The Lies of Hustle by Jennifer Janechek

Photo by Garrhet Sampson on Unsplash

“You’re not enough. You don’t have enough. You don’t do enough.” 

These are the accusations that are at the root of hustle—an impulse that has been glitzed and glammed up and marketed to us in the guise of “having it all.” “You can have it all,” hustle tells us, “IF you just work hard enough…do enough…be enough.” So we buy the “Rise and grind” mugs, fill our planners with endless tasks and goals, and work ourselves into a state of complete depletion, personally and professionally. The problem with this isn’t the motive to achieve great things—it’s that hustle is rooted in a scarcity mindset, it manifests in anxious energy, and it leads to burnout, failed businesses, and strained relationships. 

This is the subject of Kristen Boss’s groundbreaking new book, Pivot to Purpose: Leaving the Toxic Hustle Culture Behind. A sales and marketing expert for the modern social seller, Boss has helped countless entrepreneurs whose lives and businesses have been shortchanged by the lies of hustle culture. In Pivot to Purpose, she offers a program for finally “detoxing” from the hustle—which is addictive and hard to give up—and learning to work from a place of purpose. 

The following are two brief excerpts from Boss’s book that I found particularly powerful: 

We were sold a lie that “there” is better than “here.” The belief that your life becomes fixed, whole, and happy—that YOU become fixed, whole, and happy—on the other side of the next goal. The belief that all your worries will finally go away. The belief that “happiness is behind the next thing.” We have fallen more in love with our vision boards than the life we have now. 

*** 

And there is a real fear in choosing to love the “now” of our life. Sometimes we fear that if we love the life we have now, we will no longer have the motivation to create the life we want. But the reality is, that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

Are you constantly pushing yourself to be more, do more, have more? Is this impulse deriving from a lack of belief in your own value and in the abundance that is already yours right now? Pick up a copy of Boss’s book and learn how to loosen the grip of hustle on your life so that you can build the life and business of your dreams—one rooted in balance, self-love, and purpose. 

Kristen Boss is a sales and marketing expert and host of the chart-topping podcast Purposeful Social Selling. Kristen teaches powerful, relevant marketing strategies to the entrepreneur who desires to leave the hustle mentality behind and work with purpose, authenticity, and service, while making the income they want. Get your copy of Pivot to Purpose: Leaving the Toxic Hustle Culture Behind wherever books are sold.

4 Reasons Why People Don’t Set Goals, According to Zig Ziglar by Jennifer Janechek

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

According to Zig Ziglar, “97 percent of the people in our society do not have a clearly defined, written-down set of goals for their lives.” We all know goal getting can be difficult, but why is goal setting so hard for the majority of the population? In Goals Planning and Action Guide: How to Get the Most Out of Your Life, Ziglar gives four reasons:  

1. Fear 

2. Poor self-image 

3. No buy-in 

4. Don’t know how 

Ziglar delves into each of these hindrances to success. Let’s review what they are so we can prevent them from limiting our achievement. 

Fear 

Ziglar explains that we have been conditioned to doubt our ability to accomplish what we set our mind to. As children, we are constantly told “no” and “you can’t do that.” We internalize that attitude, and our inner monologue becomes dominated by negativity. Our concerns seem real and valid, and they cement into fears—what Ziglar defines as “False Evidence Appearing Real.” This false evidence prevents many individuals from setting goals for themselves. 

Poor Self-Image 

The second hindrance to goal setting, poor self-image, is related to the first, as both derive from negative self-talk. People don’t set goals because they can’t envision themselves accomplishing anything great. They have a negative idea of themselves in their mind, and they simply cannot imagine themselves as a college graduate, a desirable romantic partner, a homeowner, a successful entrepreneur, etc. A good self-image is a major requisite for success; as Ziglar notes, no amount of positive thinking will prevail over a self-image that is inherently negative, for “we perform in accordance with the image or the picture we have planted in our minds.”  

No Buy-In 

The third reason that people don’t set goals is that they don’t recognize the importance of them. And even when people have a hazy idea of what they are aiming for, they don’t take the time to write down their goals and monitor their progress toward them. But if you don’t write down your goals—if you aren’t completely clear on what you should be doing when you are at home, at work, in the gym, etc.—you will waste precious time and focus. Without goals that are established in writing, people will use their work time to worry about their family time, their family time to worry about their work tasks—they’ll lose the purpose and efficiency that come from knowing exactly what you should be doing and when you should be doing it.  

Don’t Know How 

The fourth and final reason that people avoid goal setting is that they don’t know how to go about doing it. Yes, the process of goal setting can be very time consuming. Ziglar notes that to really assess and establish productive goals, it can take between ten and twenty hours the first time you go about it. But once you learn how to set one goal, it becomes second nature—regardless of the type of goal. There is a formula for goal setting, and you can learn it—with all the action activities and reflection prompts to get you square on the path to achievement—with Ziglar’s Goals Planning and Action Guide, now available from Sound Wisdom.  

The late Zig Ziglar was a motivational speaker, teacher and trainer who traveled the world over delivering his messages of humor, hope, and encouragement. As a world-renowned author and speaker, Zig had an appeal that transcended barriers of age, culture and occupation. From 1970 until 2010, he traveled over five million miles across the world delivering powerful life improvement messages, cultivating the energy of change. Recognized by his peers as the quintessential motivational genius of our times, Zig Ziglar’s unique delivery style and powerful messages earned him many honors, and today he is still considered one of the most versatile authorities on the science of human potential. Goals Planning and Action Guide, the perfect in-depth workbook to deepen your understanding and application of Goals: How to Get the Most Out of Your Life, is now available from Sound Wisdom.

How to Build a More Inclusive Workplace by Jennifer Janechek

Photo by New York World-Telegram and the Sun staff photographer Dick DeMarsico

Martin Luther King, Jr. reminds us that the American dream is possible only insofar as every human being has an equal opportunity to find meaningful work. In his lesser-known speech to the Fourth Constitutional Convention of the AFL-CIO, given in December 1961, King says: 

I look forward confidently to the day when all who work for a living will be one, with no thought to their separateness as Negroes, Jews, Italians, or any other distinctions. This will be the day when we bring into realization the American Dream—a dream yet unfulfilled. A dream of equality of opportunity, of privilege and property widely distributed…. The dream of a country where every man will respect the dignity and worth of human personality—that is the dream. 

While many companies today tout diversity as a hiring value, not all organizations support their diversity efforts by cultivating an inclusive workplace. Below are six important strategies for creating a more positive, equitable experience for employees. 

1. Make inclusivity a core value. 
   Incorporate inclusivity into your organization’s core values. As Sam Silverstein writes in The Accountability Circle, “Your Values embody your principles and your standards of behavior.… Values determine how we see, connect to, and treat other people. They are the foundation for the relationships we build with the people in our world.” Inclusivity should be your standard of behavior—your “House Rules” that apply everywhere, at all times. By integrating inclusivity into your organization’s core values, you ensure that all team members understand that equity, accessibility, and mutual respect must characterize all interactions—for employees, clients, and everyone in between. 

2. Create safe spaces. 
   Offer clear venues for expressing concerns, wants, and needs without fear of retaliation or discrimination. Designate certain areas of the office for personal needs (e.g., lactation rooms).   

3. Practice inclusive communication. 
   Avoid ableist, sexist, racist, and otherwise discriminatory language; off-color jokes; and identity-based stereotypes. Create opportunities for people to share their identification preferences. Send content in an accessible manner as a rule, not just for those who request it. 

4. Amplify underrepresented voices. 
   Ensure that underrepresented groups are not marginalized within your organization by giving them the platform to share their ideas and never speaking on their behalf. Amplify these voices by listening attentively, confirming and reiterating the points made, and creating opportunities for follow-up.  

5. Invite regular feedback. 
   Provide different forums for employees to share feedback on their experience within the organization. Ideally, there should be one-on-one, small-group, and anonymous (digital) feedback mechanisms. Welcoming and fostering dialogue about team members’ experiences will help strengthen the organizational culture and ensure that everyone feels valued and able to contribute equally. 

6. Encourage education in DEI.  
   Prioritize training in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Host diversity training workshops. Organize employee study groups around DEI-focused books, such as Jess Pettitt’s Good Enough Now. When you provide concrete means for employees to educate themselves in diversity and inclusion, you will shift the culture of your entire organization in powerful ways. 

Jennifer Janechek is the director of content strategy for Sound Wisdom and the founder of Work–Home–Life, an online magazine and virtual community for remote and hybrid workers, freelancers, digital nomads, and entrepreneurs with home offices. She is also the host of The Sound Wisdom Podcast, which you can watch on the Sound Wisdom YouTube channel or listen to on Anchor or wherever you listen to podcasts! 

Resolve to Read Every Day in 2021 by Jennifer Janechek

Photo by Fabiola Peñalba for Unsplash

Approximately 1 in 4 adults (27%) made it all the way through 2020 without reading a single book—audiobooks included. To be fair, the year came with unprecedented difficulties. But the benefits of reading are too important to be ignored. Consider the following research-backed perks of reading and make a plan to incorporate reading into your daily routine in 2021. 

1. Better Brain Functioning  
   Reading strengthens the synapses in your brain, enabling you to think more coherently and more efficiently. It also forms new cognitive pathways, which improves your memory and aids in self-regulation. 

2. Stronger Critical-Thinking Skills 
   According to Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa in their book Academically Adrift, 75 percent of employers claim that the students they hire out of high school or college lack essential critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Reading and critical thinking are essentially synonymous. As Florida State University Professor of English Robin Goodman says, “Reading is critical thinking and critical thinking is reading.” Even reading for comprehension forces you to evaluate others’ ideas. As you conceptualize, analyze, and assess the information presented in a book, you become more adept at big-picture thinking and think more deeply about the world in which you live. Reading is so integral to building critical-thinking skills that U.S. News & World Report advises adolescents to partake in book clubs prior to entering college. 

