E-Guide to Business

Many people think business success is all about being in the right place, knowing the right people, and having the right knowledge.

All that helps, of course. But true, lasting success comes from deep within ourselves - character traits that we nurture and grow.

The odds of achieving true success - whether in life or in business - can be increased or decreased by how well you cultivate the following.

1. Think positively.

My husband sometimes calls me "Pollyanna" because I insist on giving everything a positive slant. I wasn't always like that...it was a deliberate cultivation on my part. And if I can do it, so can you.

Why should you strive to think positively? Quite simply, successful people are positive people. That doesn't mean you need to walk around with a phony smile pasted on your face all the time. It just means that when you improve the quality of the way you think about things, you'll improve the quality of the outcome.

If you believe a situation will turn out for the best, then chances are your actions will follow your thoughts. The reverse is also true, which leads me to the next step...

2. Avoid the negative.

Negativity sucks the life out of you. It seriously does.

In fact, here's a quick exercise for you: Name three successful people who are negative. Can't do it, can you?

Many of us still haven't realized that negativity attracts negativity. Call it karma, call it the Law of Attraction, call it whatever you want. It's just a fact of life that people who are negative rarely succeed. We all know these people. It's like they have a little black cloud hanging over their heads all the time. They insist on making lemons out of lemonade. They're the ones we look at, shake our heads sadly and say, "But they had so much potential."

Why is this? Negative people believe if they don't expect too much means they won't be disappointed when it doesn't happen. Unfortunately, if they don't expect much chances are they won't get much. When you expect good things to happen, then you believe good things will happen, so you work toward making them happen.

We obviously can't totally avoid negative people. They're everywhere! But we can limit the amount of time we spend with them on a regular basis - unless, of course, you happen to be married to one or are a parent to one. If that's the case, perhaps you can try asking them to stop complaining or being negative when you're around. If this doesn't work, you may simply have to remove yourself from the room when they start.

3. Cultivate self-discipline.

People who do what they need to do when they need to do it are the people who will get to the finish line first. These are the people for whom self-discipline has become second nature. They may not have been born with it, but they have developed it over time because they know it's necessary for them to be successful in business and in life.

After all, if you have a hard time staying on track, or get easily distracted, how are you going to be able to focus on building your business? If you don't keep your promises to others or yourself, how are you going to build trust within your organization or your customer base?

Try this: start every morning by telling yourself that you are someone who finishes what they start; someone who keeps their promises; someone who does what they need to do.

Then do it.

4. Be self-motivated.

What's the difference between someone who lives a motivated life and someone who lets life dictate how they think and act?

Success.

People who are successful are people who are motivated. They don't sit around waiting for someone to tell them what to do - they figure it out for themselves and then go accomplish it.

When I hire people, one of the first things I look for is their level of self-motivation. The reason for this is because I don't want to have to micro-manage them. I don't want to have to be constantly asking them if they got it done. I want to hire the best person for the job, them let them go do it.

You don't have to be Tony Robbins, John Maxwell, or Stephen Covey to live an upbeat and motivated life. But one of the first things you can do to start living a motivated life is to read books by people like them. There are a lot of motivational books out there - find some that resonate with you. I usually have four books going at once, one of which is usually motivational in nature.

Another thing you can do is to seek out other motivated people. If you network with people who are positive and upbeat, you expand your horizons and opportunities.

5. Go the distance.
Whenever I ask my daughter to do something that she feels a little nervous about, she inevitably says, "Sure, Mom, I'll try." Okay, I appreciate her willingness to try new things. But saying you're going to "try" is setting yourself up for failure.

Successful people go into every situation ready to give 110 percent. When you are focused on not just "trying" but "succeeding," chances are pretty good that you're going to get a lot closer to the goal.

Regardless of where you are in life or business, if you cultivate these qualities and persevere, you will realize your dreams and accomplish your goals.