The Three Traits of Great Social Entrepreneurs

There's a bad habit in the social entrepreneurship world where we put outstanding social entrepreneurs up on a pedestal -- these incredible demigods who have accomplished something us mere mortals can only dream of. We see it when leading fellowships and incubators raise up the selected few above the passionate -- but unpolished -- masses. And we, as a result, think that these accomplished social entrepreneurs have something inherent in them, some trait, some skill, some knowledge that separates them from everyone else.

And since their achievements often seems so out of reach, we hope that there is some trick or tool we could learn which would be the secret key to unlocking the treasure chest of social entrepreneurial greatness.

 Is it the business model canvas?

 An impact measurement framework? 

 A networking miracle?

I have some good news and some bad news.

Here's the bad news: there is no single tool to learn. No approach to master. No hidden treasure that all great social entrepreneurs have that would make you a star too, if you only had that key.

The good news? It's all about having the right mindset, which enables and empowers one to accomplish great things. And this mindset is accessible to anyone and everyone.

From my time coaching, advising and supporting social entrepreneurs around the world, I've come to believe that there are three things great social entrepreneurs have in common.

Rather than being specific skills to gain, these characteristics are the underlying values and approaches that enable one to learn all the myriad -- and unpredictable -- skills and knowledge one will need to acquire. These are the infrastructure that make everything else possible.

And unlike a tool or framework, these are attitudes that you, uniquely, can choose to adopt right now. There's nothing standing in the way of you beginning to demonstrate these approaches, besides your own desire to do so. So let's get into them!

1. A Learning Mindset

It's the startup version of Carol Dweck's 'growth mindset,' in which one "thrives on challenge and sees failure not as evidence of unintelligence but as a heartening springboard for growth and for stretching existing abilities."

If there's one thing that's for sure in running a social venture, it's that you will fail. Constantly. The best social entrepreneurs are those who view their failures as something to be embraced -- rather than feared -- and use their learnings to 'fail forward.'

I've written in the past about how crucial it is for social entrepreneurs to make time to reflect and to learn -- but these routines don't make much difference if the learning mindset is not there.

If we instead embrace Eric Ries' conception of a startup: learning as much as possible as quickly as possible, we see everything we do as an opportunity to learn. The stigma disappears from a mistake or an error (which are inevitable anyway), replaced by a continual desire to learn and improve each day.

2. Trust in Oneself

Let's begin with the synonyms for 'self trust', which this is not: cockiness, conceitedness, egoism or self-importance. Rather it's a quiet confidence in one's abilities to take on whatever may come.

When one starts a social venture, the only certainty is that it will not go exactly as planned. There will be hurdles to overcome, new challenges that pop-up and an incredible array of things you never realised you didn't know until it's too late. When I co-founded StartSomeGood I had no idea that just to get through the first month I would need to learn bookkeeping, how to form an LLC, how to overlay text over an image in photoshop and how to run a developer brainstorming session. Actually that may have just been the first week.

I struggled a lot in trying to learn all of those things -- all while feeling bad about myself that I, seemingly, wasn't learning it all as quickly as I thought I should. It was only after a couple of years that I realized that my team and I could solve nearly any problem that came our way -- but that it was impossible to do if we didn't have trust in ourselves that we actually could. This mindset made all the difference -- instead of fearing the unknown, we developed trust that we could handle whatever challenge might be next.

3. Humility

One of the most important characteristics I look for when considering investing in an entrepreneur at Reach for Change is their humility: being open to other opinions, admitting mistakes, self-reflection and recognising they cannot do everything themselves.

Humility is one of the key traits that Jim Collins argues in 'Good to Great' that the very best 'level 5' leaders have. It's the ability to accept blame (even when it isn't meant for you), and to share praise (even when it is meant for you).

On an individual level it means self-awareness and a desire to serve others -- two mutually-reinforcing traits of great social entrepreneurs.

