Let's get Naked by Melissa Krivachek of Under30ceo

Have you ever noticed that when you have your mind set on achieving a specific goal or you’re headed in the direction of massive success your closest friends and family tend to want to get in the way?

Spending the holiday season with my family every year I realize more and more the greatest gift I can give them is the gift of proving them wrong.While their beliefs and values are incredibly different than mine and I love spending time with them I also love leaving them knowing that I can’tand won’t allow their beliefs and values to influence mine because the
distinct difference between those who are massively successful and those who aren’t is their Mindset.

I’ve heard every excuse and reason why it won’t work from my family and I’m sure you can relate.

Excuses ranging from you don’t have the tools, knowledge, resources, or the right relationships to you aren’t good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, educated enough, you don’t know what you’re doing and no one has ever done that before what makes you think that you can? And while I hear their concerns I refuse to allow their concerns to become my fears. It’s taken a long time to get from where I was to where I am today and it was no easy road in fact it can be challenging from time to time still today and we all have our off days regardless of our level of success. But the reality is we all have a choice, we all have a decision to make to allow those limiting beliefs to get in the way of our success or to focus our time, effort, and energy on what truly matters most to us that being our OWN goals, hopes, and dreams.

Yes no one in my family has been successful at owning, operating or profiting by creating their own business, no one in my family has made over 6 figures before and certainly not 7, no one in my family has gone out on a limb and risked everything to make their dream a reality, no one in my family was willing to call BS on all of the limiting beliefs, obstacles, and temporary setbacks in their way NOT because they weren’t strong enough BUT because they didn’t realize how strong they actually were.

Achieving this level of success is no easy task, moving past limiting beliefs that have been programmed into you from birth takes balls, and dedicating yourself to not quitting when things get rough is extremely difficult there is no question about that but achieving this level of success, making this level of sacrifices, committing to this many hours of personal growth, talking to thousands of people, hearing the word no over and over and over is what makes you stronger not weaker. It increases your level of knowledge and intellect and pushes you further
with every action and decision you make.

More than anything to get to this place in life you have to be coachable and vulnerable

It’s like going to the doctor’s office when he/she asks you to take off your clothes and put on that gown you listen. Do you want to do it? Absolutely not! Do you feel comfortable doing it? Absolutely not! Are you scared, nervous, panicked, insecure, annoyed, worried, terrified of course you are! There is no question about that no one goes into the doctor’s office happy, comfortable, and ready to be stripped of their clothes and examined. No one starts the journey of entrepreneurship thinking I want to get “naked” and vulnerable but in order to survive and thrive you have to. The quickest way to learn is to grow, the quickest way to grow is to be examined, and the easiest way to do that is by hiring a specialist and getting “naked”. I know what you’re thinking and hey, these are the very things no one wants to talk about but this is the reality of how the best outshine the rest.

WISDOM SERIES #2. Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, Nobel Prize winner and anti-Apartheid icon passed away at his home in Johannesburg at the age of 95. By any standard, Madiba, as he was fondly referred to by those who loved him, lived a robust, fulfilling and impactful life.

Few people have had as much impact on history as Madiba had. History will remember him as one of the greatest men who ever lived – an incredibly selfless man who made so much of a sacrifice to re-write the history of generations of South Africans and the world.

During his lifetime Mandela inspired the world with his numerous words of wisdom, etched in our memories till tomorrow. And his words remain evergreen:

1. I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from
nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is
keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving
forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in
humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give
myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.

2. I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the
triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel
afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

3. Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp
enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one
armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end.
4. It always seems impossible until it’s done.

5. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his
people and his country, he can rest in peace.
6. Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of
their people.

7. A fundamental concern for others in our individual and
community lives would go a long way in making the world the
better place we so passionately dreamt of.

8. Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve
success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they
do.

9. Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to
change the world.

10. For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to
live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

11. Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many
times I fell down and got back up again.

12. There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for
a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

13. Money won’t create success, the freedom to make it will.

14. We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is
always ripe to do right.

15. Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never
extinguished

16. Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill
your enemies.

17. I like friends who have independent minds because they tend
to make you see problems from all angles.

18. A good head and a good heart are always a formidable
combination.

19. When people are determined they can overcome anything.

Streamline your life...

There are certain things in a person’s life that really make worth living.  Your faith, your family, your career, and the positive effect you have on others, just to name a few.  These are you priorities. With each priority there are certain tasks that you do that attribute to each priority.   In the same sense, there are certain things in a job that make the biggest difference.  There are hundreds upon millions of certain task to choose from.  Imagine like a wall full of levers and you have to discern which ones to pull down to make your life work.  The problem with life is most people are overwhelmed with which lever to pull to make life worthwhile.

We want to make the biggest difference so we start pulling as many levers as possible. And we get bogged down.  Imagine your life like a computer.  You have so many things you want to accomplish so you start opening a lot of programs.  You open up a browser and start looking at websites. In fact you may open multiple tabs on that same browser.  You then open up a word processer, then excel, then a media player, then a picture viewer and before you know it your computer is running slower than you expect it to.  This is the way life works.  If you get bogged down doing too many things you become less and less effective at what is really important.

Here are three ways to STREAMLINE YOUR LIFE.

Delete it.

Sometimes it more important to say no than it is to say yes.  Say no to the things that don’t directly contribute to the priorities you find most important.  There are only a handful of things that you do that actually make a difference.  If you find yourself crunching numbers that have no ROI, delete it.  Your time is too valuable. I personally find myself double recording some things that have a easier method of tracking.

Delegate it.

What makes you valuable may not be balancing the books.  What may make you valuable is your ability to communicate with a large number of people at a time or play a musical instrument, or your skillset of selling.  If balancing the books is taking too much of your productive time, delegate it.  Give it to someone who is just as capable at doing an adequate job and give them the opportunity to take on the responsibility.  If your time is worth $100 an hour, you don’t have the time to perform a task that is worth $10 an hour.
 
Diminish it.

Sometimes you can’t avoid all nonproductive things.  Some people you still have to deal with even if you would rather not.  There may be a person you work with that has a negative attitude but his contribution is vital.  You may not be able to avoid him all together but you can diminish the time you spend with him so his negatively doesn’t rub off on you.