An Entrepreneurial Mindset - Part II of II) - How to get it?

Hello all. Welcome back.  You could be anywhere in the world, but you're hear reading this right now. I appreciate that... (I always wanted to say that,..shout out to Jigga man).  Last week, we discussed the entrepreneurial mindset.  We defined it and discussed why it's important to have if you desire is to see ultimate success for your life. The increased success you would see at work, the increased flexibility for your future, and the fact that it only takes one idea to be a hit were the main reasons of choice. This week, let's dive into the HOW TO DO IT of the series by discussing some simple ways of thinking that will create a paradigm shift that will help you get there.  While most people would like some kinetic-related task to get them there, often the change that has to take place in an individual before any physical action is more in the way this person thinks, as opposed to what they do. As it seems most life-changing ideas are, they are simple but not always easy to do.

SPEND MORE TIME "THINKING"

Thinking is put in parentheses because you have to understand what true thinking is. In the automated lives in which we live today, very few of us go through the day and actually do much of this.  Due to the fact we have become routine at doing various task, i.e. working out, doing our day job, spending time with our significant other, we often don't think through the task as we do it to understand why we are doing something and if we can do it even better. When you are an entrepreneur, you are always looking for an angle. Generally, every business is focused on doing two things to be more profitable - either make more money or save more money in some capacity. When you are an entrepreneur, you are constantly thinking about everything you do to analyze if it is the best way to do it. You are asking the question, "Is there a more efficient way that you're missing that could be a better use of your time?"  Are there opportunities in the market that you are missing that could be that huge "eureka" moment for your company that could take you to becoming the next Google?  Because an entrepreneur's business and ultimate success is based on their ideas, they find themselves constantly thinking about these types of things.  When you do this in life, you will find yourself consistently identifying ways that you could improve the quality of your life by stopping some things, doing more of others, and changing the way you do some.  As I shared in the post about iterative career planning, good entrepreneurs are consistently assessing and reassessing how they approach something and identifying how they can make it better.  In life, having this type of mindset to assess how much sense something makes versus what could be a better use of your time will be HUGE in you differentiating yourself from the "majority" - who just don't do this every day, if ever.

DON'T ACCEPT THE STATUS QUO

Often entrepreneurs are known as innovators, pioneers, harbingers of the future. The reason many of them get this title is because they don't accept the status quo that already exist in the world. They are always looking for a different and better way to do something. They are always asking "why" and "why not" when problems arise. They are always looking at things from a different lenses to identify the angle or truth that no ones has yet been able to identify, yet it's been sitting there the entire time. It's this inquisitive and curious type of approach to life that keeps these "thinkers" thinking and looking for ways to push the envelope.  Most people are familiar with the sheep and herd mentality.  Most people get their beliefs based on societal norms and what has been generally accepted as the "way" to do something.  Very few people stop to think why are these things accepted as truths and why doesn't someone challenge these assumptions. When individuals just blindly accept the status quo without questioning why, they could be missing out on millions of opportunities to improve on a process or a way of thinking that could improve their lives and the lives of others. In relation to your job, by being the person who consistently is thinking about ways to improve the business, you will quickly become known as a person who thinks of way to make things better, rather than complaining about everything - someone who is worth her/his weight in gold in any organization.

TAKE OWNERSHIP OF MORE

The last mind shift in the entrepreneurial mind set is focused on two different ways of taking ownership. The first part is derived directly from the word ownership: OWN more at your job and in your life.  Entrepreneurs generally are the CEO, CFO, and COO all wrapped into one. For this reason, she/he is involved in everything and feels a sense of ownership in everything related to the business.  While no one has the time or capacity to take on everything at their job, someone with an entrepreneurial mindset doesn't just recognize there are problems at their job and think it's someone else's responsibility to fix it. They are coming up with ideas and suggestions to fix the most pressing problems for the company, rather if it's in their job description or not.  As alluded to in the previous paragraph, this type of person is often the minority in any company and will see their stock rise with companies who recognize and appreciate this.  The second part of taking ownership of more is related to holding yourself more accountable and taking responsibility for the outcomes in certain situations.  Often, when something doesn't work out, most people are quick to point the finger at others and say what they did or did not do. Entrepreneurs know, however, that the buck stops with them and regardless of what someone else did, they are ultimately responsible. This type of thinking creates a more proactive and helpful mindset of how to improve and prevent negative things from occurring in the future, as opposed to just moping about one's bad luck or how terrible someone else is.  This one single trait is often what separates the victors from the victims.