3. Enhanced Focus 
   Ever find yourself struggling to concentrate? The pressure to multitask, combined with the cognitive demands of living in a hypermediated world, has chipped away at our ability to focus. Reading for 15–20 minutes a day draws you into the world of the book, focusing all of your attention on the story or concept being presented. The benefits don’t disappear after you close the book, either. Research has shown that those who read in the morning enjoy enhanced focus (and thus improved productivity) during their workday as well. 

4. Expanded Vocabulary 
   People who read regularly boast a better vocabulary than those who don’t. Think a bigger vocabulary doesn’t matter? Think again. Vocabulary size impacts various life experiences, from standardized test performance to job opportunities. Beyond signifying intelligence, an expanded vocabulary improves your ability to communicate—to find just the right word for a given situation (as well as to know which words to avoid). Reading provides contextual understanding of words for which other forms of language acquisition don’t provide. 

5. Opportunity for Self-Discovery 
   Reading forces you to encounter your true self in a way that no other activity does. When you read, you hear your inner voice process the text as well as the thoughts that emerge from it. You have the time and space to explore your interiority and wrestle with questions that promote personal growth.  

6. Increased Empathy and Appreciation for Diversity 
   Encountering the ideas of others—openly, without judgment—increases your empathy, or your ability not only to understand intellectually what someone else’s experience and perspective might be like (that’s sympathy), but to understand and appreciate it on an emotional level. Reading fiction places you in the shoes of all different types of characters, and reading nonfiction exposes you to ideas and lived experiences that you might not have otherwise considered. The more you read, the more you gain an appreciation for diversity in all its forms. 

7. Reduced Stress and Improved Mental Health 
   Research has shown that reading for 30 minutes “lower[s] blood pressure, heart rate, and feelings of psychological distress.” Another study claims that reading could reduce stress by up to 68 percent. Reading can also combat depression by fostering connection—yes, even with imaginary worlds and characters. As you escape from your own world (while reading fiction) or imagine yourself in conversation with others (as through nonfiction), you feel less isolated. Moreover, you can discover others whose experiences might resonate with your own and, with the case of personal development books, learn strategies for growth in areas with which you might struggle.  

8. Better Sleep 
   According to the Mayo Clinic, reading helps you establish a relaxed state that can make sleep easier to come by. Note that for those struggling with sleep, print books might be preferable to screen reading because the light from electronic devices can disrupt the body’s preparation for sleep. 

9. Prolonged Life Expectancy 
   Reading keeps you mentally stimulated, which can ward off age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Moreover, a study published in Innovation in Aging indicated the presence of other physical benefits as well. According to this study, those who read books live about 2 years longer than non-book readers, and those who read for more than 3.5 hours every week have a 23 percent chance of outliving those who do not read. 

All of these benefits are not tied to specific genres of books; each has its own value, so it’s important to incorporate fiction and nonfiction alike into your reading plan. Check out Sound Wisdom’s full list of titles to motivate your personal growth through reading in 2021, and be sure to sign up to receive exclusive offers and notifications about upcoming publications. 

Jennifer Janechek is the director of content strategy for Sound Wisdom and the founder of Work–Home–Life, an online magazine and virtual community for remote and hybrid workers, freelancers, digital nomads, and entrepreneurs with home offices. She is also the host of The Sound Wisdom Podcast, which you can watch on the Sound Wisdom YouTube channel or listen to on Anchor or wherever you listen to podcasts!

How to Get the Exact Position You Desire by Jennifer Janechek

Photo by Hunters Race on Unsplash

Seven steps to your dream job

In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill informs readers that “your achievement can be no greater than your plans are sound.” The sixth “step to riches,” then, is organized planning. In order to attain your life purpose—or what Hill terms your “definite major purpose”—you must create and implement plans characterized by definiteness. 

A new publication by Sound Wisdom and the Napoleon Hill Foundation, Think and Grow Rich in Ten Minutes a Day, distills Hill’s success philosophy so that the busy modern reader can quickly and effectively study and put into practice the greatest personal development program of all time. One of the many insights covered in this book is how to create plans to obtain the exact position you desire. Hill’s seven steps are as follows:  

1. Determine the exact job you want. If it doesn’t exist, create the position yourself. 

2. Select the company or individual for which/whom you intend to work. 

3. Research this company or individual extensively.

4. Analyze your talents and capabilities to determine what exactly you can offer this company or individual. 

5. Do not worry about whether there is a current job posting or position available; focus on the value you can add. 

6. Write—or hire someone to write—a cover letter that explains in detail your plan for providing the company/individual with specific benefits through your services. 

7. Identify the proper person with authority to whom you can send your letter (and résumé). 

As Hill’s advice intimates, many individuals focus more on themselves in their cover letter and interview than on the company. Instead, you should frame your skills and experience in terms of the value they bring to the organization to which you’re applying. That’s where your research will come in handy. Explain not only how you possess the competencies identified on the job ad but also how your values align with those of the company. And be as specific as possible: the more concrete examples you can give for how you plan to add value, the better. 

Hill firmly believed in the importance of choosing a job purposefully rather than “falling into” the first one that offers you a paycheck. Even if necessity drives you into a position that is not your desired one, you can approach it as an opportunity to build your résumé and skills while searching for another—using the seven steps above—with definiteness.  

For more concise, easy-to-implement success principles from the most well-known achievement philosophy of all time, order your copy of Think and Grow Rich in Ten Minutes a Day, available on November 17, 2020, from Amazon, Audible, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Porchlight Books, Apple Books, Google Play, and other fine retailers. For the latest from the Napoleon Hill Collection, including free book and audiobook samples, visit this webpage.

The Importance of a Good Morning Routine by Jennifer Janechek

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash 

When COVID hit and the schools moved online, I found myself trying to homeschool my then-four-year-old while working from home. This was difficult on its own, but the emotional weight of navigating my own fears and anxieties while managing my children’s concerns, while taking care of a home, while preparing nutritive meals, while performing well at my job, while trying to find time for self-care, while trying to locate Lysol wipes, paper towels, burrito shells, and English muffins (the items that disappeared from the shelves were often quite random)—the list goes on—often felt debilitating. Speaking with other working parents, I recognize that my experience was not unique. Stresses about the economy, our children’s well-being, and our productivity colored every day, making it difficult to manage everything on our plate. People without children struggled too. The level of overwhelm and uncertainty was intense.  

In an effort to frontload my work, I stopped using my morning time—my time alone before everyone else in the house gets up—for self-care out and started trying to pack in more work time. When I experienced burnout, I began wasting the first portion of my morning scrolling Instagram, consuming panic-inducing media, and “browser window shopping.” My mornings unraveled: soon there was very little “routine” in my routine. Everything felt like a haze, and I was drained by the time I began my workday in earnest. I knew I needed to take back control, and it had to start with the way I used my mornings.  

The key to a successful, energizing day is a good morning routine. Not only does it set the tone for the entire day, but it creates physical and cognitive changes that ripple outward, giving you positive momentum. Below are some tips for setting yourself up for success with a life-giving morning routine: 

1. Exercise first thing in the morning.* 
   I used to exercise midday because it forced me to break up prolonged periods of sitting with some physical activity. However, for me, the risk that I would talk myself out of my workout exponentially increased over the course of the day. The benefits of working out in the morning are also hard to ignore. According to Healthline, “A 2019 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that morning exercise improves attention, visual learning, and decision-making.” Morning workouts also boost energy, strengthen focus, improve mood, support metabolic health, and enhance sleep quality. Bonus: if you work out immediately after waking up, your body (and mind) won’t know what you’re doing until it’s too late to talk yourself out of it. 
   * Always consult your doctor before starting or modifying an exercise routine. 

2. Write down your daily goals—but make them doable. 
   While you drink your morning coffee (or other beverage of choice), either before or after your workout, write down the action items you will accomplish that day. Don’t make the list overwhelming or unreasonable; list only the items you can realistically cross off. You might have a second list with all your tasks from which you draw to create your daily to-do list. But by writing down you goals for that day at the beginning of the morning, you will have a clear sense of purpose and direction that will focus your activities. Without this list, it becomes too easy to slip into non-priority items or to find yourself off-track and on social media. (Also, the feeling of joy that comes from crossing off to-do list items is almost as good as exercise-induced endorphins, amiright?) 

3. Limit caffeine and boost your water intake. 
   Caffeine can be a lifeline for the sleep-deprived, but it can also have the reverse effect: it can make you feel simultaneously lethargic and anxious. This is because the overconsumption of caffeine can actually cause fatigue at the same time that it stimulates your fight-or-flight response. According to Healthline, “If you stick to 400 mg of caffeine per day or less and go easy on the added sugar, you should reap the benefits of caffeine and avoid its drawbacks.” I found this to be true: my first cup of coffee revved me up, but a second cup actually brought me down (mood and energy levels). While I felt fatigue, I was on edge and experienced stronger emotions than I did when I had only one cup. An associated issue is that caffeine can cause dehydration, which also impacts energy levels and mood. Swapping that second cup of coffee with a big glass of water will ensure you feel better energized to tackle your day. 

4. Avoid toxic media. 
   Don’t read the news, scroll your social media feeds, or check your e-mail until you’ve completed your morning routine. It’s too easy to get sucked into the negativity and attention-demanding requests that threaten to derail your morning. Give yourself the space to gather your thoughts, take care of your health, and mindfully prepare for the day without allowing the toxicity that is out there to infiltrate your bubble and augment fear and stress. Mindfulness expert and celebrity hypnotist Ricky Kalmon offers a number of mindfulness audio guides through his app, and you can get access to an exclusive audio program within the app for free with your purchase of his new book, Leverage Your Mindset: Overcome Limiting Beliefs and Amplify Your Life! (His book also works incredibly well as a morning mentality primer, as principle #5 below recommends: Kalmon’s Leverage Your Mindset program helps you recalibrate your mindset and update it with constructive thoughts in only 10–15 minutes per day.) If you stick to your morning routine, you will be better able to combat the negativity that comes at you later on—and better equipped to sort through the problems thrown at you and discern which actually require your time and emotional investment.  

