Who Says You Can’t You Do Book Review

by vanessa | Mar 19, 2020 | Entrepreneurs, personal development

Who says you can’t, you do book review

Who says you can’t, you do carries a lot of nuggets of truth and that is why I decided to do a book review on it.

I am being honest, this would be the first time I have ever written a book review on this website. The truth though this less of a book review and more of pointing out the value nuggets I have learned from this book. Okay, so yeah, I guess it is like a book review. If you are wondering why I decided to do a book review if I have never done before.

That is a great question? When I was writing my second book, the one thing that popped into my mind continuously was to do with how I wanted to inspire people in this book like Daniel Chidiac. His book helped me overcome hard times and it was almost like a guide for me how possible it was to be a successful author. This book is one of the best I have written because of how raw and honest it is. What it does that most self-help books don’t is it is honest without making you feel as if you are a failure.

Most self-help books hit you so hard that you easily give up. The aggressive tone makes you squirm and question whether the book was even your cup of tea or if it will help you get out of the runt.

“Who Says You Don’t, You Do,” was written way back in 2012. No matter how you spin it, that was ages ago. Though, one thing I can say with confidence is that it is so relatable. Even years down the line, it makes you question everything about your life. What I have learned is that books that can make you question the direction you have taken make it possible to change the way you look at the world. This book is a gem among stones. This is why I decided to do this book review because I hope that this book will help you as much as it has helped me. So here are five things that I learned from this book.

Neuroplasticity

I know what you are thinking or rather I assume. If you were like me I thought this was gibberish and I was so confused. I had no idea how powerful that word was until I was tested and I realized that it affects us more than we like to believe, Here’s a little context, neuroplasticity is all about rewiring your brain.

No, it has nothing to do with magic, but it is all about neuroscience. The reason I wrote this as the first thing in this book review is because of how important it is. In “Who Says, You Can’t You Do,” it goes into detail about the importance of rewiring your brain and who the brainchild was of this concept. Even though I already knew about neuroplasticity, it helped me understand it more. It helped me understand how something like rewiring your brain can change how you see the world and sure you might not want that.

You might think that you don’t need to rewire your brain because you are fine the way you are. I was a negative person for years, but when I started to rewire my brain everything changed. When I focused on what I could do instead of what I couldn’t then it hit, I could change the outcome based on how I saw things.

Most successful people have rewired their brains and that is the reason why even when they fail, they keep going at it. Most of us are too terrified to leap, but when you rewire your brain then you can focus on the positives instead of the negatives. “Who Says You Can’t, You Do,” goes into more detail about how you can achieve success by rewiring your brain.

What you believe, you create

This chapter had to be mentioned this book review because well, I do believe that what you believe, you create. Our beliefs have more power over our lives than we believe. They can shape the way we see people and things. If you believe you will never be successful, that is the reason you will never be successful.

If you were to read a lot of book reviews, a lot of them say I believed this book would be good or bad. When they believed it was good, it met their expectations and when it wasn’t, it fell short. Our minds are powerful enough to create art. Think about that. How can they not be powerful enough to shape the way we see the world.

What we believe, we create and that is why if you want to live a life of freedom, you must first believe. I know how that sounds, but it is so true. Keep reading to find out how to change your life.

The Action Trilogy

As a kid, I loved action movies like most kids. Maybe, it was because it was never boring. There was always something happening. From random people jumping out of airplanes to someone beating a bad guy and winning. In the movie, the hero is always victorious. Often at times, we attribute his physical appearance as the reason why he always wins.

That is true, but his emotional and mental state are aligned. I wanted to mention this in the book review because Daniel Chidiac makes sure that we understand how important it is that our emotional state is strong. He mentions often that the reason why some people are successful is due to this factor. They believe they can win. He also talks about often people never speak highly of themselves because of jinxes. Even if you are not superstitious they must have been a time when you believed that if you spoke positively over your life you would be jinxed.

I was superstitious, so much that I used to walk around looking for three-leaved cloves and trying not to walk under ladders. I blame Cartoon Network. However, when I became an adult I was convinced that if I spoke positively I would attract negative forces and fail. In the book, Daniel Chidiac talks about how because you believe something bad will happen it will.

The action trilogy is important because it encompasses your emotional, physical and mental state. When they have all aligned the chance of success is greater than it isn’t. However, he does point that what makes them align is your mental state. He explains if you believe you can achieve anything you will. It all starts with belief.

The importance of peers

I wanted to mention this in the book review because relationships are important. They make us who we are and our friends are important. There’s an analogy Danial Chidiac uses in the book concerning friendships. “Fish will only grow in proportion to the size of their environment.” This chapter is all to do with the good, the bad and the annoying part of friendships. It depends on how you look at it.

No doubt, that friendships are important, but they can also push you back. The reason why he gave the analogy of the fish is that human beings are the same. We adapt to our environments and the people we surround ourselves with. So, if you hang around people with different opinions than you then you are likely to do your best to appease them so you are validated. We all talk like that. We all want that. It is a natural response except when you have to change your personality or do something criminal to make everyone happy, but you.

This chapter moved because we can all relate to it in one way or the other. One thing to note is that a true friend can act like a fool around you, but who will always be there to support you and lift you. The book goes into more detail about friendship.

Also Related: 13 Habits of Self-Made Millionaires

It’s Not Just Your Life

This has to be one of my favorite chapters that’s why I wanted to mention this in the book review. Daniel Chidiac mentions how we can learn a lot from children and when I read that I realized how true it was. Even though we think that our life experiences have made us wiser, the question is has it? As adults, we make the same mistakes over and over again.

