The aspirations, attributes, and actions of a successful entrepreneur are vitally important to understand and implement in order to accomplish any of our goals or dreams in life. Believing, thinking big, taking risks, being different, learning from failure, and persisting until the goal is achieved are not only applicable to entrepreneurs ? but to everyone! But, what does it take to be a successful entrepreneur? Do you believe that many of the foundational attributes necessary to succeed as an entrepreneur already lie within you? Awakening the entrepreneur inside of you is necessary to awaken your potential to thus become and accomplish anything in life.

These 40 essential tips I have personally learned in my entrepreneurial ventures; and yet, every successful person (regardless of their pursuit, accomplishments, or successes) has demonstrated these principles, and they are the reason for their success. This is part one of a three-part article series, and below are listed 15 general principles that are written and intended for entrepreneurs, but they are applicable to everyone ? regardless of what your goal or dream is in life. The remaining 25 principles will be outlined in the second and third parts of this Entrepreneurial Success article series, and they will be much more specific for entrepreneurs:

1)????? Entrepreneurs aren?t born ? they are created!

2)????? They dream big, think big, talk big, and act big.

3)????? They determine and create their own potential, profits, and successes ? they recognize it is not determined by others or by circumstance.

4)????? They understand and implement the laws of success: desire success, believe in themselves and their dream, overcome fears and doubts, persist in action, learn from failure and never quit.

5)????? They write down their goals, review them often, revise them occasionally, and commit to them daily.

6)????? They eliminate limiting beliefs and know that they can become and accomplish anything. The words: can?t, impossible, and too hard are not allowed in their thoughts, vocabulary, or actions. They understand that the only limitations in life are the ones we create and nourish within our own minds.

7)????? They understand that opportunities for greatness always come before they are prepared and leave before they realize it; and thus, they take risks and act now!

8)????? They understand that relationships, ethics, and hard work are far more important than the business idea, cutting expenses, or effective marketing campaigns.

9)????? They give and then receive, and they receive and then give.

10)? The never view failures as a dead-end street; rather, failures are seen as road blocks that teach them, gets them one step closer, and causes other competitors to quit.

11)? They do not have time to worry about what others think or say about them.

12)? They never give excuses. A lack of knowledge, time, or money will never stop them ? they are always willing to gain knowledge, make time, and never give any excuse.

13)? They are confident in themselves and their abilities. But they are also wise enough and humble enough to surround themselves with more talented, skilled, brilliant, and experienced people then themselves to help them achieve their goals.

14)? They take risks, and they never quit!

15)? Most importantly, they realize that the real success in life is not found in business accomplishments or wealth obtained, but is determined by their relationship with God, the type of parent and spouse they were, the character they developed, and the people they helped.

This is part one of three in the Entrepreneurial Success article series. The 25 principles discussed in part two and three of the series are much more specific to and applicable for actual entrepreneurs. To view part two and three, visit my blog at: http://www.awakeyourpotential.com/

If you wish to have a very thriving home based business, getting the proper knowledge really is a must!

If you wish to be an effective entrepreneur or have a profitable home based business, you do not want to get your business training from academics. You’ll want to learn from people with real life business experience to become a profitable small business owner.

I’ve assembled a small list of my personal favorite business books. Reading through these excellent business books will definitely help you develop into a well rounded and successful entrepreneur as well as help you to run a flourishing home based business.

How to Win Friends

“Your purpose explains what you are doing with your life. Your vision explains how you are living your purpose. Your goals enable you to realize your vision.”
Bob Proctor

The relationship between purpose and vision affects whether or not we reach our goals. Each one of us has a purpose that is distinctly ours. The line of business that we have chosen should reflect that. Most of us try to find our dream job when we start out our careers. Others settle for what they can get until they find something better.

In the same way that you have found a successful career, you have followed a path that began with thoughts as to what you believed your purpose to be. Then, you moved on to the vision of what life could be professionally and personally. Finally, you reached the goals that you set out to accomplish, or you may still be on that path to accomplishment.

Are there areas of your business or career that represent challenges to you, where the goals seem elusive? I believe that I can assist you in targeting and attaining those goals.

How far would you get on a journey without an itinerary or plan? If you are going somewhere new, then you need a roadmap to follow. Otherwise, you could end up in a place you do not want to be or get stuck on a long detour that saps your resources. That can happen in your business and keep you from achieving the results you want.