5. Read for personal growth. 
   Carve out 20 minutes to read a chapter of a book that will inspire personal growth and motivate you to achieve your goals—yes, goals!—even in the year we shall not name. It is possible to shift from surviving to thriving. One chapter a day—that’s all it takes to get your mind right, focused on gratitude, positivity, and the success that’s in store for you. Sound Wisdom has got you covered on this front. Check out our full list of publications for content that will inspire business development, transformative leadership, well-being, and peak performance. And be sure to subscribe to the Sound Wisdom Blog for weekly motivation delivered straight to your inbox! 

Commit to a morning routine that combines these elements, and you’ll start your day feeling excited and more in control—of your outcomes and your emotions.  

Jennifer Janechek is the director of content strategy for Sound Wisdom and the founder of Work–Home–Life, an online magazine and virtual community for remote and hybrid workers, freelancers, digital nomads, and entrepreneurs with home offices. She is also the host of The Sound Wisdom Podcast, which you can watch on the Sound Wisdom YouTube channel or listen to on Anchor or wherever you listen to podcasts!

The Jack-of-All-Trades by Jennifer Janechek

Trying to “do it all” is a form of procrastination that will delay your success. 

Perhaps one of the greatest obstacles to success is the human tendency to juggle too many tasks at once. So often we pride ourselves on our ability to multitask and “do it all.” However, what we neglect to realize is that in “doing it all,” we are really doing nothing substantive. We are merely treading water—distributing effort across a multitude of tasks, expending energy just to stay afloat. If we pause for a moment to consider the reality of our situation, we discover that we have not, in actuality, moved forward. We have made no progress; and yet, we are completely exhausted from wasting our energy on divergent aims. 

We are all familiar with the ills of procrastination on a small scale. We know it is counterproductive to whittle away our time by mindlessly scrolling social media apps, daydreaming, watching television, and engaging in other activities that prevent us from making progress on our goals (though our awareness of this often doesn’t translate into action). But we are less familiar with this other form of procrastination, which might be considered more pernicious because it does not at first glance appear to be a method of wasting time; on the contrary, it clothes itself in the guise of productivity. Trying to do too many things at once—to be good at everything—makes us appear successful by virtue of our busyness: we juggle so much; surely, we must be getting somewhere! And yet, what of value are we accomplishing? In reality, we are delaying our success by wasting time and energy on efforts that do not support our primary goal—what Napoleon Hill called our “definite chief aim” or “definite major purpose.” 

Hill recognized how detrimental our inability to align our efforts with a definite chief aim is to our potential for success. After all, one of the thirty major causes of failure he identifies in Think and Grow Rich is attempting to be successful at too many different pursuits. As he writes, “The ‘jack-of-all-trades’ seldom is good at any. Concentrate your efforts on one DEFINITE CHIEF AIM.” In Napoleon Hill’s Power of Positive Action, we likewise are instructed to “direct our limited energies to what we want to achieve and not dissipate them on things of no consequence.… By focusing on what we want to achieve or do that will create a lasting impact, we are directing our energies to what is truly important to us.” 

How much more could we achieve if we evaluated all our commitments and weeded out those that are not moving us toward our definite chief aim? Of course, sometimes we must perform a role or task that is not directly related to our definite chief aim if it is necessary to the maintenance of health or security, e.g., working a job unrelated to our desired profession in order to support our family. However, even this should be reframed as supporting our progress because it is a means of ensuring that our basic needs are met. I am talking more about our tendency to overcommit ourselves, taking on roles and activities that do not align with our desired outcome. For example: Do you really need to volunteer for that board position? Does this freelancing opportunity support your professional goals or take away time that could be used for deepening your knowledge and skill set in the area you most want to pursue? Which “side hustle” could drive your success if you pursued it wholeheartedly, and which ones are serving as distractions from your chief desire? 

Hill explains in Napoleon Hill’s Gold Standard that “the man who controls his own mind may control everything else that gets in his way.” And as he acknowledges, no form of controlled attention is more important than that which is directed toward one’s definite major purpose. 

So today, take inventory of your commitments—everything that requires your time, energy, or attention. How do these tasks, roles, and responsibilities align with your definite chief aim? 

If they do not, or if you are unsure, the first step is to clearly define your definite chief aim. Without a thoroughly defined goal, you will continue to waste energy on pursuits that lack direction. In his speech “What I Learned from Analyzing Ten Thousand People,” transcribed and printed in Napoleon Hill’s Greatest Speeches, Hill recommends the following: 

Make a practice of concentrating upon matters pertaining to a single interest, and you will become absorbed in it as an ideal. You will acquire a standard by which to appraise the value to you of the facts of your life. 

Make a practice of concentrating upon a single interest, and you will acquire a constant and completely “possessing” and automatic inhibitory power. You will without thinking refrain from many useless activities. You will refrain from indulgence in pleasures and recreations that would interfere with the accomplishment of your main purpose. 

Clarify your definite major purpose, and begin today to consistently envision the realization of it so that all your thought processes align with your desired outcome. By doing so, you will be better equipped to discern which activities will bring you closer to your chief desire and which will only distract you from it, and you will be able to eliminate from your life those unnecessary commitments that drain your time, energy, and attention. Imagine what you will be able to accomplish when you have renewed these resources and redirected them toward a single interest!  

In his or her versatility and constant occupation, the jack-of-all-trades might appear to be successful, but it is better to be great at one thing than to be mediocre at many things. Do not limit your success by merely “keeping busy.” Invest all your actions with purpose, and you will be amazed at the momentum you gain toward attaining what you desire most in life. 

Jennifer Janechek is the director of content strategy for Sound Wisdom and the founder of Work–Home–Life, an online magazine and virtual community for remote and hybrid workers, freelancers, digital nomads, and entrepreneurs with home offices. 

For the latest from the Napoleon Hill Collection, including free book and audiobook samples, visit this webpage. The latest in this collection is Think and Grow Rich in Ten Minutes a Day, which is available for preorder from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Porchlight Books, and other fine retailers. This succinct, engaging summary extracts the key principles, instructions, and stories from Hill’s original, unedited masterpiece and provides updated, relevant examples—in modernized, easily accessible language—so that all readers, regardless of how busy they are, can benefit from the timeless wisdom found in Hill’s book. Action items added to the original text will help readers expertly apply each chapter’s lessons. This title will be released by Sound Wisdom on November 17, 2020. 

Are You “All in” on Your Life? by Jennifer Janechek

Stop setting a reserve on your life and start making progress toward your dreams. 

Photo by Christina Morillo from StockSnap 

This article originally appeared in Thrive Global. 

In her new book No Reserve: Take Ownership and Live YOUR Life without Limitations, celebrity “auctiontainer” Letitia Frye presents an extended metaphor comparing life to an auction. Many of us, she explains, establish conditions that are necessary for us to act on our dreams. Or in auctionspeak, we set a “reserve”—or a minimum bid—on our life. We wait to start living our legacies because we think we aren’t or don’t have enough: enough resources, enough connections, enough time, etc. As she writes, “Life is like an auction: you get your best returns if you don’t set a reserve on it. Anyone who wants to live a meaningful, fulfilling, invigorating life that makes an impression on the world must learn to live their life with no reserve.” 

What does it mean to live with “no reserve”? According to Frye, it means that we must go “all in” on our life and our dreams. It means that we have to take risks. It means that we have to give before we receive—without the expectation of a return—and that we have to build our network with an attempt to enrich our lives with multiple perspectives rather than align ourselves only with experts. In essence, it means that we have to discover for ourselves that we are our own greatest mentors and source of strength; we are, as Jason Hewlett’s The Promise to The One reminds us, The One whose Signature Moves can creative massive change—if we commit to sharing our gifts with the world. 

Are you sitting in the back seat of your own life, missing valuable opportunities for growth and progress because you doubt your capabilities or fear the consequences of fully committing to your dreams? Below are three principles that will help you take the reserve off your life so that you can experience unlimited potential for success and enrichment: 

1. Eliminate Project Noise 
   Sometimes we assume that our busyness is an indicator that we are working diligently to achieve our primary goal, but it can be quite the opposite: we might be undercutting ourselves by wasting time on activities that are not directly supporting our success. If we are “all in” on our lives, we have identified our definite chief aim and are ensuring that all our efforts are directed toward that one goal. To determine whether you are unknowingly holding yourself back in this way, write a list of all your responsibilities and activities—anything that requires your time, focus, or energy. Then arrange these responsibilities into three categories: (1) aligns with your primary goal; (2) might support your primary goal tangentially, whether through personal enrichment, financial provision, or another indirect connection; and (3) does not relate to or support your progress toward your primary goal in any way. Strike out all the commitments that fit into the third category. Scrutinize the activities in the second category, determining which ones are worth investing your attention into at the moment. The goal is to eliminate all “project noise”—time- and energy-draining activities that seem like opportunities on the surface but that ultimately keep you from making meaningful progress toward your goal because you’re expending your resources on activities that are peripheral to your chief aim. 

2. Put Passion Before Paycheck 
   According to Frye, “Waiting for someone else’s acknowledgment of your value is a set-up for failure. It prevents you from taking ownership of your life and gifts until you get that external validation.” That validation might be words of affirmation, or it might be the financial acknowledgment of the value that your expertise brings. Regardless of what form it takes, external validation should not dictate whether you pursue your dreams. Oftentimes a significant output of time and energy are required to see a financial return on your efforts, but there is no shortcut to success: you have to learn the ropes and invest time into your growth so that you can receive the maximum value for your contributions. That does not mean you can ignore financial responsibilities, but it does mean that you cannot wait to act on your dreams until the return is there. 

3. Become a Mentor  
   Rather than trying to find a mentor; become one. Build your network by reaching out to people who would benefit from the talents, skills, and gifts you have and determining how you can add value to their life. Through mentorship, you can magnify your impact while building a diverse network that will support your success journey by forcing you to take an active role in it. Stop pursuing the “experts” in your field and start pouring into others whose lives you can make an impression on. You will be amazed to discover what insights and gifts they can share, even if they are outside of your industry. Remember, you are the greatest mentor in your own life: if you’re “all in,” you can add value to others while expanding your own capabilities. 

