’ve read some startling research summaries that explore the havoc stress can wreak on one’s physical and mental health (such as the Yale study, which found that prolonged stress causes degeneration in the area of the brain responsible for self-control). The tricky thing about stress (and the anxiety that comes with it) is that it’s an absolutely necessary emotion. Our brains are wired such that it’s difficult to take action until we feel at least some level of this emotional state. In fact, performance peaks under the heightened activation that comes with moderate levels of stress. As long as the stress isn’t prolonged, it’s harmless.

Research from the University of California, Berkeley, reveals an upside to experiencing moderate levels of stress. But it also reinforces how important it is to keep stress under control. The study, led by post-doctoral fellow Elizabeth Kirby, found that the onset of stress entices the brain into growing new cells responsible for improved memory. However, this effect is only seen when stress is intermittent. As soon as the stress continues beyond a few moments into a prolonged state, it suppresses the brain’s ability to develop new cells.

“I think intermittent stressful events are probably what keeps the brain more alert, and you perform better when you are alert,” Kirby says. For animals, intermittent stress is the bulk of what they experience, in the form of physical threats in their immediate environment. Long ago, this was also the case for humans. As the human brain evolved and increased in complexity, we’ve developed the ability to worry and perseverate on events, which creates frequent experiences of prolonged stress.

Besides increasing your risk of heart disease, depression, and obesity, stress decreases your cognitive performance. Fortunately, though, unless a lion is chasing you, the bulk of your stress is subjective and under your control. Top performers have well-honed coping strategies that they employ under stressful circumstances. This lowers their stress levels regardless of what’s happening in their environment, ensuring that the stress they experience is intermittent and not prolonged.

While I’ve run across numerous effective strategies that successful people employ when faced with stress, what follows are ten of the best. Some of these strategies may seem obvious, but the real challenge lies in recognizing when you need to use them and having the wherewithal to actually do so in spite of your stress.

They Appreciate What They Have

Taking time to contemplate what you’re grateful for isn’t merely the “right” thing to do. It also improves your mood, because it reduces the stress hormone cortisol by 23%. Research conducted at the University of California, Davis found that people who worked daily to cultivate an attitude of gratitude experienced improved mood, energy, and physical well-being. It’s likely that lower levels of cortisol played a major role in this.

They Avoid Asking “What If?”

“What if?” statements throw fuel on the fire of stress and worry. Things can go in a million different directions, and the more time you spend worrying about the possibilities, the less time you’ll spend focusing on taking action that will calm you down and keep your stress under control. Calm people know that asking “what if? will only take them to a place they don’t want—or need—to go.

They Stay Positive

Positive thoughts help make stress intermittent by focusing your brain’s attention onto something that is completely stress-free. You have to give your wandering brain a little help by consciously selecting something positive to think about. Any positive thought will do to refocus your attention. When things are going well, and your mood is good, this is relatively easy. When things are going poorly, and your mind is flooded with negative thoughts, this can be a challenge. In these moments, think about your day and identify one positive thing that happened, no matter how small. If you can't think of something from the current day, reflect on the previous day or even the previous week. Or perhaps you’re looking forward to an exciting event that you can focus your attention on. The point here is that you must have something positive that you're ready to shift your attention to when your thoughts turn negative.

They Disconnect

Given the importance of keeping stress intermittent, it’s easy to see how taking regular time off the grid can help keep your stress under control. When you make yourself available to your work 24/7, you expose yourself to a constant barrage of stressors. Forcing yourself offline and even—gulp!—turning off your phone gives your body a break from a constant source of stress. Studies have shown that something as simple as an email break can lower stress levels.

Technology enables constant communication and the expectation that you should be available 24/7. It is extremely difficult to enjoy a stress-free moment outside of work when an email that will change your train of thought and get you thinking (read: stressing) about work can drop onto your phone at any moment. If detaching yourself from work-related communication on weekday evenings is too big a challenge, then how about the weekend? Choose blocks of time where you cut the cord and go offline. You’ll be amazed at how refreshing these breaks are and how they reduce stress by putting a mental recharge into your weekly schedule. If you’re worried about the negative repercussions of taking this step, first try doing it at times when you’re unlikely to be contacted—maybe Sunday morning. As you grow more comfortable with it, and as your coworkers begin to accept the time you spend offline, gradually expand the amount of time you spend away from technology.

