I heard a great message from our pastor in church the other day that applies to life and business.  The message was about how to best raise our kids using the "4 L's."  I listened, I could not help but think about how they apply so well to entrepreneurship and leadership.

The 4 L's are as follows:  

1. Love Them
2. Lead Them 
3. Limit Them
4. Let Them Fly

Just by seeing them, you can probably guess how they relate to parenting, but they relate very well to leadership as well because you have to do them same with your team.

First, you must love them.  You hired them and made them part of your team.  You asked them to give a  (big) piece of their life to your mission.  By all means love them for it and show them that you care and appreciate it.

Second, lead them.  Your duty is to lead them and help them become their best and reach their full potential.   You are responsible for their success and helping their path in life, not to mention putting food on their table.  So lead them in the best way you can and do every possible to make sure they succeed and grow into the best in their role that they can.

Third, limit them.  This one may seem odd, but limiting goes hand in hand with leading.  Sometimes, to look out for people, you must restrain them or put limits and rules in place to ensure they and your business can succeed.  And also, so they know how to succeed.  For example, having rules for how to treat each other in the workplace or SOP's to follow to ensure the task is done at the highest standard are example of "limits" in that they help to make sure people are doing their best in the right way.

Fourth, Let Them Fly.  This is my favorite.  Once people are properly trained and know what to do to succeed within the limits - let them go to maximize their impact.  Give them the support, encouragement, and empowerment to make the most out of themselves.  Let them fly!

If you incorporate the 4 L's into your leadership, it will help you create a better team and build a better business, so get started with them today!

I took some time over the weekend to refresh myself on what it means to have a "Growth Mindset."  If you are not familiar with what a Growth Mindset is, here is a definition, "Growth mindset describes a way of viewing challenges and setbacks. People who have a growth mindset believe that even if they struggle with certain skills, their abilities aren't set in stone. They think that with work, their skills can improve over time."

At it's core, a Growth Mindset is all about getting better and improving and realizing that you can control your effort and focus more than anything else.  So, for example, if you are not good at something, it's not because you aren't capable of being good at it, but more of a lack of effort and focus on it.  

I have always thought that "anything can be learned."  But the key comes down to how big of a desire you have to learn it.  For example, if you want to become a rocket scientist, you can do it.  It will take massive effort and focus over time, but it is possible.  You will stumble and not understand things are times, but that means you are actually pushing your brain to learn which is growing your capability.  That the essence of Growth Mindset.  The struggles and stresses you go through actually help you level up if you keep at it.  

Ironically, this is pretty much the message of the book, Think and Grow Rick by Napoleon Hill written almost a century ago.  He stated that "whatever a man can conceiver, he can achieve."  But the key was desire - you have to want it bad enough so that you are willing to put the effort in to get it.  

So, how about you?  Are there things you have shied away from because you thought that your capabilities weren't there to be good at them?  What if you started putting your best effort forward and focusing?  Where could you be in a month?  6 months?  A year?  

Remember, you can control your focus and your effort and using these will help you to grow in the areas of your choosing if you desire it enough.  And if you truly want to succeed and level up, you must do so.

I came across this great thread the other day with simple and very effective tips on how to talk to anyone based on a book by Leil Lowndes.  It was posted by @MindWisdomMoney.  Check it out below!​

We all have times in our lives where we encounter serious fear.  It could be a true danger to our well-being or a situation where there is great uncertainty like the loss of a job or a business.  

Fear comes in many forms and we all experience it.  The key is how we handle it when we do.

Fear is real.  It is part of the human psyche and it can have a great impact on our lives.  Fear is one of the best motivators - it just may not be motivating us to do the right thing.  It can also paralyze us and keep us from taking action or making decision.  If left unchecked, it can take over our lives.

I experience times of fear like everyone else, but over the years I've learned a few secrets of dealing with it  and getting to the best outcome.  

First, when you encounter fear, see it for what it is and recognize it's reality.  It's OK to be afraid.