So many of us are missing crucial opportunities that could alter the course of our lives because we are consciously and unconsciously setting minimum requirements for our engagement—we have that reserve on our life that is limiting our reach. Stop waiting for your resources or the circumstances to be “enough” to merit your commitment; your dreams are worth the investment right now. 

Currently celebrating over 16 years in the auction business and having raised over $500 million dollars for charity, Letitia Frye has truly earned her title as America’s foremost “auctiontainer.” Some of her biggest clients include St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation®, but she brings to every event, no matter the size, her expertise, contagious energy, and unique flair. After a devastating accident in which she was struck by a car while running, leading to a traumatic brain injury, combined with the sudden death of the father of her children, Letitia decided to broaden her span beyond auctions in order to help more people by becoming a motivational speaker. Her book No Reserve: Take Ownership and Live YOUR Life without Limitations is now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Google Play, and Apple Books. Follow Letitia on Instagram (@letitia_frye) and Twitter (@LFAuctiontainer). 

The Art of Converting Defeat into Opportunity by Jennifer Janechek

Never has there been a time more favorable to pioneers than the present. —Napoleon Hill 

Napoleon Hill wrote his masterpiece, Think and Grow Rich, in the thick of the Great Depression. It is credited with helping end the Depression by providing people with the strategies they needed to take control of their future by single-mindedly pursuing a definite purpose. He speaks directly to his original readership when he writes, “You have been disappointed, you have undergone defeat during the depression, you have felt the great hurt within you crushed until it bled. Take courage, for these experiences have tempered the spiritual metal of which you are made—they are assets of incomparable value.”  

According to Hill, how a person handles temporary defeat makes the difference between success and failure. Of the 500-plus business leaders he interviewed—America’s greatest minds, entrepreneurs, and millionaires like Thomas A. Edison, Andrew Carnegie, and Henry Ford—every single one of them admitted to meeting with obstacles, many quite heartbreaking, before they “arrived.” 

In fact, they described these moments of crisis as turning points, or make-or-break moments. It is during these difficult times that they met their “other self”—that bearer of indefatigable strength and commitment who summons every ounce of courage and energy to press forward in the face of opposition and misfortune. Their other self helped them channel their fear and passion into creativity, which they used to find solutions to the challenges at hand. For as Hill emphasizes, obstacles, when properly viewed, are prime opportunities for innovation, growth, and achievement. Opportunity, he writes, “has the sly habit of slipping in by the back door, and often it comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat. Perhaps this is why so many fail to recognize opportunity.”  

Even in these difficult times in which we presently find ourselves, we have the option to grow and succeed. Consider the following questions:  

How can you use this time to build your knowledge and deepen your awareness by reading more—especially e-books and audiobooks—and taking online courses?  

Where can you simplify your life, your systems, etc., to allow for a deeper focus on what really matters?  

How can you “reset” in your business so that you emerge with a stronger vision, more efficient processes, and a smarter business plan? 

What new problems have been created that you could solve? 

Where are there opportunities to give? What service can you render?  

I’ll leave you with this inspirational call to action, which is as timely now as it was in 1937: “Never, in the history of America has there been so great an opportunity for practical dreamers as now exists… A new race is about to be run. The stakes represent huge fortunes which will be accumulated within the next ten years.” 

Don’t miss your opportunity because you’re focused on temporary defeat. The stakes are too big! 

Napoleon Hill is the founder of the Science of Success. His success principles have changed the lives of more entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and cultural icons than any other system. The original, unedited edition of Think and Grow Rich is available from Sound Wisdom—get your copy now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Porchlight Book Company, and other fine retailers. 

Sign up here to receive free samples and exclusive content from Sound Wisdom’s Napoleon Hill Collection. 

Do You Have Stickability? by Jennifer Janechek

The most common cause of failure is quitting.

In the first chapter of Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill tells the story of R. U. Darby, who learned a costly lesson about quitting when faced with temporary defeat.   

In Three Feet from Gold, a business allegory based on the principles in Think and Grow Rich, Don Green summarizes Darby’s story: 

Darby’s uncle had been struck by gold fever. He’d traveled west to get rich in the mining business. This would-be prospector had many more hopes than solutions, you see, because he had not invested the time to learn how to do what he wanted to accomplish. He just wanted to find gold. He had not studied mining or learned from others about the proper way to mine or even the travails of mining. He simply staked a claim and went to work with his pick and shovel.  

Fortunately, after weeks of manual labor, Darby’s uncle was rewarded with the discovery of gold, and lots of it! While it was a good problem to have, he quickly realized that he really wasn’t prepared. He needed machinery to remove the enormous amount of heavy rocks and dirt that covered the shining ore. 

Understanding that machinery cost money that he didn’t have, he carefully covered up the mine and traveled back to his home in Williamsburg, Maryland. He loudly proclaimed his great discovery and boasted of the tremendous wealth of gold that lay in the ground just waiting for his return. It didn’t take long to persuade his family and friends to invest toward the needed equipment. 

With money in hand, Darby’s uncle invited his young protégé to return with him to start digging for the promised treasure. When the first gold ore was retrieved, they excitedly shipped it to the smelter. Sure enough, it was high-quality ore and promised to be one of the richest gold discoveries in Colorado. Just a few more loads and they would not only be able to repay their debts to their family and friends but would have plenty of money to spare. 

Darby and his uncle were convinced they were about to make a huge fortune from their gold mine. Then tragedy struck…the gold simply disappeared. Just when their hopes were at their highest, the Darbys were crushed to reach the end of the rainbow—the proverbial pot of gold was no longer there. 

Now remember, they just wanted more gold. They had never studied the art of gold mining and had no true passion for the business of mining, so they didn’t know what to do next except to keep digging. With their impatience and lack of knowledge, it wasn’t long before they became totally frustrated and disillusioned. They had experienced instant success and lost patience when the job became more difficult. They kept digging but found no more ore. It wasn’t long before their dissatisfaction got the best of them and they decided to quit. 

Discouraged and defeated, Darby and his uncle sold both their mine and their equipment to a local junkman. For years this junkman had been looking for an opportunity to break into the mining industry. He had studied mining for over a decade and had always believed that this was his destiny. The sale was completed with the exchange of a few hundred dollars and the deed. With that, Darby and his uncle caught the next train and returned to their home in Maryland, ending their quest for gold. 

But the story doesn’t end there. You see, the junkman was passionate about the idea of mining. Remember, he was just waiting for the right opportunity. He was also smarter than most people gave him credit for. With the deed in hand, he hired a mining engineer to inspect the claim, and together they discovered what is known as a fault line. The engineer explained that gold ran in long veins and that the previous owners had simply drilled through one side of the vein and come out on the other. The engineer explained that if the junkman were to go back and dig in the other direction, perpendicular to where the Darbys had made their first discovery, he would most likely tap back into the treasure. 

The new owner, the junkman turned gold miner, followed these simple instructions and, sure enough, he hit one of the largest pockets of ore ever uncovered—a mere three feet away from where the Darbys had quit mining. The junkman retrieved millions of dollars in gold from the site. He succeeded where Darby and his uncle had failed because of two things: his determination to fulfill his life’s purpose of becoming a gold miner and, of course, his willingness to seek expert advice. 

And what do you think Mr. Darby did when he heard about the success of the junkman? …He learned his lesson about stopping three feet from gold and went on to apply it to his work in the insurance business. Sure, he was heartbroken when he heard about the success the junkman had achieved at his personal expense, but he never forgot that the real reason he lost the fortune was because he had decided to give up too soon. 

He dedicated his life to never again accepting defeat. With this new “Never Quit” attitude, Darby went on to create his own fortune in the insurance industry. He repaid his friends and family from his new fortune. And, importantly, he also started sharing his story so others could learn from his mistake. 

Darby and his uncle initially lacked “stickability”—the ability to persevere toward one’s goal despite temporary setbacks and failures. As Don Green shares with Greg, the protagonist in Three Feet from Gold, “Before great success comes, you will surely meet with temporary defeat. When people are overtaken by these feelings, the easiest and perhaps most logical thing to do is to quit. Quitting is exactly what the majority of people do”—which is why so few people have great success. Don adds, “The reason most people quit is because they fail to unearth their definite life purpose. They don’t have something worth fighting for. Once you discover this truth, then you will gain stickability…the difference between being interested and being committed.”  

Do you have stickability? Are you able to look beyond today’s difficulties into tomorrow’s goldmine? Learn from Greg in Three Feet from Gold what a difference it makes to identify your definite major purpose and unabashedly pursue it. 

Don’t quit now…you might be just three feet from gold! 

Sharon Lechter and Dr. Greg Reid’s Three Feet from Gold is now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Porchlight Book Company, Google Play, Apple Books, and other fine retailers. This remarkable business allegory tells a fascinating story in presenting the key principles of Napoleon Hill’s revolutionary bestseller, Think and Grow Rich. As you follow a struggling young entrepreneur through a life-changing series of encounters with some of today’s foremost business leaders and inspirational figures, you’ll find encouragement and motivation to believe in yourself, discover your own Personal Success Equation™, and never give up. You are just three feet from gold! 

Proper Etiquette for Business Meals by Jennifer Janechek

Business meals are an integral part of most jobs. Whether you’re on the road meeting clients or employees from other office locations out for dinner, or you’re networking with people over appetizers at a conference, or you’re simply at a company lunch or grabbing a bite with colleagues, it’s important to make the most of these opportunities for your career…as well as to avoid business meal faux pas that could negatively impact your work relationships. 

As common as business dining experiences are, it’s interesting that so little advice exists for how to properly navigate them. I remember the first time I went out to dinner with a boss figure (a professor), I had no clue how to act. I was nervous about eating too much, too little, too messily; talking too much, too little; offending him by insisting or not insisting on paying…you get the idea. Despite having taken interpersonal communication courses in college, I was totally unprepared for this sort of social situation. Even though I felt completely comfortable conversing with professors inside and outside of the classroom, when food was added to the mix I was thrown into an unfamiliar territory and felt awkward about both the conversation and the dining. 

