None of the athletes who compete in the Olympics just “ended up” there.

They didn’t accidentally get good enough to compete.

They didn’t just wish and hope and dream and visualize themselves being there.

And they didn’t listen to their critics.

• like the gymnast whose father told her she was too awkward to do gymnastics.
• or the hockey player whose older brother said he’d always be a loser.
• or the volleyball champion whose well-meaning friends smiled to her face but always talked behind her back about how she wasted so much time on her “hobby.”

What they did do was train as hard as they could…every single day.

They didn’t just decide that they wanted to go to the Olympics, they committed themselves to it. They chose to master their craft. What’s the difference? Deciding is mental; committing is backed up by measurable action – something you can see, count, replicate, and repeat.

I’ve done a lot of research on what makes women successful – specifically in four distinct areas. Their individual characteristics, traits, and beliefs are always a telling sign but that’s really about their potential for success.

The true deciding factor is their behavior. What exactly do they do with all that potential?

The winners act. They step out. They take risks. They do things that are uncomfortable. They challenge themselves…every day. They choose what’s hard over what’s convenient.

Are there other athletes in this country who had the potential to go to the Olympics? Absolutely.

Are there other entrepreneurs with the potential to go to the top? Almost every single one of them. Maybe we’re talking about you.

The deciding factor, however, isn’t how bad you want it or how much belief you have or whether you are task oriented or a people person or whether you live in the right neighborhood or whether you’re single, thin, young, beautiful, smart, willing, deserving, or educated.

The single deciding factor in whether or not you “win the gold” in your business is what you actually do in your business today…and tomorrow…and the next day…and the day after that.

Believe you can do it. Don’t listen to your critics (they haven’t done it either!) and take the biggest, boldest, most outrageous action step you can think of today. Then
repeat
repeat
repeat!!!

Be bold!
Ann

You might think the answer to “who’s afraid of the big, bad wolf (rejection)” would be “everyone” …but you’d be wrong.

Incredibly there is a group of sales professionals who have learned how to handle rejection with ease. Notice that I did not say “ignore” rejection, or “avoid” rejection, I said “handle” rejection. That means you can still receive it and you still have to do something with it, but you can learn to put it in its rightful place.

T. Harv Eker, who wrote, “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” knew that he would face enormous rejection in his climb up the wealth ladder. So he decided to meet it head on and took a job, on purpose, for two months as a telephone solicitor. He believed he would become numb to rejection and he was correct. People hung up on him, swore at him, called him names, blew loud whistles into the phone, and tore him and his offer to shreds. He never felt so despised.

And he was thrilled because of it!

He knew that he could never “handle” rejection without actually experiencing it. A lot of it. It takes practice and, like any skill, you can only get better with lots and lots of practice.

If you’re not selling now because you are waiting for your self-esteem or self-confidence to get better, you may as well pack it in right now. Those sales professionals you admire so much are good at what they do because they have gotten used to being rejected and the only way to get used to something is to actually move through it so much that it simply has no effect on you anymore. Those winners understand that working through rejection is what gives them their self-confidence. They don’t fear it, they embrace it.

If you avoid rejection, you’ll stay neat and clean and won’t muss yourself up, like a china doll that sits quietly on the shelf. Or you can be a Raggedy Ann doll. They get messy and stepped on and thrown around the room…but they’re the ones having all the fun.

Being afraid of rejection doesn’t prevent it from coming. It only prevents you from getting what you want.

So the first thing I want you to do is to call that one customer or client you have been avoiding the most and make her an offer she can’t refuse. And if she does, smile at the gift of rejection.

Seek it out, take it on, lean into it, learn to “handle” it by reducing its effect on you. Look for it everywhere and embrace it when it comes. Then choose to move through it and on to where you really want to be.

Choose your success!
- Ann

Your financial success will be determined by your ability to see yourself as the CEO of your business.

If you make business and financial decisions from the perspective of someone “on the way up” you will always be a development mode. This is a good position to be in for your creativity, but not for establishing yourself as the mogul of your personal empire.

As an example, let’s say you are trying to decide whether to replace your virtual assistant or not. If you look at that situation from a perspective of where you are today you might say,

• but she’s so affordable
• she needs the money
• I don’t have anyone else
• she’s been with me so long I can’t let her go
• she’s not that bad

When you approach the same situation using traits of a leader (what would Donald Trump or Martha Stewart do?) you are more likely to say,

• she is a liability
• she is not who I want representing a million dollar empire
• there are plenty of people who would jump at the chance to do this work well
• sometimes you have to let people go

You will find that financial and leadership decisions become clearer when you envision yourself as a CEO.