Daniel mentioned that the problem is that a lot of people have to go to reach a low point to wake up. As sad as that is, it is so true. I had to hit rock bottom for me to realize that I had to change my life and if I didn’t I would die young. That was a scary thought, if I had realized this sooner before the low point I wouldn’t have gone through an uphill battle. Children are different if they get burned once then they won’t do it again. Their pain points are more prominent than ours and therefore, they are aware of what not to do.

I believe this chapter is important because many of us are asleep. We don’t realize what we want and we make the same mistakes over and over again. As kids, the one thing that irked us was when adults would say that we would understand when we were older. That’s true, but the problem is that nothing changes if everything remains the same. Clueless children grow up into clueless adults who go into debt because that’s what we’re taught. We aren’t taught about making money in school and therefore, we fail to catch up.

Daniel goes into more detail about the ramifications of thinking that life is all about you, when it is so much more than that.

What I didn’t like?

I wanted to be as fair as possible. “Who Says You Can’t, You Do,” isn’t a perfect book, but show me a perfect book. There’s no such thing. I think its pros outweigh the negatives. It has gotten a lot of praise and changed lives. So to me, that is far more important. It is human nature to find what is wrong. I didn’t find anything wrong with it. The chapters were actionable, the analogies moving and relatable. This book is one of my favorites because it doesn’t sugar coat that the journey to success will be hard, but it all comes down to what you want out of life.

I believe you should give it a try because you would be shocked at how your life will change.

What strategies do you think will help you crush 2020. Let me known in the comments section.

KEEP P USHING

VANESSA

What I’ve Learned Risking It All To Chase My Dreams

by vanessa | Feb 26, 2020 | Entrepreneurs, motivation

What I’VE LEARNED FRom risking it all to chase my dreams

The below are a few things I learned from risking it all.

Over the last couple of years, I have learned a lot from risking it all to chase after my dreams. It wasn’t easy, that is for sure, but along the way I realized how much I had to give up to chase my dreams. There’s this notion that staying in a 9 – 5 jobs saves you from all the problems that come with chasing your dreams. Well, it depends on a lot of factors. The truth is nothing is certain, when you go after your dreams, it takes a lot out of you. More than it would if you were in a 9 – 5 job. Here’s the thing, you aren’t sure that you will make it in the end. You aren’t sure you will keep your job.

I don’t have a story about doing a corporate job and losing it or quitting. Most millennials are told they need to go to university and get a job. Then once they do, everything will be settled. I went to a great university and graduated at the top of my dream. I got three internships and I was ready to take on the world, but I didn’t get a job. All I heard was crickets, but I am not the only millennial who has gone through this.

You might be wondering if I am not risking a stable job then what is the point of this article. Risk can come in so many different shapes and forms. It all depends on the way you look at it.

I have realized that most times you have to do things that seem like they won’t work out so you can be certain they will. You can’t be successful if you don’t try. Even if the odds are up against you then you have to keep trying in order to make sure that you go after what you want. I have learned a lot of things from risking it all. You can use my examples as a way to understand what you will learn from risking it as well.

Risking the chance of being employed

I once listened to a podcast by Pete Voogd, in it, he said that they are two types of people; those that build other people’s dreams and those who build their own. He said often people work so hard to build someone else’s dream and that hit home. I realized I was doing that, not everyone can do the 9 to 5 thing. I certainly couldn’t, sure I was an intern, but it wasn’t even a really bad internship. I wasn’t sent on errands, it was more like a proper job with less pay.

I have never been so bored in my life. There were days when I would stare at the computer screen wondering why I was doing it. My family thought I was crazy, jobs are meant to be boring and that’s what growing up is all about. That might be a valid point, but the journey for me has been filled with so many roadblocks that I just couldn’t deal with doing a 9 to 5.

It was a stable career path. I always got paid every two weeks and I could do what I wanted with my money. Being an entrepreneur is unstable, for one thing, I can’t be certain I will have money this month or the next. At least this is how it is in the beginning.

However, I feel so alive doing this even though I know that it requires me to do a lot of work. Working on entrepreneurship means spending less time working on looking for a job. I learned this from risking it all. You can’t avoid it so you have to decide what you want. To be employed or unemployed for some time. It also depends on your circumstance, for some people they already have a job when they are working on their business. Remember, not to compare yourself going forward.

Also Related: Why You Should Break Out Of Your Comfort Zone?

Risk of failing

This would be the third blog I have done, but it gave me an opportunity to understand how to set up a website. I know more about websites than I did two years ago. I wasn’t techno-savvy and yet, because I had to learn I became one. I learned about Photoshop, how to do graphics and the list goes on. I am not bragging, but the little I knew about computers was basic.

Grade level kind of basic and with time I no longer say I am not techno-savvy. Not because I am a genius because I am not. I have failed so many times that it’s strange I didn’t quit. Here’s the thing that I have learned, we all fail. It is a lot easier to swallow when our friends know about it and that’s it. When people outside of our circle know it stings. I published a book and it flopped so hard. I was miserable about it for a while, hesitant to do it again because I failed.

I realized with time my strategy sucked and that is why I failed. It still hurt, I posted it on Facebook. Thinking I would at least get a couple of dollars, it didn’t even earn a hundred. I want to be honest with you because most bloggers don’t share their pains just their gains.

It occurred to me that I did fail, but that is the only way I could learn how to do it better next time. In the beginning, it will be a lot harder to gain momentum, but with the time that is what will happen. What I learned from risking it all is that failing is one thing that you cannot avoid.