I wish I had been able to read something like Rachael Doyle’s new book The Field Guide to Extraordinary Communication & Connection. In it, Doyle shares several strategies for strengthening your communication skills for the benefit of your professional and personal life. Not only does she provide tips on the content of effective communication; she also offers insight on the where, when, and how of it so that you can make the most of every communication situation and networking opportunity. Included in this comprehensive handbook are two chapters on business meal guidelines, something to which there could—and probably should—be an entire college course dedicated. I’ve summarized the first five tips below (there are 34 helpful hints total!). For more on these and to learn the others, be sure to grab a copy of Doyle’s Field Guide! 

• Get there early, but not too early. 
  Doyle suggests that about five minutes early is ideal. “If you arrive fifteen minutes early, wait in your car or freshen your makeup or comb your hair in the restroom,” Doyle advises. She notes that you should always get the host’s or other diner’s number ahead of time so that in the event of an unexpected delay or emergency, you can notify him or her as soon as possible. 

• Take the initiative to make introductions. 
  Doyle suggests that you introduce yourself to every person in the group rather than relying on the host (who might forget some names) to do so, saying something positive like “It’s nice to meet you” or “It’s good to see you again.” Incorporating each person’s name into your sentences will help you remember their names. 

• Choose your seat wisely. 
  If the host doesn’t plan the seating arrangements, then be considerate about your seating choice, avoiding selecting the two end chairs, which are reserved for the host and/or the more distinguished guests. 

• Treat your server(s) with respect. 
  Being discourteous to the restaurant staff will most certainly leave a negative impression on your fellow diners. Treat everyone with whom you interact with respect and kindness.  

• When it comes to your order, don’t lead—follow.  
  Unless you’re put on the spot and have to order first, it’s a good idea to wait and see what others are ordering so that you can follow their lead. That way you don’t end up ordering, say, a steak dinner when everyone else is ordering sandwiches. (Of course, you should always be considerate about pricing, refraining from ordering the most expensive menu items.) Doyle advises that the same thing goes for dessert—wait to see if others are interested in prolonging the meal and ordering dessert before ordering something yourself. 

These are just a handful of the practical tips for business communication (here, over meals) that you’ll learn in The Field Guide to Extraordinary Communication & Connection. With so many elements to proper business, social, and dining etiquette, Doyle’s book is certainly a welcome resource! 

Rachael Doyle’s new book The Field Guide to Extraordinary Communication & Connection, available on August 20, 2019 from Sound Wisdom, is a comprehensive handbook for impactful communication in and out of the workplace. Covering topics as wide-ranging and as crucial as e-mail etiquette, making the most of social media networking, handling office celebrations, participating actively in meetings, and much more, this book will ensure you’re prepared to handle the gamut of business situations with aplomb. Reserve your copy now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or 800-CEO-Read.

Are You in the Work-at-Home Doldrums? Here Are 5 Strategies That Will Help by Jennifer Janechek

This article originally appeared in Thrive Global.

As any remote worker or entrepreneur knows, working from home can be both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, your schedule might be more flexible, with opportunities to squeeze in chores or childcare responsibilities in between work commitments. On the other hand, it’s easy to fall into a rut and feel disconnected from the other people in your organization—or, if you’re a solopreneur, to lose the drive and energy necessary to maintain your momentum. 

When you feel like all you’re doing is slogging away at your tasks, you’re not particularly excited about the work that you’re doing, you feel fatigued—or perhaps restless—by the early afternoon, and your productivity has declined as a result, you’ve entered what I refer to as the work-at-home doldrums. It can be difficult to pull yourself out of the listlessness and lack of motivation that are characteristic of the doldrums. It requires a conscious effort to make a change to your daily habits and your work rhythm. Below are five strategies for regaining your dynamism: 

1. Identify your great motivating desire.  
   One of the advantages of working in an office setting is that you’re surrounded by people who can boost your energy and inspire you when you’ve lost your verve. (Of course, if your team tends toward the negative, the opposite can happen too.) When you’re working remotely and/or independently, it can be easy to lose sight of your guiding purpose and become enmeshed in the minutiae of the day to day. If you’ve been feeling unmotivated lately, take some time to reflect on your great motivating desire. Napoleon Hill said that “the subconscious mind may be likened to a magnet, and when it has been vitalized and thoroughly saturated with any definite purpose it has a tendency to attract all that is necessary for the fulfillment of that purpose.” To attain that definiteness of purpose, journal daily about your long-term goal and your reasons for wanting it. Rather than just writing a bullet-point to-do list, take time each morning to contextualize your daily tasks in the scope of your motivating desire. Doing so will give you the purpose and energy you need to pull yourself out of the work-at-home doldrums, for as Earl Nightingale explained, “The key that unlocks energy is desire.” 

2. Add exercise to the mix. 
   I have noticed that on the days that I skip my workout in the interests of “getting more done,” my productivity plummets, along with my energy levels. Depending on your work-at-home situation, you might be able to arrange your schedule so that you can fit in a 30-minute workout somewhere in your workday. Doing so is a surefire way to regain mental clarity, enhance performance, and reignite your passion for your responsibilities. Determine what works best for you: for some, exercising first thing in the morning helps drive their motivation for the rest of the day; for others, taking a mid-day exercise break enables them to step away from their work and get the energy boost they need to return to their work refreshed. 

3. Reconfigure your work rhythm. 
   I’ve written previously on the importance of creating a daily work rhythm. Charting the ebbs and flows of your energy levels and time-blocking your activities to suit your biological and emotional rhythms is a very effective way to maximize your productivity and not feel drained at the end of your workday. However, maintaining the same routine for too long a period of time can have the reverse effect, causing you to fall into a rut. If you feel like you’re just going through the motions, it might be time to switch up your routine. Answer e-mails at the end of the day instead of at the beginning, move your planning and creation period to the early morning instead of the late afternoon, call clients after lunch instead of before it—reconfigure your schedule so that you’re doing different “types” of activities at different times of the day than you normally do. 

4. Change your workplace. 
   Sometimes all it takes to regain your momentum is to change where you work—even for a day or two. If you can do some or all of your tasks at a local coffee shop or library instead of in your home office, the change of scenery might help give you the mental space you need to refocus on your action items. What’s more, getting out and around people can boost your energy and help you get excited about adding value to others’ lives. 

5. Schedule a regular call with a team member. 
   One of the biggest complaints from entrepreneurs with home offices and remote workers is a sense of isolation. These feelings of loneliness and disconnection, coupled with anxieties about not appearing busy enough to those in a central office, can really take a toll on your productivity and, more detrimentally, your emotional health. Scheduling a regular time to check in with a team member via phone or video call will help you feel more connected and energized. In addition, talking through your current projects will help lessen any concerns about the quality and quantity of your contributions.   

Whether you are growing your business out of your home office or are working remotely for a larger organization, it’s likely that you’ll experience the work-at-home doldrums at some point in your career. Knowing how to identify when you’re in them and implementing strategies to free yourself from them will be a crucial part of your success journey. 

How do you avoid the work-at-home doldrums—or pull yourself out of them once you’re in them? We want to hear from our readers! 

Intentional Living through Increased Productivity: An Interview with Author John Martin by Jennifer Janechek

On the heels of his very popular first book, Empower Yourself: 7 Steps to Personal Success, John Martin has released a new title that is sure to accelerate your timeline to personal and professional success. Increase Your Personal Productivity: Your Guide to Intentional Living & Doing More of What You Enjoy is a wonderfully helpful guide to implementing a personalized goal system—one that is actually sustainable and repeatable. If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines watching others live lives that you deem impossible for yourself, or if you just need some support in your current success journey, Increase Your Personal Productivity will provide you with the tools you need to define and achieve success on your own terms. I recently had the opportunity to chat with John about his latest book, and I learned a lot about his refreshing take on productivity.  

How do you define or measure productivity? 

It’s a very personal, individualized measurement. For me personally, I measure it by whether I hit my goals on a monthly, or even daily, basis. When I’m hitting my goals consistently on a daily basis, then I feel like I’m being productive.  

Some people swear by creating a daily agenda the night before, and others start each morning by writing their to-do list. What is your approach to creating a plan for the day? 

I keep a running to-do list for daily goals that I review each morning. I prefer to write it out on paper—things like a word count goal for writing, notes about work deadlines. I like to focus on major tasks that need to be accomplished that day.  

What are your thoughts on time-tracking software? Do you use it? 

No, I don’t. For me, it’s just one more thing to do—updating lists or software. I prefer to maintain a handwritten list; it keeps things simple and allows me to focus my energy on other tasks. I’m not opposed to the idea, though. I could see where it would be useful for people.  

What would you say is the biggest obstacle to productivity? 

Self-judgment. Mentally beating yourself up for not getting as much done as you intended or as you got done the day before. Focusing on shortcomings or allowing interruptions to dominate your attention causes you not to be present in the moment. The result is that you fail to move forward because you’re overthinking—thinking about the past instead of acting in the present. 

What is your best tip for increasing productivity?  

If I had to pick one, it would be to stop second-guessing yourself—to stop overthinking what you’re doing. A lot of it comes down to finishing a project, e.g., if you’re making a movie, don’t keep editing it. There’s a point that you just have to release the product to the world or else you’ll overedit it. Or there’s the failure-to-launch phenomenon—not being able to actually start on a project because you’re constantly planning it, never acting on it. These are major barriers to productivity. 

Why do you think people have such a hard time starting tasks? 

Well, it’s probably pretty primitive. It’s hardwired into us not to want to do things that are outside our comfort zone, and it’s difficult to switch gears mentally. Change is difficult; creating the momentum to go against our preference for stasis is difficult. That’s why it’s easier to sit on the couch instead of going for a run. Often it’s just a small mental shift that’s required to overcome our resistance to doing something difficult, and once we shift our mindset we can create positive momentum where doing the things we need to do for our health, success, and happiness becomes second nature. 

