The Entrepreneurial Savant

Throughout our lives there are certain persons who serve as pivot points, making it easier to achieve goals, make changes and find the resources we need to accomplish things. These Key People may be teachers, family members, friends, business connections or anyone else who takes an interest in who and what you are and who want to help you along. Very often Key People move in the background, affecting the lives of many others, seeing and making the connections that move us ahead in life. Finding and recognizing the Key People in your life is a necessary skill for achieving personal and professional success.
The first place to look for these mentors is in your past. Who has helped at times when you were stuck, frustrated or in trouble? Have you ever gone back and thanked them from the perspective of time and experience? Reestablishing and maintaining contact is important to finding and working with your Key People.

Look for Key People in the lives of others:

• Does a friend have a boss who takes an active interest in his or her advancement?
• Does a classmate always talk about a certain teacher who is so much more effective than the run of the mill?
• Are someone else’s parents always hosting their kids friends all the way into adulthood?
• Is there a person who seems to always know where to find a resource or how to go about solving a problem?
• Is there a person or persons you know who always are willing to make introductions and set up contacts between people with diverse skills and backgrounds?

These Key People are to be found in everyone’s lives- although many of us may have ignored their presence or resisted their attempts to help. By cultivating and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with those people you will help to build a very effective team to aid in your route to success.
Put together a business contact list and keep the people on it up to date with what you are doing. Use the list to send out copies of things you’ve read or benefited from to others on the list. Make introductions when you meet people who can act as resources to each other. Eventually you’ll find yourself being regarded as a Key Person in their lives, a real measure of personal success.

Then take it to the next level and start actively making connections for the benefit of others.

No Comments yet »

Mention the word ‘research’ and everyone’s eyes roll back into their heads. It conjures up visions of endless Google searches or copying text out of a wikipedia entry. Researching something that can change your life can turn this drudgery into a fascinating task. I’m always amazed how many people start off on complex ventures without doing any research. Perhaps they think that they can learn as they go along. That’s fine, but why go through the painfully boring process of making endless mistakes when there is a wealth of human experience available to help you take giant steps past the competition?

“I don’t know where to start.”
Fortunately there are easy answers to this common complaint about researching things. Research is a process of unfolding. Each fact leads to another group of facts. As you gain in knowledge, you choose which path or paths to take and when to stop. There are several ways to start. The children’s section of the library is a great place to get basic information on a subject. Good children’s non-fiction distills the essential answers down to their most important aspects. A children’s book on a particular subject gives you a basic knowledge of that subject.
Another place to start is the search engines. Look for data sources around your subject matter such as lists of industrial categories, associations, newsletters and periodicals on a subject, databases available, etc. They can point you to experts and provide you with a view of how big the universe surrounding your interest is. (great for networking and business planning). Books and periodicals usually have notes and resources listed in the back matter.
All of these sources are what is known as secondary research sources. Primary sources are the experiments and people whose experiences generated the published info. Most of us will do most of our research from secondary resources, leaving the really esoteric knowledge to the experts. However, doing the secondary research now means that when you can talk to a primary source you’ll know what questions to ask to get the highest value out of your opportunity. And, eventually, your expertise will turn you into one of these primary sources.
Even a little research can help you avoid major pitfalls on your path. You’ll still fall into a few pits but you’ll have the tools required to pull yourself out.

No Comments yet »

There is a good business reason why employers give people vacation time and often require them to use it by a certain date. It’s not just because the employees expect it as a perk of their jobs. Vacation is a time to recharge your engines and regain your long term perspective. It is a time to step off the day to day treadmill, no matter how exciting, and re-orient your life in a different mode. Those of you who are workaholics who never can find time to take vacations are probably getting less real work done than the worker who understands the place of getting away from it all. Workaholism was glorified in the go-go eighties as the way to get ahead. We also coined the phrase, ‘working vacation’, in which you transport your work environment to a more scenic locale. This defeats the purpose of vacationing.
When things are out of control or you cannot seem to make any forward movement, get out of town. The key is to change environments completely for an extended (more than a weekend) period of time. If you work in a rural environment, this might mean heading off to NY or LA for a dose of the big city. For those of us poking at keyboards all day it might mean going out and learning how to climb rocks or developing a physical skill. Even if you just head out to a campsite on a hill and stare at a fire all night, you’re going to receive big benefits. To repeat: Energy, Perspective, Inward Contemplation, Physical Exercise, etc. Successful people make the time to get away.

No Comments yet »

As we’ve seen, there is value in having opinions and being willing to discuss and defend them in public. However, when you are unwilling to admit that you have made an error or missed a step in your thinking, you go from having opinions to being an opinionated blockhead. The ability to admit errors and incorporate lessons learned from mistakes is essential to success. Not learning from your mistakes dooms you to repeat them and life is too short to do stupid things over and over.

No Comments yet »

We live in a world where it is increasingly unacceptable behavior to rock the boat. Legions of well meaning people in all walks of life spend a good part of their working life avoiding controversy, staying away from potentially damaging decision making and generally covering their collective rear ends. That’s my opinion. Is it based in fact and logic? On some levels, yes and on others it represents an intuitive summing up of a particular set of ideas. Having and expressing opinions serves several purposes. An opinion is an idea that you have put together out of your life experience. As such it is interesting as a glimpse into your character and it shows that you have ideas and are willing and able to express them. Taking a stance also forces you to defend your ideas and determine whether they stand up to scrutiny. Finally, people respect others who are willing to take a reasonable stand and defend it against its detractors. It shows character.
The downside of being opinionated is when you refuse to consider the opinions of others or when you are parroting something you have heard elsewhere without understanding the thought behind it. Another important lesson about having opinions leads us to Secret # 12: Admit When You’re Wrong (next post).

