5 Reasons Trying to Be Successful Will Leave You Struggling, Broke, and Miserable

5 Reasons Trying to Be Successful Will Leave You Struggling, Broke, and Miserable5 Reasons Trying to Be Successful Will Leave You Struggling, Broke, and MiserableHeres a dumb-sounding thought Trying to be successful will leid help you become successful.I know, I know, theres a good chance that youre rolling your eyes right now, thinking that the last thing you need is another article telling you the secrets of success, how to make it, or the difference between winners and losers.I hate that stuff, too- all hyperbole, generalizations, and wishful thinking. But that doesnt stop all of us from wanting to be successful, right? Thats probably part of the reason youre here, to figure out your next move so you can get some of that oh-so-sweet success, or at least get one tantalizing step closer. You want to feel successful, and you want the emotional and (lets face it) material benefits that come from it.I love that. I love that youre out there doing your best to make things happen, but the re are five big reasons why focusing on success might not work out so well. Lets take a closer look. 1. Success is a Moving, Amorphous TargetBe honest What, really, is success for you?Is it about launching a product or service and having people buy it?Is it about paying off the mortgage and building a nest egg?Is it about having respect from your peers, colleagues, and mentors?Is it about doing what you love so you can care for your family?Or is it something that kinda, sorta changes as time goes by?Too often, we chase an idea of success thats patched together from what weve read or observed or think we should be aiming for. Sometimes its built from what weve learned, and sometimes its based on the things you think success can deliver for you, extrinsic factors like lifestyle, property, status, or vacations.When success is just a vague idea that comes and goes, changes shape and always seems out of reach, its amorphous, extrinsic nature makes it much easier to second-guess yourself. Theres no foundation to come back to and no compass to tell you where north is.And even if you land some measure of success as a result of your efforts, youll feel disconnected from any sense of achievement it might offer. Thats why achieving the wrong kind of success will always feel hollow, because its only meaningful success- that is, your own definition of success thats threaded with personal value, resonance, and meaning- that gives you a sense of intrinsic value. 2. Success is a JudgementWere taught from a young age to elevate success and the successful. Those who create multi-million (or billion) dollar businesses are splashed over magazine covers for us to idolize. Those who break new ground and innovate are revered as geniuses. And those who make it big are applauded as having made it.Success is good. Failure, not so much. There are successful people, and then theres the unsuccessful. We use these terms to describe and define more than we realize, with employers looking fo r previous successes during interviews, politicians talking in terms of their success and their opponents failure, and even movies either being critical successes or box-office flops.Our judgements around success have even turned it into a consumer need, right up there with a house, a car, and 2.5 kids. Its a need, drive, and focus based on unchallenged expectation that only spells trouble while it remains unchallenged. Its a judgement thats fatally flawed, leaving no room for grey, keeping eyes fixed forward, and not seeing the value inherent of all experience, regardless of meaningless labels.Success isnt a person, its simply something that happens from time to time. Stop judging success and failure as good and bad. Get past that and find the value. 3. Success Isnt Here, NowIts easy to dream about the moment you become successful. We all tend to fantasize about the big pay-off for all our hard work, the moment when it all comes together and how itll feel to finally have made it. S o its funny that this kind of success is always elusively around the next bend. Just a few more weeks or months away. Just one more challenge or goal. Just a bit more work, and youll finally be successful.But where does that leave the right now? Feels to me like pinning your hopes on being successful in the future diminishes your value in the right now. It says, Ill be complete when X happens, which is nonsense of course, because youre whole right now, reading this.Placing your sights on the horizon to a possible successful event can sometimes be a good motivator (in the short term at least), but you only get to play a great game if youre willing to put on your tennis shoes, pick up that racket, and play at your very best right now, without knowing how things will turn out.The present is where the action happens. 4. Success Doesnt Result in HappinessResearch has shown that achieving career success doesnt make you any happier. George Vaillant, a Harvard psychiatrist who directed a st udy from 1972 to 2004 into what it takes to lead a happy, purposeful life, plays down the importance of career success in making you happy. In terms of achievement, the only thing that matters is that you be content at your work, he says. And just to demonstrate what Im sure is the remarkably obvious, his research makes it clear that even if you have a successful career, money, and good physical health, you wouldnt be happy without supporting, loving relationships.I know you know that, but underlying it is the simple fact that being successful does not change how your brain works. Your fears are still your fears. Your self-doubts are still your self-doubts. And your worries are still your worries. In fact, success can often layer additional layers of thinking on top of whats already there. You might worry about whether youll ever be successful and have other thoughts and fears ripple out from that. You might wonder how you can keep the success youve already achieved going, or how lo ng itll take before people figure out that you dont deserve it. Or you might be afraid that you wont be able to repeat it and be terrified that others will see you fail.No doubt about it, success can tie your brain in knots and layer on second-guessing, self-doubt, and people-pleasing like throwing old carpets on a smoldering fire. What helps, then, is to get out from under those stinky carpets and make your next decision based on how much you get to be yourself and the value you get to create. 5. Success is Already a LimitationYour perception of a successful outcome can only be painted by your own brushes. Which is to say, your sense of self, your sense of identity, your level of self-confidence, and the power that your doubts and fears have over you will all help to paint that picture.If you dont see yourself as the kind of person who can write a novel, you never will. If you think youre too introverted to present to 3,000 people, youll exclude that possibility. If you dont feel c apable enough to go for that promotion, you wont try. And should things go wrong, do you really want try for something you want only to fail and watch it slip through your fingers?A einbildung of success comes with all of this other scary stuff, and is often tempered and shaped by it. If its too scary, you make it less scary, or you dismiss it completely. If its not you, you make it more you, something safer and more predictable. And if you dont feel good enough or worthy enough of it, you set your sights much, much lower.Real confidence is being able to trust your behavior with implicit trust in that behavior, in the full knowledge that youll be okay and whole no matter what happens. Thats where its best to invest your sense of self, not some half-baked definition of success, because its by simply taking repeated, meaningful action- regardless of how things turn out- that amazing things happen.Photo courtesy of Mary Cunningham.