Second, you must separate the emotional side of fear from the logical side.  This is very hard to do, but if you want to create the best outcome, you must do so.  The reason fear is such a great motivator, good and bad, is because it drives emotion.  For most people, all sense of logic and reason leaves them when they are afraid and emotion runs everything.  This leads to bad outcomes.  Instead, take a timeout and if it helps, a pen to paper and ask yourself, "What am I afraid of here?  What is the worst that can happen?  What makes the most logical sense to deal with this?  What are the steps I should take?"  Doing this will help you to center yourself and cut through the emotion.  It will also help you work through and find the right acitons to take.

Third, take action with a plan.  Write down the steps you are going to take and then follow them.  This helps to keep emotion in check and keep you from getting sidetracked.  In my trading business, we have rules for our trading strategies.  Trading is a very emotional business and when things don't go as planned, it is very easy to react emotionally and get yourself into even more trouble.  That is where rules come in.  Rules help me to set emotion aside and just follow the plan.  Are there times where I could have bent the rules and made more money?  Sure.  But, over the years, I've found the majority of the time, when I don't follow my rules, I get into more trouble.  It's just not worth it.  I follow the rules and over time, they help me to succeed consistently.  

It's the same for any other situation in life where fear takes hold.  Recognize it for what it is, separate emotion from logic, and the write down a plan for the best outcome and follow it.  If you do this, you will find it much easier to handle fear and succeed.

Everywhere you look, AI is taking the world by storm.  It is the buzz on every social media site.  Major companies, especially in tech are using it in almost every sentance talking about the future of their company, and ChatGPT as well as other initial AI solutions are being used more and more.  But, have we taken any time to think about what this means for out future, or are we just full steam ahead without regard to the potential ramifications of allowing this technology fully out of the box?  I came across an excellent video with some of the top minds in the world on AI called the AI Dilemma.  If you want to understand the benefits and challenges of AI and be on the edge of what is happening with this technology, they this is a must watch.  Check it out below!

A lot of people ask me about how to succeed.  The ask me for my best advice or for the step by step plan needed to attain success.

It won't suprise you to hear me say that there is no "step by step" plan to achieve success that everyone can apply.  The steps to success are different in every case.

But, there is something consistent when it comes to success that everyone can apply and it will help them.  It's pretty darn simple.

The best thing you can do to achieve success is to "Act" and do it now.  Don't put things off.  Start right now and take a step toward you goal.  Most people don't even take the first step to get what they want.  Maybe out of fear or the potential of failure, etc.  But, the only way to reach any form of success is to act.  As I said before, there is no step by step.  You will have to figure things out as you go learning and iterating, improving and getting closer.  You just have to act

Stop thinking, planning, and comptemplating.  Take the first step and act. 

Have you ever heard the phrase, go the extra mile?  Do you know where it comes from?

Under Roman rule, a conquered people was subject to the whims of the Romans and their laws.  One of those laws stated that a Roman soldier could ask a citizen of the conquered nation to carry their gear and that the citizen would need to carry it for 1 mile.  

Obviously, this was a burden and a tough task of which the conquered people resented and despised.  It angered them, but if they did not do it, the penalties were harsh.  

The phrase, "Go the extra mile," comes from Jesus's Sermon on the Mount where he discussed a number of topics and made some shocking statements for the people of that time.  Things like "Turn the other cheek" when discussing if someone slaps you on the phase, telling people to turn the other cheek and let the person hit that one too - essentially saying forgiveness and not taking revenge was the answer.

When it came to the Roman law, he stated, "If asked to go one mile - go two instead."  What?  Really?  People are being compelled against their will to forced labor and Jesus is telling them to not only do the labor, but double down on it?  This was controversial.  

But, the message was simple, love you fellow man and help them.  Go above and beyond and leave your resentment behind.  Above all forgiveness.

Taking this lesson to today's world in life and business, there are many areas where we can and should go the extra mile, but we don't.  Many times, we know we need to.  Take a look at the areas in your life and decide where you need to go the extra mile and do so.  It may be carrying a burden and taking it off others.  It may be digging in and doing some very hard and tough work that will make a big difference.  It may be doing something like forgiving someone in your life for the problems them have caused.  Whatever it is for you, don't why away from it.  Go the extra mile.  

Sometimes you just need a little inspiration.  A good quote can provide that and more!  Here are 10 great quotes to inpsire you and make you think daily.

