Category Archives for "Empowering Young Entrepreneurs"

6 Storytelling and the Art of Selling: Lesson 22 in the Empowering Young Entrepreneurs Series

Today I participated in a joint yard sale with friends who were fundraising for their nonprofit and I learned something valuable about selling, and that is that stories sell.

I had to sell some things that are my father’s that I have absolutely no interest in, things like smoking pipes, collector’s knives and fishing gear.  I spent 12 hours researching these things to determine a good and fair price.

The smoking pipes were the biggest surprise to me.  Some of them were expensive, costing over $400 new.  My dad’s collection had more than 60 pipes.

While doing this research I learned a lot about the artisans that made these pipes and the companies that employed them.  I learned the history of the shapes and the chain of ownership of the companies and what significant markings to look for to authenticate the pipe and so much more.  I printed photos from the internet of some of the pipes that I had to sell with their prices.  When all was said and done I had a lot of information about pipes.

As people made their way to my area they were immediately drawn to the pipes.  I can’t tell you how many times today I heard “wow, someone likes pipes.”   Well, duh!  However, rather than say “duh” I immediately launched into telling some of the stories I had learned about the pipes.  I was animated in the telling and felt I was able to convey my amazement at having learned such interesting stories.  At the end of the day, I sold most of the pipes, including some of the expensive ones.

It was clear to me that people were enthralled with the stories I told them and they responded positively.  One man, after buying a particular pipe I said I liked a lot from a local artist (one of the few not imported) turned to someone else and shared the story I just told him.

This must be similar in nature to telling our compelling stories about ourselves in order to attract customers.  At the end of the day, I sold almost everything I had to sell and made quite a bit of money.

So, the lesson to be learned is that it helps if you have a good story tell about whatever you are trying to sell.

 

6 The Number One Pitfall in Building a Successful Business; Lesson 21 in the Empowering Young Entrepreneurs Series

Many young entrepreneurs (and older ones) are under the impression that generating a good idea is the most important part of building a successful business.   However, a great number of businesses fall flat on their face because of an inability to recognize the amount of work that is required to make them successful.

In the grand scheme of business building, very little of the hard work involves coming up with the idea.  Most of the effort comes from working on all of the key processes that go into making a business successful.  Project management, marketing, product development, and customer relations, the ability to replicate your business, are just some of the areas that are essential to the functioning of a profitable business.

Obviously ideas are the initial seed that all successful businesses grow from, but they are not the only important ingredient involved in the business building process.

In the world famous book “E-myth revisited,” Geber draws on the important distinction between creativity and innovation with the following quote,

“Creativity thinks up new things.  Innovation does new things.”  Professor Levitt

Coming up with ideas is important, but you can start a business using someone else’s ideas or products.  Ideas aren’t going to take you very far without the knowledge and the expertise of how to implement them.  Innovating is where most of the hard work begins.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that a good idea naturally equates to the foundations of a sound business or you’ll find that you’ve fallen into that first pit.

 

6 5 Common Beliefs and Attitudes That Lead to Procrastination

It occurs to me that the problem with writing an article for procrastinators is that they will put off reading it!

Telling ourselves and others that we are going to do something is a million miles away from actually doing it. The gulf between intention and behavior is often quite large.  Statistics show that for every intention 1 in 2 people will end up not following through on their planned action.  That’s a lot of nothing getting done.

One of the causes of this is the action of constantly putting things off, also known as procrastination.  A key attribute of procrastination is a tendency to over think a particular course of action to the point that you spend most your time thinking rather than actually doing.  This state is commonly known as ‘paralysis by analysis.’  I’ve been known to procrastinate once in a while.  I try not to allow myself to do that because it leads to feeling overwhelmed then I just want to crawl into bed and pull the overs over my head.

Sometimes by thinking less we are able to achieve more.

Here are five common beliefs and attitudes that lead to the debilitating effects of procrastination (I’m not including laziness in this discussion even though that can be a component of procrastination):

1. The possibility of failure

Many people talk themselves out of working towards their goals because they are afraid they may fail.  To their way of thinking, by not taking action they are able protect themselves from the possibility of failure.

Most procrastinators have a strong idea of what they want, but often the fear of failure and the thoughts that surround this paralyzing emotion are so intense that productivity is slowed down or stops altogether.