Speaking of working out, I’m always interested on people’s take on whether it’s best to work or workout first thing in the morning. Some people insist that the first 90 minutes of your day should be spent on your most creative, intensive tasks, while others note the benefits of starting your day with exercise. What are your thoughts on this? 

I think either is beneficial. Again, it comes down to knowing yourself. Productivity is such a personal metric, and improving it is about knowing what makes you the most productive and what you need to accomplish your goals. 

Going back to the question about difficulty starting tasks, what is your advice to people who struggle with this?  

Let go of your fear about your performance. Many people who have home-based businesses limit themselves because they’re afraid to take the first step and end up looking like a rookie. This creates a huge mental block that restricts their success. 

Also, have patience with yourself about procrastination. People work at different paces. If you struggle with procrastination, accept that about yourself and figure out how to create new habits that foster momentum. I like the Mel Robbins technique of counting down from five and then doing whatever it is you were reluctant to do. Implement little tricks to shift your mindset and overcome anxiety about starting tasks, whether big or small. 

So it sounds like you’re reframing the conversation around procrastination a bit? Most people treat procrastination as inherently negative, but your message about acceptance seems to go against the grain. Can you talk to me more about this?  

Yes, I would say so—because the idea is to avoid negative self-talk. If we’re constantly scolding ourselves for our tendency to procrastinate or are hyperfocused on it, we’re not going to be present and accomplishing the goals we’ve set for ourselves. We’re going to be living in the past rather than acting in the present. Now if you’re missing deadlines because of procrastination, that’s a different story. But if you’re simply delaying tasks as part of your work process, accept that about yourself and figure out how to shift your mentality to create more space for personal and professional success.  

Do you have any tips for managers for increasing their employees’ productivity? 

Encouragement over criticism. Model the behavior you expect. I think of the quote “The gang keeps pace with the leader.” If you’re productive, your people are more likely to be productive. 

What are you hoping is the major takeaway from your book? 

I’m hoping that readers learn organizational, time management, and mindset tips that help them set and achieve goals while staying true to the flow of their personality. Whether you’re wanting to start a home-based business or a side hustle, or whether you’re hoping to get more out of your current career, this book will help you learn more about what works for you and develop action plans that complement, rather than resist, your personality. 

Four Ways to Turn Introversion into a Leadership Asset by Jennifer Janechek

In her bestselling book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, Susan Cain explains how in the twentieth century, extroversion became a cultural value—one that resulted in the conflation of success and outgoingness, likeability and talkativeness. Consequently, “introversion—along with its cousins sensitivity, seriousness, and shyness—is now a second-class personality trait, somewhere between a disappointment and a pathology.” However, as she notes, pointing to figures like Sir Isaac Newton, Rosa Parks, Steven Spielberg, Dr. Seuss, and J. K. Rowling as examples of high-achieving introverts, “we make a grave mistake to embrace the Extrovert Ideal so unthinkingly. Some of our greatest ideas, art, and inventions…came from quiet and cerebral people who knew how to tune in to their inner worlds and the treasures to be found there.”   

The Extrovert Ideal has long shaped assumptions about what effective leadership looks like: good leaders, according to the prevailing wisdom, are loquacious, loud, and quick to act. But as Dr. Rick Goodman suggests in his new book The Solutions-Oriented Leader: Your Comprehensive Guide to Achieve World-Class Results, introversion can be a huge asset, rather than a liability, for success in leadership. He writes: “One of the main things that holds introverts back, I think, is the perception that those who are quiet, even shy, cannot make commanding figures.” To break through misperceptions about introversion and tap into its power for leadership greatness, Goodman recommends the following four strategies: 

1. “Remember that listening—not talking—is the mark of a really engaging leader.” 
   Despite the assumption that the most effective leaders are the ones who talk the most, active listening is a far more important leadership skill. Indeed, Goodman notes that potentially the most significant challenge faced by today’s business leaders is positioning yourself “to lead your team not just through commands and dictations but through real engagement.” Meaningful engagement requires not listening to respond, but listening to understand, a communication skill at which introverts are particularly adept. 

2. “Remain calm during times of crisis.” 
   There’s a temptation for extroverts to channel their energy and loquacity into impassioned dialogue when things get stressful, but introverts, with their tendency to calmly, internally process situations before responding, can diffuse emotional situations by offering deliberate, rational, and well-thought-out solutions. Goodman advises introverts to “seize crises as opportunities to provide stable, steady leadership.” 

3. “Force yourself out of your comfort zone.” 
   Although you might prefer small-group situations to large speaking events and value deep, meaningful conversation over small talk, to be an effective leader you’ll want to push yourself a bit to engage with others in the ways that matter to them. Goodman recommends playing to your strengths but also challenging yourself to step out of your comfort zone in order to grow as a leader. 

4. “Allow yourself some quiet time.” 
   Contrary to popular belief, introversion does not mean that you don’t like others or you’re antisocial; in fact, introverts can be quite social beings—in measured doses. What distinguishes introverts from extroverts is that being around others saps their energy rather than boosting it; as such, introverts require time alone to recharge their batteries. Creating space for this—whether by setting aside fifteen minutes in the morning to be by yourself and collect your thoughts for the day, taking a time-out during the workday to fill up your energy reserves, or using another recovery strategy—will help improve your impact as a leader. 

For more strategies on transformational leadership and tips for increasing productivity, enhancing employee engagement and retention, all while creating a happy work environment, pick up a copy of Dr. Rick Goodman’s The Solutions-Oriented Leader: Your Comprehensive Guide to Achieve World-Class Results, available from Sound Wisdom on April 16. 

Dr. Rick Goodman is one of the most sought-after thought leaders and keynote speakers internationally specializing in leadership, engagement, and business growth. As a serial entrepreneur who has built several multimillion-dollar businesses, Dr. Rick walks his talk and shares his winning leadership philosophy with his audiences based on lessons learned as one of the team physicians for the Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams and his association with other championship teams like the NBA champions Miami Heat. 

His mission is to introduce his transformational leadership and team-building formulas and systems into 10,000 businesses worldwide, A few of Dr. Rick's clients include Heineken, AT&T, Hewlett-Packard, Ultimate Software, Inova Health Systems, and Franklin Templeton Investments. 
 
He is the founder and president of Advantage Continuing Education Seminars (ACES), one of the largest online continuing education companies in the world. He is a distinguished member of the National Speakers Association, the Global Speakers Federation, The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Florida Speakers Association. 

What Entrepreneurs Can Learn from Poetry by Jennifer Janechek

This article originally appeared here on Entrepreneur. 

Humanities majors are becoming increasingly desirable to corporations. Just take a look at this recent study suggesting that Google’s most-prized skills in its employees are those cultivated by a humanities degree rather than a STEM one. But even if you don’t have a degree in the humanities, you can still take insight from the wisdom that programs of study like English, history, and philosophy have to offer. 

For instance, I recently read Mary Oliver’s A Poetry Handbook: A Prose Guide to Understanding and Writing Poetry (Mariner Books, 1994) in preparation for a poetry segment in a literature course I’m teaching, and I was struck by how much of Oliver’s advice to budding poets is incredibly relevant to the corporate world as well. The following points and their accompanying Handbook quotes demonstrate how the humanities, and poetry in particular, can offer fresh advice and creative strategies for entrepreneurship. 

1. Imitation is a good starting place. 

“Emotional freedom, the integrity and special quality of one’s own work—these are not first things, but final things.” 

Oliver recommends that beginning poets start with imitation, learning the techniques of craft from the masters of poetry and experimenting with different poetic forms until they gain a thorough enough understanding of the mechanics of poetry to break out on their own. The same advice seems relevant for those new to the workforce: spend time studying the success stories of those in your field, learning what enabled them to achieve greatness, before striking out on your own. Read books like Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, which details over 20 years of research on the basic principles contributing to the success of over 500 of the world’s wealthiest businesspeople. It’s important to know what’s been done before, and how it’s been done, to avoid as many pitfalls as possible and to be able to develop your own work style. 

2. Be wary of when your work habits become “second nature.” 

“It demands, finally, a thrust of our own imagination—a force, a new idea—to make sure that we do not merely copy, but inherit, and proceed from what we have learned. A poet develops his or her own style slowly, over a long period of working and thinking—thinking about other styles, among other things. Imitation fades as a poet’s own style—that is, the poet’s own determined goals set out in the technical apparatus that will best achieve those goals—begins to be embraced.” 

While imitation is a great starting point, you don’t want to spend your entire work life copying what others have done. Rather, you want to “inherit, and proceed from what we have learned,” as Oliver says. Use your study of others’ stories to develop your own unique vision and style. 

3. Avoid clichés at all costs. 

“The cliché works in poems as it works in any kind of writing—badly. Do not use the cliché in a poem unless, perhaps, you are writing a poem about the cliché.” 

Clichés abound in the corporate world as much as in the academic world. They fill our hurried e-mails, our copywriting, and our presentations. Relying on clichés suggests a certain laziness and a lack of engagement with the person or topic. Put in the extra effort to say something original and meaningful that will add value to your life and the lives of the people with whom you’re working. 

4. Finding a work rhythm enhances productivity and pleasure. 

“Rhythm is one of the most powerful of pleasures, and when we feel a pleasurable rhythm we hope it will continue. When it does, the sweet grows sweeter. When it becomes reliable, we are in a kind of body-heaven.” 

When we read poems with enjoyable rhythms, we feel pleasure. We do this because rhythm is one of the greatest joys of the human body. Just like rhythmic text brings us joy, daily rhythms nourish our bodies and our souls. Developing a work rhythm will similarly bring more pleasure to your professional life and will help you accomplish more and feel less stressed during your workday. 

5. Inspiration is important, but it almost always takes hard work to get desirable results. 

“Have some lines come to you, a few times, nearly perfect, as easily as a dream arranges itself during sleep? That’s luck. That’s grace. But this is the usual way: hard work, hard work, hard work. This is the way it is done.” 

We might be tempted to think that the most successful poets, businessmen, etc., were just “lucky” or that they received inspiration from the muses and simply coasted to greatness. In 99.9 percent of cases, that is not true. Success, as Oliver notes, requires “hard work, hard work, hard work.” 