Learn About the Importance of a Sales Team

Learn About the Importance of a Sales TeamLearn About the Importance of a Sales TeamFor anyone who grew up playing a team sport, the power of a good team is clear. Unfortunately, so is the power of a badeanstalt team. So when it comes to your schlussverkauf jobs, how important are schlussverkauf teams and can a abverkauf team make or break your career? Elements of a Good Sales Team Before determining the importance of a sales team, it is important first to define what makes a good team. A good sales team is one that finds the majority of the team members havingpositive attitudes, willing to support and to challenge others on the team. The team, as a whole, is driven to be successful. A really good team only feels success if all the members of the team are successful. This doesnt mean a team with a weak or struggling member isnt a fantastic team, just that the team itself wont ever feel they are at their best until all members are succeeding at high levels. Good sales teams are al so well-trainedand have a positive attitude when it comes to attending and participating in training. When it comes to the individual team members, good sales teams are filled with professionals who simply make other members better. Think of any great professional athlete that makes the others on his team perform better and, as a result, the entire team is more successful. The same is true for sales teams. No one on a team wants to be the weakest link and be the cause of the team missing their goals. Inspired by this, a good team is filled with professionals who strive to improve. This focus on not being the weak link puts positive pressure on other team members and drives others to improve. Elements of a badeanstalt Sales Team Think of the elements of a good sales team, remove them all and you will be left with a bad sales team. Bad sales teams have a majority of team members who have negative attitudes towards the company they work for, the products they sell, the customers to whom they are charged with the privilege of serving. They spend more time complaining about training than focusing on the benefits that the training provides. When it comes to working with others on the team, cooperation and positive competition are replaced with gossip, reluctance to help each other and, in the worse case situations, intentional actions that are aimed at hurting or even destroying the sales opportunities of others. In the mind of a team member on a bad sales team, thesuccess of others brings the unwanted and very uncomfortable exposure of management onto those with less than stellar results. Protection is more important than mutual cooperation and selfless support. The Effects of a Sales Team If you find yourself on a good sales team, you will be supported and driven towards getting better at your position and will, most likely, have a greatly increased chance of success. However, just being on a good sales team does not guarantee your success and cannot repla ce good, old-fashioned work. You still need to constantly work at improving your sales skills, attend as much training as you can manage in your busy schedule and battle against the daily grind to keep your motivation levels high. If you find yourself on a bad sales team, your greatest challenge will be not allowing the bad team to hurt your motivation for success. Ultimately, you are responsible for you and while others on your team may not be supportive or helpful, you are still in charge of your future. The Final Choice is Yours If you are deciding whether or not to accept a job offer and have the ability to spend a day or two with the other sales professionals on your kompetenzprofil new team, do so. Spend this time observing how others interact with one another and ask a lot of questions about the work environment. You probably wont want to be so blunt as to ask if the team is negative, but crafting questions about the general team dynamics will tell you a lot about the tea m. Being part of a good sales team should be your first choice when deciding whether or not to join the team. If you find yourself on a bad team or even on a good team turned bad and honestly realize that your performance is negatively affected, get out and find a team that will challenge you to be the best you can be.