They Limit Their Caffeine Intake

Drinking caffeine triggers the release of adrenaline. Adrenaline is the source of the “fight-or-flight” response, a survival mechanism that forces you to stand up and fight or run for the hills when faced with a threat. The fight-or-flight mechanism sidesteps rational thinking in favor of a faster response. This is great when a bear is chasing you, but not so great when you’re responding to a curt email. When caffeine puts your brain and body into this hyperaroused state of stress, your emotions overrun your behavior. The stress that caffeine creates is far from intermittent, as its long half-life ensures that it takes its sweet time working its way out of your body.

They Sleep

I’ve beaten this one to death over the years and can’t say enough about the importance of sleep to increasing your emotional intelligence and managing your stress levels. When you sleep, your brain literally recharges, shuffling through the day’s memories and storing or discarding them (which causes dreams), so that you wake up alert and clear-headed. Your self-control, attention, and memory are all reduced when you don’t get enough—or the right kind—of sleep. Sleep deprivation raises stress hormone levels on its own, even without a stressor present. Stressful projects often make you feel as if you have no time to sleep, but taking the time to get a decent night’s sleep is often the one thing keeping you from getting things under control.

They Squash Negative Self-Talk

A big step in managing stress involves stopping negative self-talk in its tracks. The more you ruminate on negative thoughts, the more power you give them. Most of our negative thoughts are just that—thoughts, not facts. When you find yourself believing the negative and pessimistic things your inner voice says, it's time to stop and write them down. Literally stop what you're doing and write down what you're thinking. Once you've taken a moment to slow down the negative momentum of your thoughts, you will be more rational and clear-headed in evaluating their veracity.

You can bet that your statements aren’t true any time you use words like “never,” “worst,” “ever,” etc. If your statements still look like facts once they’re on paper, take them to a friend or colleague you trust and see if he or she agrees with you. Then the truth will surely come out. When it feels like something always or never happens, this is just your brain’s natural threat tendency inflating the perceived frequency or severity of an event. Identifying and labeling your thoughts as thoughts by separating them from the facts will help you escape the cycle of negativity and move toward a positive new outlook.

They Reframe Their Perspective

Stress and worry are fueled by our own skewed perception of events. It’s easy to think that unrealistic deadlines, unforgiving bosses, and out-of-control traffic are the reasons we’re so stressed all the time. You can’t control your circumstances, but you can control how you respond to them. So before you spend too much time dwelling on something, take a minute to put the situation in perspective. If you aren’t sure when you need to do this, try looking for clues that your anxiety may not be proportional to the stressor. If you’re thinking in broad, sweeping statements such as “Everything is going wrong” or “Nothing will work out,” then you need to reframe the situation. A great way to correct this unproductive thought pattern is to list the specific things that actually are going wrong or not working out. Most likely you will come up with just some things—not everything—and the scope of these stressors will look much more limited than it initially appeared.

They Breathe

The easiest way to make stress intermittent lies in something that you have to do everyday anyway: breathing. The practice of being in the moment with your breathing will begin to train your brain to focus solely on the task at hand and get the stress monkey off your back. When you’re feeling stressed, take a couple of minutes to focus on your breathing. Close the door, put away all other distractions, and just sit in a chair and breathe. The goal is to spend the entire time focused only on your breathing, which will prevent your mind from wandering. Think about how it feels to breathe in and out. This sounds simple, but it’s hard to do for more than a minute or two. It’s all right if you get sidetracked by another thought; this is sure to happen at the beginning, and you just need to bring your focus back to your breathing. If staying focused on your breathing proves to be a real struggle, try counting each breath in and out until you get to 20, and then start again from 1. Don’t worry if you lose count; you can always just start over.

This task may seem too easy or even a little silly, but you’ll be surprised by how calm you feel afterward and how much easier it is to let go of distracting thoughts that otherwise seem to have lodged permanently inside your brain.