Many people use a navigation system to get directions from where they are to where they want to go. The key to using it for the best results is to know where you are starting from and where you want to end up at the end of the trip. Setting goals that are really exciting and inspiring can be just the incentive to get us heading down the road.

I like one of the analogies that Bob Proctor uses. Imagine being dropped down from the sky with a parachute. You have a map stuffed in your pocket. Your destination is Denver, Colorado. However, if you do not know where you are; how are you going to where you are going?

You need to know that you are heading in the right direction to get to Denver, you may end up in Detroit or somewhere else you had not planned on being. The point is we need to do an honest appraisal of our strengths and weaknesses, and start looking for what we need to do so that we can achieve our goal for true success.

I have been on road trips where the map did not reflect current reality. I had to reassess my plan and adjust my directions in order to get to my destination. It is like taking a trip across the ocean on a ship. Each day, the actual location is confirmed. If they need to make a course adjustment in order to stay on the right track to get to their destination, they will make that correction.

Whatever stage your career is at currently, whether you are a manager or the CEO of your organization, you can be more than you are today. Rather than trying to navigate your course the old-fashioned way, finding your true north will give you a huge payoff.

As Napoleon Hill said in his book called Laws of Success, “What a different story people would have to tell if they would adopt a definite purpose and stand by that purpose until it had time to become an all-consuming purpose.” Not having a purpose is like being caught out at sea without a compass or a sextant. How do you find the way to your destination?

I have found that we do not just drift through life without picking up skills and finding out what we really enjoy doing. Finding those things that we are naturally good at is no accident. That is part of why we are here on Earth, to discover what our unique gifts are and then use them. Each person has a distinctive set of gifts and talents that is theirs alone. Yours may be similar to someone else, but no one has the exact combination that you were given.

You and I found our purpose by experimenting and working at different jobs or careers until we found the one that we could really identify with. If you are still not sure you have found yours, then I have a free tool that can help.

If you are working in a profession where you make good money but are not happy doing it, maybe you should take another look at what your purpose really is. You may be talented and enjoy something that you wanted to major in at college or that you worked at early in your twenties.

Then someone came along and told you that your choice was interesting to study, but you could never make money at it. I have found that statement is false. They wanted you to agree with them and do something else that they wanted for you, but let me repeat, it is not true. The fact is you can make money at anything that you love.

Ella Williams said, “Bite off more than you can chew, then chew it.” The point I am trying to make is that part of leadership and developing your own professionalism is finding and knowing your purpose. Then you can see a vision of what life can be, and you can set goals in order to reach success. For more information on setting and achieving goals, please refer to Results: What Do Yours Say About You?

What is the success factor in your life that conquers sabotage or resistance?? You may imagine success is what comes to pass on the outside, but actually success happens on the inside. What appears on the outside is the evidence. Most of us like to be successful in life and in our achievements. Is it still possible we undermine our own success and oppose it in subtle ways rather than fully accepting success for ourselves?

Everybody has setbacks and discouragement. The comfortable old shoe can be more familiar than the new as we get set in our ways. When so many people are not succeeding in life, is the secret in our own perspective and mind set? Genuine success has to add value and touch people with something they feel will advance and empower them.

Success begins with a choice, an attitude or pattern in our consciousness, but are we comfortable with actually achieving it in our outward life? On the surface, we enjoy visualizing success for ourselves, but do we have a subtle undercurrent of resistance? We need to be at peace with significant change and the idea that our pattern will be altered.

In healthy children confidence is their natural state. It is natural for us to value achievement and reward, but as we move through life’s inescapable ups and downs, we become progressively stronger or weaker. There are frequently winners and losers, we may oscillate between faith and doubt, victory and defeat, meeting challenges and retreating from them. There may be self judgment and doubt that reinforce and limit our own achievement if life hasn’t been all sunny for us, and our support structures have not been completely intact. There is a long list of self help books promising to empower us. Just imagine, if they worked, you would only need one!

The key to lasting success in life is to recognize our own self sabotage and release it. This is not part of our core. We can dust ourselves off, pick ourselves up, and start all over again. Hidden resistance is impeding our progress, seeing the truth that we are created whole, can release us from self imposed burdens and a restrictive self image. Remember and know, faith and confidence are our natural to us!