Also Related: Five Ways To Make Peace With Failure

Donating personal time

When you chase after your dreams it means you donate your time. That is what happens because you are focusing on pushing yourself so that you get to where you want to go. It sounds crazy, right. In the beginning, you might not have enough time, to begin with, and that is where it gets even weirder. Doing all this means I have had to go to bed early.

Often, I joke about how it has aged me because my bedtime went from 12 am down to 9 pm and then now it sits at 7 pm. A lot of people either think that I really love sleeping or I am delusional. I have had to learn to wake myself up really early because if I want to get all my things done then I have to work like a crazy person. I have three side gigs I am doing besides this blog so I never run out of cash flow. Sure, it is hard, but whoever said that this was easy clearly was lying.

I have realized that if I want to be successful, I need to work hard now so I can get to where I want to go. It may seem like I have always had self-discipline, but I will be honest with you that wasn’t the case. I was lazy. I was the type of person who watched television all day and never got bored. I would sleep at 5 am during the holidays just watching television. Nothing else seemed to matter.

Now I dedicate my time to working on my dreams so that in the next couple of months or years I have achieved my goal. If I can do this then you can. You just have to believe you can. Sounds corny I know, but the word has been changed simply by having faith that you can make it. I learned from risking it all that sometimes giving up your personal time is something you need to do if you want to be successful.

Being misunderstood

As a kid, the one thing that I hated was being misunderstood, but I welcome it now. Not because I am a crazy person, but I have realized that people will always have an opinion on you and it sucks. It sucks when your family thinks that you are a workaholic or your friends see you as someone who is chasing a dream that will never be fulfilled.

A lot of people won’t support your dream, they have their own reasons and it is valid to them. You will lose friends along the way because they will misunderstand you. That is something you can’t avoid. I have learned that the hard way, but it is your decision what you do next. Even your parents might not support you the way you want them to.

What I have learned is everyone is doing the best they can and sometimes they are wrapped up in their problems. So, they can’t support you the way you want them to. Does that mean they are terrible people, no? But when you are dealing with your own problems, you can’t be someone’s support system.

When you go down a different route then most people will misunderstand you. The hard realization is that you need to learn to be okay with it. Being okay with it makes you stronger.

As Kelly Clarkson said once upon a song, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

Whatever happens in your life it will make you stronger, but in the end, we all risk things every day. The stakes are a lot higher for people who go after their dreams. There’s fear, failure seems imminent and you aren’t sure what tomorrow will look like. Does that mean you should give up? The thing is you can’t avoid risk, it will always be there, but it is far better to risk it all going after your dreams. You cannot avoid being misunderstood. Your family will think you are being childish, but you need to ask yourself what is important. I learned this from risking it all. Sometimes you have to deal with the heart ache for a little while to achieve what you want in the long haul.

What risks are you willing to take to chase after your dreams? Loved to know. Comment below.

Keep Pushing

Vanessa

5 Simple Tricks To Stop Being Lazy!

by vanessa | Feb 5, 2020 | Entrepreneurs, personal development

5 SIMPLE ways TO STOP BEING lazy!

If you want to stop being lazy, then these five simple ways will help you do just that.

There’s something exciting about a new month in a new year. It comes with it a sense of determination to what the next couple of months hold. Unfortunately, you won’t go far if you have the laziness bug and a topic of like this can cause people to become uncomfortable, but as an entrepreneur, I know how important it is to work on your goals and dreams.

I know how important it is to work hard, but do it with efficiency. It wasn’t always like this, I used to be lazy. Many people would say I was a couch potato. I’d watch television for hours and never get bored, now that isn’t something I can do without going crazy. The truth is it was easier to kick the lazy bug than I thought it would be.

If you want this year to be your year then there are a few simple tricks that will help you kick the lazy bug for good so that you can build dreams that you want to build and live life on your own terms.

The older I have gotten, I have come to understand the importance of building dreams so that you can live life on your own terms. In this blog post, I’ll show you 5 simple tricks to help stop being lazy. As I said it is important that you beat laziness because if you never do then you will never live life on your own terms and your life will always remain what it is now.

Have a dream you are willing to fight for

When I was a kid, I knew I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to change the world for the better, but I didn’t know what it was. I remember following my father around and admiring how many people knew who he was. When my father walked into a room people got the sense in who he was and they always came back with stories about how he helped them with their business and family.

At the time, I thought my father was really famous, when I was older I found out he was an entrepreneur. A pioneer in a way, I wanted to be like my father but I was unsure if I wanted to be an entrepreneur. To me, it seemed like far too much work. I found myself lost, unsure with what path I wanted to take.

Then I discovered that entrepreneurship is by the far the most dynamic career you can take on. There are so many things you can do when you become an entrepreneur.

People looked at me and told me that I couldn’t possibly become an entrepreneur. The thing is when you have a dream so strong and powerful, you want to fight for it. You have a hundred reasons why you want to do it and nothing can stop you. When I had this dream, I stopped being lazy. I started walking up early and it wasn’t a struggle. I used to struggle walking up. No longer, did I look forward to watching television early in the morning. Instead, I chose to fight for my dream and that helped me to stop being lazy.

Find the root cause

Until, you understand what is going on behind the scenes you will never stop being lazy. I used to watch television as a form of escapism. When I watched my favorite programs. I didn’t think about what was happening at home or my learning disability. I didn’t even consider the problems I was having. At the time, I didn’t even know I was depressed until someone pointed it out.

When you are alone with your thoughts, the reality is far scarier than you want to admit. You will never change your life if you don’t find out why you are doing what you are doing. For example, there are a lot of people who want to have healthier lifestyles yet they eat until they can’t walk straight or lie on the couch the whole day.

As scary as it is allowing yourself to grieve you must because letting out is better than keeping it bottled up. You will also be closer to finding out what is going on with you. This will help you stop being lazy and move you in the direction that you desire.

