I’ll never forget when Apple made headlines around the world, as they became the first company to reach a market capitalization of $1 Trillion. 

Phenomenal.

As soon as this milestone was reached, and as with every other significant Apple milestone in history, poor old Ronald Wayne’s name starts popping up on social media.  Ronald Wayne is the guy who sold his 10% stake in Apple for $800 back in 1976.

So why did Ronald Wayne dump his Apple stock 2 weeks after he received it?

Ronald Wayne was avoiding risk. 

As an original founding partner of Apple alongside Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Wayne would have been personally liable for any debts that the company could have incurred, and unlike his other 2 partners, who were much younger than him at the time, Wayne had personal assets that could have been seized if the company had failed.

He was focused on what he did not want.

Fear of failure was his motivation, and his past experience of a failed slot machine business was a massive factor in his decision.  

So he sold his shares in Apple for $800, and a year after leaving Apple, he received a further payment of $1500 to relinquish all future claims against the company.

Ronald Wayne’s decision to avoid risk and shelter himself from potential failure obviously had its consequences.  When Apple was valued at a Trillion Dollars, Wayne would have been worth approximately $100 Billion and one of the richest men in the world.

So how can you learn from this story?

In your own business, and in your own life, you will make the best decisions you can in the moment, based on not only the information you have at hand, but also your propensity or appetite for risk.

Your success in life will be defined by the quality of the decisions you make. 

You will make some good decisions, and no doubt you will make some bad decisions too.  In fact, even standing still and not making a decision, is also a decision.

As long as you make more good decisions than bad ones, you’ll keep moving forwards towards your goals.  

In 1976, Ronald Wayne made a decision.  Tomorrow you will be faced with a decision.

Decide to be bold.  Choose to stand out.  Decide to double your prospecting calls.  Make the decision to help a colleague.   Choose to smile and be happy.

All these decisions.  It’s all up to you.

Most importantly, focus on what you want. 

Don’t spend your life trying to avoid your fears.  Life is more fun when you’re chasing big dreams, happiness and success. 

Instead of avoiding scarcity, focus on that which brings you growth and abundance.
Instead of avoiding sadness and hurt, focus on that which brings you love and happiness.
Instead of avoiding pain, focus on everything that brings you pleasure and joy,
Instead of avoiding risk, focus on strategies that maximize your rewards.

Try it this week.

Have an amazing week

Grant

I came across this quote that resonates on many levels.

“Loneliness is the penalty of leadership, but the man (or woman) who has to make the decisions is assisted greatly if he (or she) feels there is no uncertainty in the minds of those who follow him (or her) and that his (or her) orders will be carried out confidently and in expectation of success!”  

– Sir Ernest Shackleton 

Firstly, the brackets added in are mine – the quote needed modernization.  We live in a world where masculine default quotes are no longer acceptable.  Sir Ernest is not to blame though…

But more importantly, how pertinent is that quote to you?  It applies not only to leadership but to every aspect of your life as a human being.

What the quote is saying, in general terms, is that if we knew that everyone agreed with our decisions, we wouldn’t feel so lonely when making them.

As a human being, you crave not only being part of a community, but along with that, being accepted and acknowledged by others for the role you play within that community too.

When you make decisions that impact your place of work, your own business, your clients, or your relationships, you constantly seek certainty in the form of assurances from those around you.  You’re put at ease immediately when you receive confirmation from a colleague or friend that what you have decided is correct.  You’re immediately uncomfortable when you don’t.

Why?

The opinion of others is important to you.

Loneliness is the penalty of doing anything on your own, including making unpopular decisions that are in your best interests, or in the best interest of those who rely on you.  The reality is that the people who’s support you seek will never have all the information that you did when you made the decision.

Leaders know this feeling. 
Business owners know this feeling. 
Entrepreneurs with a big vision and new idea know this. 
Parents know this feeling. 
Lovers know this feeling.
Sales people know this feeling.

You won’t always have the certainty of making decisions with the assurance of gaining the popular opinion of others.  If you wait for it, you may never make a big decision in your life.

Knowing who you are, and knowing what you want is so important in these moments.  Your decisions, over time, will ultimately prove you right.  Or wrong.  Regardless, it’s still your decision to make.

As long as you are confidently authentic, and stand true to your values, then you will remain firm in your belief, and your decisions will always be easy to make.

Loneliness will always exist in these moments. 

Staying to true to your values however, will be all the company you will need.

Have an amazing week.

Success is actually fairly simple.

Firstly, set a goal.  Then break it down into actionable activities.  Do the activities.  Add in some patience, resilience, hard work and discipline, and voila…..Success!

Easy, right?

Well, if it were that simple, we wouldn’t need an entire industry dedicated to motivation, training and coaching. 

You’re more than likely going to fall short in one of two areas:

1. You don’t know your goal. 

If you aim for nothing, you will achieve it with alarming accuracy. 

