Reach New Heights

You probably have some big goals or dreams in life. Some may be things you want to accomplish this year, others may be a target of yours a few years down the road. Regardless, any big dream takes serious work to turn it into reality. It’s a process getting from point A to B. 

To help make this process easier for you, I’ve identified 5 steps that I believe anyone with any dream can follow and find success. Let’s take a look.

Step 1: Commit to a Specific Goal

It may seem rather obvious, but the first key to achieving something amazing is knowing what specifically you want to achieve. As a business coach, I’ve seen many entrepreneurs that have a general, vague idea of where they want their company to end up, but they aren’t really sure. Be specific. 

Some nebulous construct of where you want to go will not help you identify what path you need to take to get there. Make sure your goal is measurable and clearly defined.

Step 2:...

It’s an all too common refrain, “fake it until you make it.” While those using this phrase are often well-intentioned, perhaps trying to give someone a vote of confidence that if they keep at something they will eventually find success, there is one big problem with this phrase— the word FAKE. 

Encouraging others to be fake or assuming we need to be fake ourselves is not sound advice. Nobody wants to associate with someone that is disingenuous or trying to be something they are not. 

Instead of saying “fake it until you make it,” I’ve come up with 3 alternatives to this popular phrase that will inspire us to be authentic while still allowing us to reach our end goal. 

• Face it Until You Ace It

Face your challenges head on instead of trying to fake your way to the top. 

• Be It Until You See It

Emulating attributes in others that we aspire to be like doesn’t mean...

“Fake it until you make it” is a cliche that has been ingrained into entrepreneurial culture for decades. The problem is, the more you think about this advice, the less sense it makes. Faking skills and confidence leads to fake relationships and drowning in imposter syndrome. 

There are lots of ways to move past the “faking it” stage and start out right, actually “making it” instead. In my latest article on LinkedIN, I laid out five strategies for “making it” rather than faking it. They are:

1. Be real, not fake. Showing your true self improves interactions with business partners, team members and customers. Authenticity and vulnerability is not a weakness, it’s a strength. 
2. Focus on your strengths. Take on the things you’re great at, celebrate your successes, and rely on others for the things you aren’t sure how to do. Don’t fake it by pretending you have it all figured out. Focus on the...

I used to think that showing up late to a meeting showed everyone in the room how important I was. I equated business with success. That’s a larger conversation, but I have learned through experience that it is simply untrue. Showing up late tells everyone else that you don’t care about their time, which is disrespectful and honestly, pretty rude.

When I realized this, I was horrified, and I took immediate steps to change the way I thought about time. I made real changes to my mindset, planning and routine to ensure that I would never be late again. 

Entrepreneurs are busy people, and hearing that you need to be on time, all the time might sound impossible, but I promise you, it’s not. 

I’ve hit on a formula that works for me, and I’d love for you to try it out. It looks like this:

1. Evaluate why you’re constantly late
2. Put room in your schedule to prepare for and travel to meetings
3. Take actionable steps to stay on schedule
4. Reward your...

A to-do is an effective tool for planning ahead and structuring your time, but when it grows faster than you are able to check things off, it feels overwhelming. When this happens, it is no longer helpful. 

If you find yourself avoiding your to-do list instead of relying on it, it’s time to change things up. Lucky for you, in my decades of business experience, I’ve been where you are, and I have come up with a proven method to get your to-do list working for you again. 

The method involves breaking your to-do list up into four meaningful parts: “Must do,” “Hope to do,” “To delegate,” and maybe most importantly, “To-don’t.” 

Through a thoughtful system of prioritizing, decluttering and delegating, you can parse your to-do list into manageable areas and set yourself up for a productive, successful day. 

I wrote a full article called “How to Make Friends With Your...