Quick fix for procrastination

If you are like most human beings then you might struggle with procrastination. I get that, but have you ever thought about breaking your time up. This will help you stop being lazy. Let me explain, I climbed Table Mountain in 2014 as a person who is terrified of heights,

I wanted to do this. The thought of climbing it was terrifying. I managed to make it to the top because I took my time. I took small steps towards my goals and that helped me. When it comes to procrastination, what stops us from completing a goal is the daunting task. The one that is ahead of us. If you need to stop being lazy then you need to fix procrastination.

Break up tasks that are making you nervous into smaller chunks. If you want for example, to start a business, what is the first step that you need to take. I once listened to this motivational speaker who said sometimes all you need to do become successful is to take the step in front of you. If you keep climbing up then eventually you will reach your goal.

This will help you to stop being lazy because you are dealing with what was holding you back. When you face what is holding up, you can stop being lazy.

Also Related: 7 Simple Ways to Stop Procrastinating

Laziness is a state of mind

This might make you roll your eyes and question my sanity, but think about it. None of us are born lazy. No teacher writes in a report card, your kid is too lazy. If you played hide and seek then you are not a lazy person. Circumstances made you lazy and when you are out of school it is so easy to become lazy.

That is why I say laziness is a state of mind. When you are dealing with hardship and struggling to cope, your default setting will be laziness. You will want to curl up in your blanket because it is easier to do that then face the world. You will want to hide because if you do that you can forget all the things you have to deal with.

Our mind affects us in more ways than we think. If you want to be successful then you need to change the state of your mind. If you want to stop being lazy then you need to stop identifying yourself as a lazy person. Once, you do that it will so much easier to actually work on your goal. You want be stuck with a negative mindset. This is by far one of the best ways to stop being lazy.

Also Related: 5 Habits That Will Change Your Life For The Better

Community and support

This is the last thing you should focus on if you want to stop being lazy. Having a community behind you or the support you need will motivate you. For most people, knowing that they had people to support them gave them enough confidence to change their life. Your community can be anything from your close friend to family members, the church, your neighbors or even Facebook groups.

The whole point is find people who are willing to keep you accountable. If you do that, then you can focus on changing your life. This last tip will stop you from being lazy and you can also achieve more if you have people who have your back.

What positive habits have you started doing to improving your life? Comment below

KEEP PUSHING

VANESSA

13 Habits of Self-Made Millionaires in 2020

by vanessa | Jan 8, 2020 | Entrepreneurs, motivation

13 habits of self-made millionaires in 2020

Every self-made millionaire has these 13 habits in 2020. So if you want to be a self-made millionaire then focus on these thirteen habits.

The last decade many people speculated what makes a self-made millionaire and while time went on, our definition changed. The 2010s was an era where self-made millionaires were made more easily than any other decade that came before it. Our understanding of who they are was reflected in the habits that they worked on. When it all comes down to it, the habits of self-made millionaires are different than anyone else.

We are entering not only a new year, but a whole new decade and it is so much easier now to become a millionaire. Think about how many five year old kids have bank accounts bigger than yours. I mean, if a five year old can be a millionaire than what are we waiting for. In all fairness, they started so much earlier but still doors have been opened for people to change their lives.

Here’s the thing it all comes down to choices. The choices we make affect us more than we like to admit and it is here that we choose whether what we want to believe.

If you believe you can’t be successful than you won’t. That is why I compiled this list of the 13 habits of self-made millionaires in 2020. Some of them will surprise you and others won’t. It all comes down to your perspective, but this list will motivate you to make the choice to build a future where you can impact someone’s life. So here we go.

They invest in education

More many people this depends on the type of learner you are. Not everyone enjoys reading, I have come to understand that. Though if you are reading this blog than you are a reader. I digress, investing in education is so important and that is the one habit of self-made millionaires that can be spotted across the board.

From Gary Vee to Oprah to Grant Cardone. Education is so important. I am not talking here about getting a four-year degree from a university where you had to spend more money than you had.

That is what was great about the 2010’s, they changed the way we looked at education. It was no longer seen as formal, but could even be informal. The past decade people spent money learning online. There’s so much you can learn online from any skills you can think of to and any topic you can imagine. You can invest your money on books, courses, summits or conferences.

It doesn’t matter, education is a better investment than entertainment.

They hang out with other successful people

Want to be a millionaire or successful than you need to hang out with people who either are or want to be successful. Not sure where to find those people?

There are dozens of applications and websites built in the last decade to help you out.

I did tell you that the 2010’s were an incredible era. The reason why you need to do this is because birds of a feather flock together. No kidding, there’s actually truth to that. I once heard that you are the average of the five people you spend your time with. Here’s a fact, you won’t become rich if you are spending time with people who are broke and who don’t want to change their life.

Habits tend to be very contagious. Have you ever seen a non-alcoholic spend time with alcoholics. No, right. What about a healthy person who spends time with unhealthy people. I could go on and on. If you surround yourself with people who exercise you will do. The same can be said for anything. Building relationships with people who are working towards something is as contagious as it gets.

They want to change the world

I told you that some would surprise you. We all think that the rich are selfish, maybe because of reality television shows. That changed our perspective a bit.

However, many self-made millionaires want to impact the world. They want to change it. They know that giving back is the best way they can show how grateful they are for the success they have.

All we have to do is look at Bill Gates, who is a billionaire. The amount of money and resources he gives back is unbelievable. Many people who own businesses want to help people achieve their success and they give back as much as they can.

