The Internet is full of lists. That’s because they are easy to read and often rich in ideas.
The thing is, a list without a strategy is like having ingredients without a recipe. It’s one thing to know what the 21 habits of successful business owners are — but how do you put those habits into action? How do you make the changes required? Where do you start?
A proven approach
Successful business owners are the same as successful sports people. They have a coach or mentor to guide them. They refuse to waste years going in the wrong direction or going nowhere.
Here are a few examples of extremely successful people and their mentors:
- Steve Jobs was mentored by Robert Friedland.
- Jobs then went on to mentor Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Google’s Larry Page.
- Bill Gates was mentored by Ed Roberts.
- Michael Dell was mentored by Lee Walker.
- Reid Hoffman, co-founder of Linkedin, was mentored by John Lilly.
Those with time to waste use a different approach
Those who wrongly believe they are time rich, that they can keep throwing months or years down the drain, go it alone.
- They collect ideas from newsletters, blog posts and books and end up with lots of lists, but no specific strategy.
- They have no formula to get from where they are to where they want to be, based on their unique situation, challenges or resources.
- They end up with lots of disconnected ideas, steps, tips, techniques and tricks.
As millions of people will confirm from their personal experience of that approach, it doesn’t work.
In short: Get the help you need, from someone who has achieved what you want to achieve. Life is too short and too precious to waste.