Entrepreneurs.  They seem to have it all.  Confidence. Success. Money.  And while we see the exterior of how great these individuals appear in their day to day life, what we don't see is the way in which they think and how they approach life that explains how they have been able to accomplish so much and continue to inspire us with their achievements.  For you to see some of the success many of these great people have had, however, you don't need to move to Silicon Valley and start your own start-up tomorrow.  You can simply implement three small simple ways of changing the way you look at things and approach life to begin to have a chance at this type of life yourself.  And while you may have no desire to ever be a CEO and run your own company, if you implement this thinking into your everyday life, you'll still become the true Bruce Springsteen, or the "boss," of your own life.

Ken Middleton is an Account Manager at TEKsystems that specializes in IT staffing and services. He is a graduate of UNC-Pembroke and current MBA student at Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech (Graduate in May! - Whoop Whoop!). You can follow his daily quotes of inspiration and motivation on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIN

An Entrepreneurial Mindset (Part I of II) – Why You Should Have it?

Most people don't think of themselves as entrepreneurs. When the word is said, images of Mark Zuckerberg, Larry and Sergey, and Jeff Bezos come to mind.  While these guys are some of the most influential entrepreneurs in our modern day world, they should be referred to as more of "super" entrepreneurs rather than the common use of the word.  The truth is that most entrepreneurs will never even make a million dollars in a calendar year, much less see a billion. The average annual salary for entrepreneurs is any where from 68-72k.  That's right. The average entrepreneur does not make anywhere near as much as some people would believe. However, there is something about when we meet a true entrepreneur that inspires admiration and perhaps creates a little jealousy in us. There is something about the confidence with which they carry themselves that makes us desire to see that type of quality in ourselves. While we can't all quit our jobs and become entrepreneurs tomorrow, the one thing we can do is begin to approach each day with an entrepreneurial mindset to create this type of air about us also.  It this two-part blog series on the entrepreneurial mindset, I will first tell you why should have it every day to increase your chance of success in life. Then in next week's blog, I will go into the details of how to make this a reality for your life. So what is an entrepreneurial mindset? It's the commitment to always think like an entrepreneur. To always look for the creative solution to a problem. To attempt to identify ways to make something better in our world that ultimately others will pay you for. There are many reason why we should have this daily approach to life:

IT WILL MAKE YOU BETTER AT YOUR DAY JOB
One of the characteristics of an entrepreneur is generally creativity.  Entrepreneurs are typically faced with a number of daunting issues that don't always fit together like a neat puzzle, so they have to figure out ways to just make stuff work.  This allows them to consistently think through a number of different scenarios before coming up with what is often a very creative solution. Many entrepreneur approach problems with a "why not" philosophy.  They don't accept the social and accepted norms and think just because something HASN'T been done in the past means that it shouldn't been or even that it can't be done. Having this same type of approach to our daily jobs would be a huge asset to our ability to be a problem solver for our company. By approaching your job with the mentality of an entrepreneur and saying "why not," you'll greatly increase your ability to be creative by practicing it in all situations. Creativity isn't always natural.  Often, it is cultivated by consistent iterative thinking and processing of options to come up with the best solution.  By making this an everyday approach to your life, you will increase your aptitude to excel in this department - something that most companies appreciate in times of crisis and needed intellectual prowess.

