For the past couple of posts, we’ve discussed how to reinvent ourselves for success. This topic originally came from one of my very first podcasts. Some of it was by the COVID-19 pandemic, which required many businesses and their owners to reinvent themselves to stay relevant and survive the economic turmoil.
A year later, the topic is still relevant. It matters for anyone who wants to turn around or improve their business and reach their goals. Sometimes when we struggle in online business, the answer isn’t just about changing our tactics but reinventing ourselves. I assert that it’s actually more important to grow than it is to change tactics… because building the best business requires becoming the best version of yourself.
By the way, one of the very first steps to self-improvement requires identifying and destroying the secret scripts you follow every day. Read this article to begin changing your habits for the better!
Replacement is Key
In part 1 of this series, the practical information was all about removing things from your life, especially the negative parts. We need to get rid of negative information and voices in our lives. We need to limit the influence that pessimistic people have on our business’ development.
However, removal is only the first piece of the puzzle. The other pieces have to do with replacement.
When you remove something from your life, you leave behind an empty space. That empty space is going to be filled by something, and that something won’t necessarily be good.
If you own a car and go get the oil changed, the mechanic will remove the old, dirty engine oil. But they had better add some fresh oil to replace it, otherwise, your car won’t run!
Similarly, you need to replace the negative people in your life with positive ones. You also need to replace the negative thought leaders and voices in your life with positive ones. Otherwise, you run the risk of going back to the same old thing, or something else that’s equally destructive.
Speaking of replacement, you can replace your current market approach with The M.I.L.K. It Method to start bringing in the big bucks!
Reinvention Through Replacement
Here are the three biggest things to add to your life so you can finish your transformation process.
- Add better voices & thought leaders.
Once you remove the negative voices in your life by limiting your news intake and (if necessary) changing your friends on social media, you have to add something to replace it.
Find a few thought leaders whose thoughts empower you. Note: Not the ones who will only empower you IF you buy all their products.
Listen to TED Talks regarding the topics most interesting to you. The fact that we have access to thousands of free presentations from the brightest minds in our world today should astound us. Take advantage of them.
Read books from success-oriented people, not problem-oriented people. Some people have devoted their entire professional lives to pointing out problems. It could be problems with businesses, problems with countries and states, or problems with a political party.
It’s good to learn about problems, but useless for someone who is oriented toward solutions and success. Make sure the authors you read offer solutions in equal measure to the problems they point out.
One of my favorite sayings regarding learning is “success leaves clues.” Thankfully, podcasts, TED Talks, and success-oriented books leave us heaps of clues.
Speaking of which, you can add better voices by subscribing to my “What’s the Secret?” podcast. Season 5 was all about bringing in expert voices to sharpen our skills in all the areas of online business.
- Change your environment.
Changing your environment means subtracting things that distract, and adding things that protect your time and energy.
If you’re creative, do you have a work environment that allows your creative thought to flourish or one that stifles the creative spirit? If you’re a writer, do you have an environment that makes it easier, or more difficult, to write?
The idea that “messy desk people” are more productive than those with clean desks is a downright myth. If you remove the obstacles to productivity in your physical environment, then it will get much easier to focus and succeed.
In addition to your physical environment, you need to protect your chronological environment. If you don’t schedule your daily activities on a calendar, then it’s time to start. There are tons of amazing (and free) tools for arranging your time to maximize your productivity and succeed.
Finally, make sure you add healthy activities to your life. Do you get a healthy amount of sleep? Would your answer change if I told you that the healthy amount is 7.5-8.5 hours every night for most adults? Also, schedule time for your mind to be completely off business. You have important relationships and personal wellbeing to take care of, too!
- Surround yourself with the kind of person you want to become.
As I started to build my online business, my failure to learn from others held me back. You can learn from both the successes and failures of other people. All you have to do is get them talking about what worked, and what didn’t work, for them.
You can find an ideal friend, mentor, or member of your network in a few different ways. For one, join a Facebook group of like-minded online business people. There are thousands to choose from! Secondly, you can consider joining a mastermind group. A group like this creates an environment for members to encourage and critique one another, all to become the best version of themselves.
If you can find someone to meet up with in real life, that’s awesome too! But don’t limit yourself to those within driving distance.
And when you find a mentor willing to meet with you, either pay them for their time or offer them a gift. When they start talking about how to succeed, shut your own mouth and start taking notes!
When you add the right things to your life, you will change. You will begin to adapt to your new environment and become a little bit better than you were yesterday.
For more secrets the so-called “gurus” won’t tell you about succeeding in online business…
