Why Attitude Is More Important Than Intelligence

When it comes to success, it’s easy to think that people blessed with brains are inevitably going to leave the rest of us in the dust. But new research from Stanford University will change your mind (and your attitude).

Psychologist Carol Dweck has spent her entire career studying attitude and performance, and her latest study shows that your attitude is a better predictor of your success than your IQ.

Dweck found that people’s core attitudes fall into one of two categories: a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.

With a fixed mindset, you believe you are who you are and you cannot change. This creates problems when you’re challenged because anything that appears to be more than you can handle is bound to make you feel hopeless and overwhelmed.

People with a growth mindset believe that they can improve with effort. They outperform those with a fixed mindset, even when they have a lower IQ, because they embrace challenges, treating them as opportunities to learn something new.  

Common sense would suggest that having ability, like being smart, inspires confidence. It does, but only while the going is easy. The deciding factor in life is how you handle setbacks and challenges. People with a growth mindset welcome setbacks with open arms.  

According to Dweck, success in life is all about how you deal with failure. She describes the approach to failure of people with the growth mindset this way,

“Failure is information—we label it failure, but it’s more like, ‘This didn’t work, and I’m a problem solver, so I’ll try something else."

Regardless of which side of the chart you fall on, you can make changes and develop a growth mindset. What follows are some strategies that will fine-tune your mindset and help you make certain it’s as growth oriented as possible.

Don’t stay helpless. 

We all hit moments when we feel helpless. The test is how we react to that feeling. We can either learn from it and move forward or let it drag us down. There are countless successful people who would have never made it if they had succumbed to feelings of helplessness: Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas,” Oprah Winfrey was fired from her job as a TV anchor in Baltimore for being “too emotionally invested in her stories,” Henry Ford had two failed car companies prior to succeeding with Ford, and Steven Spielberg was rejected by USC’s Cinematic Arts School multiple times. Imagine what would have happened if any of these people had a fixed mindset. They would have succumbed to the rejection and given up hope. People with a growth mindset don’t feel helpless because they know that in order to be successful, you need to be willing to fail hard and then bounce right back.

Be passionate.

 Empowered people pursue their passions relentlessly. There’s always going to be someone who’s more naturally talented than you are, but what you lack in talent, you can make up for in passion. Empowered people’s passion is what drives their unrelenting pursuit of excellence. Warren Buffet recommends finding your truest passions using, what he calls, the 5/25 technique: Write down the 25 things that you care about the most. Then, cross out the bottom 20. The remaining 5 are your true passions. Everything else is merely a distraction.

Take action. 

It’s not that people with a growth mindset are able to overcome their fears because they are braver than the rest of us; it’s just that they know fear and anxiety are paralyzing emotions and that the best way to overcome this paralysis is to take action. People with a growth mindset are empowered, and empowered people know that there’s no such thing as a truly perfect moment to move forward. So why wait for one? Taking action turns all your worry and concern about failure into positive, focused energy.

Then go the extra mile (or two) 

Empowered people give it their all, even on their worst days. They’re always pushing themselves to go the extra mile. One of Bruce Lee’s pupils ran three miles every day with him. One day, they were about to hit the three-mile mark when Bruce said, “Let’s do two more.” His pupil was tired and said, “I’ll die if I run two more.” Bruce’s response? “Then do it.” His pupil became so angry that he finished the full five miles. Exhausted and furious, he confronted Bruce about his comment, and Bruce explained it this way: “Quit and you might as well be dead. If you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life. It’ll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there; you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.”

If you aren’t getting a little bit better each day, then you’re most likely getting a little worse—and what kind of life is that?

Expect results

People with a growth mindset know that they’re going to fail from time to time, but they never let that keep them from expecting results. Expecting results keeps you motivated and feeds the cycle of empowerment. After all, if you don’t think you’re going to succeed, then why bother?

Be flexible 

Everyone encounters unanticipated adversity. People with an empowered, growth-oriented mindset embrace adversity as a means for improvement, as opposed to something that holds them back. When an unexpected situation challenges an empowered person, they flex until they get results.

Don't complain when things don't go your way

Complaining is an obvious sign of a fixed mindset. A growth mindset looks for opportunity in everything, so there’s no room for complaints.

Bringing it all together

By keeping track of how you respond to the little things, you can work every day to keep yourself on the right side of the chart above.

