By Baeth Davis
The Palm Pilot for the Soul of Your Business™
and Your Love & Money On Purpose Mentor!
“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” – Stephen A. Brennan
November 4, 2007 was an incredible day for me. It was the day I won the Glazer-Kennedy 2007 Information Marketer of the Year award. (Information marketing is the delivery of your expertise through information channels: speaking, writing, home-study products, online tutorials, webinars, newsletters, and so forth.)
You might be thinking, “Why is this important and why should I care?” Both of these questions have the same answer – which is, there are some important lessons in how I went about winning this award that might help you in planning your business and personal life.
I wasn’t a shoe-in to win on any level. Of all the info-marketers in the room, my income, while respectable, is certainly not the highest, nor even in the middle range of what many successful info-marketers make (some make millions a month!). I also had some pretty stiff competition from other, more well-known info-marketers.
But, despite these obstacles, I was the one who took home the prize.
How did I do it?
Here are my 5 winning strategies:
1. I was determined to win. Never, ever, discount your attitude and mindset. From the very beginning, when I first found out about this award, I made up my mind I wanted to win it and was going to do whatever it took to do that.
What about you? Are you determined to succeed in your business? Are you determined to achieve your 2013 goals? Were you determined to make your 2012 goals? If you weren’t, how did that end up working out for you?
If you find yourself consistently missing a goal in your business or your life, take a moment and check in with yourself. Are you as committed to your goal as you could be? If not, maybe that’s part of your problem. The key is to DECIDE and then ACT on that decision. (Hint: The goal HAS to be something you feel passionate about.)
2. I wasn’t afraid to work with focus. I spent an entire Sunday pulling together my application materials. Once I discovered I was a finalist, I practiced and practiced and practiced my presentation. Even while I was at the event I skipped an evening of networking and relaxing to go to my room and practice some more.
Now, I’m not for a moment advocating an “all work and no play” lifestyle, or having your business take over your life. What I AM saying is there are times where you do need to work overtime to get where you want to go (just like there are times where you need to unplug and unwind). Your challenge is knowing the difference between the two and acting accordingly. (More on that below.)
3. I was strategic about how I worked. This is the key to knowing when to work intensely, what to work intensely on, and when to kick back and relax.
Before I dug in and started pulling things together, I took a step back and thought about my goals. How could I present my materials and myself in the best possible light so I would stand out from the crowd? Once I figured out the how, then it was easy to jump in and get it all done.
The request for entries was faxed to me in a sales letter format. So I formatted my entry just like the request they sent to me, with a bright red headline which read: “They Laughed At My Profession – Until I Made More In One Month Than They’d Made The Entire Year!” I submitted an entry that matched the request so I was already ‘familiar’ to them.
I then FEDEX’d a giant binder of all my marketing materials, in color, to the contest headquarters.
How do you approach a big project? Do you take a step back and plan first, so you know you’re focusing on the right things in the right order? Or do you just jump in headfirst and flail around? If it’s the latter, then chances are you probably find yourself working a ton of hours and not getting much done.
I know it can be very tempting to skip the planning and get straight to the doing, especially when it’s a big project. And planning can feel like nothing is happening. But trust me, making time to plan is the quickest way to get things done.
“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” – Stephen A. Brennan
4. I asked for the vote. I was chosen as one of four finalists, then at the Info Marketing Summit I did a 15-minute presentation to all the participants. The participants then cast the vote for the final winner.
Actually, not only did I ask for the vote, I explained why they should vote for me and why should I win it. I said that I was the “most improved swimmer.”
Believe it or not, I was the only one who did.
Do you ask for what you want? From asking for the sale to asking for a deal to asking for help, asking could be your golden key to getting exactly what you want.
5. I didn’t sweat the small stuff. When I left the stage after my presentation, I discovered I had buttoned my jacket one button off so it was crooked. I could have gotten very upset and stressed about this. But I chose not to let it bother me. And in retrospect, clearly it didn’t make one lick of difference.
Do you find yourself sweating the small stuff in your business or your life? Are those small annoyances you agonize over really going to make a difference in achieving your goals? If the answer is no, then let it go. It’s not worth getting upset about it.
Bonus Tip: By “small stuff” I am not referring to details. Success is in the details. The more attention to detail, the more success you have and sustain. Small stuff is worrying that you haven’t ‘yet’ lost that extra 10 pounds you’ve been wanting to lose for 20 years or the zit on your nose or your competitor sitting in the front row during your presentation staring you down. Let that stuff go and focus on being the best at what YOU do!
To YOUR Purpose – It’s in YOUR Hands (nobody else’s!),