6. Workshopping ideas and business materials makes for better employees and better products. 

“With everyone using an understandable language, and with a number of persons scrutinizing the work, the workshop members can learn a great deal about their general aptitude and specific writing skills—can learn much more than even the most diligent writer could ascertain in the same amount of time while working alone.” 

The poetry workshop has been a staple in creative writing programs since the early twentieth century. Although collaboration is a buzzword in the business world, it’s not the same thing as workshopping. Companies might continually improve the effectiveness of their employees and refine their products by encouraging workshops—meetings where employees use a shared language in order to scrutinize their work processes, materials, etc. For these to be successful, it’s crucial for everyone to lay aside their egos, be willing to receive and provide constructive criticism, and forgo comments based on personal tastes/opinions for those more focused on objective reasons why something does or does not work. 

7. It’s crucial to stay aware, curious, and engaged. 

“A mind that is lively and inquiring, compassionate, curious, angry, full of music, full of feeling, is a mind full of possible poetry.” 

While it’s beneficial to have a work rhythm, you don’t want to let your habits turn into mindless routines. When this happens, you can fall into the work doldrums, where you operate on autopilot and stop thinking creatively. To give your job (and yourself) the best, prevent yourself from developing tunnel vision: stay engaged with and curious about your surroundings and your career, have daily and weekly check-ins with yourself about your goals and the steps you’ve taken to achieve them, and continually read books and articles that keep you passionate about your work and your vision. 

How does poetry inform your work? Do you write or read poetry for fresh inspiration? Let us know in the comments below! 

Jennifer Janechek is the director of content strategy for Sound Wisdom. She has her PhD in English literature from the University of Iowa and her MA in English from the University of South Florida. She is also the founder of The Work-at-Home Mom Blog, which provides inspiration and community for moms who juggle work and parenting simultaneously. Her writings can be found in Entrepreneur, The Good Men Project, and many other publications. Follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @thewahmblog. 

Four Reasons Why Emotional Intelligence Is the "Secret Sauce" to Transformational Leadership by Jennifer Janechek

In Season 21 of ABC’s The Bachelor, one of the contestants, Taylor Nolan, became infamous for her continual references to “emotional intelligence”—namely, in telling her fellow contestant Corinne Olympios that she “lacked the maturity and emotional intelligence” to be with bachelor Nick Viall—bringing to the forefront of cultural awareness a concept that has long been considered crucial for personal and professional success. In her lecture to Corinne, Taylor explains, “It kind of speaks to self-awareness,” which is true in part, but it is more relational than that simplistic definition implies. 

(Photo from Pop Culture Sensation)

In his new book The Solutions-Oriented Leader: Your Comprehensive Guide to Achieve World-Class Results, Dr. Rick Goodman defines emotional intelligence (EQ) as the “ability to perceive and identify emotions in the workplace and in your relationships with others…being attuned to the emotions of the people around you, but also to your own emotions—and making your decisions accordingly.” 

If you’ve ever wondered what that certain je ne sais quoi is that distinguishes truly great leaders from mediocre ones—that quality that makes them dynamic, engaging, motivating, and that enables them to deliver results—very likely it is emotional intelligence. Goodman shares four reasons why EQ is the “secret sauce” to transformational leadership:  

1. “EQ can help you cultivate employee engagement and retention.” 
   Today’s job seekers and employees want more than good pay and decent benefits; they want the engagement that comes from feeling like part of a close-knit community. Being able to identify and respond appropriately to your employees’ emotional cues will help make them feel like valued team members, which in turn will improve recruitment and retention.  

2. “Leaders with high EQ better understand how their employees derive satisfaction.” 
   Success looks different for different people; as such, not all employees will be incentivized by the same factors. Goodman explains, “Having EQ will help you identify these specific drivers for each employee and build a workplace dynamic that provides everyone with necessary motivators.” 

3. “EQ can assist in team building, too.” 
   In order to build a cohesive, well-performing team, according to Goodman, you need to know how to “structure a team that allows everyone to play to their unique strengths.” EQ will help you determine what these strengths are and how to channel them in a way that maximizes the potential for effective collaboration and optimal productivity. 

4. “EQ can help identify your employees’ management styles.” 
   Being able to assess employees’ emotional needs and personalities and knowing how to match them with employees and mentors well-suited to those needs and types will aid in employees’ personal growth and professional development.  

Interested in learning how to cultivate your emotional intelligence? Pre-order your copy of Dr. Rick Goodman’s The Solutions-Oriented Leader: Your Comprehensive Guide to Achieve World-Class Results, available from Sound Wisdom on April 16, 2019.

Dr. Rick Goodman is one of the most sought-after thought leaders and keynote speakers internationally specializing in leadership, engagement, and business growth. As a serial entrepreneur who has built several multimillion-dollar businesses, Dr. Rick walks his talk and shares his winning leadership philosophy with his audiences based on lessons learned as one of the team physicians for the Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams and his association with other championship teams like the NBA champions Miami Heat. 

His mission is to introduce his transformational leadership and team-building formulas and systems into 10,000 businesses worldwide, A few of Dr. Rick's clients include Heineken, AT&T, Hewlett-Packard, Ultimate Software, Inova Health Systems, and Franklin Templeton Investments. 

He is the founder and president of Advantage Continuing Education Seminars (ACES), one of the largest online continuing education companies in the world. He is a distinguished member of the National Speakers Association, the Global Speakers Federation, The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Florida Speakers Association. 

Unleash the Power of Your Humor Being by Jennifer Janechek

In his new book Motivate THIS!: How to Start Each Day with an Unstoppable Attitude to Succeed Regardless of Your Circumstances, professional stand-up comedian and Speaker Hall of Fame inductee Steve Rizzo shares strategies for overcoming the negativity bias that’s programmed into us in childhood and retraining our brains to think more positively in order to reach our goals. One of the methods he endorses is “unleashing the power of your Humor Being.” According to Rizzo, your Humor Being is that part of yourself that enables you to access your sense of humor in order to thrive during life’s ups and downs. Rizzo defines “sense of humor” in a unique way, one that helps readers view it as an actual mental tool for reshaping their outlook: “a sense of humor means to be aware that you have a mental quality to turn your mind in an unusual way, or a need to produce joyful or absurd ideas that can soothe your being.”  

Pause on that idea for a second: a mental quality—to turn your mind—in an unusual way. It’s easy to dismiss advice like “laugh it off” as trite or perhaps even unrealistic—though to be sure, Rizzo never actually phrases it that way. But what Rizzo is offering here is much more profound, for he’s teaching readers how to reprogram their brains—actually setting into play physiological and neurological changes—so that they can shift (or cognitively turn) into a place of joy during times of stress, sadness, or frustration. Doing so generates positive energy that then enables them to focus on attaining their goals. Indeed, as Dr. Sherrie Bourg Carter explains, “laughter releases the neurotransmitter dopamine, which serves as a reward for the brain, creates a sense of euphoria, and plays a pivotal role in our motivation to continue the behavior.” 

So how can you unleash the power of your Humor Being? Here are some ideas: 

1. Find something to laugh about as soon as you wake up in the morning. This will set a positive and energizing tone for the day. As Rizzo notes, though, it’s important to continue to employ your sense of humor throughout the day. 

2. If you’re feeling stressed or upset, take time to observe your surroundings and identify something humorous. Finding a reason to chuckle will initiate electrochemical reactions in your brain that will help you feel better physically and emotionally. 

3. If you can’t find levity in your immediate surroundings, use your imagination to envision humorous scenarios. 

4. Share inoffensive GIFs and memes to enliven your workplace and mitigate both major and minor tensions there. As Rizzo suggests, laughter significantly boosts employee productivity and morale. 

5. Help yourself deal with stress or negativity and recharge your battery by carving out time to go to a comedy club or watch a funny sitcom or movie. 

These practices will help you get in sync with your Humor Being, improving what Rizzo terms your “humor insights,” which will activate during difficult or mundane times and help motivate you to conquer any obstacles and actualize your dreams. 

How do you use humor to motivate you? Do you have any strategies for accessing your Humor Being other than those listed above? Share in the comments below!

The new and expanded edition of Steve Rizzo’s Motivate THIS!: How to Start Each Day with an Unstoppable Attitude to Succeed Regardless of Your Circumstances is now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and other fine retailers.

How to Find Balance as a Work-at-Home Mom by Jennifer Janechek

These days there are a plethora of opportunities that enable mothers to stay in the workforce while remaining at home, which is fantastic. However, working from home as a mother of small children is no small feat. While I certainly would not dare say that one mom role is harder than another, being a WAHM can be a very trying position: in many ways, the WAHM is, in addition to being a working mom, a stay-at-home mom (SAHM), someone who is responsible for childcare and/or household duties at some point in the day. And in my experience, because you’re juggling these two positions as a WAHM, it is easy to feel like you’re failing at both. Below are some tips for managing the stress and challenges that come with being a WAHM. 

1. Wake up early. 
   The morning can be an incredibly productive work time. Try to wake up at least an hour before your children (unless they’re very early risers) and register an hour of work time in the quiet and calm of the early morning. 

2. Get the necessary childcare. 
   This is a biggie, and it was a difficult one for me to accept. When I first had my daughter and was doing freelance work, I struggled to determine whether projects merited the cost of additional childcare. I often (wrongly) decided that I could handle both the extra project and the childcare responsibilities, which always ended up being extremely stressful. I relied entirely on my daughter’s erratic nap schedule, so I was a nervous wreck every time a loud car would pass the house or the UPS driver would ring the doorbell. And there were days when she simply would not nap, something for which I could never plan. Once I started hiring sitters to come to our home in the mornings, I became a better worker, a better mom, and yes, a better wife. It’s important to note, too, that if you have a full-time telecommute position with a company, they might require you to have your child(ren) in full-time daycare outside of the house. 