You will tolerate less and expect more – from yourself and all those around you.

You will feel less like a scared little girl and more like the strong, powerful, businesswoman that you really are.

You and your business deserve to have a power-house CEO running things. Practice making decisions from the CEO mindset this week. You may slip back into regular thinking but that’s ok, as long as you catch yourself enough times to recognize that the financial future of your business depends on your willingness to think like a CEO today.

Choose success!
- Ann

Building a successful business is more exciting than I ever thought it would be. It’s also harder than I ever thought it would be as well. On a day when it all seems to be crashing in, it can feel utterly overwhelming, especially when trying to dig yourself out of debt or support your family.

It’s hard to keep going especially when it seems hopeless. Of course, if it were easy, there would be more successful business leaders. The statistics tell us that a very small percentage actually know the success factors needed to build a successful business, online or off.

Never tell me the odds!

There were many times when just quitting and getting a “regular job” would have seemed the logical thing to do but I never did. I knew that would be the end and any dreams of extraordinary financial independence would be over. We all know that what you can earn with a job is finite - no more and no less, relatively speaking. You trade your time for money in an amount determined by the employer. They tell you what you’re worth.

My definition of failure, since starting my own business, has always been “quitting or not learning.” As long as I’m learning from my mistakes, as long as I keep moving forward, as long as I strive to be better than I was the day before, I am winning.

In your business, how many make it to the top? Some might stick around for a few years and then go off and do other things. If you’re not it business to “give it a try” and you are in this to establish long term financial gain, you can not quit…ever. And if you’ve made up your mind to never quit, then you must approach your business single-mindedly – there is no “plan B” and what you do daily multiplies over the long haul.

If you want a glimpse of your future, look at your daily habits. Your future is built on those. Seriously – it’s not your will or desire or dream or vision that gets you there. Those are critical strategies, but they mean nothing if you don’t back them up with the tactics of daily action.

Your greatest success factors in your financial success are the action steps you take today, and tomorrow, and the next day. You can do just about anything for a day.

Just for today, you could approach your business as if it were the last day you had to prove that you could make a go of it. And you can wake up tomorrow and do it again, couldn’t you?

Each day you “win” you are building a successful business – a lifelong story to the top. And that would totally defy the odds.

Now go be a millionaire!
- Ann

Perhaps you’ve have heard Denis Waitley’s quote, “Happy people plan actions, they don’t plan results.” You almost have to read that quote twice to understand his message.

There is a psychological test, originally developed by Julian Rotter, called the “Locus of Control” that essentially determines where an individual places the power to control events in their lives – either internally or externally. Their score indicates whether they take full responsibility for what happens to them, whether they give all the power to their circumstances, or whether, like most people, they fall somewhere in between.

As you can imagine, those with a high external locus of control often feel powerless and victimized. Those with a high internal locus of control usually feel strong, independent, and in charge of their circumstances. You can guess where most entrepreneurs score.

We can choose to be in charge of our circumstances or we can choose to let our circumstances control us. It’s our choice.

To feel more powerful and in control, you must develop a stronger internal locus of control. One of the best ways to do that in your business is by setting action goals instead of results goals.

When you set a results goal you are not 100% in control of the results. You could be dependent upon other people, circumstances, time, or the weather cooperating in order for that goal to be met. If they don’t, you’ll likely be disappointed that you didn’t meet your goal.

It’s not that you didn’t work hard and it’s not that you didn’t plan properly. It’s just that the power to complete some aspect of that goal was not entirely yours.

However, when you set an action goal, one that is based on the action steps you can take entirely on your own (number of phone numbers dialed, miles run, words typed etc.) it is entirely within your power to make that happen. That means you can meet your goals every time if you so choose. And if you set high enough action goals, the payoff is extraordinary results.

Be bold!
Ann Vertel

We all have unique gifts and talents. We’re really good at certain things and not so good at others. I will never be an opera singer, a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, or an engineer. Those just aren’t my strengths.

Trying to be something you were not cut out to be can be frustrating, demoralizing, and in many cases a waste of time. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t attempt to grow and learn and become everything you were meant to be. It means you should honor and lead with your strengths.

Grab a sheet of paper and make two columns. In the left column list at least ten of your strengths, talents, gifts, skills – the kind of things that come naturally to you. They may be such a part of you that you’ve never really thought of them as strengths before.

In the right column, indicate which aspects of your business lend themselves well to that particular strength. For instance, if you said that one of your strengths is that you “listen well” than the parts of your business that are best served by that strength might be “talking directly with customers” and “networking events.”

Maybe you have strengths that don’t seem to have a matching business area. This is where you can get creative and develop a business way of showcasing that strength, talent, or skill.