They Use Their Support System

It’s tempting, yet entirely ineffective, to attempt tackling everything by yourself. To be calm and productive, you need to recognize your weaknesses and ask for help when you need it. This means tapping into your support system when a situation is challenging enough for you to feel overwhelmed. Everyone has someone at work and/or outside work who is on their team, rooting for them, and ready to help them get the best from a difficult situation. Identify these individuals in your life and make an effort to seek their insight and assistance when you need it. Something as simple as talking about your worries will provide an outlet for your anxiety and stress and supply you with a new perspective on the situation. Most of the time, other people can see a solution that you can’t because they are not as emotionally invested in the situation. Asking for help will mitigate your stress and strengthen your relationships with those you rely upon. 

More at:http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/240892

12 Ways Successful People Handle Toxic People

Toxic people defy logic. Some are blissfully unaware of the negative impact that they have on those around them, and others seem to derive satisfaction from creating chaos and pushing other people’s buttons. Either way, they create unnecessary complexity, strife, and worst of all stress.

Studies have long shown that stress can have a lasting, negative impact on the brain. Exposure to even a few days of stress compromises the effectiveness of neurons in the hippocampus—an important brain area responsible for reasoning and memory. Weeks of stress cause reversible damage to neuronal dendrites (the small “arms” that brain cells use to communicate with each other), and months of stress can permanently destroy neurons. Stress is a formidable threat to your success—when stress gets out of control, your brain and your performance suffer.

Most sources of stress at work are easy to identify. If your non-profit is working to land a grant that your organization needs to function, you’re bound to feel stress and likely know how to manage it. It’s the unexpected sources of stress that take you by surprise and harm you the most.

Recent research from the Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology at Friedrich Schiller University in Germany found that exposure to stimuli that cause strong negative emotions—the same kind of exposure you get when dealing with toxic people—caused subjects’ brains to have a massive stress response. Whether it’s negativity, cruelty, the victim syndrome, or just plain craziness, toxic people drive your brain into a stressed-out state that should be avoided at all costs.

The ability to manage your emotions and remain calm under pressure has a direct link to your performance. TalentSmart has conducted research with more than a million people, and we’ve found that 90% of top performers are skilled at managing their emotions in times of stress in order to remain calm and in control. One of their greatest gifts is the ability to neutralize toxic people. Top performers have well-honed coping strategies that they employ to keep toxic people at bay.

While I’ve run across numerous effective strategies that successful people employ when dealing with toxic people, what follows are twelve of the best. To deal with toxic people effectively, you need an approach that enables you, across the board, to control what you can and eliminate what you can’t. The important thing to remember is that you are in control of far more than you realize.

1. They Set Limits (Especially with Complainers)

Complainers and negative people are bad news because they wallow in their problems and fail to focus on solutions. They want people to join their pity party so that they can feel better about themselves. People often feel pressure to listen to complainers because they don’t want to be seen as callous or rude, but there’s a fine line between lending a sympathetic ear and getting sucked into their negative emotional spiral.

You can avoid this only by setting limits and distancing yourself when necessary. Think of it this way: if the complainer were smoking, would you sit there all afternoon inhaling the second-hand smoke? You’d distance yourself, and you should do the same with complainers. A great way to set limits is to ask complainers how they intend to fix the problem. They will either quiet down or redirect the conversation in a productive direction.

2. They Don’t Die in the Fight

Successful people know how important it is to live to fight another day, especially when your foe is a toxic individual. In conflict, unchecked emotion makes you dig your heels in and fight the kind of battle that can leave you severely damaged. When you read and respond to your emotions, you’re able to choose your battles wisely and only stand your ground when the time is right.

3. They Rise Above

Toxic people drive you crazy because their behavior is so irrational. Make no mistake about it; their behavior truly goes against reason. So why do you allow yourself to respond to them emotionally and get sucked into the mix?

The more irrational and off-base someone is, the easier it should be for you to remove yourself from their traps. Quit trying to beat them at their own game. Distance yourself from them emotionally and approach your interactions like they’re a science project (or you’re their shrink, if you prefer the analogy). You don’t need to respond to the emotional chaos—only the facts.

4. They Stay Aware of Their Emotions

Maintaining an emotional distance requires awareness. You can’t stop someone from pushing your buttons if you don’t recognize when it’s happening. Sometimes you’ll find yourself in situations where you’ll need to regroup and choose the best way forward. This is fine and you shouldn’t be afraid to buy yourself some time to do so.

