The Top Six Business Tips That Inspired Me

As an entrepreneur, it is extremely important to receive good business advice. There are many successful people who can teach you the best ways to achieve your goals and help you avoid some of the mistakes they’ve made. I have learned some great lessons from others during my journey as a business woman. Here are the top six business tips that inspired me:

1. Do the work without worrying about the success.

This was life changing advice that I received while reading Russell Simmon’s book, Success through Stillness: Meditation Made Simple. In his book, Simmons stressed the importance of working without focusing on the results.

Simmons wrote, “Stop worrying about how much success you have (the fruit) and instead just stay focused on your work itself.” He added, “When you embrace the process of your work, instead of focusing on the results, you’ll be much happier and do a much better job.”

This is so important because it is easy to become discouraged and frustrated when you don’t see your business take off as fast as you would like. This advice freed me from being overly concerned about the success of my business. I have instead learned to relax and make sure that I am having fun with whatever I’m doing.

2. It’s better to be creative than competitive.

The Science of Getting Rich was published in 1910, but it is still one of the most popular self-help books today. The author, Wallace Wattles, taught a great lesson on the competitive plane vs creative plane.

Wallace explained that “every man who becomes rich by competition throws down behind him the ladder by which he rises, and keeps others down; but every man who gets rich by creation, opens a way for thousands to follow him, and inspires them to do so.” Wallace said, “You must get rid of the thought of competition. You are to create, not to compete for what has already been created.”

This advice may be totally contrary to what you’ve been taught. Especially in the business world, we are taught to be aware of what our competition is doing or to look for ways to “crush the competition.” Even when writing a business plan, it is a common practice to identify your competitors and take note of their strengths and weaknesses.

Being competitive does work for some people. In fact, many people have become very successful while having a competitive mindset. However, I feel you will have more joy and peace as an entrepreneur when you focus on creating rather than competing.

3. Don’t rush

Another great business tip that I learned from Wallace Wattles is that we should not rush our efforts. Sometimes we tend to rush when we feel we are getting older, or when we feel we need to make up for time that we’ve wasted. However, rushing can limit your creativity and prevent you from producing quality work.

4. Be Different

Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop said, “Whatever you do, be different.” She said that she could not think of better advice for an entrepreneur. When you are different, you will stand out. It’s perfectly fine to get inspiration from others, but make sure to master your craft and become a superstar in your own lane.

5. Focus is key

Being focused is extremely important when pursuing your dreams. Motivational speaker, Tony Robbins said, “Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives.”  This is a great tip and I have definitely experienced the positive effects of being focused on one thing at a time.

6. Turn off the TV

I am a movie buff and I love watching TV. However, I had to accept the the fact that watching TV was a huge time waster in my life. It has been said that 67% of wealthy people watch less than an hour of TV per day. Running a business takes a lot of work, so it is important to limit as many distractions as you can from your life.

I don’t feel it’s necessary to completely cut entertainment out of your life. It is just beneficial to minimize the time you spend watching TV in order to dedicate more time to your business.

A good solution is to choose one day a week or a couple of times a month to watch movies or episodes of your favorite shows. Thanks to DVR, Netflix, and Hulu, I have been able to enjoy my favorite entertainment at times that are most convenient for me.

These are the top six business tips that have made a positive impact in my life and business. Let me know your favorite business tips or the some of your best pieces of business advice.