Let’s say one of your strengths (and passions!) is “cooking.” At first glance, you might think that has nothing to do with your business….and you’re probably right! At first. But what if you answered this question,

“How can I best showcase my talent and love of cooking in my business?”

You might decide to combine a teleseminar on “Feeding Your Passion” with a cooking class. Or tailor a newsletter to use cooking type words, themes, and symbols. Maybe you add the word “spicy” to your marketing materials or use cooking utensils as props in your live speeches. 

You will always do better by leading with your strengths than by trying to do something you were not designed to do. Yes, you can work on your weaknesses but you’ll likely just get “better” weaknesses. Why not play to your strengths and enjoy the process at the same time?

Take charge!
Ann Vertel

What are the biggest differences between high and low achievers? Having worked with a number of remarkably successful entrepreneurs, I can tell you that three of the biggest are their ability to define specific goals, work with a team, and determine who they will allow to influence them.

High achievers are much more precise in their goals than everyone else. Ask the top entrepreneurs how much they will sell this year, and they’ll give you an actual number. Ask most new entrepreneurs, “hobby” business people and those in the middle of the pack, and they’ll tell you something general, like: “More than last year!” or “It depends.”

Winners can tell you how much they’ll weigh, where they will go on vacation, how many days they will work, and how much they’ll sell. They can tell you, in advance, who their best customers are and the techniques they will use to contact, persuade and gain new customers. The average entrepreneur is still waiting for someone to tell them what to do next.

Secondly, high achievers understand the power of teams. They value each contact for “what they bring to the table” and they capitalize on those strengths. They build strong, life-long business relationships and they understand the power of truly caring for those in their network.

The third key difference between high and low achievers is that high achievers only spend their time with like-minded individuals – they understand the necessity of hanging with other winners – momentum, enthusiasm, ideas, support, and drive. High achievers have looked at who has influence on them. In some cases, that influence is not positive. So high achievers have specifically chosen who is on their “Board of Directors” and discuss business ONLY with those individuals. They never discuss their business with the individuals in their life who do not support their dreams.

There are many things that define a high achiever. Taking steps to add these three behaviors to your everyday performance will get you on the road to success.

Take charge!
Ann Vertel

Opportunities show up every day for every one of us. Successful people are not only able to recognize them, but also expect them to show up, count on them showing up, and seek them out when not enough show up.

They make it a point to look for opportunities all around them, knowing full well that they are there just waiting to be taken.

If you operate your life or your business from a mindset of scarcity; if you believe that opportunities are hard to come by, then you are either not looking in the right places, or you have not yet honed your ability to be creative about where they might lie. Let’s say I told you,

“When you head out the door today, one of the people who will cross your path is right now, this very minute, looking for what you have to offer. It’s guaranteed and it’s a sure thing.”

What is your response? I suspect you’d be headed out the door pretty shortly.

Opportunities are there all the time – we just prefer to have a guarantee before we pursue them. It doesn’t work that way. Opportunities are “invisible” and pass you right by if you’re out hunting for guarantees.

If you think with a scarcity mentality, you will bemoan the idea that you can’t find any guarantees. When you think the way a successful person thinks, you will actively seek daily opportunities because you expect them to be there. That’s because they are.

 Take charge!
Ann Vertel

We all have 24 hours in a day. So why does it seem like some people are far more productive in that timeframe than others? I believe there are 3 major reasons:

(1) The successful individual consistently chooses what she wants most (long term) over what she wants now (immediate gratification).

(2) The successful individual recognizes that she isn’t good at all things and, therefore, needs other people to do the tasks she doesn’t excel at so that she can honor her gifts and do the things she was meant to do. 

You may be excellent at cleaning your house or balancing your books, but that doesn’t mean you should do those tasks. If you’re in business, hire experts to work on your business so you can work in it – doing the things that actually generate income. Hire a housekeeper, a bookkeeper, a cook, or a Virtual Assistant. With the extra time, you can produce enough to pay their fees and make a hefty profit - work smarter, not harder.

(3) The successful individual does not actually manage her time, she manages her energy.

Think about how much you get done on the day before you go away on a trip. Or how often you have been able to get multiple tasks checked off your list during the one hour before you had to leave your house or pick up your child from soccer practice.

And I’m sure you can recall a day when you had hours to spend, only a few items to do, and just never got around to doing them. Managing your energy means you are in “top form” and ready to go at a moment’s notice. You have gotten plenty of sleep, exercised to get your blood pumping, and eaten a healthy breakfast.

Act on what you want most, outsource everything you can, and manage your energy - it’s foundational to the success of your day, your life, and your business!

Take charge!
Ann Vertel