Think of it this way—if a mentally unstable person approaches you on the street and tells you he’s John F. Kennedy, you’re unlikely to set him straight. When you find yourself with a coworker who is engaged in similarly derailed thinking, sometimes it’s best to just smile and nod. If you’re going to have to straighten them out, it’s better to give yourself some time to plan the best way to go about it.

5. They Establish Boundaries

This is the area where most people tend to sell themselves short. They feel like because they work or live with someone, they have no way to control the chaos. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Once you’ve found your way to Rise Above a person, you’ll begin to find their behavior more predictable and easier to understand. This will equip you to think rationally about when and where you have to put up with them and when you don’t. For example, even if you work with someone closely on a project team, that doesn’t mean that you need to have the same level of one-on-one interaction with them that you have with other team members.

You can establish a boundary, but you’ll have to do so consciously and proactively. If you let things happen naturally, you are bound to find yourself constantly embroiled in difficult conversations. If you set boundaries and decide when and where you’ll engage a difficult person, you can control much of the chaos. The only trick is to stick to your guns and keep boundaries in place when the person tries to encroach upon them, which they will.

6. They Won’t Let Anyone Limit Their Joy

When your sense of pleasure and satisfaction are derived from the opinions of other people, you are no longer the master of your own happiness. When emotionally intelligent people feel good about something that they’ve done, they won’t let anyone’s opinions or snide remarks take that away from them.

While it’s impossible to turn off your reactions to what others think of you, you don’t have to compare yourself to others, and you can always take people’s opinions with a grain of salt. That way, no matter what toxic people are thinking or doing, your self-worth comes from within. Regardless of what people think of you at any particular moment, one thing is certain—you’re never as good or bad as they say you are.

7. They Don’t Focus on Problems—Only Solutions

Where you focus your attention determines your emotional state. When you fixate on the problems you’re facing, you create and prolong negative emotions and stress. When you focus on actions to better yourself and your circumstances, you create a sense of personal efficacy that produces positive emotions and reduces stress.

When it comes to toxic people, fixating on how crazy and difficult they are gives them power over you. Quit thinking about how troubling your difficult person is, and focus instead on how you’re going to go about handling them. This makes you more effective by putting you in control, and it will reduce the amount of stress you experience when interacting with them.

8. They Don’t Forget

Emotionally intelligent people are quick to forgive, but that doesn’t mean that they forget. Forgiveness requires letting go of what’s happened so that you can move on. It doesn’t mean you’ll give a wrongdoer another chance. Successful people are unwilling to be bogged down unnecessarily by others’ mistakes, so they let them go quickly and are assertive in protecting themselves from future harm.

9. They Squash Negative Self-Talk

Sometimes you absorb the negativity of other people. There’s nothing wrong with feeling bad about how someone is treating you, but your self-talk (the thoughts you have about your feelings) can either intensify the negativity or help you move past it. Negative self-talk is unrealistic, unnecessary, and self-defeating. It sends you into a downward emotional spiral that is difficult to pull out of. You should avoid negative self-talk at all costs.

10. They Limit Their Caffeine Intake

Drinking caffeine triggers the release of adrenaline. Adrenaline is the source of the “fight-or-flight” response, a survival mechanism that forces you to stand up and fight or run for the hills when faced with a threat. The fight-or-flight mechanism sidesteps rational thinking in favor of a faster response. This is great when a bear is chasing you, but not so great when you’re surprised in the hallway by an angry coworker.

11. They Get Some Sleep

I’ve beaten this one to death over the years and can’t say enough about the importance of sleep to increasing your emotional intelligence and managing your stress levels. When you sleep, your brain literally recharges, shuffling through the day’s memories and storing or discarding them (which causes dreams), so that you wake up alert and clear-headed. Your self-control, attention, and memory are all reduced when you don’t get enough—or the right kind—of sleep. Sleep deprivation raises stress hormone levels on its own, even without a stressor present.

A good night’s sleep makes you more positive, creative, and proactive in your approach to toxic people, giving you the perspective you need to deal effectively with them.

