Welcome one and all to 2017, the year of breaking into life.
If you are looking for new years resolution ideas, or if the ones you previously made have already been broken, fear not. We have amazing resolutions that we will happily let you steal and use as your own. If you are one of those people who think resolutions are worthless, please think again. In fact, our five New Year’s resolution ideas are more like guidelines to help you become a better entrepreneur, so read on, be inspired and steer your 2017 towards your breakout.
1. Readers Are Leaders
The path to success has well and truly been lit by self-starting entrepreneurs. The pattern is clear; follow your dreams, take something small, and inspire the world.
We are in a period where many new multimillionaires are people who never finished high school and, well, are incorrigible troublemakers.
So if school books and rule books are not the right pages to be turning, what can you study to get you running alongside the BIG boys and girls?
Simple. Read about them. Discover the journeys of these trailblazers and use their struggles and triumphs to leapfrog up to the front of the pack, and blaze a trail of your own.
The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss. 2009 (Tim has also just released a new book, Tools of The Titans Dec. 2016 which is co-authored by Arnold Schwarzenegger)
The Fire Starter Sessions by Danielle LaPorte. 2014
The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau. 2009
Enchantment by Guy Kawasaki. 2012 (and if you like Mr Kawasaki’s style, also read his Reality Check. 2011)
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. 2014 (or check out his Smarter Faster Better. 2016)
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. 1996 (the original was released in 1943)
The Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank. 2013
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. 1998 (the original was released in 1936, with a new print run completed as late as 2016.)
Next time you’re thinking of watching a reality TV show about house renovations or manufactured love, ask yourself, will watching this show help my business? Remember, crap in, crap out…
2. Improve Your Surrounding Influences
The most influential thing you can do for yourself and your business this year is to surround yourself with those who already have the runs on the board and are reaping the rewards.
You want to find someone who is achieving five times the results you are in one particular area of life and absorb their beliefs like a sponge.
Their habits, their mindset and their company will give you everything you need to accelerate and celebrate. Positivity, motivation, inspiration. If you are not rubbing shoulders with the right people, look in different places.
That might include finding troublesome ways to get through some doors without invitations, that’s okay, we’ll be your lookout and whistle if we see security. Be ballsy with this one, and be yourself, you will make genuine connections if you are genuine so drop all the fancy stuff, hang loose, and take your place at the banquet table.
3. Build Your Team
If 2016 left you feeling burnt out and disappointed I’d suggest that building a team is the #1 Resolution for you. There is no need to embark on your entrepreneurial journey alone, actually, without a team to support you, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
So while you are out and about networking, pay attention to who you can help, and who can help you. You are not required to shoulder this load alone. Get a team, be clear about your direction, and they will be there to help with the grunt work.
This includes your mentor or coach. Ask questions, get answers, take advice. In the early days of your entrepreneurial journey, you will work harder than you ever worked in a corporate role. After getting results and seeing what works, you need to start to bring in a team of experts. A team will ensure you have more energy, more time, more ideas, more skill, better leadership AND, you’ll have more fun along the way working on your business, not in it.
4. Consider A Global Avatar
As we dip into 2017 really take in the modern market. It’s a big place. Information is delivered and consumed instantly. If you have a business, you have information to share. Now is the perfect time to consider your reach. Focus on delivering high-quality content that solves your avatars problem.
Demographics are no longer defined just by age, class, and gender, so check in or your avatar. Be aware of any cultural diversity that you might have overlooked and reposition your marketing message to get your product or service into the hands of those who need it most.
With global reach you need to be savvy, so make it a focus this week, and tune in often to keep fresh blood circulating to this vital business organ.
5. Give Back And Receive More
Most of us are in the entrepreneurial game not to make a pile of money to sit on, but to give back to the community and leave the world in better shape than how we found it. That’s the real definition of an entrepreneur. It’s what that money can DO. It’s the change you can make, not the cars you can buy!
So my last resolution to become a successful entrepreneur in 2017 is to start now.
Don’t wait until you have made your millions, don’t wait until you have all the answers worked out. You have something to give now. You are a contributor as soon as you start giving so please, share.
I guarantee that when 2018 rolls around THIS will be the part you remember, this will be your success.
And if you need any extra incentive, this will play a massive part in your growth strategy. All you need to do to be successful is help others be successful! What you learn from giving you will get back in receiving, so go out there, get started, create a disruption.
Be troublesome,
Matt Catling