On a team level it means empowering others. I used to think that the measure of my leadership was how many decisions I could be part of; now I measure myself on how many decisions my team can take without me. It means electing to trust others instead of micromanaging, and to trust that one can go further together than alone.

Why You Need All Three

It's not enough to only develop two out of the three. These approaches are not independent but rather interdependent: development in one spurs development in the others. Look at what happens if you focus on one or two at the expense of the others:

• A learning mindset without trust in oneself: you'll have a better idea of what to do, but no courage to actually do it.
• A learning mindset without humility: you'll only learn from successes, not from failure or disappointment.
• Trust in oneself without a learning mindset: you'll simply follow your own intuition, and when your gut instinct lets you down, you'll have nowhere to turn.
• Trust in oneself without humility: you'll overvalue your own thoughts, ideas and contributions and will try to do everything yourself.
• Humility without a learning mindset: you'll never step into your zone of impact.
• Humility without trusting oneself: you'll be subject to other's thoughts and opinions, always going wherever others take you.

While it may have initially felt like bad news that there is no single skill to master or trick to learn to become a great social entrepreneur, it's actually a positive that these three traits are accessible to everyone. It means that the right mindset is within anyone's grasp. And through embracing these traits, you will accomplish amazing things.

Source : http://huff.to/21BvZGA

6 ways to take your content marketing from good to great

If you want to boost the quality of content on your website, I’ve always found that it’s the little things that make content go from good to great. In my role as Content Marketing Manager, my job is to create content that ‘earns our way in’ to the hearts and minds of readers. With content marketing, the strategy is always to build an audience and give your reader useful information that helps them solve a problem.

Hang on, what is content marketing?

Great question. Content marketing is about creating content that’s in it for the long game. It’s timeless, or known as ‘evergreen’ content. The content marketing approach is about building an audience through creating useful and engaging content. The goal of content marketing is to create content for your audience that is educational and adds value.

Why earning your way in is smarter than going for the pitch

Content that reeks of a hard sell can be off putting. When content is written in a way that assumes the reader is ready to buy, it’s like someone asking to marry you after the first date! Finding the sweet spot with your content isn’t a quick process – but with the right mindset, you’ll get results. Be prepared to tweak and test your content.
Engaging, educational content always wins. By using the the right combination of words, tone and language you can reach customers and prospects. And it’s possible to do this without going for the obvious ‘pitch’ as soon as you have their attention.

Get some insight by doing keyword research

So you might be wondering how the heck you figure out what your readers want to read. No you don’t need a crystal ball, but a great place to start is keyword research. I use Google Keyword Planner to research the terms people type in search engines.

Some phrases get a huge search volume, which can indicate how popular the topic is. You can refine your search in Keyword Planner to specific regions, countries and even cities. For example, you could target the term ‘tax accountant’ to Melbourne and see how many searches it gets. These results can give you great insight into topics of interest in your industry. And the numbers don’t lie! So why not answer people’s questions? Give them what they want. Content that people want to read is content that the reader has actively searched for. Here’s a quick guide of my best practices in content marketing.

Six ways to create great content

Here are my top tips for creating content that goes the distance:

1. Make sure it’s something people want
   Say something useful. Do your research and make your content the solution to their problem. When I create content, I always try to answer the real need at hand. What does this person want? What is fluff and just unnecessary jargon?
2. Make it personal and be conversational and friendly
   Keep your readers interested by including the word “you”. Doing this has been known to make content more memorable to readers. Write the way you would speak to a friend and avoid using words that are stiff and formal. Making things sound more complicated than they are will only alienate your readers.
3. Create “evergreen” content
   This means your content has less chance of being outdated quickly. With evergreen content you won’t get immediate results but you will gain trust, respect and authority in the long game. Be patient and stay the course because great content doesn’t date – it’s timeless.
4. Make sure your content is easy to read
   Never underestimate the power of plain English. If your content doesn’t score 60 or above in a Flesch reading ease test, then tweak it until it does. For example, I could write: “Business owners can drive real time-based productivity from cloud-based software when they effectively utilise the benefits given to them by new online applications.” or I could rewrite it like this: “If you’re a business owner you could save yourself time by moving to online software.”
5. Get to the point quickly
   No one wants to wade through wordy content trying to understand what the main message is. Content that’s just fluff wastes your readers’ precious time, so make every word count.
6. Tell a story
   Produce something that’s authentic. Readers want valuable, educational and engaging information – not advertising pitches. People appreciate entertaining content that doesn’t blast messaging. Think of the last time you had a TV ad in your ears – did you mute it? If you did, the same theory applies to content.

