Tag Archives: Success

Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude

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Today I had an interesting conversation with a young up-and-comer who felt his initial job choices might hinder him from achieving his career ambitions—and his current job was veering him slightly off course from that goal. His main concern can be summed up like this: because his current job, and past jobs, weren’t ideally fitting his career vision, he believed his future career options are limited—and as a result—his ultimate career goal wouldn’t be fulfilled.

Certainly, sometimes it can be disheartening when you don’t get the right opportunity that fits your career. But with that, there’s some cases where we get what we want and realize that maybe it wasn’t the best thing for us after all. The truth is, the person I met had an interesting and noteworthy point that I used to struggle with back in the day, but my experience has suggested that that perspective isn’t true—in at least some cases. What I’ve found is jobs that don’t fit your ultimate career vision can help you in more ways than you would’ve initially anticipated. Different jobs broaden your experience, and can diversify your skills. All aspects which can help you attain your career goal. So if you’re an up-and-comer embarking on your career path, think of those positions that navigate you along different channels you hadn’t planned for as the paths that can lead you where you want to go.

As an entrepreneur, you never want to limit yourself just to one skill. If you’ve worked all your life and decide to take the big leap of focusing on your passion and running your own business always be mindful of this: Treat your ‘job’ as a learning experience. Learn how a business operates and take the good out of it to apply it to your own career or business.

Understand that excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude. Regardless of your situation, or stage you are in your career. Stay positive and maintain a great attitude and it will lead you where you deserve to be.

Frank.

Embrace Uncertainty

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After all the years working in a professional business realm I’ve tackled  feelings of being uncertain when it came to making tough decisions that I knew would have a direct effect on my vested interests. In the early stages of my career I’d be pestered by a whole lot of tasks that I wasn’t entirely certain on how I should handle—and that lead to a few stumbling blocks along the way that inevitably brought some decent opportunities to a limit.

In result, I started to pay greater attention to how my feelings of uncertainty were making my aspirations and career a whole lot harder than I realized they could be. This realization led me to come to terms with the fact that there’s rarely a time, if ever, when you won’t be at least a little uncertain; but the catch is: instead of having it work against you, like some burden of weight you carry on your shoulders, you should use it to your advantage. When a tough and complicated decision comes your way, use that uncertainty as the fuel to your fire which propels you to succeed. You’d be surprised. Something that at first comes across as a barrier blocking you from where you want to go, more often than not, is more like a steep set of stairs you can easily climb if you give it an honest go. So there you have it. Embrace those moments when you aren’t sure and don’t hide—you’d be surprised how a little change in perspective can lead you where you want to go.

Ten years from now there will be people who have achieved extraordinary success in every field of endeavor and they definitely won’t be people who have played it safe and stuck to ‘business as usual. Sometimes you need to stretch yourself and risk failure in the process. Don’t get to comfortable. Embrace uncertainty as it will help you realize how much you’re capable of doing.

“Uncertainty can ultimately enrich your life, or diminish it. Embrace it.”

Have a great week.

Frank.

Trust Your Struggle …

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Success is a beautiful thing. It really is. At times I look back and tell myself, “Thank God I kept going”. I can’t lie, it was never easy at all. At times, I thought of giving  up but in all actuality I actually continued to keep going. As you can see I’m still here. Still going. Still moving …

The journey is always a rewarding one. It moulds you into the person you want to be. Experience is everything and regardless of what naysayers may tell you don’t trust their words, trust your struggle instead.

Every day I wake up with a new found energy because my passion drives me. I love to win! I love watching my company grow. Through my journey I’ve learned so much. Most importantly, I’ve learned that regardless of the past you must focus on the NOW. That’s all you can control.

Never get ahead of yourself, even if you’ve had a history of winning. As history has made evident, even the little guy can take the big guy down. Take time each day to starve your ego and feed your soul. Sacrifice will take you where you truly want to be. Be true to yourself and ask yourself what your vices are and get rid of them! Let go of negative energy, because it won’t do any good for you other than weigh you down.