Source: www.entrepreneur.com

Contributor: Travis Bradberry (President at TalentSmart)

Juggling a Business and Day Job?

The light-bulb just went off. And now you have a million dollar idea.

Should you quit your day job? The situation varies from individual to individual, but before you put-in your two weeks notice, weigh the pros and cons of launching a business while holding down a full-time job. I had to do this before I quit my job.

The obvious pro of keeping the job is that you’ll have a consistent income. This will help take care of your bills and debts as you put your new business venture into motion. The main concern about keeping your full-time position is that you’re going to run out of time. Spending 40 hours or so per week at your day job doesn’t leave a whole lot of other time to build your business and have a personal life. The good news is that this is temporary. You may have to do this for no more than a year or so.

I had to weigh in these options when I quit my job years ago. I was scared, much like I'm sure you are. I ended up working for almost a year while I was building my side venture. Now, years later, I look back on the time I spent and wish I would have done it sooner. Here are 10 of best ways to launch your business while keeping your job.

1. Take baby steps

There is absolutely no way that you’re going to be able to launch a new business overnight. It’s going to take time - maybe even years. There’s no need to rush in and suddenly devote 40 hours to some nonexistent business on top of your already hectic schedule. Ease into it. Take baby steps. Maybe start with just an hour each night after dinner. Later, add add another hour first thing in the morning.

During the first couple of weeks, you need to figure out the schedule that best suits you. If you’re a morning person, get up early to work on your business instead of just watching the morning news.

Once you have a schedule, stick to it as much as you can. However, keep one thing in mind. You don’t have to spend an exact amount of hours each week, such as 40 hours. If you can maximize your time and accomplish your goals in just in an hour, then you probably don’t have to spend any more time on your business for the night.

2. Don’t burn bridges

Even though you’re launching your own business, you still have certain obligations with your current employer. You still have to be at work everyday on time, complete all of your assignments in a timely manner, and never work on your business on your employer’s dime. This will keep your professional integrity intact. You never know. Your former boss could be a potential client or could even refer you once you’re up and running.

Prior to launching your business, examine documents like non-disclosure agreements and any other employment or assignments agreements that you have signed. If you’re not familiar with the legal jargon, seek the advice of a local startup attorney.

3. Test, test, and test again

Hopefully, you’ve validated your business idea. If not, stop right now to research and test. If no one is going to purchase your product or service, then you’re just wasting your time and money. If you have validated your idea and things look like they’re on the up-and-up, you’re not completely off the hook for testing. Test your business ideas continually to make them stronger, better and more appealing to your target audience.

Ask for feedback from your friends or family. Talk to potential customers wherever and whenever you can. Create a landing page. Ask potential leads to fill out a survey with SurveyMonkey. Build a prototype and showcase it at industry events or film a product demo.

4. Set realistic goals

Think of goals like a road-map. If you've never been in a specific place before, how else do you expect to know where you’re going? It’s common for successful businesses to establish three sets of goals - daily, weekly, and monthly - to help them achieve both short and long-term goals.

Your daily goals should be the items you can cross off you to-do-list, like responding to emails. Weekly goals are slightly larger projects that you probably can’t complete in one day, such as working on the design of your website. Monthly goals are milestone events like launching your website the first month, having any sales at all the third month, quitting your job in the sixth month and hiring your first team member in the ninth month.

5. Invest what you can into your business

One of the best things about keeping your full-time job is that you can use any extra money to invest into your new company. Instead of taking out a huge loan, you can piece together your business plan over the next several months. For example, you can invest in anything from proper research, product development, website development, marketing, and legal counsel while you're still bringing in an income to keep you afloat until your business takes off.

6. Find a co-founder

Launching a new business is serious work. Launching a new business while holding down a full-time job can is brutal. That’s why you should find a co-founder for your startup. Co-founders can bring a different set of skills to the business. Let’s say you’re a good marketer, but don’t have the coding skills to build a website or app. A co-founder with those skills will save you time and money while making you more attractive to investors. Co-founders share the workload and stress, offer a listening ear. They are your brainstorming partner and increase your productivity.

When looking for a co-founder, make sure that they are a good fit for both parties. You can start by taking a look at the scope of your needs. If you’re a strong marketer, do you really need or want another marketer as your partner? You also need to look at their skill level, passion, experience and personality.

While you’re still putting in your 9-5, you should be networking at industry events and searching on sites like Startup Grind, CoFoundersLab and StartupWeekend.