​If there is one thing that has paid off the most for me in my entrepreneurial journey over the years, it is building a great network of people that I can help and in turn can help me when and where I needed it.

You've probably heard that is not what you know, but who you know.  Well, it is actually both.  If you are an idiot, it will be hard to create lasting relationships that can make a difference over time.  But, if you strive to be learned and gain wisdom, that of which you can you use to help others, you will find it much easier to build a great network.  

Network saves legwork.  Building a great network is simply building great relationships that you invest in and in turn, they invest back into you.  Building a solid network of people happens over time and is earned.  It is the epitome of playing the long game.  It is taking time to know people and be there for them.  It is giving of yourself before getting anything in return.  

The great Zig Zglar said, "You can have everything you want in your life, if you just help enough others get what they want."  It's that simple.  

Think about if you cultivated 10 relationships over the next year that in turn referred you 5-10 new clients.  What would that mean for you or your business?  Now, let me ask you, is it easier to focus and put time and effort into 10 great relationships vs. going out and finding 100 new clients one by one?  Of course it is.  And it is a lot more fun and rewarding.  

If you have not put much effort into building your network, now is the time.  See if you can create and maintain one new relationship a month for the next year and help them.  Make sure to share you goals and what you are wanting accomplish with them and ask for them help, but make sure to put them first and do the same for them.  You will be amazed at where things will be for you a year from now.  

Network saves legwork!

Humans are emotional beings.  We cannot escape the impact our emotions have in our lives, but we can learn to recognize when emotions are clouding our judgement or keeping us from recognizing the truth.  

As entrepreneurs, it is very important for us to understand how to use emotion, but also how to recognize when it is leading us down the wrong path or to bad decisions.  This is part of emotional inteliigence.  Remember, emotions are always there and driving our actions and decisions - so it is best that we go to work in becoming masters at recognizing and using them to our advantage.  The most important thing is not to allow our emotions drive us into making double standards or justifying things that are not right, just because we want a certain outcome.

You see a lot of examples of this, especially in places like politics.  For example, as I write this, there is another political scandal going on, this time with President Joe Biden having taken classified documents and stored them in places like his garage when he was a Vice President.  The law says he cannot do that.  But, many people and pundits that are "on his side" are finding ways to justify it or play it down while at the same time saying Donald Trump should go to jail for the same things.  Donald Trump was President when he took documents and had the power to declassify, which a VP does not, but it is not clear yet if he did.  Either way, if they broke the law in handling documents, the response should be the same and they should both be prosecuted according to the law, President or not.  But emotion gets in the way.  When it is "your guy or gal," it is OK and people find a way to justify bad behavior.  This is creating a double standard or avoiding the truth.  A spade is a spade.

This happens in business all the time whether it is with how some employees are treated or when leaders justify breaking rules and principles to succeed.  

So, what is the answer for entrepreneurs when we operate in a world like this?

First, we must know and understand our principles.  What are yours?  Have you ever really thought about them?  Have you written them down?  What are the lines that you will not cross for anything - not for money, power, fame, success, etc?  We must know our principles and stand for them and on them.

Second, we must learn to recognize when emotions are taking over and clouding our logic and stop this from happening.  This is not easy, but just about everyone has had times where they know emotions got the best of them.  It is at these times that we can reflect and understand how this happened and prepare ourselves not to let it happen again or at least the same way.  It is a constant lifelong work in progress, but if we keep rooted in principles, it is much easier because they guide us.  When you get really good, you learn to stop, ask, and choose.  When you feel emotion taking over,  you can stop yourself in the moment and ask yourself, "Is this the action or reaction I want to have in this situation?  Does it align with my principles?"  Then you can choose to move forward to change the action or reaction you were going to have to the best one for the situation.  

Third and lastly, recognize those around you who do not operate with integrity and principles and remove them from your world.  This will take away temptation, but also help you find the those that are true to themselves and better for your life anyway.

As stated prior, emotions will always be a part of our lives and drive us.  There are times where it makes great sense to use them to help in life and business and there are times where we must keep them in check.  Learning how to do this for yourself will be one of the best things you can do to help your success.