From Think and Grow Rich, to Wayne Dwyer’s Intention, to Deepak Chopra’s Seven Laws of Success, hundreds of pages and thousands of people, have been devoted to the simple truth: our limitations are within and not permanent but imagined. Real as they may seem, it is only our acquiescence that needs to shift.

We launch our own liberation the instant we recognize deeply, that we already have the key to freedom from our own unreal and self imposed limitations. Picture the photograph of a friend. It is more than simply an image. The photo derives meaning from the feelings we associate, just as feelings infuse our own self image with life. Nothing really holds us back but belief in the reality of our false identity. You are transformed. Be willing, be ready. Removing blockages reveals our natural and true inclination. Feel the freedom to experience progressively greater expression of your higher self, not prideful, but sincere and whole.

The Truth About Success

Success is generally defined as a favorable or satisfactory outcome or result. Whatever you do in your life, you get results. Whether or not those results are the ones you desired, is basically whether you succeeded or failed in your endeavors. Success is often defined as the gaining of wealth, fame, rank and so on. However, in the most general terms, success is the the continuous realization of the outcomes or results you desire.

On the physical level, success is often seen as specific material accomplishments?a particular type of car, home, status, or income level. However, once the car, home or other material possessions are obtained, there is no further growth in understanding, wisdom, or consciousness. Those who operate on this material level of success generally become consumed with maintaining those possessions that? represent their success.

When success is understood on a spiritual level, it is seen as a progressive realization of a worthwhile purpose. You continue to grow and develop in all aspects. On a spiritual level, success is the continuous unfolding of your purpose and destiny.

True success is the progressive, continuous effort of attaining your goals and realizing your vision. This guides you to your worthwhile purpose in life.

Success Must Be In Your Mind First

Success starts in your own mind. Constantly have a concept and vision in your mind of what success means to you.

You become what you think about most of the time.?

Earl Nightingale

Be Constant In Your Efforts

Never take a break from your success journey. Do not stop for rest and reward too soon. When you stop at the first sign of success, you become stagnant, lazy, and begin to decline. As your efforts begin to produce rewards and results, work even harder. Success and achievement come only through continuous work. The only place that success comes before work is in the dictionary.

Get Away From The Crowd At The Bottom

One of the most difficult steps you will face on your success journey is getting away from the crowd at the bottom. There are many unsuccessful, mediocre people who have failed to recognize, or act on their true potential. If you constantly associate with them, your success journey will be short-lived. You must clear the deck to make room for new associations which will complement and enhance your success efforts.

Once you break away from the mediocre crowd, accept the temporary state of loneliness and prepare for your success.

Be Willing To Change Your Life Completely

You must be willing to change your life completely. Make your life congruent with, consistent with, and harmonic with your desired success. Is there anything about the way you think or feel about yourself that will frustrate your success efforts? If so, handle it immediately. Do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to become the person that you must be, to accomplish your goals and realize your vision.

Every day, in every way

I?m getting better and better

Next week: Nine Rules For Becoming A Success

2009 LifeSkill Institute, Inc.??? Visit our website: www.lifeskillinstitute.org

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Based on The Twelve Universal Laws of Success, Second Edition,?ISBN 0-9748362-1-4 a new book by Herbert Harris. Available at Amazon.com, Atlas Books?or through the www.12uls.com. Visit www.lifeskillinstitute.org

for weekly success message and download Twelve affirmations To Live By Poster. E-mail: lifeskill@earthlink.net to receive our Success Newsletter.

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Let me start by sharing these words of wisdom from Tom Tobbins (in his book Still Life with Woodpecker); “Choice; the word upon which all adventure, all exhilaration, all meaning, all honor depends. In the beginning was the word, and the word was choice.”

A few years ago, I read this book which really rocked my worldThe 13 Secrets of Power Performance by my colleague Roger Dawson. I read it twice. I agreed with 12 of the Secrets, but I had a hard time with secret number threePower Performers know they always have choices. “Each of us is where we are because of the conscious decisions we’ve made. It’s impossible to be doing anything other than what you choose to do.”

I just could not swallow it whole. So I left it alone for a while and read other books in the meantime. After realizing they all supported Roger’s point of view, I went back to Power Performance and read that chapter a fourth time, and I got it!

And Roger’s promise turned out to be true: “This thoughtthat we always have the choiceis one of the most important concepts you must grasp to enjoy life fully, and in doing so release the power within you.” It did! Thank you Roger! Mr. Dawson did a great job of persuading me that “… the word choice is the most important word in the English language.”