1 Comment »

Speaking in public is allegedly the number one fear in America, ahead of death and taxes. Yet it is a skill that all successful people should cultivate. Public speaking ability helps you reach large numbers of potential supporters all at once, magnifying your ideas and projects. It demonstrates your poise and confidence and provides introductions in a way no amount of networking can do.
Organizations like Toastmasters International teach all of their members to speak effectively through a rigorous and fun approach to this fearsome task. Like all bogeymen, public speaking loses its scary aspects the more you get to know the ropes. Good speakers are always in demand and there is no better way to build a business or introduce an idea than by the public, yet personal, skill of speaking to a group.

No Comments yet »

Selling is one of the least understood and most maligned skills around. Yet the ability to sell yourself and your ideas is essential to success in any endeavor. We are brought up to regard salespeople with disdain even though we live in the greatest consumer economy in the history of civilization. Sales are the grease that keeps capitalism running smoothly and are what makes everything you sit on, eat, read, look at, etc., easy to acquire. No salespeople, no good life.
Every successful person has a vision that keeps them going. Their ability to convince others of the value of that vision is what makes things happen in our lives. Learning sales skills will give you a strong basic knowledge of how people interact and communicate. They will give you insight into an individual’s character and motivations and they will enable you to build a business or an idea into a profitable enterprise.
What is selling? Selling is problem solving. Selling is finding a need and filling it. Selling is learning what your potential customer needs and desires and providing it in a way that is mutually beneficial. Therein lies the key to raising the art of selling to a respected position. The salesperson’s goal is to provide a solution to both his own and his customer’s problems by offering a solution for a price.
How do you learn to sell? Start by learning basic sales techniques from a course or book. Practice in your day to day life as you convince people to back your dreams. Good sales technique comes from a combination of continuous education and practice because it is based on a clear understanding of what makes people buy (or not buy).

No Comments yet »

One great definition of an expert goes like this: If you read about a recent development in the daily paper and you are already aware of it you are probably an expert on the subject. Why be an expert? Because specialized knowledge is worth paying for and because deep involvement in any subject expands your mind in many ways. Most of us are experts in something. Hobbyists, cooks, gamers, musicians, romance novel readers, etc., all have the potential to be experts.
What does expertise mean for success? Many, many businesses have started because of specialized knowledge. In fact, if you are considering starting a business the most common advice you’ll get (from the experts!) is to do something you are an expert at. Look at how many gamers become game developers. It happens because they have a basic understanding of what makes interactivity work and how far it can be carried. They’re at the cutting edge (another definition of expertise). Many hobbyists have made small fortunes out of their expertise by starting websites, designing specialized components or writing books about their specialty.
Being an expert isn’t really about money though. It’s about being really fascinated by a subject. And many people are fascinated by experts. They pay to hear them speak or seek out their opinions. This is great for your self-esteem. And good self-esteem is a part of leading a successful life.

No Comments yet »

Back-up skills used to be called hobbies back before we all ran out of time. Now a back-up skill may be something we’ve always dreamed of pursuing but didn’t have the time or something we picked up along the way that we’ve always gone back to when we need to rejuvenate ourselves.
I have an attorney friend who loves his law practice but has a back-up skill that might surprise some of his corporate clients. He writes and records children’s music and is on the verge of making himself a household word with the 3-8 year-old crowd. His legal work has made it financially possible for him to pursue his recording projects without the struggle that so often hampers musicians. Another friend has an African coin collection that has turned into a profitable Internet business as he and other aficionados trade and barter these obscure coins. It may turn into a full time business after he retires.
As a writer, the value of secondary skills is obvious. I picked up woodworking skills from my brother, a professional woodworker and went on to write a marketing book for woodworkers. Years ago the hours I spent painting houses while struggling to sell my writing not only taught me a skill (and painting is an honorable and ancient profession) that paid the bills but they gave me valuable time to think and showed me the value of careful, methodical and meticulous work.
We all have skills we’ve picked up over time. Don’t discount the value of those ‘secondary’ skills; they may lead you into something totally unexpected.

No Comments yet »

It’s the power of positive thinking and it works. No one likes to be around someone who always shoots things down and moans about how unfair life is. Life is fair and there are opportunities in every crisis. Negative thinking grows from negative thinking and must be stopped. You may not even know you are doing it.
One way to stop negativity is to make a conscious effort to say something good about everyone and everything you encounter. Take it one day at a time. It will be  difficult because your negative habits are powerful. No matter how tired or cynical or angry you become in a situation, make a positive effort even if it seems completely fake. You’ll be amazed at the difference it makes in the quality of your life. People will start to enjoy your company, projects will move along and you will start getting new ideas about how to handle old problems. Some problems will simply cease to exist. They were just built up out of fears and negativity.
A miracle cure? Not for everybody, but developing a positive attitude that says yes instead of no will make your world a more successful place.

No Comments yet »