Staying the course pays off

If your content is different from the tsunami of product pitches out there, it will stand out from the crowd. Have faith in the long game and dedicate time and energy into building up a pool of great online content.  

Source : http://bit.ly/1I618pE

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9 Ways to Dramatically Improve Your Creativity

Creativity is like a muscle. It must be stretched, challenged, and occasionally pushed past its comfort zone.

In a previous column, I shared nine ways you can become more creative in just 10 minutes. I've also shared four must-watch TED talks on creativity in business.

Now it's time to stretch your creative muscles again.

Here are nine ways you can dramatically improve your creativity.

1. Learn Through Collaboration

Curiosity will lead you to creativity.

Andrew Ng, formerly of Google and now of Baidu, is one who doesn't believe innovation is due to unpredictable flashes of genius. Rather, he said you can become more creative and innovative systematically.

"In my own life, I found that whenever I wasn't sure what to do next, I would go and learn a lot, read a lot, talk to experts. I don't know how the human brain works but it's almost magical: when you read enough or talk to enough experts, when you have enough inputs, new ideas start appearing."

Indeed, collaborating with and learning from others may be just what you need to give your creativity a boost.

2. Do Something You Love

Stuck for ideas? Not sure what to do? Your life needs some balance to ensure your creativity doesn't suffer.

In a letter to his son, Albert Einstein provided a great bit of fatherly insight when addressing his son's interest in playing the piano that is applicable to losing yourself in the creative process: do something that pleases you.

"That is the way to learn the most, that when you are doing something with such enjoyment that you don't notice that the time passes," Einstein wrote. "I am sometimes so wrapped up in my work that I forget about the noon meal."

Love and creativity are intertwined. A hobby, such as playing an instrument, running, or collecting memorabilia, can help you relax and fight stress while giving your creativity a boost.

3. Find Inspiration From Other Industries

Your next idea won't come from copying what a competitor has already done. So look for innovation in different industries and niches.

Research what businesses are dominating. Why

What businesses are you most loyal to? Why? 

How can you transfer what worked for businesses outside your industry to your own market? Maybe you can improve on these ideas.

Taking inspiration from other industries is a great way to boost your own creativity.

4. Unplug (Or Just Do Nothing)

As Alan Cohen once wrote, "There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither."

Sometimes your best ideas will come when you're not wracking your brain trying to come up with the next great idea.

It could be while you're sleeping. A good night of rest will help you be more productive and creative.

It could be while your mind wanders in the shower that you get a great idea.

Maybe your next innovative idea will come while you're driving, exercising, hiking, shopping, sitting on an airplane, or watching the sunset.

If your creativity is lacking, unplug. Relax. And let your brain do its magic.

5. Walk

The average person sits between 7 and 15 hours every day.

Crazy, right

That's terrible for your health and your mood, which means it can be terrible for your creativity.

Stanford research has indicated that walking improves creative thinking. In a follow-up study, HBR found that people who take part in walking meetings are more creative and engaged.

Priceline Group CEO Darren Huston, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Western Union Co. CEO Hikmet Ersek, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, and scores of other business leaders and entrepreneurs regularly have walking meetings.

While walking during work won't solve our national sitting crisis, it's a step in the right direction.

6. Set the Right Mood

A lack of ideas or being unable to solve a problem can be extremely frustrating.

Unless you value complete silence, music can be the thing to give your mood, and your creativity, a boost.

Steve Jobs used music to change his moods and keep himself creative.

It could work for you, too.

7. Use the Six Thinking Hats Technique

Sometimes you just need to start over. Forget everything and begin anew with a blank slate - break it down using six different colored "thinking hats".

Using this process could help you look at things in a different way. It gives you the option to look at things in a "just the facts" manner (white hat); where things could go wrong (black hat); and possibilities, alternatives, and new ideas (green hat), for example.

By looking at a problem from several unique perspectives may be just what you need to find a solution.

8. Ask For Advice or Feedback

Sometimes you're too close to a problem to figure out a creative solution all by yourself.

Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness. Ask for help and advice from friends, peers, and people from your personal network that you trust and respect. Every person has a unique skill set, experience, and knowledge.

A fresh outside perspective, or three, or five, may be just what you need.

Even if you don't use their advice, it may spark some new, creative thinking that will get you where you need to go.

9. Pick a Terrible Idea

Step away from whatever idea you're stuck on for a few minutes.

What's the most useless idea you can imagine? Make a list of the worst ideas you can think up. Now the real challenge to stretch your creativity: what are the best features of these terrible idea Perhaps looking at these terrible ideas will spark something creative that you can transfer over to your excellent idea.

Source : http://bit.ly/1kATm1q

Let's rethink community management.

1 Think broadly about video

Video has always been a powerful medium, but as its social consumption has skyrocketed, and the pressure to churn out daily updates has decreased, it’s really coming into its own for marketers. Consider that in newsfeed-based systems (notably Facebook and Twitter) video will autoplay silently – it’s therefore much easier to get people to watch some of a video then to really hook them in . Consider using video formats to simply animate imagery and grab attention, or if you do want to tell a longer story, load your brand upfront and grab attention early (as you would on YouTube).

2 Rethink where content comes from

I’ve seen community managers create some really fantastic content over the years and if given the right time and space, they still can, though it is a different set of skills. With huge potential scale it is now justifiable to invest more in production, or to brief it as a key requirement alongside a TV shoot. While traditional agencies have struggled with digital, they will hopefully rise to the social video challenge. It is, however, worth considering social specialists, partnering with influencers, building it into media owner partnerships or even professional crowdsourcing platforms.

3Remain open to consumers

I’m sorry social media revolutionaries, but consumers don’t want conversations with their laundry powder, chocolate bars or their next car. Putting less focus on the niche engagement that social can generate is a wise move, but don’t completely ignore it. While hopefully no longer your core objective, listening to comments can help shape strategies and responding to specific questions avoids building a negative brand perception. There are still genius moments of community management where responding quickly and funnily in line with your brand can create a wider, positive social moment for you – be wary of outsourcing moderation to the point that your brand personality gets lost.

4 Stay true to your brand

It’s crucially important that social content stays true to a brand’s identity and communicates the key messages as any channel would. Don’t be afraid to actually feature the product too, or at the very least distinctive brand identifiers, because marketing only works when consumers can easily attribute it back to something memorable. It might not be right to do a blunt product demonstration, but there’s no need to be ashamed either. Definitely don’t hide behind cheap tricks such as puppy photos or popular memes, which drive throwaway engagement but communicate nothing about the brand.

5 Data informs, but you decide

One of the dangers of social marketing is the overwhelming amount of immediate data on consumer engagement/reactions and our tendency to blindly chase it. Although understanding consumer interests and responsiveness is a useful input, slavishly following that can lead you far away from communicating anything useful about your brand. Similarly, looking at searches and views around your brand can help inform a content strategy, but if responding to those questions won’t help you tell your story don’t feel you have to. 

This sort of big data can help identify broad target audiences for specific pieces of content, helping drive personal connections at scale.

6 Ditch all that reporting

Vast effort goes into producing monthly or even weekly reports, but much of that is wasted. Certainly there are lots of data points out there, but research shows surprisingly little correlation between digital engagement and ultimate sales or brand impact. Optimising to engagement data is misleading and moves us away from true objectives . As in traditional media, we need to get used to running mid- or post-campaign surveys to establish the true impact, or even pursue ways of showing direct sales impacts. This might sound like a step backwards but that’s the reality, although unlike in traditional media you no longer have to wait weeks or months for your post-campaign analysis. A week after launching a YouTube video you can have a clear view of how it is communicating your brand from online surveys and adapt the content or media spend accordingly. On a weekly basis the main thing worth checking is how many people you’re reaching and how often, assuming your content is communicating what it needs to.

Source : http://bit.ly/1GQ7b6u

Boom ! Fresh Ideas Social Media and marketing News.

9 daily habits for personal leadership and top performance

All leadership starts from within. You can only truly lead others when you can truly lead yourself.

Running a creative business is tough. The constant roller-coaster of emotional ups-and-downs presenting anything from, anthemic highs when your team out perform your wildest expectations, to crushing lows when you realise that the root cause of every problem you face, may, just be your fault. 

Dramatic? Maybe, but agency owner/operators invest themselves fully, unquestionably and unreservedly in pursuit of their vision. We wake up each morning committed to progress and growth adopting ever changing roles to support ourselves and our team to get there. Motivating, leading, inspiring, advising, mentoring, supporting, teaching, coaching, learning…. 

Actually, the truth is, we also wake up each morning with doubt, questions, reservations and terrified of the unknown. In short it’s not only personally challenging but exhausting.

However, this is not an article on the challenges of leadership and the running of a successful business, this is an article on successfully running oneself.

All leadership starts within. You can only truly lead others when you can truly lead yourself.

Whatever your vision, when you choose to become a leader you also need to make a conscious choice to focus on your own personal development and wellbeing. Perhaps even more so than you already do. You may feel your first priority is to focus on squeezing more work into your already hectic schedule, finding ways to work harder or longer. However this approach creates a personal false economy as you drive your own wellbeing and consequently your effectiveness into the ground. 

The best leaders are more tactical, they prepare for ongoing challenges through their daily habits, they know when to work hard but always leave fuel in the tank for unforeseen challenges and to support others. 

Simply put, an increased focus on your own wellbeing and personal development will not only prepare you for greater success but to better overcome problems and thrive in challenging times.

Below are introductions to 9 core daily habits focused on personal leadership and growth. It’s by no means an exhaustive list but whatever stage you are at in your life or career I hope you find something here that helps you stay strong and work to your full potential. 

1. Choose a minimal lifestyle 

We live in a world constantly fighting for your attention, presenting you with an ever evolving set of choices to consider throughout the day.

Constantly considering options depletes your mental capacity, creates decision fatigue and costs attention that then can’t be spent on action. Resulting in less or no productivity, less or no appreciation and can add to a growing sense of overwhelm and stress. By deliberately limiting your options you can streamline daily activities you may currently over thinking, minimise distractions, reduce stress and create more space for creative problem solving and output. Things become much simpler and your days far more enjoyable. 

A simple example of this would be your morning routine. I’m a morning person so personally I like to wake up and hit the ground running. To automate my mornings I typically stick to the same routine and limit my options. I choose to not watch tv, read the newspaper, listen to the radio or scan social media and ideally leave checking my email till at least 9am (I wake at 6). I maintain a limited wardrobe so I don’t trip myself up into an endless loop of decision making about what to wear and I typically eat one of 3 breakfasts which I can make without too much thought. All of this allows me to protect my morning focus. 

Considering your attention and focus a precious resource the choice minimal lifestyle is a useful tool to create boundaries to protect it throughout your day. You have a choice to take control of what influences you and commands your attention. 

Less choice = space for greater attention and focus = higher quality output = greater satisfaction. 

2. Unplug

Neatly following on from considering a choice minimal lifestyle is the need to unplug from the endless distraction of digital fixes, be it social media, email or app notifications. It’s widely accepted now that our constant digital connection is fostering addictive behaviour with our devices. Constantly searching for that little hit of adrenaline, that positive reinforcement that comes with our virtual connections, likes, comments, favourites, mentions, replies... 

We all have limited cognitive capacity. That is to say our attention is not a renewable resource. You can not simply keep feeding your mind and expect it to perform well when you choose. Constant connection leads to constant context switching and digital overload distracting you from important daily tasks and effectively eliminating all focus and productivity. This has a cost not only to your focus and energy but also your business and your life. 

FOMO (fear of missing out) will crush you every time. When you’re constantly checking in or responding not only are you not present in that moment, you are not focusing on your own life’s purpose or work.

Take control by setting boundaries and choose when to interact online based on your personal agenda, not the agenda of others. Simply turning off all notifications is a big help, or better still remove social media apps from your mobile altogether (scary)! I’ve recently been building habits to distance myself from my phone as much as possible, meetings, meals, bed time, weekends and importantly anytime I spend with my children. The sense of freedom and space is a wonderful thing. 

3. Results driven - no complaining

Negative behaviour, complaining, moaning and past-tense deliberation are all traps that only sever to suck up your precious attention, emotional reserves and kill progress. Negativity can spread quickly, has a lingering effect on your mental state and will quickly transfer to those around you. 

As a leader your number one priority should be to spearhead the support effort of every member of your team in pursuit of your shared vision and ambitions. You have a responsibility to stand tall in the face of challenges and lead by example with a positive, objective, results driven outlook. 

Don’t take this lightly, it will make or break your efforts and that of your team.

Condition your present state awareness to notice negative behaviour in yourself and others and work hard eliminate it. Re-enforce positive behaviour and problem solving focused on actions that drives results. 

Nobody likes spending time with a killjoy, least of all yourself, it’s exhausting, unprofessional, ineffective and a complete waste of time.

4. Focus on your wellbeing

This is one of the most basic and fundamental habits you should nurture daily. A serious and dedicated focus on your general wellbeing and health is essential to, well... life! If you don’t care about your health, every other aspect of your life will suffer and the damage will compound over time. Here are few fundamentals to consider. 

Regular exercise.

The benefits or regular exercise reach far beyond the physical. With every completed workout you will feel a sense of satisfaction and personal achievement that will boost your self confidence which in turn will push you to achieve more. You will not only be healthier but more optimistic, confident, satisfied - happier! 

Another benefit is the mental space and clarity of absolute focus on the task in hand. Exercise can be a means of escape from daily pressures, or, to think of it a better way, a means to find some mental peace through forced focus. While your conscious mind is focused on the workout your unconscious mind will have space, space that can be filled with insight or problem solving so valuable to progression ultimately making you more productive. 

There is a staggering amount of bad advice out there regarding exercise which can be overwhelming. So to keep it simple, if you’re moving, it’s good, aim for 30 mins per day. Variety is key and find something that covers the basics, focusing on core functional movement and mobility first, followed by strength, endurance and speed.

Eat clean, eat well.

Many people eat badly, very badly. We’ve become lazy in our food choices at the cost of convenience, allowing others to make food and nutritional choices for us. Consequently it’s sometimes hard to distinguish food from product in our modern society as cheap to produce, highly processed, high profit foods are pushed to the fore in stores. 

But it’s actually quite simple - Naturally we all know the basics of what good nutritional food is, you just need to take deliberate steps towards building good daily eating habits. Here are some basics: 

Every meal should contain a balanced amount of high quality protein, carbs and vegetables or fruits. Shop local and stick to seasonal produce where possible always aiming to get your ingredients fresh and unprocessed. Avoid highly processed foods, sweets, sugar, fast food, instant meals. Finally, develop a habit of preparing your own food with high quality, fresh ingredients. This act alone will not only increase the quality of your food intake but teach you about food and your body’s nutritional needs in the process. 

Take responsibility, educate yourself about food and nutrition. You’ll be amazed how much the basics of good nutritional intake can profoundly affect your day-to-day wellbeing and consequently your ability to perform as an effective leader.   

Drink Water, lots of water.

Most people are unknowingly, chronically undersupplied with water resulting in one of the most common reasons for fatigue during the day. Every chemical reaction within the body needs sufficient water, without it your brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, nerves and muscles cannot work properly. Simply put, It is an essential medium for literally all functions of the body. 

We lose at least 2.5 litres of water daily just through respiration, sweat and exertion which is why guidelines exist to drink two to three litres (0.5 to 0.75 US gallons) per day. However if you are exercising regularly, and you should be (see above), you will need to drink more. A good guideline is to drink 50ml (1.7 fl oz) per kilogram body weight. This may produce a daunting number, for example my daily intake is 4 litres, however the benefits both mentally and physically are undeniable. 

And just clarify, this means pure water – no alcoholic, caffeinated or sugary drinks. 

Prioritise sleep, rest well, rise early.

Sleep equals recovery, mentally and physically. It’s essential to your health, daily performance and productivity.

Good quality sleep will keep you happy and upbeat. You’ll increase your ability to think clearly, manage your emotions and remain calm under pressure. During sleep the body also releases growth hormones aiding muscle growth and fat burning essential to physical recovery from regular exercise. Not only that, people who get enough sleep, liver longer and healthier lives. 

Lack of sleep on the other hand has major detrimental affects to your wellbeing. It stresses you out, increases anxiety and makes you emotionally reactive. Seriously impaired brain function slows your ability to process information and problem solve. Any period of sustained focus becomes unbearable resulting in little to no productivity. Sleep deprivation is also terrible for your health and linked to a variety of serious health problems including strokes, heart attacks, type 2 diabetes and obesity.

If you want to perform better you need to sleep better.  

Where possible be consistent in when you go to bed and rise. This will greatly improve your quality of sleep as your body becomes familiar with the routine. Aim to sleep for 7 to 9 hours but take the time to learn how much you personally need and adjust your schedule to fit. Prepare for sleep by relaxing and winding down, this means avoiding late night working as your brain will remain alert making it difficult to sleep, no caffeine (ideally from lunch time) and no devices. Eliminate any interruptions within your control (kids not included) and finally develop a habit of waking up naturally (no alarm), your days will start off so much better for it. 

If sleep is still low on your agenda consider this 'The negative effects of sleep deprivation are so great that people who are drunk outperform those lacking sleep’ - Dr. Travis Bradberry

Finally, enjoy your pleasures with moderation. A healthy mind lives in a healthy body.

5. Practice meditation and mindfulness 

Meditation doesn’t need to be some strange practice reserved for aspiring monks or yogis. It can be the simple act of sitting alone in silence, closing your eyes and observing your thoughts for just 10 minutes a day.  

Research shows that regular meditation practice is an effective treatment for stress and anxiety, promotes emotional stability and a considered, mindful approach to everyday situations. It improves self control and your ability to focus on a single task for longer and is also proven to promote ‘divergent thinking’ essential to idea generation. You’ll also sleep better. 

Meditation is the gentle practice of training and transforming the mind. Observing our relationship to our passing thoughts and feelings, learning to view them with a little more perspective. Through this practice you will naturally find a place of calm, become less critical and judgemental about yourself and others developing more harmonious relationships. You will be more accepting of the world around you, feel more content, happy and satisfied. 

Even the basics of mediation can have a transformative effect rewarding you with a new understanding of yourself and life. It becomes a state of being that can be profoundly peaceful and energising that you will naturally want to maintain throughout your day. 

"We can’t control the sea, but we can learn how to surf the waves”. — Headspace

6. Wake up grateful & show appreciation

Gratitude is simply being aware of the gifts in our lives and consciously experiencing appreciation. It’s the opposite of depression and anxiety and the positive results are tangible. Gratitude can lead to an increased sense of wellbeing, better sleep, increased energy, willingness to accept change, strength in the face of challenges and even lower symptoms of physical pain.

We can be so wrapped up in our current work-flow, project goal or our next professional challenge that we forget everything that’s happened to get us where we are. A daily focus on gratitude and appreciation reminds me of all the gifts in my life and to celebrate my life’s journey to date in balance with all those mundane moments that can be amazing sources of joy. 

You can experience gratitude in many simple ways, for example by keeping a journal or by simply focusing on appreciation for a couple of minutes. Personally, weather I write anything down or not, the important thing for me is the strength of present state awareness I feel when I focus on what I am personally grateful for. I feel positive, elated, warm and fuzzy, it makes me smile and the feeling stays with me through out the day.

It’s an essential tool for a balanced life. 

7. Adopt a growth mindset 

The way we think defines us. It defines our behaviour, actions and our relationship to learning, success and failure. Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck identifies two basic mindsets we carry about ourselves, fixed and growth. 

A fixed mindset assumes our character, intelligence and creative ability are static givens we can’t change in any meaningful way. Success then, is a result of inherent qualities and striving for success becomes a way of maintaining a sense of being smart or skilled. Threatened by the success of others failure is feared and avoided at all costs as it presents evidence of unintelligence and poor skill.    A growth mindset believes qualities like character, intelligence and creativity can be cultivated through daily effort and deliberate practice. Success then, is the result of this daily effort and striving for success is a journey of leaning and personal development. The success of others presents lessons and inspiration and failure is embraced and viewed objectively, not as evidence unintelligence but as an opportunity to learn and grow.

Every day presents us with new opportunities. A growth mindset gives you an objective lens through which to view your day and encourages a passion for learning and personal development versus an hunger for approval and credibility. You will see opportunities instead of barriers, embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks, learn from criticism and recognise effort as the path to success.

Believe in your ability to learn and improve. 

8. Shut out your critics.

As a leader you are an easy target for criticism and those who want to vent their frustrations. It is important to be humble and open to feedback, the trick however is to seek out feedback which is constructive and ultimately makes you a better person and leader. For all the rest, if it isn’t potentially damaging, and it very rarely is, simply ignore it. Focusing on the negative chatter and destructive opinions of others is a waste of your time and energy.  

For the criticism that you really feel can’t be ignored, resist the urge for a knee jerk counterattack and practice remaining calm, cool and considered in your response.

 It's unbelievable how easily some smart and successful leaders fall into the trap of mindless criticism and mud slinging prompted by very little. This is a mistake and reflects badly on you as a leader. A few careless words or actions could haunt you for years to come.

It's take discipline to stay objective and centred. Don't let others negatively influence your thinking or focus.

Finally, don’t fall into the trap of seeking out your critics with the intention of staying informed. It will only serve to frustrate or anger you and your preoccupation with that information will effectively derail your productivity and what should be your current focus.

We are a people that love to observe, judge and critique, weather we are qualified to do so or not is irrelevant. It happens and it always will. It's how you handle it that matters.

9. Practice self discipline 

Developing new habits requires self discipline. It takes focus, practice and patience. Fortunately this is a learned behaviour and like a muscle, with regular practice it will become stronger over time and what felt like a struggle at first will soon be very easy to maintain. 

However, let things slip and they will keep slipping. Worse still, as a leader, others look to you for guidance and inspiration and they will naturally follow your lead subconsciously accepting it’s ok to let things slip. Practice self discipline and lead yourself and others by example. 

A quote from the 6th century Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu sums this up very well. 

"Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny."
- Lao Tzu

People are naturally attracted to like minded people, those they admire or simply wish to emulate. Consider yourself the foundations of your organisation on which all things stand. That foundation needs to be a strong, clear and visible representation of the qualities you expect to see in others. If you want to attract and nurture a team of highly skilled, high performing professionals, that’s exactly what you need to be to attract that group in the first place. 

Successfully running a business is tough, be deliberate about preparing yourself for ongoing challenges through a daily focus on your own wellbeing and personal growth. Your impact on the world will only be as strong or effective as the individual you ultimately are.

Source : http://bit.ly/1Pdj2NC