Mark S. Brown – Page 37

5 Fundamental Lessons to Change Your Thinking About Risk

The more you risk failure, and actually fail, the greater your chances of success. It is rare that anything of value is created or accomplished during the first attempt. Failure, reflection, evaluation, adjustment, and persistence creates your path for success.

Most of us limit the risks we take. We work to avoid failure. We view failure as a negative, and become stuck in our comfort zone. We want more, but are unwilling to risk more.

Here are four lessons that may help you view risk from a different perspective.

1. Who cares if you look bad? Sometimes it is better to care less about looking good. Don’t let the fear of looking bad keep you from taking a risk. Would you rather look good, or find success? Step back and ask yourself this simple question, “Who cares if I look bad?” You normally don’t look good doing something the first time. So just do it.

2. Why are you waiting? Are you waiting for the perfect circumstances before taking action? If you find yourself continually evaluating your options, and gathering more data, stop analyzing. Stop thinking about why you need to wait, and think about why you need to act. You will never have all the data. The faster you move forward, the faster you reach success.

3. Do you have a budget? Create your own budget for risk and failure. Set a goal for your failures. The budget can be based on money, time, or effort. It could include all three. Plan on spending it every month. Make it a habit. This practice provides visibility to how much risk you are actually taking.

4. Where is your inspiration? Is your inspiration based on the value you place on your goal? This may seem obvious. But when your actions are driven by the wrong motives, this question may remind you to get back on track. Are you inspired and motivated by the right reasons? When your values and actions are aligned, you will find risks easier to accept. You are able to move forward faster.

You may read these questions, and think this does not apply to me. I take risks. I am action oriented. It may be true. However, my experience has shown, no matter what level of risk you are used to, everyone has the opportunity to grow in this area. We tend to overestimate the risks we actually take.

This week’s challenge is to evaluate where you are taking risk, and where you are risk adverse. Challenge yourself to find the opportunities that are waiting for you. You may discover something great that you have been avoiding.

6 Essential Strategies to Achieve Your Dream

I have been lucky enough to help many people define and pursue their dream. I have also taught from John C. Maxwell’s book, Put Your Dream to the Test. Through coaching I have discovered that people get stuck for many reasons. But if you have a dream, and you can answer these 6 questions positively, you have the potential to be successful if you choose to be.

1. Do I see my dream clearly? Your dream needs to have clarity. You need to know the details of what you want to achieve. You are the only one that can define your goal. If you struggle with this question, then you may need to reflect on why it is your goal. What is it you really want?

2. Is it achievable? I am a strong believer that we can achieve anything that work towards. But this question is the reality check. I know at age 54, and being only 5’5″ tall, I will never play professional basketball. No matter how hard I try. This question is not meant to diminish your dream. In fact, I encourage the opposite, dream big.

3. Is it fed by my passion? Accomplishing a big dream requires time and energy. If you are not passionate about what you want to achieve, you will fall short. You will get distracted by other things, or you will lack the energy to follow through. If your dream supports your passion, you will be energized by the work.

4. Are there others I can count on to help me achieve this dream? Many of us think we can achieve our dream by ourselves. It is seldom the case. Achieving anything of value in this world requires other people. We need supporters, mentors, coaches, friends, and team members. If you want to put your journey on track, make sure you are connecting with the right people along the way. If you go on this journey alone, you are likely to be stopped by obstacles you encounter.

5. Am I committed to be persistent? Do you know someone that jumps from project to project, idea to idea, or from one activity to another, and struggles to finish anything? Successful people have learned that success is not a result, but an ongoing process. You must be able to accept the mistakes, obstacles, and failures that lead to success. There is no short cut. You have to overcome the barriers and not be distracted.

6. Does my dream serve the world? This question may take you by surprise. It is your dream after all. But your chance of success increases greatly if others see value in your dream. If your dream provides a positive impact on the world, your company, your team, your family, or your friends, finding support for success becomes easier. Giving is a far greater reward than receiving. When you achieve your dream, how will other people be impacted?

I have seen these 6 questions in action. My wife, Angelica Brown, inspires me as she pursues her dream. This year she launched a clothing company, AngeliCotton. I have seen her effort, dedication, and desire to provide product quality unsurpassed in this industry.

Her dream is clear, achievable, and fuels her passion. She has assembled an international team for support. She works from sunrise to sunset. And her dream serves others in many ways. The most visible is the donation of 10% of profit to charities which help women and girls in need.

It has been exciting to watch Angelica create, build, and launch this company. Please check out her current campaign on Kickstarter. Grab some inspiration, evaluate your dream, and ask yourself these 6 questions.

The 3 Stumbling Blocks of Failure

John C. Maxwell wrote, “Successful people approach losing differently. They don’t try to brush failure under the rug. They understand that life’s greatest lessons are gained from our losses.” Everyone encounters failure and loss in our lives. How we react to those losses determine how well we succeed.

There are three common stumbling blocks that keep us from learning from our failures. Any one of these can keep us stuck for an extended period of time.

1. We let failure become an emotional roadblock. We become so attached to the failure that we don’t process the lessons we could learn. We are so devastated emotionally, that we don’t have the energy to move past the failure. It becomes the excuse for us not to take any further action.

2. We become mentally defeated. We cannot let the failure become overwhelming. Finding hope in all situations will lead to new solutions. Mentally we need to keep failure from being the end of our journey. It was Albert Einstein that said, “You never fail until you stop trying.”

3. We become bogged down in regret. When we encounter failure, it is natural to begin blaming ourselves for not taking different actions. We must learn to forgive ourselves and not get stuck on regret. It is important to evaluate results, and determine different actions that would have been more effective. However, once that is complete, we need to focus on tomorrow and not yesterday.

How do you process failure? The key word is process. Success and failure are both processes. They are not events. If you want to learn more, I am beginning a new mastermind group that will discuss and develop strategies to build success upon failure. Send me a message at mark@marksbrown.com if you would like more information about participating.

Perks: Know the Strength of Your Integrity

Last week I wrote about guarding your integrity. During a discussion one of my friends brought up another situation about integrity that I found very interesting. Many people in leadership positions receive perks from their position. It is normal in today’s business environment. But when it comes to integrity, we must know our values and our limits.

Do you sometimes feel frustrated or slighted when one of your expectations is not met? When we get that feeling, we must stop and let it go if it is not grounded in integrity. What do I mean?

Suppose your administrative assistant prepares a coffee for you every morning. If one morning it is not ready, do you feel frustrated or angry? Think about it. Have you come to expect a perk because of your position? Is coffee one of the defined requirements, or just an extra?

What if your staff or team frequents a restaurant for lunch. You are recognized by the restaurant staff as the boss or the person paying the bill. You get a little extra special treatment: the best table, the best seat, a free dessert, or something extra. You get this treatment week after week, until one day you don’t. Are you angry?

Do you expect something for your position? What do your values and integrity tell you? Are these two feelings in conflict?

I think this is a very interesting area for reflection for many. Are we trading our expectations for our integrity? Does it slowly erode if we expect special treatment?

What do you think? Is it always easy to stand for your values, or do you find yourself glad you have your perks.