2. The perfectionist syndrome

Another common attitude within the mindset of a procrastinator is the need for everything to be perfect before work commences.  Often this involves optimizing one’s environment and work space so that maximum comfort and ease is created.

The problem with this mindset is that working environments are never ideal, and never will be, unless you are prepared to invest a significant amount of your own time creating the ultimate work environment.

Understand that there is no substitute for real productive action, so even if your workplace is not ideal it is advisable to forge ahead nevertheless.  Thank goodness I’m not a perfectionist because my workspace is far from ideal.

3. The finite resource of time

Arguably a huge bias in the procrastinator’s thinking is the belief that time is an infinite resource.  The common excuse ‘I will do it tomorrow’ usually stems from an unconscious belief that there will always be time.  Unfortunately this is not true, and for many procrastinators they end up looking back over their lives regretting they didn’t take the opportunities when they were presented to them.

It is so easy to fall into the trap of thinking like this, which is why if you are presented with a good idea, it is advisable that you act on it immediately.

4. Stepping into the unknown

Acting on your intentions often requires a leap of faith.  Embarking on a worthwhile project always contains elements of the unknown.

The problem with many procrastinators is that they are terrified of taking a leap of faith into the unknown.  They want a guarantee that their efforts will not be in vain.

This may result in the procrastinator doing unnecessary research in an attempt to further control the likelihood of their actions becoming a success.  Obviously planning is important before beginning any major task, but at the same time excessive planning can inhibit your ability to act at the right times.

5. Action should be easy

Another component of the procrastinator’s limiting mindset is the belief that everything, when taking constructive action towards their long-term goals will be plain sailing.  Whenever hard work and long hours is mentioned a procrastinator’s is likely to put off whatever course of action they need to take.

All worthwhile projects involve overcoming difficulties and obstacles, and the procrastinator is often someone who foolishly believes that getting what you want shouldn’t be anything but easy.

What’s on the other side of procrastination?

If you can get past the mindset of the procrastinator, and you can begin actively working towards your goal, you may find that it becomes increasingly difficult to stop.  You will find that overtime you begin building up momentum towards your goals, to the point where everything is taken in your stride.  There is no doubt about it, starting something is always the hardest part, but once you get in the grove your work flow will become more natural and easy.

“An object at rest tends to stay at rest; an object in motion tends to stay in motion” Sir Issac Newton

 

12 7 Inspirational Quotes From Walt Disney About Entrepreneurship: Lesson 18 in the Empowering Young Entrepreneurs Series

Whew, we’ve reached day 18 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  We’ve considered skills, qualities and tools that young entrepreneurs need to develop an entrepreneur mindset.  I thought for today it would be nice to have a little inspiration before we transition into talking about building a dream business.

I turned to Walt Disney to provide that inspiration today.  Walt Disney has always been a role model for me; he helped me learn that I should dream big and have confidence in my dreams.

Here are 7 statements that he has made based upon his own experience in making his dreams come true with the Walt Disney empire.

 

“Somehow I can’t believe there are any heights that can’t be scaled by a man who knows the secret of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C’s. They are Curiosity, Confidence, Courage, and Constancy and the greatest of these is Confidence. When you believe a thing, believe it all the way, implicitly and unquestionably.”

**

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

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“All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me… You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”

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“You reach a point where you don’t work for money.”

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“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”

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“Of all the things I’ve done, the most vital is coordinating those who work with me and aiming their efforts at a certain goal.”

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“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”

**

I hope you are feeling inspired by Walt Disney’s words.

8 Get Moving: Think Change – Lesson 17 in the Empowering Young Entrepreneurs Series

According to management consultant John Murphy, “motivation means movement.”  It means reaching inside of ourselves to find the power that we all have to move forward, to make a difference, to advance ourselves and the people around us.

Motivation means going places, doing things and not standing still.  By putting our attention on change, growth, improvement, education, experimentation, adventure and discovery, we energize and enrich ourselves.  We are creating the momentum we need to power confidence and self-esteem.

When we do the opposite by staying the same or maintaining a fixed position, we lose energy and find ourselves mired in the same place, being stagnant and outdated.  This opens the door to fear, doubt and overwhelm with the world around us that is changing.

It doesn’t take a miracle to change.  It starts with a decision.  Decide to make a change.  Make a commitment to try something new.  Make an effort to expand your horizons and learn new things.  Open your mind and broaden your scope.  It seems like the decision should be a no brainer – adapt and thrive or fall behind.