12. They Use Their Support System

It’s tempting, yet entirely ineffective, to attempt tackling everything by yourself. To deal with toxic people, you need to recognize the weaknesses in your approach to them. This means tapping into your support system to gain perspective on a challenging person. Everyone has someone at work and/or outside work who is on their team, rooting for them, and ready to help them get the best from a difficult situation. Identify these individuals in your life and make an effort to seek their insight and assistance when you need it. Something as simple as explaining the situation can lead to a new perspective. Most of the time, other people can see a solution that you can’t because they are not as emotionally invested in the situation.

Bringing It All Together

Before you get this system to work brilliantly, you’re going to have to pass some tests. Most of the time, you will find yourself tested by touchy interactions with problem people. Thankfully, the plasticity of the brain allows it to mold and change as you practice new behaviors, even when you fail. Implementing these healthy, stress-relieving techniques for dealing with difficult people will train your brain to handle stress more effectively and decrease the likelihood of ill effects.

More at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/243913

Five ways to get heard when everyone else is shouting

 You’re nobody if you don’t have lots of Twitter followers, and unless you share every detail of your life on Facebook you might as well not pollute this planet with your presence. Right? But when everyone else is shouting about their lives, how do you get heard above the clamour?

If you’re an individual with an awesome idea who’s struggling to get noticed in our bragging culture, then why not try going back to basics? Here are five tips for getting your ideas heard above all the noise...

1. Listen rather than shout

When everyone’s shouting out loud about their achievements it can be hard to get a word in edgeways. Be the person who listens and reflects and it’ll help you get noticed. One journalist says: "I knew somebody who whenever they interviewed somebody would try to chat with them and show off about their own achievements too, forgetting that the story was about the person they were interviewing. They’d miss small details. By listening and giving the person 100% of your attention you’ll pick up the small things, for example, an emotion, or understanding where they’re coming from better."

2. Invite your hero for coffee

If there’s somebody who could help your business idea go further, or who you’d love to collaborate with in the future, then go further than liking one of their Facebook posts or retweeting something witty they said on Twitter. Why not pick up the phone and give them a ring? You’ll always develop a closer bond with somebody when you hear their voice.

Or why not go a step further and invite them out for coffee. I once plucked up the courage to invite an editor out for coffee after a stream of rejected article pitches – I wanted to ask him for constructive feedback and get on his radar. It turns out he was rejecting me because I was still an unknown writer to him, and now I had invited him out to coffee he could now put a face to my emails.

3. Network face to face

It’s easy enough joining LinkedIn and following the companies you’d like to work for. Many companies post job adverts on social media; job sites that are easy enough to fire a quick CV off to. But if you’re the one at every industry event, asking intelligent and thought provoking questions to the panel, then chances are you’ll stand out and get noticed way more than if you’re just one of thousands on LinkedIn. If there’s a company you’d like to work for, or somebody you’d like to get to know then keep your eyes peeled for events or workshops they’re running. Turn up, and make sure you look smart and presentable and you’ll stand out.

4. Solve the world’s problems rather than complaining

Some people vent their frustrations on Facebook and twitter. There’s always a problem: not enough car parking spaces, or bad cyclists. But why not make your moment by pausing before you complain and think instead about how you could solve the issue?

Cyclists causing a problem in the town centre? Then why not help campaign for better cycling lanes or start up some cycling proficiency lessons for kids? Considering how to solve the things that irritate you could help you create a business or become a community champion – both things way more worthwhile than moaning on twitter!

5. Save news for one to ones

It’s seen as sexy to work in a digital industry. Being online and having a platform to shout at the world is seen as a mark of success. Those who work hard and get on with life . Jenny is a teacher: "I don’t have Twitter and I don’t even have Facebook because I don’t want my kids to keep tabs on my life. This means I don’t tell the world about my successes and promotions all the time, so when I meet up with friends face to face they’re always really surprised that I’m doing so well.

"I think they underestimate me, but in reality, it’s just because I don’t shout about my successes to the world. I’ve just become the youngest head of a department that my school has ever had, and yet nobody knows until I tell them face to face and then I can experience the pleasure and joy from my friend’s and family. I thought I would hate going offline, but I can honestly say it’s enriched my life.”

More at: http://www.virgin.com/entrepreneur/five-ways-to-get-heard-when-everyone-else-is-shouting