Now it’s my turn to try and persuade youwith the help of some wise friends.

Let’s start with Brian Tracy (from his CD set The Universal Laws of Success and AchievementThe Law of Choice): “Every human action is a choice and the choice is always based on the dominant values of the individual at that moment. You are a choosing organism. You are continually making choices based on what you consider more important and what you consider less important. Every act that you engage implies a choice.”

I can hear you sing that familiar tune, “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go!” And that’s because you “Gotta go to work,” right? “You got no choice,” you say. Sorry, but Roger and I say you DO have a choice. Of course you may not like to or want to suffer the consequences of not reporting for work and possibly getting fired, but NOT going to work IS an option.

And it’s the same thing for that red traffic light at the intersection you’re fast approaching. Stop? Don’t stop? There are cars circulating in the other directions, pedestrians about to cross the street, and two cops eating donuts in their cruiser parked in the vacant lot on the corner. No choice. “Gotta stop. It’s the only option. Doing otherwise would be pure madness, totally irresponsible.”

I agree with you, 100%. Nonetheless, even though the consequences could be horrific at worst (hitting and killing somebody) or expensive at best (getting a ticket), removing your foot from the gas pedal and applying it on the brake pedal is still a matter of choiceYOUR choice. You say it’s a reflex? It’s a reflex only because you have programmed your subconscious mind so that every time you are approaching an intersection where the light is red, the option you’ve chosen is to stop. But what about when you’re approaching an intersection and the light turns amber?

That’s a conscious decision, a conscious choice you make every time, depending on the circumstances. To slow down and stop … or speed up and go through … Aha!

Back to that red light. Again, it’s YOUR choice to stop or not. No one is pointing a gun to your head. But what if there was? Let’s look at that for a moment. What about a situation where you’re being held up at gun point in a dark parking lot by a thug who wants your Rolex?, your wallet, and the keys to your Beamer. What should you do? Give in? Churchill advised us to, “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, neverin nothing, great or small, large or pettynever give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.”

Good sense … Well, most would say it’d make “good sense” in this situation to “give in.” But what if you choose not to? You might not likeor live to deal withthe consequences of your decision, but that decision, that choice between a few unattractive alternatives (give in, flee, attack) is yours to makenobody else’s. The choice is YOURS.

As it is in ALL situations in life. You always have at least two options, and sometimes ten! But it’s always YOUR choice. Send that bratty teenager to live with his dad, or not? Divorce that good-for-nothing slob, or not? Renew your lease for the apartment or take the plunge and buy that house by the water? Take a leave of absence from your auditing job with the government and complete your master’s degree in archeologyyour true passionor not? Burger and fries for lunch, or soup and salad? Tell the truth, or lie? Drink a fourth beer before you hit the road, or decide three is enough, and call a cab just in case you’re over the legal limit? It’s YOUR choice!

Here’s Richard Bach’s view point on this; “You choose, you live the consequences. Every yes, no, maybe, creates the school you call your personal experience.”

As human beings, we have the capability of consciousness, of self-reflection, and of determining our own behavior. We are not robots, though we often act as though we were, allowing knee-jerk reactions to determine our actions without consideration of the consequences.

Most of the difficulties revolve around making choices. Sometimes when faced with a problem we feel that we have no choice but to react in a certain prescribed manner, or that we have to react the way we always have, the way our therapist said we should, the way our friend suggested, or the way our mother or father reacted.

When we step back for a moment and engage our conscious thinking and strategic skills, we realize that with a little practice in opening our minds, we have many choices in the way we react. Such a thoughtful, strategic reaction is more likely to be respectful of ourselves and others and produce more positive results.

You might not be ready yet to accept it as a fact of life, but Tom, Roger, Brian, Richard and I (and thousands of philosophers and luminaries) all agree on this one: YOU ALWAYS HAVE THE CHOICE!

Today I’d like to help you focus on the key basic success principles and ways you can practice them throughout your own life and ultimately towards extreme work from home business success.

I’m going to try and build on your current understanding of risk-taking and risk-reduction so that you will be better equipped the next time you have to make a decision.

I’ll also help you to understand further beliefs that will benefit your decision making skills and therefore minimize those common risks linked with work from home business success.