What to Know Before You Start a Record Label

What to Know Before You Start a Record LabelWhat to Know Before You Start a Record LabelThe music and music production is a flashy and alluring geschftliches miteinander. All the swag, parties, record releases and celebrities - its no wonder why so many people want to try to break into the business. Some people may not want the limelight of being a pop star, so they may turn their efforts to start out their own record label. Independent labels have a long history in the business, going to back to the post-war era. While many have failed, others have thrived - some have even been bought out by the major three labels, Universal, Sony and Warner. Have you ever thought about getting into the record label business? Starting your own record label - whether for fun or in the hopes of turning into a real, live business - is a lot of hard work. Before you make the leap, find out what youre getting into and what you should have in place so you can make a good go of it. Here are a few thing s you may need to consider before you start planning that first release. Money Sure, youre doing this for love, not money, right? Unfortunately, everyone youre going to need to work with to start your label may not be so giving. There are a lot of costs to consider, from pressing albums to promotion and paying out royalties. But if youre willing to start out really small, there is one positive. The cost of opening up and running an independent record label has gone down considerably within the last two decades - thanks, in part, to the digital music industry. According to Profitableventure.com, it isnt as costly to run an indie label in the U.S., Canada, Australia or the United Kingdom. You can actually start out a small record label with as little as $20,000 to $50,000 in capital. This can cover the cost of your equipment (mixers, microphones, amps, cables, computers), licensing and business registration. You may also be able to set aside some money out of this budget for prom otion, although it may be low-scale. More on that a little later. But dont forget, this isnt a hard and fast rule. The best thing to do is research. and figure out a realistic budget for your goals. And fruchtwein importantly - like any other business venture, be prepared not to see a return for a very long time. Working with Bands Make aya you have talent you can sign on to your label. Theres nothing like being ready to go into business and not have anyone to sign and promote. Some labels just start out with one artist. So if you have someone in your family or network of friends who isnt getting noticed by a major label, step in You can both help each other out - you by getting their music out to the world, and they can help by getting your label some traction in the music world. Knowing someone you can start out with can help both of you work out the kinks of the industry, and can help you add more artists to your roster. After all, if you do a great job with your first art ist, others will be more likely to sign on with you. Keep in mind, though, that some bands really get it and are happy to grow with you and the label because they know how much time and money youre dedicating to get their music heard. But some bands really dont understand how it works. So when youre just getting started, skip the prima donnas. Also, take the time to work out the financial stuff before the relationship begins. If cash does start coming in, misunderstandings can blossom with ease and you dont need that kind of stress. Its a pain personally and for the label. Distribution If you want to make some of that money you invested into your record label back, you need some way to get your releases into the hands of music fans. The best way to possibly get yourself out there is through digital channels. Since theres no cost of having to produce any music physically, you can easily upload albums and singles produced by your label once youve hit ausfuhr on the editing machine . All it takes is producing a digital copy, and putting it on a streaming service like iTunes or Spotify. In some cases, the services wont even charge so its free. Check out your preferred streamers terms of service to get more information. If you really want to sell physical copies of your labels music, you may want to try hitting up some of the indie record stores in your community. These places tend to carry local artists and may help you get your label noticed, too. You may even ask if theyd be willing to do a record signing or a public event with your band(s) to drum up interest. But if you do have stars in your eyes and want to go the traditional route of getting an actual distributor, know it may only come after a lot of hard work. At least until selling a lot of music. Most distributors of physical music (records, CDs) may not want to work with start-up-unternehmen labels. Theyre looking for labels with proven track records and with a release schedule that will give them a steady supply of new records to sell. Promotion Just like you need to give people some way to buy your albums, you need to let them know they exist in the first place. To do that, you have to promote. When youre just getting started, promotion can be a real uphill battle - it takes time to build up the contacts you need so you can relax knowing when you put out a record, someone is going to talk about it. If you dont do your promotion in-house, it can get extremely expensive, and theres no guaranteed payoff. Promotion is a necessity, but its hard work, and be prepared for a huge learning curve. But with the advent of social media, there isnt as much pressure as there was in previous years. And you can definitely reach a wider audience with the right strategy. If you already have a big network, create a website and social media profiles on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and get everyone to share. Keep on top of your promotion through photos, videos, audio clips, regular posts and events. If you can do this yourself (or convince friends and family to help you out), it may just cost you time. If you cant handle it, there are consultants and companies that will manage your social media profiles for you for a cost. If you can afford it, why not leave take that stress away from yourself? Get a Collection of Hats When youre running an indie label, you have to do the jobs many different people at big labels end up doing. So basically, youre a jack-of-all. When youre running an indie label, you may act as manager, promoter, agent, video director, graphic designer, PR officer, radio plugger, AR, accountant, lawyer, distributor, webmaster, travel agent, secretary and maker of tea/coffee and snacks. And thats just for starters. If only you got paid for doing all of those jobs The Two Most Important Things That long list of tasks you often have to take on when you start a record label demonstrates the two most crucial things you need to know about getting in to the indie label business. While manufacturing, distribution, and promotion might be the practical things you need to release a record, know the following before worrying about that You must be able to juggle several tasks at once and you must be self-motivated to keep it going, even when its not so fun.You have to absolutely LOVE what you are doing. If you dont, youll get tired of the hard work and ups and downs very quickly. More Money and The Fine Print This article began by emphasizing how expensive releasing records can be and will finish by stressing that point as well. But heres the thing- you can be creative and keep your costs down considerably. Do some in-house PR, do artwork by hand, dont spend money on cool but expensive vinyl and so on. You can, in fact, trump any of the challenges facing a small label like getting decent distribution, getting reviews with a little patience and creativity. Consider the rest of this article a reality check, not a dont do it warnin g. Look before you leap, but if you like what you see, leap away. It CAN be done.