Many self-made millionaires teach themselves to practice gratitude and that changes their perspective. Makes them charitable as they realize how short life is and doing something that matters is far better than the money they have in their bank accounts.

They are dreamers and practice creative visualization

When I was a kid I was told that dreamers never do anything with their lives. I spent a decade, looking at the habits and most of them are

dreamers. Well, you have to be if you are going to be a self-made millionaire. I can imagine them telling people about their dreams.

“So, what do you want to do with your life?”

“I want to start a business.”

There’s usually an eye roll involved when they’d reply back. “Really and what business and how are you going to do that when you dropped out of college.”

Many self-made millionaires either didn’t go to college or they dropped out. So, they’d have to be dreamers and practice creative visualization for their dreams to come true.

Creative visualization is the process of dreaming about what you want your life to be like. It might appear nonsensical, but when you think about what you want the future to be like, you are training yourself to work towards it.

They pursue their goals

Wait what? Yes, they pursue all their goals, no matter how nonsensical or difficult it might appear. If you want to be successful then you need to crack down on moving towards something. You have to follow-through so that you too can enjoy the success many self-made millionaires enjoy.

If you want to run a marathon then do that. Do you want to learn how to play guitar? Than learn how to do that. Maybe, you want to learn how to code. As long as you have full use of your hands then you can do that. Follow-through and you’d be surprised at what you will achieve by working on your goals.

When you work your way through your goals, something happens. It changes your perspective and you will grow a lot quicker. You’d be shocked at what you

achieve, if you start following-through with all your goals. Sure, take it in your strides, but it is still important to pursue your goals. Be comfortable with rejection and failure. it will help you follow-through.

They wake up early

I have yet to see any mammal that doesn’t love sleeping unless you are a whale. That however is a story for another day. Humans are no different. We love our sleep, very few of us can get away with little sleep and many of us struggle to wake up early.

I struggled for the longest time to wake up early. It was only until I was a lot older that I started getting used to and my life changed for the better. It was as if I was walking in the dark then I had a light bulb moment. Everything came into full swing and I changed the way I saw life even myself.

Every self-made millionaire wakes up early. I know, that’s a long list and a generalization, but in this case it is so true. They understand that their mind and body is more active if they wake up early so that is what they do.

Research says that there’s far more benefit to waking up early. For example, you get more done than most people because while everyone is sleeping you are working. You also don’t rush into things because you would have had enough time to get ready. So, yes waking up early is really beneficial.

They have multiple sources of income

This one certainly surprised, I had spent so much time, thinking that most successful people had one source of income then I learned that they usually have seven or more sources of income.

As impossible as that seems, it isn’t really. It all comes down to understanding how to make money online which is a lengthy topic and one that you can read more about in detail by clicking the link below. Many successful people own more than one business, they also have written a book and are public speakers. They also invest in stocks, own e-commerce businesses.

This can be anything from selling clothes to accessories or even mugs with an interesting quote on them. The list goes on and on. Look at many successful YouTubers, many own a blog as well and that is another source of income. This is one of the habits that have people self-made millionaires.

When you have multiple sources of income, this is how your income grows a whole lot faster. If you learn this early on then you can become a self-made millionaire a lot quicker.

Many successful people do affiliate marketing, but they sell their own courses and programs as well. These are two separate sources of income. I could go and on about this. But you get the point.

They find and check up with mentors

If you are starting out and can’t afford a mentor then you can still invest your time. What I mean by this is you can go to YouTube and read books so you can learn something. A mentor does help you get to your destination a lot quicker, but many people can’t afford the price tag attached to it. So, I understand.

Still, investing your time is a great alternative and you can watch videos on any subject on YouTube. Learn as much as you can. You will have to do more work though, if you are learning on YouTube because sometimes the advice isn’t as clear cut as it could be.

I have learned that often the excuses we make for ourselves makes it a lot harder to escape the situation we are in. If you want the 2020’s to be your decade than you need to escape this way of thinking.

This is one of the habits many self-made millionaires have. Who you surround yourself with determines your course of action. This habit helps people become people become self-made millionaires faster. The reason is because when you ask for advice from those who are where you want to be, you can learn what to do and what not to do.

They are positive

I have yet to see a negative self-made millionaire. The habits that are self-made millionaires possess is their positivity. They don’t live the doom and gloom lifestyle many of us adopted in the 2010’s. Sure life gets hard and sometimes it feels good to say how much it sucks, but that can only take you so far until it doesn’t.

This is coming from someone who was extremely negative and I didn’t go far. I didn’t pursue my goals and I became friends with people who were just like me. It was like that for sometime until I realized I wasn’t evolving. I wasn’t growing or building. I was stuck in the same rut I had been with and I hated it. So, I decided I needed to change that. It wasn’t easier, but that is life. Nothing is easy in the beginning, it takes time and effort to change the way we operate.

If you want to be successful then out with the old and in with the new. The new you should be positive because if you are then you will achieve your goals no matter no matter what obstacles come your way. It is all a state of mind. If you want to be a self-made millionaire then you need to focus on this habit. This habit will anyone who wants to become a self-made millionaire focus on what is and isn’t important.

They don’t follow the herd

Another habit of self-made millionaires is they don’t follow the herd. They don’t mind being outliers or even being seen as a little strange. They don’t mind people not understanding what they are working towards. They know what they want and even if they have to color outside the lines, they don’t care.

Too many of us spend so much of time carrying too much what everyone else does or thinks. We want to be like everyone else and that is what we do. The problem with this kind of thinking is that we never step outside of our comfort zone or do what scares of us. We don’t build a business and regret usually follows.

So, if you want to be a self-made millionaire in the future then you need to learn that you don’t need to follow the herd. In fact, don’t follow the herd.

They spend time thinking and reflect

Yes, the world is always noisy, but still how many of us dedicate time to thinking. Not just thinking about our problems, That is ingrained in us, that many of us know how to do it without much thought. What I mean is many of us don’t ever consider our solutions or think about ideas. We never think about new business opportunities or wonder how we make more time.

Many of us struggle with time management, but there’s a way around it, that we never consider. You can only solve the problem if you spend time thinking about the solution. I had to learn how to do this and in the beginning it wasn’t easy, but life became so much easier once I did it. I then realized that many of us never think of solutions to our problems or ideas.

When you spend time thinking, your life changes. This habit of self-made millionaire will make you rich. Look at any successful person, many of them are self-aware and always come up with new ideas. Here’s a thing you might never have considered, it is a lot easier to come up with business ideas when you practice reflection.

They value feedback

Many of us hate feedback of any kind. That is understandable, but if you ever want to go anywhere then you need to realize that there’s so much you need to accept.

You also need to value feedback. I am not saying you should take everything in, but rather you value feedback. It is your choice what you should take note of and what you shouldn’t.

Constructive criticism will only make you better. I can promise you on that one, but you need to understand you will grow so much faster if you do that. You will learn so much as well as you go through all the motions. It does take time to process everything, but once you do then you will learn what you need to change. Feedback can help you tweak certain things whether it is project or an idea.

Those changes can help your product stand out a lot better. So, yes, it helps to value feedback. This habit is one that have self-made millionaire has adopted because they understand its importance

They never give up

Want to be successful then you should never give up. This habit is what makes self-made millionaires what they are. If they gave up then they wouldn’t be self-made millionaires. It is so much easier to give up. To throw in the towel and ignore the tiny voice that keeps saying to push forward. If you want to be successful then you need to keep pushing forward even when the odds are stacked up against you.

The odds in the beginning will always be stacked up against you. If that wasn’t the case then we all would be successful. That isn’t how it works unfortunately, so you need to realize that you have to see it through. If you give up then you will never know what could have come from working on our dreams.

Every successful person has had to struggle, but they made it to the end of the line, by realizing that they can’t give up. Keep working on your dreams and I promise that you won’t regret it.

Also Related: How To Master The Art Of Never Giving Up

What is your main takeaway from this and what habits are you planning on working on? What are your goals for 2020, comment below.

Keep Pushing

Vanessa

7 Blogging Myths That Need to be Debunked

by vanessa | Dec 5, 2019 | blogging, Entrepreneurs, Side-Hustles

7 blogging myths that need to be debunked

There are a lot of blogging myths out there, but these are the seven most common ones.

When I first started blogging, I read every article I could on blogging. I came across a lot of blogging myths. To say, I was obsessed doesn’t tell the whole story, but it is fine for now.

I wanted to cover all my areas so that I was prepared. Have you ever gone to a race without practicing? Of course not, the same was for me. It was going

to be a marathon. I knew that, but I wanted to know what kind of marathon it would be.

Boy, the articles didn’t give me much time and resources to prepare me. Blogging is something else. Over the years, it has evolved as a new medium. Not only changing with time but presenting it as a way for people to make money. Over the past ten years, blogging has made average people into millionaires.

Changed people who were struggling into financial gurus and yes, it has been ten years since popular became popular. It all started becoming the new normal in 2010 and now with a few days left into 2020, I just want to debunk a couple of blogging myths.

As you go through this list I want you to know this isn’t to discourage you or tell you that you shouldn’t do blogging. Blogging is great for many reasons. One of the reasons is it will give you a taste of freedom. Nowadays, YouTube is on the rise and so is Instagram, but sometimes all you need to do is start small and blogging can help you with that.

Myth #1 – It is easy to make money from blogging

I started making money from blogging in my fourth month into it and it was only $45. Sure, that $45 gave me a sense of hope that I could make money from

blogging. However, for most people they only make money from blogging after one to two to even three years. So, it all depends on a lot of factors. For example, it depends on your brand and the services you provide to clients.

I won’t say it is the easiest way to make money, but if I were to compare it to YouTube, I’d say that the learning curve is easier. With YouTube, there’s a learning curve. You need to know not only about SEO, traffic and lead magnets, but how to edit videos and take good videos. At least with blogging, there’s not a lot of things you need to learn in the beginning.

Another thing with blogging is you need to learn about marketing and funnels. In case, you have no idea what funnels are, you are not the only one. When I first started, I had to read whatever I could about funnels and even now it gives me anxiety thinking about it. Not as much as it used to. A funnel is a path that you need to take people down from your lead magnet to your paid offers.

Every business has a funnel from iTunes to McDonald’s to even Netflix. It depends on how big or small the business is. If all this is giving you a migraine, I understand. Blogging isn’t easy, but it definitely is worth it.

Myth #2 – You need to post every day

If you know more about blogging than you have heard the myth that you need to post every day. Unless you are doing a publication then yes, you need to

post every day. A run of the mill blog doesn’t need 30 posts per month to make it a blog. Not only is that difficult to do, but you will also run out of steam on day ten.

Publications are different because they tend to have dozens or more guest bloggers who want to put their name out there. They don’t mind doing that. Publications these days can look like blogs because in many ways they are. The difference is they are run differently and all have a different goal. Normal blogs are created to share usually one person’s perspective in the hope that will stir interest or discussion. Publications are created to share multiple perspectives about a specific topic.

Here are a few examples of publications that are also like blogs; Foundr, Addicted 2 Success, and Success Magazine. This blogging myth needs to be debunked because this prevents bloggers from becoming successful and giving up too quickly.

Myth #3 – You should know everything

This myth isn’t just a blogging one. Most people who are venturing out on their own have this belief that you need to know everything and can’t make mistakes.

The problem is that you are making it harder for you. Every successful person when they were first started out made a lot of mistakes despite what they thought they knew.

The first year is usually the hardest because you are trying to attract people to your website. It is easy to pay for products you don’t need only to realize you spent money on it and haven’t received anything back. This is the learning process. I am now into my second year of blogging and I can tell you that I made so many mistakes along the way.

I gave up too easily, I wasn’t consistent enough and made products no one wanted. Regardless of the pain, I wouldn’t go back because I learned more from making mistakes than I would have if I hadn’t made any.

If you want to be successful then you need to be alright with making mistakes. People who make mistakes are far more relatable than those who are perfect. So be okay with making a few mistakes along the way. You will be better for it. This blogging myth needs to be debunked so that people can realize that mistakes are what make us human.

Also Related: 12 Blogging Mistakes to Avoid

Myth #4 – You need to a lot of traffic to make money

I thought this as well, but then I had made money without even having any subscribers so this depends on a lot of factors. It isn’t luck. There’s no such thing as luck when it comes to business. We all enter into starting our own business for a reason. I did it because I wanted to define my own path, I wanted to be my own boss and that was the pull I need to go for it.

Some people choose to do it for other reasons. Financial freedom or wanting to spread a message. Whatever it is, that reason can help you attract the right clients.

Sometimes, all you need to do is look for clients within your group. I am not talking about offering a product and not delivering it. Your blog is real estate and you can use that to attract clients on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

When you have a blog you will be seen as a guru, even if you don’t feel like you are one, this gives you the ability to show people what you have to offer. You don’t need any traffic to do that. All you need is an idea of what you want to present and you go for it. Most believe this blogging myth, but my hope is that you realize that if I can do it then you can as well.

Myth #5 – Blogging is a competition

Blogging isn’t a competition. Successful people in any industry don’t see things the way everyone else does. To them it is all about a community, helping each other out rather than undermining each other. This is so important that you understand because often we can forget how important it is to have a community to support you.

This blogging myth has been around the block for some time. Not sure how it came about, because we all know that successful people don’t puff their chests out and try competing with other people who are successful. In fact, often, they promote each other. Here’s the thing with success, when you are willing to step out of your comfort zone and realize that you aren’t on an island, you’d be shocked at how genuine most bloggers are.

I interviewed a few bloggers who helped me understand what it takes to be a successful blogger. I learned a lot along the way, but it gave me a deeper understanding about blogging and how it can change your life when you allow it to.

Myth #6 – Blogging is expensive

Don’t know who you have been talking to, but that is so untrue. In fact, blogging is cheaper to start than most side-hustles. Unless you want to be an Instagram influencer, but even still unless you have great editing skills or good at taking photos you need to spend money.

Here’s a breakdown;

Instagram – camera, photo editing app, photographer (can spend anything from $100 to $250)

YouTube – camera, camera apps, tripod, microphone, videographer, web camera, video editor (it depends on what you want to spend on it, but can be anything from

$100 to $500)

Blogging – $10 per month to less than $100 a year (depends on the hosting company)

When I first started, I paid $10 for the month. That was it. Some companies can be $12 for the year when you are first starting out and then go up. All you need with blogging is a domain name, hosting and a theme. Most times, you can find a great free theme and most hosting companies give you a domain name for free. That is why blogging is so great, you don’t need a lot to start and you can learn so much about business when you do a blog.

Myth #7 – You need to be on all social media accounts

Many people when they first start out blogging, believe this myth because it is easy to believe it. After all, most established businesses are on all social media

platforms. What we don’t realize is that they are established so it makes sense for them to be on everything. After all, why would they stab themselves in the

foot by only being on one platform?

However, when you are first starting out, you will need to know a lot of things such as email marketing, networking, SEO and marketing tactics. You will be stabbing yourself in the foot by trying to be on everything all at once. Sometimes, we need to pace ourselves when first starting out. Rushing isn’t getting there and sure, it would be great having millions of fans, but if you are starting from scratch then you are wearing yourself thin.

This blogging myth needs to be nipped in the bud. Take your time. If you are more of a Facebook person then do that. If you prefer Instagram do that or if you love Pinterest then you can figure out how to use the darn thing. But just take your time to learn. The first and second year is all about figuring things out, you also need to be okay with doing that.

What blogging myths have you heard about? And is that what is preventing you from starting a blog? Comment below.

Keep Pushing

Vanessa

7 Simple Ways to Stop Overthinking and To Start Doing

by vanessa | Oct 30, 2019 | Entrepreneurs

7 simple ways to stop overthinking and start doing

Use these simple strategies to be more productive and avoid burn out

Most of us struggle with the overthinking bug and that prevents us from going after our dreams, building a business or making changes in our lives. For the longest time, I was like that so wrapped up in my thoughts and it never seemed enough. I didn’t know enough and I had no idea what steps I should take to go in the right direction. It is hard to stop overthinking because there are so many doubts and negative emotions to deal with.

There’s so much that you don’t know and it is almost as if you have to deal with that, learn something new and handle the burden of coping with it all. So, yes it isn’t easy. But isn’t that the point of life, that it isn’t easy and yet the older we get we tend to allow our overthinking to stop us in our tracks. As kids, we just did something and overthinking didn’t stop us from going after what we want. If you want to change your life then you have to learn how to stop overthinking.