IT WILL GIVE YOU MORE OPTIONS FOR YOUR FUTURE
Outside of work, when approaching life as an entrepreneur, you are always thinking about how you can improve the lives of everyday people and make money doing it. For this reason, you are consistently thinking through various business models and identifying the most plausible avenue for success.  You are critiquing what current companies are doing and looking to identify any gaps that could be an untapped market. You are thinking about your passions and what you are really good at and thinking through different ways to spend the rest of your life getting other people to pay you to do this.  This type of thinking will allow you to take small steps each day to create your own business and become independent from the necessity of your full time day job. While this doesn't mean you will be able to quit your job tomorrow, by always working on some type of business plan and identifying ways to monetize your passions, you are giving yourself a much better opportunity to become free from financial dependence on a single company or entity for your well being. Therefore, if you reach that point one day when you just no longer desire to work for your current company, you have put some things in place to fall back on in relation to your entrepreneurial endeavors.  This is also a great way to put a plan in place for later in your life if you desire to retire and would like to continue to do something that could bring in some revenue while continuing to do something you care and are passionate about.  This could lead to you leaving something behind when you leave this earth that is more tangible and everlasting than just memories.

IT ONLY TAKES ONE IDEA TO BE A SUCCESS
Entrepreneurs fail all the time.  There is often this false notion that great entrepreneurs have "it" from day one and were destined to be great. The truth is that they just kept thinking through ideas, improving on them, and finally hitting on something after working hard to improve it as much as possible.  Whether it's Sylvester Stallone being rejected 1500 times for Rocky, Richard Bransen's 400 failed attempts at starting a company before Virgin or the 25 times Tim Ferris (author of The 4-hour Work Week) was rejected by publishers, it only takes one person to believe you or one idea to be a hit, for you to be a success.  I believe that every individual has the ability to think of a great idea and make it profitable for themselves. The difference between those who actually DO it and those who just think or fantasize about it is that one key word: DO.  These individuals just think of an idea and pursue. They may not have all the answers. They actually may not have any of the answers, but as long as they have access to an internet connection (you can get you this for free at any library) and Google (still free the last time I checked), they have everything they need to begin learning and developing their idea.  And while the chance your failing on your first try is more sure than the Falcons choking away a 4th quarter lead (I'm just saying they were pathetic this year), you will be one step closer to the idea that could help you live the life of your dreams.

Entrepreneurs. They seem to be these special people who were created to live lives of excitement and achievement. While this, of course, isn't true of all entrepreneurs, (and probably not even most of them), there is a truth to their ability to create and shape their future based on their own personal abilities and will.  For this reason, we should all have a bit of the entrepreneurial mindset with how we approach our lives to put ourselves in control of our destinies.  And while, I can't promise that anyone will make it rich and become the next Forbes billionaire, I can guarantee one's life will be much "richer," metaphorically speaking, with it than without it...and hopefully literally, but I'm a blogger not a soothsayer, Jim (If you don't know what this is referring to, get some Star Trek culture and look it up).

Ken Middleton is an Account Manager at TEKsystems that specializes in IT staffing and services. He is a graduate of UNC-Pembroke and current MBA student at Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech (Graduate in May! - Whoop Whoop!). You can follow his daily quotes of inspiration and motivation on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIN

Why You Should Start Listening to Books on "Tape" IMMEDIATELY

It's funny.  Since it 2015, the term books on "tape" isn't really correct anymore, is it?  I haven't purchased a tape since I was in middle school I think.  At any rate, what I'm talking about here isn't the actual medium through which this book is shared, but the concept of listening to something that is read to you as opposed to you reading it yourself.  Now, this by no means implies that you should stop actually physically reading books, as there is no substitute for the mental stimulation one gets from allowing one's brain to work, as you visually inject information while reading.  However, this is to substitute that visual learning experience by giving you the opportunity to digest more than you would based on your ability to sit down and plow through a book.  For those of you who desire to become super successful in life, there are several reasons why listening to books on "tape" could be the difference between you becoming ultra successful or nah...