Setting a goal, or knowing what you want to achieve is the absolute first step in aligning all your efforts towards a desired cause.  If you don’t know what you want or where you are going, how will you know if you’re on the right track at any point in time?  

If you don’t have clear defined goals, then quite often you will feel lost, or you will lack motivation. 

Action:  Set a goal that is going to inspire you.  If you’ve never ever set a goal, set one for this week.  What do you want to achieve?  It might be as simple as “Wake up 30 min earlier each morning and have time for breakfast.”  Or, “Find 2 new sales prospects this week.”  Then prioritize and focus on the activities that you need to do in order to acheive that goal.

2. You Don’t Have the Discipline to Stick with the Activities

Yes, the goal inspires you, but the actual ‘doing’ part requires that you change your habits, break comfort zones and work hard on your mindsets and perceptions that have held you back in the past. 

You’re a human being, and that means you have a brain.  Your brain is designed to keep you safe, warm and comfortable.  This creative muscle of yours is the most powerful creativity and visualization tool you have, but if you don’t work on it, it can get lazy. 

You’re also more inclined to become impatient when success takes longer than expected, or you will end up quitting too soon when things get tough.

3. Resilience is often in short supply with human beings.

Action : Find an accountability partner.  Give somebody you trust the permission to hold you accountable to the activities you need to do in order to achieve your goal.  You cannot do this by yourself.  If you could do it, you would have done it by now. 

You can either get a coach and pay for accountability, or you can find a friend who buys into your goal, and wants to see you succeed and prosper.

Believe me, I know all about quitting points  In my journey from complete non-runner to half marathon finisher, I probably quit on myself a hundred times.  It took me 6 months to run a full 5km stretch without stopping.  I had to find a way to distract my mind from its natural quitting points. 

Accountability helped me transform my running in 2 sessions.  All it took was getting one good running friend onto the road with me, and before I knew it, I had an accountability partner, and a distraction from my own mind, all in one.

In the following 6 months I completed my first 10km and 21km races.

One final point – choosing your accountability partner is important. 

I would recommend that it is not you spouse/partner.  At one point or another, your accountability partner is going to have to push you harder than you might expect and in that moment, you cannot afford to be sensitive to a few harsh truths.  Someone too close to you might not be willing to ruin a relationship by speaking those truths.

Give it a try.   Given someone permission to help you achieve everything to want to achieve.

Do it this week.

Most people get nervous when placed in situations of ‘conflict,’ and therefore have a tendency to speak too much.  It’s almost as if you feel the need to justify, defend, or prove yourself, and you just start talking, regardless of what actually comes out of your mouth.

It’s the same in Sales.  You meet a prospect for the first time and you immediately begin to tell them everything about you and your product or service.  At the end of your pitch, the prospect says “Thank you very much,” and you never hear from them again. 

What about personal relationships?  Ever been put off by someone who simply wont stop talking?

Your 29 second elevator pitch that you learned off by heart, isn’t always appropriate.

There is an alternative approach. 

You can lead the conversation, the objection, or the conflict, by asking better questions. 

Here’s 3 Reasons how asking better questions can help you control a conversation:

1. Show an Interest.

Be authentic by asking questions to understand more about the person sitting in front of you.  What are the reasons behind the customers objection?  What is your prospect actually looking for?  Not only will this allow you to properly understand where your customer is in their decision making process, but it also shows the customer that you are taking the time to listen and understand them and ultimately their needs. 

You cannot sell something to a customer that they do not want or need.  Neither can you resolve any conflict if you have not dug a little deeper into the conversation.  Show an interest in the person sitting across from you by asking better questions so that you can understand exactly where they are coming from.

2. Lead the Conversation

If you are the person who asks the questions then you are able to lead the conversation to its logical conclusion.  In some instances, customers actually do not know what they want, and your questions can lead them towards making more informed decisions that are actually in their best interests.  By asking better questions you can lead your clients in a way that makes them feel that they have come to the decision themselves.    

3. Divert Some of the Pressure

In any type of situation where you feel that you need to divert attention away from yourself, simply ask a question back to the person applying the pressure.  This is a technique used in negotiation because it transfers the ‘pressure’ back onto the person raising the objection.  Not only does it the get the client to consider a solution to the problem, but it also gives you time to strategize if caught off guard. 

Your ability to ask better questions can transform the role you play in conversations, both in your business and personal life.  Most people try to dominate a conversation by talking, but are rarely ever in control.  

This week, practice asking more questions in your day-to-day conversations and see the difference it makes to the direction of the conversations.  Avoid asking questions that begin with “why” as these can come across as a little accusatory, rather use questions beginning with “how” and “what”.

And if you ever meet someone who answers your questions with a follow-up question, then you know you’ve met your match.

Have a great week