How to Evaluate a Decision

Whenever you are next pondering over a work from home business decision, ask yourself the following questions: What is the worst case scenario? What would be the most ill-fated outcome that could occur if I decided to go ahead with this?

For some work from home entrepreneurs they may straight away say “generate zero leads” for others it could be to “run out of cash before I’ve built up enough marketing momentum.” Whatever it is, make sure that you are absolutely clear about it and then make this your primary aim to avoid. Focus everything you have into making sure your worst case scenario doesn’t affect your work from home business success.

By asking yourself these kind of questions before you get involved in anything considered risky such as a new home based business or investment will give you the plan of attack, direction and focus that you need.

Turn this plan of attack into a list, next to each corresponding worst case scenario. So for example in your work from home business you may be using PPC (pay-per-click) marketing and you may find that your average CPC (cost-per-click) rates are beyond your budget. Your plan of attack therefore could be to research less competitive keywords with much lower average CPC’s.

This thinking ahead is purely anticipation. You are visualizing the future. You are mentally and physically preparing yourself for every possible catastrophe.

The Billionaire Mindset

Some people may believe some of these beliefs to be that of negative thinking but they are simply realistic. There is an old saying, ‘plan for the best, expect the worst.’ This is absolutely critical to the understanding of success. ‘The road to success travels over rocky ground’ or ‘of all things that can go wrong, the most expensive thing will go wrong at the worst possible time’

My point is if you have the right measures in place in order to counter attack the worst case scenarios you are protected against such enemies of success.

Success takes time. Quite often a little longer that what you originally thought and had planned for. A sensible rule of thumb would be to triple your milestones that you originally come up with for a far more realistic figure.

You could also use this new figure as a source of inspiration, making it one of your primary goals; to go past a deadline or to go over budget is not an option, don’t let this happen.

A Strategy In Case of Emergencies

When you are creating your business plan and covering expenditures or what initial capital investment will be required, add 20% onto whatever figure you come up with. It’s going to be almost impossible to estimate to 100% accuracy what you’re going to spend, therefore use this 20% as your ‘emergency fund.’

Try and keep to your original budget but should business not work out so simple at least you have options, just make sure you only use it unless you absolutely have to, hence the name ‘emergency fund.’

Remain in Touch with the Real World

If you were to speak with any successful entrepreneur you would find them to be profoundly realistic. To rely on luck is pure nonsense; you create your own success through utilizing the laws of success, some of which you are learning today.

To rely on luck is like relying on somebody to knock on your door and offer you $1 Million! Luck is often a word used by those who are ignorant of success to explain why those less ignorant of success are experiencing success in their lives. They may say, “Not everybody can be as lucky as she is.”

Risk evaluation needs to be at the core of your and every successful entrepreneur’s planning stages. Plans of attack need to be thoughtfully implemented should problems arise.

Your alternative plan of attack is your protection on the day anything happens – you will have those days. Lower all possible variables, outcomes and events into careful analysis.

Face Your Fears Head On

To intentionally and wilfully embark on the things you fear, step-by-step, is one of the best methods to advance your capability to take intelligent risks.

By creating definite, written and quantifiable goals for yourself, that you reassess regularly, you will steadily conquer the fear of taking risks.

By having these definite goals and aims in the words of Napoleon Hill, “…will teach you how to save the wasted effort the majority of people expend in trying to find their life’s work. These will show you how to do away forever with aimlessness and fix your heart and hand on a definite, well-conceived purpose as a life’s work.”

You will ultimately become more efficient at what you do. This will raise your levels of flair, capacity and you will feel heightened levels of confidence about yourself. Your levels of unselfishness will go up; you become more rational and much more consenting to bigger future tasks. You will be the one who is in control of your own destiny. This is a definite way to enhance your chances of success.

Ways You Can Take Action

1. What are you currently concerned about? What negative thought, if any, is occupying unwelcomingly your thought space? Take note and then think what you believe to be the worst case scenario from this thought. Once you have that in your mind and you recognise it, that’s enough – blank it out – get it out of your mind at all possible costs.

Instead flood you mind with preventative counter measures. And then take action. Make sure the worst case scenario NEVER happens.

2. Similarly, what is the worst case scenario of your future – become homeless – become bankrupt, etc. Set up preventative measures to reduce the chances of these ever from occurring – an emergency fund works tremendously – it takes your mind off these worst cases.

3. Have definite clear and quantifiable goals that you assess often, twice daily (morning

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