You spend so much time in your car.
The first reason while listening to audiobooks is so beneficial is that you can do it somewhat passively while you are doing other things.  Running.  Cleaning the house.  Or the usual activity: driving your car.  For those of you who live in Atlanta (or any other major metropolitan city), you know how horrendous the traffic can be, as rubberneckers slow down traffic tremendously to watch a fender bender on the side of the road or someone tries to negotiate her/his way out of a super-speeder traffic ticket.  This leads to hours upon hours that we are in our cars every week. While, we could invest these hours in ourselves by trying to learn the lyrics to the latest Taylor Swift or Kendra Lemar song (two solid artist BTW), wouldn't this time be so much better spent with you gaining knowledge on some new skill that you could implement to improve yourself, and subsequently, ability to be successful in life? Please don't misunderstand, I love Drake and J. Cole as much as the next person, but neither one of them are giving out the best money management advice, interpersonal communication tips, or business framework strategies that will generally help me become more successful in my daily endeavors. There is a time when I listen to these guys on the weekend and maybe later in the day, but on my way to work and during the day, I much rather feed myself "food" that is gives me sustenance and helps me grow, rather than consume "sugar" and "sweets" that give no discernible health benefit.

You can consume SO much more SO much faster
This becomes a double plus because not only are you giving yourself access to more information than you would normally get if you just only focused on the physical reading of books, generally you are able to digest the information much faster as well.  You can generally listen to a 300-page book in about 1-2 weeks if you spend 1-2 hours in your car each day.  This would probably take a busy person about 2-3 months to read if you could find the time to squeeze this into an already packed schedule.  For some, it might take much longer.  By listening to audio books, you give yourself the ability to digest so much more information at a much faster clip than you would if you were physically reading it.  Also, there are so many different types of audio books to which you can have access, you can learn about topics in which you would've never thought you would be interested in the past.  Before, you may have had to go to the library, store, or Amazon to purchase a book, but with so many books being offered in their audio version, you can download them immediately without having to wait a minute to receive them or worry about them being in stock.  This allows you to start out listening to a book to see if you like it before making the mental investment that reading sometimes takes on us.  If you don't like it, it is much easier to just stop listening to it than it can be to stop reading a book once you are 100 pages in.  That way you can move on to consuming other information that is more useful to you as well and not feel bad about it.

Most people DON'T do it
This is generally the reason that I do a lot of the things I do that others may seems as being maniacal or TOO dedicated.  The fact is that being the minority means that you are in the lower percentile of individuals when it comes to certain things. The great thing about audio books is that the majority of people would rather listen to music while they are doing leisurely activities. This is why the average American makes about 50k per year; because they do what most people do. If you desire to set yourself apart from everyone else and put yourself in a class that is different from most of the people in the world, then listening to audio books is one of those things that will give you the intelligence to begin separating yourselves from the masses. If you think about the rat race of the corporate world or the competitive nature of business in general, the investment that you are putting in yourself to consistently get better and improve with time will allow you generally beat out your competition in the long run, as you continue to dedicate yourself to excellence.

So where do you start? There are many good companies out there to use, but I personally use audiobooks.com as my company of choice, but you can't go wrong either way.  You just have to sign up and begin listening. And while I know it may seem a little dorky to listen to audio books in your car rather than the new Drake mixtape, I'm sure someone once called Bill Gates dorky. Look how that turned out for him...

Ken Middleton is an Account Manager at TEKsystems that specializes in IT staffing and services. He is a graduate of UNC-Pembroke and current MBA student at Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech (Graduate in May! - Whoop Whoop!). You can follow his daily quotes of inspiration and motivation on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIN

Why You Should Never Give Up On Your Dreams

So, if this is the first time reading one of my blogs, you probably don't know that I'm currently in school to finish my MBA.  It's been a 3.33 year journey and I am so happy to finish. The best thing about finishing isn't so much having attained the degree that I've worked so hard to achieve; it's now having the extra free time to begin pursuing all the other hobbies that I have wanted to take up for so long.  Whether it's learning how to dance salsa, speak Spanish fluently, or practice Jiu Jitsu, there are a number of life goals that I put on hold when I started the MBA program. And while I was reminded that I am not a spring chicken by someone in Cancun recently (this had more so to do with the fact that I'm not married than anything else, but that's another story for another time), I still feel that I am in a great place to begin pursuing these three goals for my life.  Many people may question why would I desire to put myself through the hard work and dedication that it will take to become good at a new set of skills, and I say "Why the hell not?" Life is about growing and attaining new skills all the time, and if you don't have something to look forward to for your future, then what's the point of living at all. There are many things that people desire to do that they give up on all the time because they think they are too old and it's too late for them to pursue them. To that I say, "bologna" (I actually have a much stronger word that begins with a bull and ends with a word that rhymes with spit, but we'll keep this week's blog PG ).  To help you understand and believe this, here are three things that should encourage you to stop wasting your life letting your dreams pass you by and to get your ass (I'm pretty sure this is still PG) up and do something that excites you TODAY.

