Heed the advice of those who have reaped
success. Here are six skills used by self-made millionaires that you
should be using and building upon each day.
1. Be able to identify fruitful opportunities.
Carlos Slim Helu, Mexican business
magnate and philanthropist, said, “When there is a crisis, that’s when
some are interested in getting out, and that’s when we are interested in
getting in.”
Learn to identify open doors when they
appear, then consider the risks and weigh them against potential
benefits. An opportunity can be a great one regardless of whether no one
or everyone is rushing to grab it — if no one is, that’s your cue to
move forward; if everyone is, that’s your chance to prove you’re better
than the rest.
2. Focus on actions over words.
“Actions speak louder than words,”
supposedly, and the late Andrew Carnegie agreed. As his career grew, he
said, “As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just
watch what they do.”
Understand that a shining business plan
or investment presentation means little when you don’t demonstrate the
ability to carry out your ideas well. Customers and clients want to see
flawless application of your company’s core values and mission
statement. Keep this formula in mind when seeking out employees, as
well. A perfect resume doesn’t necessarily constitute a perfect
employee, if that person can’t properly act on his qualifications and
intentions.
3. Maintain a clear vision of success.
“Vision is perhaps our greatest
strength… it has kept us alive to the power and continuity of thought
through the centuries, it makes us peer into the future and lends shape
to the unknown.”
Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka-Shing,
the richest person in all of Asia, believes in vision as a motivational
tool for success. What does success look like to you? If your answer is
just “a lot of money,” this may not be the article for you.
Many people envision success as finally
seeing their product on store shelves, making up for initial overhead
costs, gaining a certain following or changing the community in which
they live. In order to stay on track toward fulfilling your goals, it’s
important to maintain a clear vision of what that goal is — and what
things will look like once it’s achieved.
4. Never stop learning.
Entrepreneurs who don’t acknowledge the
need to constantly learn new things are denying themselves and their
businesses the chance to grow. Even once you achieve some degree of
success, understand that those around you (even those who are less
successful) know something you don’t.
Listen to what others have to say about
their experiences. Learn from their achievements and their mistakes. If
you don’t want to base your development on other people, try taking a
step back and exploring the areas of entrepreneurship you can still
improve upon. Elon Musk, founder of PayPal, SpaceX and Tesla Motors,
says “that’s the single best piece of advice — constantly think about
how you could be doing things better and questioning yourself.”
5. Get the job done.
This one sounds simple, but you’re
likely procrastinating without even knowing it. Those who spend an
immense amount of time marketing a business before there’s even a
business to advertise are putting off actually building a brand. The
same goes for those who spend time attempting to perform Web or graphic
design themselves, obsessively organize finances and legal paperwork,
and so on.
Even as an entrepreneur, you can’t wear
every hat, and it’s often smart to assign tasks that aren’t immediately
related to building your business to someone else. Don’t be afraid to
ask for help from a small team of employees or some remote freelancers
if it means you’ll be able to turn your company into everything you
dreamed.
“Getting the job done has been the basis
for the success my company has achieved,” said Michael Bloomberg,
entrepreneur, investor and former mayor of New York City.
6. Only hire rock stars.
You can’t exemplify greatness if the
people who make up your company aren’t great, too. My brother Matthew
and I have always made a point of carefully selecting those we hire on
to our teams, even if it takes a little extra time. We like people with a
heavy determination to GSD (Get Stuff Done).
As we have such grand expectations for
our employees, we always make sure to treat them as more than just that.
Matthew and I strive to take care of them as we would with family.
Matthew and I also allow our employees the flexibility to work from
anywhere and provide bonuses from time to time to thank them for their
trustworthiness and flexible capability. The extra appreciation
certainly goes a long way in enhancing work ethic and promoting remote
teamwork.
By Adam Toren
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