On a positive note, if you’ve started you’re way ahead of anyone who hasn’t started trying. Life is a beautiful struggle—it truly is. There will be set backs. There will be stumbling blocks along the road. Pick yourself up and keep your eye on the prize, I guarantee it will be a rewarding experience. Accepting when things are tough, it’s for your benefit in the end; a life lesson that needs to be learned.

I’ll see you at the finish line.

Frank.

Find time Today and for the Future

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As you’re reading this I hope this finds you well. How was your Canada Day? I hope it was relaxing. This day means a lot of things to many different people but for me besides getting a chance to kick back and celebrate the birthday of one of the greatest countries on earth, I like to remind myself how wonderful it is to be in a country where anyone with a dream and a product or service that people need and can afford can compete in the free enterprise system.

This week I want to address an issue I’ve heard leading up to this holiday which is the question of time. I’ve heard this so many times: “but I don’t have time for that”. While it’s true that time is limited, time is our most precious and limited resource, when I start talking to people about why they don’t have enough time, the picture becomes a little clearer as to how they could take their power back and really clean their calendar. I’m going to share with you some of my real time-saving strategies, because ultimately if it’s not on your calendar and if it’s not a routine or a ritual in your life, it will not come into fruition. Whatever you want to create, whether it’s an incredible healthy body or a successful business or whatever it might be – whatever you want to create requires time to be scheduled in your calendar and requires you to actually show up!

If your calendar is full of all kinds of other stuff from other people you’re never going to find time for you, and unfortunately you’re just going to slide into a mediocre boring life. You will become so resentful that you either just resign and say that’s just the way life is, or you get fired up and you hit a bottom and you say I’m never going to let this happen again. Maybe you’re at that place where you’re feeling frustrated that you want to do that creative project or work on your exercise and diet but just don’t have the time. If your ambition is to become successful, time shrinks the more successful you become. I found I had more time when just getting started than I do now with all these pressures and different deadlines. The key is to get your time and calendar right, and here’s how you got to do it. It’s very simple:

Learn to say NO: That’s the word you want to learn. No is how you detox your calendar, because if you look at your calendar and all the time that you’re spending with other people or on projects that you don’t want to be on, you would probably be shocked. Or if you’re honest, how much time are you spending on Netflix, HBO, twitter, Instagram, Facebook, doing things where you just let time pass by? People ask me all the time, how do you manage all those companies and still find time to travel, golf, give back to students and young entrepreneurs? It’s because I’ve become really good at saying the word no to distractions. When you have a hard time saying no, there’s usually two emotional issues. The first one is being okay with letting people down from time to time. You can do this without being out of integrity by being in communication with that person and re-negotiating the timing of when you can be present with them. The other emotional issue is when you create time to work on your projects, usually you’ve been spending so much time focusing on other people that there’s usually unfelt negative emotions inside you that you’ve been running from such as fear, guilt, or anger. We got to work on those emotions, because ultimately if you want to work on yourself and really take your business to the next level, exercise and take your body to the next level, or take your relationship to the next level, you’re going to have to work on yourself.
When you clear your calendar, all those emotions are going to well up, mainly the emotion of fear. Fear of whether it’s going to work out or fear if whether you’re good enough. Then we get to the real issue, which is not time, but rather the negative emotions and fear. How well you manage unfelt negative emotions and fear will determine the quality of your life. If you want to detox your calendar, believe in yourself and develop a daily ritual or a behavior every single day that leans you in the direction of getting all of your goals met.

For me, I need to read and do yoga or work on my body every single day. I always struggled with the time to do both with all the pre bedtime routines so I found that I can perform some stretches while reading every night before I go to sleep. It gives me time to distress and tune out all the distractions before bed so I can have a sound sleep and be recharged for what always seems to be a powerful day. You want to set yourself up so that you can actually do the behaviors and the rituals that make you the most fulfilled.

With that said, that would be my advice for you this week. Really take your calendar back to get the business results you want, the body you want, the relationship you want and ultimately the life you want.

Yours,

Frank.

Don’t Back Out!

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From launching a business, to asking someone out on a date, to kicking an addiction, to going to the gym when you feel lazy or aren’t feeling proud to show off your body…

Life is full of moments where fear can easily take over, and convince you to back out.  I see this everyday with my associates, fellow entrepreneurs and even observing my children.  Whether it’s one of our candidates who we’ve found a dream job for but they become afraid of the change or the uncertainty, to skipping another workout people are constantly backing out.  Today I have a challenge for you and it’s an easy one, simply DON’T BACK OUT.  That’s it.

Next time you feel that fearful voice creeping in, clouding your intentions, sneakily convincing you to back away from the big (or small) step that you KNOW you need to take… tell fear to shut the bleep up. Don’t back down. Don’t slink towards the exit. Don’t back out on yourself.

Lots of people think fear is the opposite of love, or its false evidence appearing real.  Let’s analyze it for a moment because from my experience and studying it from a neurological perspective, fear is the brains way of dealing with uncertainty.  Unless you’re in mortal danger and in that case I would advise you to run!  Most of the time fear is simply anxiety about not having an exact blue print of what’s ahead.  So in fact using fear as a guide out of your comfort zone will often lead to growth and a huge breakthrough so long as you have the courage!  One of my favorite Anthony Robbins quotes is that, “your happiness directly correlates to your relationship with fear and uncertainty.”

Make a commitment to make today your step into your fear day, and remember:

Don’t back out.

Frank.

 

You don’t need a title to be a leader.

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This week has been an eventful one! One of our companies, The PEOPLEsource received some great news this week. Our president Teri Scott, was awarded one of the Top 100 Female Entrepreneurs. Can’t stress enough how really proud for Teri all of us are here at The Wish Group. Her bold determination to provide unsurpassed quality of service to every client and each associate we employ has been inspiring.  Teri’s attention to developing people whether our external or internal staff has been a great example for all of us.  This achievement reflects the passion and dedication that her entire team has for people and the business in general.

Personally, I believe none of this would be possible without understanding what it means to be a great leader. Great leadership involves many things. Although I’ve been successful in my career, I strive on working everyday to take the time to inspire others to do what they aspire to do. It’s all about having a great idea and doing what you can to motivate and assemble a team to bring that concept to life. That’s what separates the dreamers from the entrepreneurs.

Here are some key qualities that every good leader should possess, and learn to emphasize:

Ability to Delegate
First and foremost, these are one of the most important tasks of a leader. Understanding your brand and its vision is essential to creating and organizing your business. You have to learn to trust your team or else you might never progress to the next step. Delegating tasks to the appropriate departments is one of the most important skills you can develop as you grow. I find that the key to delegation is identifying the strengths of your team, and capitalizing on them. Allow your team to find our what they enjoy doing, and empower them to do what they love all while working collectively to reach the end goal.

Communication
As the saying goes: “miscommunication leads to complication” – I can’t stress that enough. Knowing what you want accomplished may seem clear to you but you must ensure that you explain your vision to your team. It’s extremely important. If you can’t do this then you all won’t be working towards the same goal. Try your best to be accessible. Whether that stems from an open door policy in the office, or making it a point to talk to your staff on a daily basis, making yourself available to discuss ideas and/or issues is essential. Your team will learn to trust and depend on you, and you’ll be more successful as a team.

Honesty
Try to make a list of values and core beliefs that both you and your brand represent, and post this in your office. Here at the WishGroup we have our core values placed right at the front desk. It’s a reminder of how we should act individually and as a team. By emphasizing these standards, and displaying them yourself, you will hopefully influence the office to follow suit.

Ability to Inspire
Being able to inspire your team is great for focusing on the future goals, but it is also important for the current issues. When you are all mired deep in work, morale is low, and energy levels are fading, recognize that everyone needs a break now and then. Acknowledge the work that everyone has dedicated and commend the team on each of their efforts. It is your job to keep spirits up, and that begins with an appreciation for the hard work. As CEO of the Wish Group, I try my best to commend those who are doing well at their job every day. It’s important, especially for growth!

Positive Attitude
Positive energy attracts positive outcomes. I’m sure we’ve all dealt with negative situations in the workplace. As a leader you want to keep your team motivated towards the continued success of the company, and keep the energy levels up. Everyone on your team is a person. Don’t forget that.

You don’t need a title to be a leader. Take ownership and responsibility for what you do and you’ll be successful. Leadership is defined by results not attributes. Nothing more, nothing less. In closing – “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. —Lao Tzu”

Frank.

Success is an Iceberg

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People sometimes think that success does not take hard work and persistence and speaking from experience it takes much more than that.

For example, take a look at the structure of an Iceberg that floats in the water. Only a small fraction of an iceberg is visible above the water line, whereas the larger part of an iceberg is hidden beneath the water. Everyone of us can see the outcome of a person’s actions and most of their accomplishments, whereas the efforts that were necessary to achieve such an outcome remain hidden and unnoticed. The majority of people tend to only see the great outcome that a successful person has achieved throughout their lives. These achievements blind us so that we often are not even aware of the huge efforts that were necessary to make these accomplishments possible.

The “Iceberg Theory of Success” helps us to realize that every famous or extraordinary successful person had to invest a lot of effort and work until this person achieved his/her goals. Having this in mind we can avoid having too high expectations towards an outcome that we want to achieve, but it also allows us to be more persistent, as we can clarify ourselves that we have to do “whatever it takes” to succeed. With that said, the next time you see a famous person or any other successful person you should try to direct your focus to the efforts that this person had to make in order to achieve his/her accomplishments. If you are willing to take risks, focus, create goals, be persistent, fail and get yourself back up, take massive action, sacrifice every day, build good habits and most of all – work hard. You will be successful!

Have a great week!

Frank.

IceBerg

The Definition of Success Changes With You

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entrepreneur-successIn my blog post last week I talked about how failure makes you a stronger person, but this week I want to focus on success. Success can mean a number of different things depending on the individual, and your definition of success also changes as you continue your career.

For example, it was announced last week that my company, The Wish Group, made it on the PROFIT 500 list of Canada’s Fastest Growing companies – number 364 respectively. Of course I’m extremely proud of my team for getting us this far, especially since this is the third year in a row that we’ve received this award.

This is considered a success, but this wasn’t the end game for me. My end game is becoming one of Canada’s premier providers of business solutions – a goal that’s radically changed since I first started my own business. Back then, I was simply focused on becoming a world-class leader of teleconferencing solutions. Thanks to multiple meetings with different entrepreneurs and spurring ideas back and forth with different people, my goals have now changed.

From chatting with these various entrepreneurs throughout my career and watching my own goals change, I’ve found that people define success in two different areas:

Money Made – This one is the most common definition, for better or worse. I’d say that the majority of people and not just entrepreneurs define their success by how much money they make. While money is important, becoming wealthy shouldn’t be your only goal. The most successful entrepreneurs I’ve met are the ones that see the wealth they’ve accumulated as a means to further their business, be it by funding new ideas or improving their current ones.

Difference in People’s Lives – This point is a big one for me. I personally want to help as many people as I can find their true calling in life, be it an entrepreneurial endeavour or otherwise. This means that I create as many jobs as I can, and mentor people to watch them grow and become successful on their own. While this may not always work with everyone who walks through my door, I at least hope that I touch their life far beyond just a paycheck.

How you define success isn’t important, what matters is how you reach that success. Let the accolades and positive feedback that you receive along the way motivate you towards your goal of success, and then push yourself one step further.