You're getting older ANYWAY
This is the easiest one for me because it an undeniable truth.  Often, people will say that it's too late in their lives to begin some new skills or pursue something that they always wanted to do because they are too old to start. My response to that is by NOT doing it, are you somehow stopping time and preventing aging? And, if you're not, then why would you not want to do something now that would improve your life in the future? For example, if you want to go back to school to get your masters, but you think you're too old because you're 50.  If it's going to take you three years to do it, would you rather be 53 with no master's or 53 with one? You're going to be 53 regardless, so why not have something that you can be proud of doing during that time? Besides, you are only as old as you think you are, and as long as you continue to live a life of fun and exuberance, you really can hold off the negative effects of aging by having a "young" mentality and outlook on life.  When it comes to things you've already wanted to do, don't let your age stop you from moving forward. Actually, since you are a little older and wiser, there's a great chance that you will be able to pick things up much quicker and more efficiently than your twenty year-old self may have done.  Now, if it's some type of physical exercise, I'm not 100 percent sure about that, and I'm not a doctor (so this is my legal disclaimer letting you know), but go for it anyway!

You can start with baby steps
As I stated in one of my blogs recently about New Year's resolutions, people have a tendency to sabotage themselves by trying to go from not doing an activity at all, to becoming a maniacal, crazy-person (repetitive, I know, but this accentuates the level of crazy here) by doing something at a more hard core level than individuals who have been doing it their whole lives do. This is unnecessary and what also keeps people from pursuing a dream they may have. They tell themselves that they don't have the time because they are so busy.  While, it is probably true that you are very busy, there are probably 1-2 "busy" things that you are doing in your life that you could probably stop doing if you really wanted to, and then you could replace that free time with something very small that could get you to a dream of yours.  For example, if you want to practice Jiu Jitsu like I do one day, but can't quite find the time to make it to class, then why not begin reading a book on it? If you want to learn how to play the piano, why not begin practicing with an on-line application to get used to the sounds first when you are free. Thanks to advanced technological world in which we live, there are so many things that you can have access to that can help you get closer to becoming good at a skill you desire to acquire without the tremendous sacrifice you would have had to make in the past. And once you begin to see some progress and realize your improvement, you'll be surprised at how you'll begin to find time for something you thought you wouldn't be able to do before.

It only take seven years to master something
This is a idea that I obtained from a book on goals about 10 years ago.  In it, the author shares the fact that it only take seven years of a consistent practice and dedication at something for one to call herself/himself an expert.  It make sense once you think about it. Doctors attend medical school approximately seven years of training after their undergrad (two in master's program and 3-4 for their doctoral studies/residency). Most MBA and JD programs are an additional 2-3 years after your four-year undergrad.  When you take this into consideration, regardless of your age now, if you are able to dedicate some consistent time to something to improve, then you would only need about seven years to say you are really good at it. This seems like a very short time frame and small price to pay when you think about how long our lives are and how much more enjoyable your life will be having obtained this goal through your hard work and dedication.  And as I mentioned earlier, you are going to be seven years older rather you know how to fly a plane then or not, so why not pick up on that book on piloting and sign up for that introductory class now?

In Langston Hughes "Dreams Deferred," he asks this profound question about a dream not realized - "does it dry up like a raisin in the sun."  To some, the metaphor of the sun could be the every day challenges they face in life, that "friend" who tells you that you are too old to pursue that, or your own psyche and laziness that holds you back from moving forward. Whatever it is, you have the power to overcome it by consistently remembering the three truths you've learned today and know that it's NEVER too late to become the person you've always desired to be.

Ken Middleton is an Account Manager at TEKsystems that specializes in IT staffing and services. He is a graduate of UNC-Pembroke and current MBA student at Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech (Graduate in May! - Whoop Whoop!). You can follow his daily quotes of inspiration and motivation on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIN