Today I wanted to expand a little more on what we talked about on day 3 (Treat Paparazzi as a Business, Not a Hobby), and I wanted to talk about how to make that happen. What business principles or ideas can you implement to help your Paparazzi business?
After thinking through and researching all the different business principles that exist (pricing, marketing, sales tactics, etc), I narrowed down on what I think is the most important aspect of a successful business, and that is you.
You are the most important piece of your business. Your attitude, your knowledge, your hustle. It all comes back to you.
When I examine the top Paparazzi consultants, do you know what I see that sets them apart? It is them. They are absolute rockstars.
I am confident that if you took most of these top consultants out of Paparazzi and put them in other businesses, they would be equally successful there too, because they are that type of person.
So what makes these people all stars? What characteristics can the rest of us work on to be more like these people? What qualities can even these all stars improve on to get to the next level? I’ve narrowed it down to 4 qualities to focus on if you want to improve. There are definitely more, but narrowing it down to 4 makes it less overwhelming 🙂
1) Have a positive attitude
Do you know what I noticed about almost every successful person that I know? They stay positive. Negative people rarely succeed.
Take mental note and notice if you are a complainer. A lot of people don’t even realize it, but almost every word that comes out of their mouth is negative. It is complaining, or it is talking badly about someone else.
These people are draining to be around, and success does not follow them.
Make sure you are positive! Complaining never fixes any problems. It only makes them greater. Now you have your problem, AND you are cranky about your problem.
I watch a lot of soccer. After almost every call, all the players complain. In all my years of watching soccer, do you know how many times I have seen a referee change a call because a player complained? Zero.
The same is true in life. Complaining never makes the referee “change his call.”
Even in failure, see what you can learn from the experience, rather than just complaining that the experience happened.
That leads me to #2
2) Always be learning
Successful Paparazzi consultants are always learning, especially from their mistakes.
Thomas Edison, after trying almost 10,000 different elements inside a light bulb (none of which worked), said “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
That is a great learning attitude.
Even if you think you have this Paparazzi thing figured out, keep learning. Turn every interaction with every person into a chance to take something away and improve yourself.
Never underestimate “the google method.”
I have heard retailers say “I just don’t know how to do my taxes.” We live in a wonderful time where the answer to literally every question is at our fingertips on Google. Take advantage of it!
3) Take care of yourself
I mean this both emotionally and physically (the two are tied together).
First off, make sure you eat healthy. Exercise. Get enough sleep. I know entrepreneurs who only sleep 3 hours per night because they are so focused on their business.
There might be times when you have to go that extreme, but in general, your health is much more important than your business’s health. What good is a business if you are too sick to enjoy it?
I am all about hustle (see #4), but take a day off from time to time. Spend time with your family.
4) Don’t rely on other people for success
The #1 advice that I would give to Paparazzi consultants is that if they want to succeed it is up to them to make sure it happens.
No one is going to give you a magical “success” pill that makes you succeed without putting in the work. So hustle. Don’t be lazy.
Along with that, don’t make excuses. If you aren’t successful, and you say “it’s because of xyz” that does not help you in any way. An excuse (even if it is true) does not help things get better.
Instead, stay positive (See #1), learn as much as you can to fix the problem (See #2) and then hustle to make it happen.
Actionable Exercise For Today:
Have someone you are close with (perhaps a spouse) hold you accountable to not complain about anything. Tell them to be ruthless, and to point out every time you complain, even a little bit.
Keep this up for three days, and see if it helps you start to see how many things we complain about, and maybe helps you get in the habit of not complaining in those situations.