7. Throw away the television

I don’t want you to literally throw away your television. You should, however, limit your distractions. Let’s say that you set aside 7 pm to 10 pm every weeknight for your business. You need to spend that time focusing only on your business. Have a quiet place to work in your home. Turn off your smartphone. Get off of Facebook, when you should be doing influencer outreach. Only do one thing at a time. The research on the multitasking is beginning to show the truth of the matter, that multitasking is a myth. Do one thing at a time. Do the task faster, but just one task at a time.

Removing distractions will boost your productivity so that you can achieve your business launch date.

8. Outsource as much as you can

As you juggle between two jobs, you’re going to quickly realize how valuable your time is. So why waste it on tasks that you could outsource? Maybe you could hire a writer to start churning out content for your blog. Or, you could hire a virtual assistant to help keep you on track, such as book appointments, and respond to emails. There are 53+ million freelancers out there who can help you with pretty much any task imaginable.

Outsourcing will you save time and you’ll also have someone who has a different set of skills. Instead of throwing your keyboard against the wall because you don’t understand a piece of code, you could outsource your web development to someone who has a web development skill.

Sites like Freelancer, Upwork and Elance are good places to start.

9. Start generating revenue

As soon as you make that first dollar, you’ll suddenly realize that this has gone from an idea to a bona fide business. As the dollars keep coming, you can continue to invest even more money back into the business, which in turn means that you’ll be one-step closer to completely going out on your own. I recommend that you re-invest all the money back into the business to make more.

If you are providing a service, you can start consulting on the side since you have the skills to offer to others. If you have product, you can consider taking pre-orders for the product.

10. Family always comes first

Don’t walk in the door and immediately head to your home office. Spend time with your family. Whether it’s eating dinner together, watching a television show, going for a walk or helping the kids with homework, it’s necessary that you have this time with your loved ones. Becoming a business owner is already going to put a strain on your relationships. Don’t make matters worse by being completely absent from the family portrait.

I personally like to set "working" hours that are acceptable to my family. Those hours tend to be in the morning because I find kids don't remember mornings but never forget evenings. Don't let this venture take over your life.

If you’re single, then make sure that you spend quality time with your friends. You need to blow off some steam every now and then. Burnout isn’t going to increase your productivity.

Source: entrepreneur.com

Contributor: John Rampton

How Listening To Your Gut Can Make You a Better Founder

Being a founder of a company is a tricky career path. Unlike the typical corporate-ladder structure, there is no roadmap telling you how to run a company.

1. Burn your security blankets

At the beginning, I sometimes got stuck on a project for too long, because I was too comfortable to admit it wouldn’t work. I ignored data right in front of me. After investing a lot of time, energy and capital, it’s only natural to become attached to a project or idea. You can even convince yourself that you’re doing well when you’re not.

But when you get overly content, you’re not listening to your gut anymore; you’re not even listening to facts. Remain objective. Step back and look at the raw data. What is it telling you? You need passion to make something work, but you also need the intellect to cut bait when it isn’t working.

2. Break open the suggestion box

I started Leadnomics while I was in college, and early on, I could have benefited from some expert direction to guide me through early-stage challenges.

Sometimes, having one person’s instinct in agreement with your own is the push you need to move an idea forward. On the other hand, a questioning voice can help you think differently and save you from a critical mistake. Steer your gut in the right direction by calling on trusted advisers when you need a second opinion.

3. Never betray your instincts

An adviser may have more experience than you in some areas, but that doesn’t mean it’s applicable to every situation you’ll face when launching your business. Scrutinize each adviser’s point of view, background and areas of expertise against your own.

Value others’ opinions and weigh them appropriately, but don’t take them as gospel. You’re the only keeper of your vision, and if the data and your intuition are backing it up, you’re probably right on track.

4. Escape a false sense of productivity

While founding your own business, there are a million ideas and items that can sidetrack you. And it feels good to be busy. After all, busyness signals progress, right? Be careful: a false sense of productivity won’t get you anywhere. What’s more, juggling multiple tasks at once can cost up to 40 percent of your productive time.

Keep your business, and your instincts, on track by setting big goals. Each day, I try to accomplish three smaller steps that are directly in service of my goals and avoid getting roped into projects and conversations that aren’t.

Every day, I’m grateful I followed my gut and launched my company. In entrepreneurship, the risks are yours to bear, but so are the achievements. Make following your passions less scary by always looking to the data, keeping trusted advisers around, setting and celebrating goals and trusting the instincts that guided you in the first place.

Source: entrepreneur.com

Contributor: Zach Robbins (Co-Founder of Leadnomics)

Apply For The Unilever Young Social Entrepreneur Awards 2015

The Unilever Sustainable Living Young Entrepreneurs Awards were launched in 2013 to inspire and support the innovation and creativity of young people who are responding to the greatest global challenges facing us today.

It is one significant way to inspire action—that is why the search is on for young innovators aged 35 or under that have already begun to address the challenges at the heart of the Global Goals.

In partnership with the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), and in collaboration with Ashoka, Unilever is looking for innovative and scaleable technologies or initiatives that are contributing to one or more of the eight Global Goals identified as most relevant to their business and entrepreneurs.

This year, seven young entrepreneurs will receive a total of €200,000 in funding and support to help take their sustainable solutions to the next level. The prize package includes funding, customised expert mentoring support, access to an online business development programme, a two-day accelerator workshop at the University of Cambridge, and networking with senior executives and sustainability leaders at Unilever’s headquarters.

One entrepreneur will take home the greatest prize fund and be presented with the HRH The Prince of Wales Young Sustainability Entrepreneur Prize at an unforgettable event in London.

If your initiative is already helping people to live more sustainably and is ready to scale up to shape the better future described by the Global Goals, enter today! Help make this the generation that secures the health, safety and future of the planet for everyone on it.

PRIZES TO BE WON

Six finalists will each receive cash prizes of €10,000, along with support and mentorship (worth €10,000).

One winner will receive a €50,000 cash prize and will be awarded the HRH The Prince of Wales Young Sustainability Entrepreneur Prize at an event in London in Spring 2016 and €25,000 worth of support and mentoring.

All entrants will benefit from exposure to a range of leading sustainability experts, entrepreneurs and investors during the process, along with recognition via Unilever’s global channels and the networks of the University of Cambridge and Ashoka.

External Link: https://www.changemakers.com/globalgoals2015#competition-pane-1471

How Often Should You Update or Rebuild your Website?

When it comes to updating your business website in a timely manner, the one rule is this: There are no rules. That’s according to Christian Riggs, president of Riggs Creative Group, a user-experience design and website development firm in San Diego. Riggs says that deciding whether to update, redesign or reengineer your site should depend entirely on your business goals, objectives and economic considerations, rather than on some superficial time frame pulled out of thin air. We asked him to explain. 

Q: Why would I redesign the look and feel of my website but not rebuild it?

A: A variety of factors can make a redesign worth considering, but here are several that almost always require an update. You’ve got new branding and color standards, and you need to make sure your new look extends to your website. Your bounce rates are extremely high, meaning people visit but few convert; a well-thought-out redesign can turn this around. Or your business has grown, and plans call for new products and services; your site’s design may need to reflect that change. Last, your customers complain about your site, claiming that it looks outdated or doesn’t work well.

Q: What developments might require me to reengineer my website from scratch?

A: The most important one is if your current site doesn’t adapt to mobile device screens. Fixing this is an absolute must in today’s mobile-driven world. Another would be if your site was originally built using Flash: Apple’s iPads and iPhones don’t support Flash. That’s reason enough to rebuild, but there’s another reason: Flash can slow your site down.

Anyone in your company should be able to learn and use your content management system (CMS) to update your site. You shouldn’t have to hire a programmer to make simple changes and fixes. Along those same lines of keeping things simple: If your site takes forever to load, you need to reengineer the backend. Nobody puts up with long waits anymore.

Q: Should I invite my customers to be part of the redesign process?

A: Yes! Customer opinion and feedback give you the kind of insights that convert visitors into customers. Start by asking what they think of your proposed design and if it appeals to them. Then ask about the problem they’re looking to solve and if the information they need access to is easy to find in the new design. After you relaunch the site, ask them again if they like it. If they say no, address their concerns through incremental design enhancements, which your new site should allow you to do without starting over.

In short, you want to follow the lead of sites like Apple.com and Amazon.com, which rarely undergo complete facelifts. Instead, their sites evolve over time using an iterative process that results in near invisible refinements that have the bonus of maintaining the user experience that customers know and like.

Source: Entrepreneur.com

Contributor: Mikal E. Belicove