3. Pretend you’re going into the office. 
   As a WAHM, I’m very busy and constantly tired, and, quite honestly, the last thing I feel like doing in the morning is fixing my hair and getting dressed (in something other than at leisure anyway). When I started finding myself going through the entire day in a tank top and sweatpants, I knew something had to change. I began pushing myself to practice more self-care and to prepare for the day as though I were going to work at an office, and the results were amazing: on days that I put myself together I felt so much better physically, emotionally, and psychologically, and I was immeasurably more productive. 

4. Set strict boundaries.  
   Real talk: this is really tough to do. It’s often incredibly difficult for husbands, friends, and family to understand that just because you work at home doesn’t mean that it’s easy for you to do chores during the day. Emptying the dishwasher, meal prepping, cleaning up around the house—these activities may not take much time on their own, but each little chore interrupts the work day, hampers productivity, and can add up to a significant loss of time over the course of the day. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t do these things—indeed, part of the benefit of being a WAHM is that I’m able to take twenty minutes and throw dinner in the slow cooker before lunch. What I am saying is that you need to determine what you’re capable of doing in a day and set strict boundaries about everything else. For me, this means that I dedicate a specific hour of the day to household tasks—an hour when I don’t have a sitter and my daughter is awake, so I wouldn’t really be able to work anyway. As a WAHM, boundaries are key to managing your stress level; I can’t overemphasize their importance.  

Do you have tips for finding balance as a WAHM? Let us know in the comments below!

Jennifer Janechek is the director of content strategy for Sound Wisdom. She has her PhD in English literature from the University of Iowa and her MA in English from the University of South Florida. She is also the founder of The Work-at-Home Mom Blog, which provides inspiration and community for moms who juggle work and parenting simultaneously. Her writings can be found in Entrepreneur, The Good Men Project, and many other publications.

I Spy a Sale by Jennifer Gluckow

Remember playing “I Spy” when you were a kid? 

Before the “tablet age,” this was a classic parenting tactic to keep children entertained during a long car ride or a grown-up meal in public. My parents would challenge me to find things everywhere we went (like a Where’s Waldo book, but with cooler, non-disclosed objects in real life). As simple as the game was, I’m convinced it trained me to seek, observe, remember, and think about the smallest details from a very young age. 

Think about what you look at. 

Flash forward 15 years to any restaurant or any airplane, and everyone is staring at their phone trying to exist in two places at once, barely living in the moment. Ignoring EVERYONE. Observing NOTHING. 

Ever take time from your busy schedule and rush to a dinner reservation to enjoy time with friends, only to have your head buried in a screen? I’m guilty of this too, but WHY do we all do this?! FOMO? Are we all so busy that small sentences have to become acronyms? (Hey! Look up, I’m talking to you!) 

When you live in the moment, you notice your friend’s hidden engagement ring, or the choice of art hanging on the wall, or the song playing in the background. I am a confessed, total tech geek, but knowing when to put the phone down has helped me connect to life—both personally and professionally.  

During a sales call, the hard-to-find details in the room can often be the secret passageways that lead to an order. What do you look at and what do you look for when you’re in a conference room or someone’s office? Are you so busy “pitching and showing slides” that you forget to look around? Are you staring at your phone in anticipation of the next e-mail or text? No! This is the precise time to be in the moment, look up, and put your “I Spy” skills to work: 

Look around your client’s office, but not just at trophies and family photos. 

• Is there a wrapper of their favorite candy? 

• Do they drink tea or coffee? 

• What publications do they read? 

• Where did they go to school? 

• Do they showcase a certain style of art? 

• Are they well traveled? 

• Do they have a favorite sports team? 

• A favorite hobby? 

• Are they PC or Mac? 

• Android or iPhone?

Take time to examine your surroundings. Search for clues that will help you connect with your client on a more personal level. Find something in common that you can discuss to help build rapport and create the foundation for a successful business relationship. These details add up—all the way to a sale, IF your “spy” glasses and senses are on and your phone is off.  

Don’t just spy IT, spy THEM. Look at and listen to your client’s non-verbal clues—observe their gestures, body language, and eye contact; listen to their questions; and interpret their subtle messages. What are they telling you without saying a word? Are they engaged or in a hurry? Do they let their office line go to voicemail, or do they take the call? Do you think it’s a secret that you’re there, or are you being introduced to people? 

Seeking, observing, and analyzing even the smallest details during a sales call will help you better identify and understand your potential client’s needs. You will gain insight and further understand who they are and how they do business. Your job as an international spy is to use that new knowledge to make a human connection. Your connection will lead to trust, and that trust leads to closing the deal. 

Hey, I spy a sale.

The original post appeared here on Jennifer Gluckow’s website. Her book Sales in a New York Minute: 212 Pages of Real World and Easy to Implement Strategies to Make More Sales, Build Loyal Relationships, and Make More Money is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, 800-CEO-READ.

“Lead the Field Literally Changed My Viewpoint on Life”: An Interview with Dr. Sarbari Gupta, CEO of Electrosoft by Jennifer Janechek

A month or so ago, I came across an article in the WashingtonExec about Dr. Sarbari Gupta, CEO of the technology company Electrosoft. In it, she says that Earl Nightingale’s Lead the Field audio program “literally changed [her] viewpoint on life when [she] first heard it in 1995 and motivated [her] to take bolder steps toward [her] goals in life.” Sound Wisdom recently published a beautiful print edition of Lead the Field, so I reached out to Dr. Gupta to learn more about how Nightingale’s work shaped her life and career. She was kind enough to chat with me over the phone, sharing many of her own success strategies as well as those that she gleaned from Nightingale’s audio program.  

Tell our readers a little bit about yourself and how you got started in the field you’re in. 

I grew up in India and came to the United States to do graduate studies in electrical engineering. In graduate school, I took various courses in what was then called “information assurance/computer security” (now cybersecurity), and several of my master’s courses focused on cybersecurity-related topics. My first job after grad school was at Trusted Information Systems. During this time, I received a postcard advertising an audiotape of this program, Lead the Field. The marketing must have been intriguing enough that I signed up for it and ended up receiving a packet of maybe six audiotapes.  

Nightingale’s delivery really motivated me and started me thinking about concepts like attitude. I started talking to contacts and discovered an opportunity to move to IBM to do some groundbreaking work in the cybersecurity arena. To some extent this tape prompted me to keep my eyes and ears open. Sure enough, opportunities came up for me to grab, including this move to IBM. But I always had this desire to be my own boss, and in many ways Nightingale’s principles helped me chart my course toward founding Electrosoft.  

Lead the Field has often been referred to as the “Program of Presidents” because so many top executives have incorporated Earl Nightingale’s insight and guidance into their management philosophies. How did Lead the Field shape your management philosophy or your work philosophy in general? 

In the first chapter, “The Magic Word,” the lesson about attitude changed how I interacted with my family and colleagues. I have continuously applied the principle of integrity, the seed for achievement, in my life. It has had a strong influence on my management philosophy, especially the idea of the person on the white horse—that whoever is the leader is setting the example; there’s no hiding. On a personal level, I’ve found “The Miracle of Your Mind” chapter very beneficial—getting out an empty sheet of paper in the morning, focusing on the most important question, and coming up with answers. It’s true, as Nightingale suggests, that when you key in on a question at the beginning of the day, your subconscious will often be at work, trying to find an answer to it. And those answers will come to you, often at odd times of the day! 

What qualities do you think are most necessary for success in business, especially as an entrepreneur and/or manager?  

More than anything else, resilience. You need to be able to bounce back after things like opportunities falling through. Integrity is another word I take very seriously. People need to see integrity to trust you. Also, goal setting—people who succeed have goals. Like Nightingale points out in one of his anecdotes, being a bricklayer might be a tedious job, but if you can envision the whole thing, then you’ll have the drive to build it. 

Do you have any advice to budding entrepreneurs about what sorts of things they should be doing to position themselves well to succeed? 

Networking is No. 1. Careers are made or broken by who you know and who respects you. Whenever you can, get to know people in your field, establish a relationship with them, and build on that. Take your work seriously. Do a good job in everything that you undertake. The impression you’re making today matters. You could encounter the same people in the future. If you give a positive impression that earns their respect—you put your heart into it, do a good job, etc.—you could meet them twenty years later and they might remember that they were impressed with you. It can make it easier to establish a business relationship later on. Demonstrate a good work ethic. Don’t ever think that senior people aren’t keeping an eye on you. Keep making a good impression, attend to matters of professionalism—dress, attitude, whatever it is. It just helps in the long run.  

In terms of readying yourself to be an entrepreneur, try to get different types of experiences. Seek jobs with exposure to the sales side of things, or the financial aspects of a business. Do this in a low-risk environment where you’re still an employee, learning on the job; then you’ll feel more confident that you can set things up for yourself down the road.

About Sarbari Gupta

Dr. Sarbari Gupta has been active in the information security industry for over twenty years. She possesses broad-based knowledge and experience in the areas of cybersecurity, privacy, and cryptographic solutions. Dr. Gupta, who holds a PhD degree in Electrical Engineering and CISSP and CISA certifications, has authored over twenty technical papers/presentations in refereed conferences/journals and several chapters in cybersecurity books. In addition, she has co-authored several NIST Special Publications in the areas of Electronic Authentication, Security Configuration Management, and Mobile Credentials and holds four patents in areas of cryptography. Dr. Gupta is the founder, CEO, and president of Electrosoft, a provider of technology-based services and solutions with a special focus on cybersecurity.

About Electrosoft Services Inc.

Electrosoft, headquartered in Reston, Virginia, delivers a diversified set of technology-based solutions and services to federal, civilian, and defense agencies. They couple domain knowledge and experience with proven, mature management practices to design and deliver the right solutions on time and within budget. Their practices include an ISO 9001:2015 registered Quality Management System and Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Level 3 assessed processes. Founded in 2001, Electrosoft is an 8(a) certified Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) and an 8(m) certified Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB). For more information about Electrosoft, visit their website at www.electrosoft-inc.com.

Get your copy of Lead the Field now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, 800-CEO-READ, and other fine retailers. Also available in the Earl Nightingale Series is The Direct Line, and The Direct Line Workbook is forthcoming in December.