Remember what Albert Einstein said, “doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is insanity.”

If what you are doing isn’t working, for goodness sake, change what you are doing.

2 7 Ways to Overcome Age and Be Respected As a Young Entrepreneur

Today’s blog article was originally posted at http://www.Under30CEO.com and was written by  Paul Eze of Nigeria.  Paul is the Managing Director/CEO of Pejas Solutions Limited, an ICT services and tech startup incubator.

Many years ago the barrier to entry into business was high.  Starting a new business was extremely difficult for a young twenty something year old not to talk of a young person below the age of 20.

While this has certainly changed in the 21st century there are still challenges of credibility, access to funding and so on facing a young startup entrepreneur.

In some climates like Africa, the Middle East, Asia and South America young entrepreneurs have to fight against a mindset where people tend to see youth as not with potential for success but as liabilities.

Still despite the many challenges you may face as a young entrepreneur it is a very exciting time to go into business for yourself.  There has never been a better time to start your own business than now.  With the internet and new emerging technologies lowering the barrier to entry it is now a more open game for every willing soul.

Challenges to Expect if You Are a Young Entrepreneur

It is better you understand the challenges you are going to come up against as you set out to start your own business or run your own company.  Knowing these challenges will help you develop the right attitude to overcoming them.

Challenge of Credibility

I recall the first time I sat before a big hotel executive in my country trying to convince him on how my tiny marketing consulting company can help stimulate reasonable sales and profit growth for his large hotel.  The fact that I was a young, small guy with little or no track record didn’t help matters.

As a young entrepreneur you are faced with convincing clients, customers and even prospective employees that you are serious enough and capable of delivering on your promises.  Building credibility will determine how far you go as an entrepreneur.

Challenge of Cynicism

In parts of Africa you meet lots of unbelief when you introduce yourself as an entrepreneur and they see you are very young or even too young.  I don’t know about your country but there is something about being young and in business that makes people look at you with some skepticism.  It is a challenge you have to overcome with boldness and professionalism producing stellar results whenever given the chance.  Results will erase the challenges of cynicism and credibility faster than anything else you can think of.

How to Become Respected and Successful as a Young Entrepreneur

You should never despair when people take your words for nothing and dismiss you with a wave of the hand.  Learn to grow a thick skin.  And here are ways you can become successful even as a young business person.

1. Embrace Technology:

Nothing has contributed to the high number of successful young entrepreneurs in our world today more than technology and the internet.  Two decades ago or even less it was more difficult to start a business.  The financial requirements and barriers were too high.  Technology has taken care of that today.  Media businesses no longer take much money to start.  You can start a serious business today with a couple thousand dollars and no warehouse costs and inventories etc. Today businesses worth millions of dollars have been started by young, bleary eyed teenagers who had barely enough money to cater for their needs.  All thanks to technology.

If you hope to start a business and hopefully grow it to become profitable without the luxury of millions, look towards problem solving through technology.  It is one of your best shots.  If your idea is good enough maybe before you run out of money you get interested investors willing to give you enough funds to take you to profitability.

Internet and tech companies are reasons we have more millionaires in their twenties.  So look at problems or challenges that can be solved with the use of technology with enough potential market size, get the right partners and jump in. It will be an easier route to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

2. Use Other People’s Experience:

I struggled with a colleague of mine trying to run a business a few years ago while in the University until I learned the lesson of leverage.  If you can’t get across a dugout throw a plank across it and walk your way through.  If you are starting a business a sure way to fail is to try to do everything.  You might be good in programming and so single handedly you get the website for your idea up and running.  How do you promote the idea, get early users in and improve onward all alone?  How do you source for more funds from investors?

You don’t have to pay to get other people’s experience.  You can offer equity to have experienced people join your team thus complementing your own efforts. You can also get a lot of other people’s experience by just asking.  If you have a meeting set up but you need a more credible figure to boost your chances of getting a worthwhile contract then seek out that more experienced person and ask him to join you.  You take the back seat and ride on the back of the more experienced people to get what you want.

3. Be Bold and Creative:

Be bold!  There are no two ways about in today’s business world.  Do your homework and be confident all through.  If boldness gets you into trouble only more boldness will get you out.  While this may not be absolutely true I have found from experience that you have to be very bold to get the respect you deserve as a young entrepreneur.  At the first sign of timidity you lose.  Do not allow yourself get cowed.  You should also never be too boastful or proud.

Become creative and look for unconventional means to solve problems.  People tend to respect you for that.  If you are young, ambitious and creative you stand a better chance to succeed.  Use your creativity to your advantage.

4. Surround Yourself With a Sound Board of Advisors:

A very good way to tap into other people’s experience as earlier stated is to build up and surround yourself with a smart and knowledgeable Board of Advisors.  It need not be a formal board nor do they need to know themselves.  They are people you consult for advice, people you go to for business leads.  One of the first things I did while trying to restructure my company last year was to weave through all my contacts and create an Advisory Board of all experienced and accomplished professionals who I felt will be of great help to my business.  I approached them and asked to seek advice from them whenever I needed to. Several of them agreed.  I advise you should do the same.

How Do You Get Such Board if You are Then Young and Inexperienced

Getting a decent Board of Advisors is no easy feat.  Chances are that you do not know any experienced or resourceful individual in your proposed line of business. The only way to solve this is to actively begin to network and meet the right people.  LinkedIn and a few other networking innovations have made it easier to link up and meet new people you wouldn’t otherwise have met.

Don’t make any request first, Build up a Relationship: It’s always smarter to build trust and affinity before making requests from new acquaintances and associates. Make positive efforts to gain their respect and trust and then politely explain that you are starting a company and you feel their experience will be invaluable to the success of your new venture.  Let them know that you would love to have them as one of your Advisors.  Promise not to take much of their time or run to them with every little problem you have because you know how busy they are.

Getting the right advisors will be difficult.  Many will not have your time and turn down your request.  The few that do agree may not even have the time to give you advice on phone, reply with detailed advice through email or meet in person with you.  So the sooner you know that the better.

Start with gathering a list of potential advisors who are good for the kind of business you are going into.  Then approach them one after the other to first connect then request.  If you end up getting two or three who can give freely of their time and advice you then that will be great for you.

5. Network, Network, Network:

Your best bet to meeting the right people and team you need for your success in the entrepreneurial journey is via social media.  With the help of social media networking you can hire the best hands, get needed investors and advisors, attract good consultants and ultimately reach out to more of your target audience without spending tons of money.

If you are a young entrepreneur social media can be a very powerful and important tool for you.

Build a Reputation.

Reputations grow like wildfire because they are essentially helped along by word of mouth. Determine a specific talent or thing you want to be respected and known for and quickly begin to build a reputation for yourself.  When your name goes ahead of you it doesn’t matter anymore if you are young.  For instance if you grow a reputation as a very tough and smart manager you’ll find that it neutralizes the age thing and people begin to take you on your reputation and not your age.

6. Push for and Embrace Positive Change:

One astounding feature of today’s youth is that they are more adaptable to change.  To succeed today you’ll have to be dynamic and fluid.  You can become successful by pushing the limits and boundaries and initiating change.  You may be met with initial resistance but if you are courageous enough you make a name for yourself later on.

7. The Art of Organization (Set goals, checkpoints and strive to meet them):

Unorganized individuals hardly make good football managers (same for business management).  Until recently organization and definiteness of purpose was one of my greatest challenges as an entrepreneur.  You have to be able to plan the short and long term future of what you are building or hoping to build.  Keep the long plan in view and execute the short term plan with dexterity making adjustments as each situation warrants.

If you are not organized it shows in your business life and activities and you lose respect. That is something you don’t want as a young entrepreneur.  Plan and follow your goals. Never enter a meeting without planning and being ready with necessary facts and information.

2 Goal Setting – Part 3: Lesson 15 in the Empowering Young Entrepreneurs Series

Have you fallen into the trap of setting too many goals?

An easy trap to fall into is setting too many goals. Many successful people often only set one big goal at a time. This focuses their efforts on one target, speeding up the completion of their goal. Once the first goal is completed, you can then look to tackle your next one.

If you set too many goals, the danger is that your focus will become so spread out that you end up achieving nothing. As an old proverb states; “if you chase two rabbits both will escape.”

Are you feeling it?

The meaning of the word goal is outlined as a ‘clearly and well defined measurable state.’ The goals you aim to achieve in life-whether it is to be a rock star, to build a multi-million dollar business, or own a mansion on the beach are all strong motivations because of the way you imagine they will make you feel once you have obtained them.

If you believe that having a multi-million dollar business will make you feel secure, powerful, and liberated, then these desired feelings are the driving force behind obtaining the goal.

Before setting out to make your dream become a reality it is important that you associate with the feelings that you imagine experiencing once you have obtained your goal.

For example if building a multi-million dollar business will make you feel secure and liberated, it is important that you connect with those feelings before you begin building your empire.

This will optimize and speed up the process of obtaining your goal.

Have you taken action?

All the great ideas in the world are worth nothing if you don’t take action on them. However, once you take action on your ideas they can begin to take form.

It is common for people to spend a significant amount of time setting worthwhile goals, but if you are not prepared to act on them then nothing will ever be achieved.

All successful people have one thing in common; they get more done in the time given to them, than most people.

Whatever idea you have in mind, you must begin working towards it the moment that your goal has been set.

It is important to develop a sense of accountability and commitment towards taking action, otherwise you may find that you talk yourself out of making your goals a reality.

Do you have a deadline?

Remember to give yourself a deadline to achieve your goal, otherwise you could end up spending a lifetime working towards it. Without setting a deadline you run the risk of becoming a procrastinator, always putting off the things you need to do. By having a time plan you streamline your focus, making sure that every second of your time up to this date is dedicated and organized to achieving your aim.

Remember: A goal is a dream with a deadline.

If you are going to be successful, you need to make sure that you live your life with a real sense of purpose and direction.  Creating goals is one of the most effective ways to do this.

6 Learning to Set Goals – Part 2: Lesson 14 in the Empowering Young Entrepreneur Series

How will you know when you have reached your goal?

Your goal needs to be as clear and precise as possible so that you know exactly when you have reached it.  One way to do this is to set the goal as a numerical figure.  If you can produce a clear ‘yes’, or ‘no’ response to whether you have reached your goal then you have successfully created a measurable objective.

For example, consider the goal of a financial target: Earn $100,000 by the end of the year.  Another example would be:  Make 5 contacts each day.

The numerical and precise nature of your goal allows you to effectively evaluate whether or not you have successfully reached your target when the end of the year arrives.

Does your goal make you go ‘wow?’

Is it important that the goal you set be ambitious?

Some people will tell you that goal setting should be realistic and attainable.  On the surface this makes perfect sense, because you want to set goals that you have a good chance of hitting.  And possibly failing to hit your goals because of aiming too high may leave you feeling a little depressed.

Others will suggest that goals should be set as high and as ambitious as possible because there is no logical reason why you cannot achieve whatever it is that you want.

It is only through your negative internal belief systems that you decide what is and what isn’t realistic.  Years of conditioning have encouraged us to develop a limited view of our potential.

Aim for the stars and you will catch the moon.

Have you written down your goal?

Once you have precisely and clearly established what it is that you want to aim for, write it down.

Your goal should be written down in a specific style in order to be successful.

Although goals are inherently in the future write your goal in the present tense. For example; instead of writing ‘I will have a successful business’, write ‘I have a successful business.’ This will add immediate impact to the strength of your goal.

The second point is to make sure when you write down your goal it is something you want instead of something you don’t want.

If you focus your energies on what you don’t want unfortunately you will attract what you don’t want into your life.  It is always more powerful to move towards something, instead of away from something.  For example wanting to make more money is much more effective than focusing on getting out of debt.

Is any goal better than having none at all?

Even if you do not master an effective goal setting program on your first attempt, having a bad goal setting program is better than nothing.  Setting any kind of goal is better than relying on luck.

Teddy Roosevelt once said; ‘in any moment of a decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.’

Even if you obtain a goal that you realize you did not actually want, at least you are one step closer to finding what it is you really want. As Tom Watson (Founder of IBM) famously said; “if you want to be a success, double your rate of failure.”

Watch for Part 3 tomorrow.

4 Learning to Set Goals – Part 1: Lesson 13 in the Empowering Young Entrepreneur Series

Today we are going to start a discussion about goal setting.  One way to enhance the quality of your life is to learn how to apply an effective goal setting program. These tips will help you on your way to doing this.

 

 

First of all, why set goals?

The biggest predictor of success is direction. If you don’t have something to aim for in for in life, the chances are you will end up achieving very little. Almost every successful person in the world started with a clearly defined goal in their mind of what it is they wanted to achieve. This provided them with a sense of purpose and direction.

The beauty of setting goals is that they help to streamline your life, adding a focal point and something for you to work towards.

Working out what you want.

It’s amazing how many people work towards goals that they don’t really want.

Usually the motivation to achieve these goals comes from a feeling that you should want them. Fame, recognition, and a high status job, are some of the modern day desires that society conditions people to think that they want.

It is important that all goals and desires come only from a place of wanting and not from a place of should.

When you cut out all the noise that society deafens you with, and directly ask yourself, “what is it that you want?” honestly and whole heartedly, you are able to generate goals that come from a place of inspiration, and not from a place of conditioning.

It is from inspiration that all worthwhile goals are created. When you work from this place your commitment to your goals is full of desire and passion.

Set goals based on your values.

Working out what your goals are is often the hardest part of the goal setting procedure, and the part which requires the most thought.

The first step to working out what you want is to establish what is important to you in life.

If for example you value your friends and family above anything else, then it makes sense to set a life goal of spending as much quality time with these people as possible.

If financial independence is valued highly you may choose to set a goal that focuses on reaching a specific sum of money within a set time frame.

Ask yourself a series of questions that force you to look at who you are and what is important to you in your life.

Consider answering the questions below and start devising goals around the answers you produce:

• What would you want to achieve if you knew you could not fail?

• If you could leave one message to the world what would it be?

• Who are you when you are at your best?

• If you had one day to live, what would you do?

The responses to these questions should provide you with some information about what is important to you in your life and aid the goal setting process.

Watch for part two tomorrow.

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6 The Four Types of Support People Needed to Succeed: Lesson 12 in the Empowering Young Entrepreneur Series

The idea for this article came from Adam Urbanski of The Marketing Mentors.   I met Adam last year at his Overnight Authority Event and have been following him ever since.  He has these pearls of wisdom that inspire me and I can’t help but share them.

Yesterday he posted this quote I have here as the photo with this article, “Don’t let anyone ever dull your sparkle.”  As I shared it on my Facebook page, I thought about the message he wrote with it and was struck at how well it fit into the series of articles I’m writing in the Empowering Young Entrepreneur series for the blog challenge.

Adam wrote, “There are four types of support people we all need: teachers (to gain new skills), doers (to get things done), pushers (to make us do what we resist), and – the most overlooked one – CHEERLEADERS (to keep us going when we feel like giving up!).”

I realized that I can be all four of these types depending on what is needed from me at the moment.  However, is that wise?  Or is it better that we have four different people to count on?

Let’s take a look at the role of each of these support people.

Teachers.  When learning to become entrepreneurs, we must have teachers along the way to provide the knowledge we need in order to develop the skills to move forward and create a successful business.  Teachers also instill in us the values, qualities and characteristics that we need to be successful.  They can be anyone from a high school or college business teacher to an online expert or a businessperson we know from our community.

Doers.  These are the people that we delegate the work to, the assistants/virtual assistants that we assign tasks to.  These are the people who make sure our email blasts go out on time for the launch, or update our websites and blogs, manage our social media plan and so on.

Pushers.  The people who hold us accountable and help us get past our fears and doubts so that we accomplish the things that we must do to build success.  These people are psychologists to us, knowing how to reach our hearts and minds to get us back on track or keep us on track in the first place.  And last,

Cheerleaders.  This may be a young person’s parent or other family member, close friend, a classroom teacher who is supportive, a mentor.  These are folks who give us pats on the back and say good job each step of the way; the folks who encourage us to keep moving and don’t ever give up.  Any of the other three types of people can be a cheerleader as well as play their other role in your life.

So while it’s possible that one person can play all these roles for us, it isn’t necessarily a good idea.  Can you imagine how uncomfortable it would be to assign “chores” to your respected teacher or mentor?  That doesn’t make sense.  It also doesn’t make sense to ask the people who hold us accountable and “push” us to get things done to do those things for us.

After considering all of this, I have concluded that we need different people to play these roles for us.  That will serve to make us stronger, provide different perspectives and not confuse us as to what we can expect from the people in our lives who want us to succeed.

Which one of these roles do you play for others, or need to have in your life?