That in itself isn’t an easy feat, but it is important that you do learn how to stop overthinking because once you know how then everything becomes a whole lot easier. If you want to lose weight then you can go past the critics screaming at you, want to start a new project and you can do that. The more you get used to doing things you don’t like, the easier it is for you to get things done and to stop overthinking. Here’s a list of the 7 simple ways you can stop overthinking and start doing.

Awareness is key

It is hard to know how to change your life if you are unaware that you need to do that. Awareness is one of the simplest ways you can stop overthinking.

Because once you are aware that you are overthinking, stressed out and anxious, you can find ways to change this. At first, it might be complicated in getting

started. After all, it isn’t as if awareness is a door that you simply open.

You have to learn how you can become aware of your own thought pattern. There was a time when I was one of those people who didn’t know how to do reflection

and I struggled at it. In university, I had a compulsory subject I had to, in it, we had to learn how to do reflection. Once I got good at reflection, I became better at

becoming aware and I understood my thought patterns a whole lot better.

Awareness is key to stop overthinking and the easiest way to become aware is to practice reflection. This is simply taking note of your day, emotions and actions in

check. When it comes to reflection you have to ask yourself questions to get to the bottom of the decisions you made. For example, why did you do X and not A or

why did you feel threatened, angry, sad or depressed. This is an easy way to get a handle on awareness.

Stop thinking about what can wrong

When I was younger that is what I constantly thought about. What could possibly go wrong and you need to alter this to help you stop overthinking. Start thinking

about what could go right. And I know that isn’t easy, there are hundreds of ways that things could go wrong. When I was ten I had this book filled with short stories

and each one told a story about a day that went horribly wrong. From a girl being late for the bus to have a bad hair day or being fired.

For ten-year-old the book was bleak, I used to think that just walking out of the house could have dire consequences. That didn’t exactly stop me from having fun, but

when I got older I started overthinking to the extent that I was terrified to try anything new. I didn’t want to be embarrassed or to get so over my head that things

blew up in my face.

You need to turn your thinking on its head and stop worrying about what could possibly go wrong. Yes, there’s a chance that you will fail or that you feel ashamed.

There’s a likelihood that you will have to work on your goals time and time again to reach success. But you need to ask yourself what can go right. You could become

successful, make more money doing what you love, travel the world, build a business you love, become healthier and a better version of yourself. The list can go on

and on. There are a lot of reasons for how something can go right, so think of this so you can stop overthinking.

Put things into perspective

Like most kids I hated the whole don’t cry over spilled milk or don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. But it is true though when you are going through something,it does seem as if it is dire.

Start asking yourself will this matter in one, two or five years from now. Imagine yourself in the future and what is future your perspective.It is just the same as when you were in the last year of high school, it almost felt as if graduating from high school was one of the most important days in your life. Now, you might have had far better days and more important ones. Graduating high school is like every other milestone. When you use a time frame to put things into perspective this can help you to stop overthinking and start doing.

Stop trying to be perfect

You can never truly master something and the reason why most of us overthink is that we are trying to be perfect. But when you start doing something, you will suck at it. When you start thinking about all the things you have achieved, in the beginning, you might have been horrendous and that is okay. To stop overthinking,you need to realize that you won’t be good at something. At least, in the beginning, it will take some work and you need to start working on it on a consistent basis.

Most of us never do anything because we spend so much time perfecting the skill or worrying about us not getting it right. That is why most authors release their books, seven or ten years later because they were overthinking. Stop trying to be perfect and just embrace imperfection, you will achieve more if you do this.

Don’t let fear stop you

I get it you failed miserably in the past and you believe that you will do the same here. That is terrifying, you remember the fear clearly and that can prevent you

from pushing on. My fear has stopped me so many times because I always remember how it felt to fail and that makes me sick to my stomach. Failure is a normal

part of life.

I can give you a long list of all the people who have failed and struggled to achieve something. But that won’t help you stop overthinking, instead, you need to

change your perspective on fear. Whenever we do something, even when we fail, we learn something from it. Think about it, what did you learn about yourself

from failing? How did you improve after you failed? Sometimes we forget that everything in life teaches us something about ourselves even failing does that.

Accept your best

When you do your best that is all that matters in the long run. Often at times, we try to be someone we are not. Stressing yourself out won’t help you in any way,

instead, it will stop you from acting on your dreams. All you can do is your best and that is important because when you make an effort, doors open and more

opportunities come your way.

It is better to do your best and still struggle with the task at hand then to overthink and never get it done. To stop overthinking, just remember that your best can

change your life in so many ways. It can also help you improve, build your skills, give you confidence and push you in the right direction. Going forward, just

remember that your best matters more than you think it does. It matters because you are making an effort despite not knowing what you can do and I know

how terrifying it can be to do something without training wheels, but that is the only way you can learn.

Sure, you will have doubts, but we all have doubts and it shouldn’t stop us from going after what we want.

You can’t predict the future

You do not have the power to look into the future. You are a flesh and blood human, who has to deal with the in-between. Knowing full well that you won’t know what

tomorrow brings. So, you never know what can come out of this. Simply telling you to stop overthinking won’t help you, but need to realize that you can’t predict the

future.

You have no clue what is going to happen years from now, maybe what you imagined didn’t pan out, but maybe it did. Maybe, you allowed failure to stop you or

maybe you didn’t. There are a whole lot of possibilities when it comes to dealing with the future. But you are far better pushing yourself out of the box then staying

in it. You will be better off, by imagining a better future for yourself. One where you chased after your dreams and conquered your fears. One where you stopped

overthinking and started doing. Working on your dreams and found yourself. Don’t allow negative nancy to take your joy away and stop you from going after what

you want.

What risks are you willing to take to chase after your dreams? Loved to know. Comment below.

Keep Pushing

Vanessa