Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. ―Yoda

In Star Wars movies and positive thinking manifestos, we are told to banish fear, anger, and other negative emotions in order to be successful. Modern American society has cast into us a belief that the most successful people are always positive, do not get angry, and live in some transient meditative state where everything is happy all the time . . .

What a load of crap.

In order to truly get what we want from life, we need to harness what we are told to avoid. We need to use the fear and anger that exists within us to empower us to get want we are seeking in life. You must, as Yoda warns you against, go to the dark side.

The Dark Side and Why It Will Motivate You

We are often told that we need to eliminate fear and do it anyway. Why is that? Because the last time I checked, fear keeps me from playing in traffic, avoids me from walking in front of loaded guns, and from trying to jump off of the top of buildings to see if I can avoid the ground. Fear is what has kept us alive as a society.

When you fear something, it makes you take the time you need to investigate if what you are doing is the right thing for you. I see too many people that are told to, “face your fear, but do it anyway,” and are now broke because they quit their jobs to follow the advice of a charismatic charlatan who convinced them to join a pyramid scheme.

Fear will protect you, but it can also motivate you to create a wonderful future for yourself. When you fear losing your job, being stuck with a company you hate or being in a damaging relationship, your fear can set you free on a path of discovering a way out of your situation.

As the Dark Jedi teach, your fear can set you free.

Fear Leads to Anger

As Yoda teaches, fear leads to anger, but is anger a bad thing? We are taught that we should be happy and not allow anger to rule our lives. But consider this, if it was not for anger, would we be seeing the changes we are seeing in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and other nations that were ruled by oppressive regimes?

The truth about anger is that anger can set you free. When you are angry, you do not give into the status quo. Anger motivates you to seek change in your life as well as society. Instead of sitting around focusing on your navel all day, you are motivated to get up and be the change that you want to see in the world. Your anger gets you moving.

In my personal experience, it is anger more than anything else that motivates me to action. Many of my best writings have come from being angry about something or at someone. The anger allows me to channel my energy into a page and my writing tends to be more inspired and have a greater voice.

What about you, are you motivated by anger to get things done?

Fear and anger are emotions that many people want us to avoid. I say that like the Dark Jedi, you should embrace your anger, give into your fear, and come to the dark side.

You might just find some insight that your anger and fear will set you free.

Do you agree or disagree with me?

Let me know in the comments, on Facebook, or Twitter.

The Dark Jedi Guide to Getting What You Want From Life is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. Are You Living Life On If . . . Then . . .
2. The Greatest Moment in Your Life
3. Stupid People Making Money

The lesson is that there are really two types of goals:

1. Production goals
2. Process goals

Many people in the “woo woo” Law of Attraction crowd will have you focusing on the production goals, when you should be focusing on the process goals.

What is the difference, aren’t all goals the same?

Not really, but here is a background on the goals to help you see what I mean:

Production goals are goals that state a result in dollars or another measure. A production goal could say that in the next 12 months, I am going to earn $100,000 from my speaking business. You know when it is a production goal, because usually has a number attached to it somewhere. So the goal could state a dollar value you wish to earn, the number of twitter followers you want have, or the number of pushups you can do next week.

On the other side are process goals. A process goal is focused on getting an action done. An example of a process goal could be to write a blog post every week. The process goal is focused on an activity that you have control of accomplishing. The process goals have a specific activity to be completed as an outcome. While there can be numbers to highlight now many blog posts you are going to write in what period of time, the goal is something that is dependent on you completing and not on the actions of others.

101 Goals of Doom

When I returned from Lady and the Champs, I had to see if I was a production or process goal focused person. Pulling out a goal exercise a “woo-woo” life coach had me do, I had written down 101 goals that I wanted to accomplish.

Reading through the list, I was hit in the face by my own stupidity. Instead of focusing on the process goals, I was focusing on production goals. Almost every single one of my 101 goals was about how much money I was going to make, how big of a house I was going to own, and how many customers I had. All of them product and not process goals.

And what happened? I am sitting here three years after writing out those goals, with almost none of the goals accomplished.

Motivating?

No, but it reminded me that there is a better way.

Where the Magic Really Is

Let’s get back to bashing the “woo woo” crap.

The Law of Attraction crowd loves production goals. Like the 101 goal exercise my Life Coach had me do, it is fun to get people to dream about selling a million copies of a book, getting paid a million dollars for a speech, or having millions of cult-like followers on Twitter that are willing to retweet your every thought. However, writing down that you are going to make a million dollars in the next 30 minutes doesn’t mean it is going to happen.

The Magic is in the Process

True success comes from focusing on the process goals and not production. Instead of wishing that you were 20 pounds lighter, set goals that will allow you to make it happen. Write down that you are going to work out three times this week, eat one instead of 10 donuts a day, and that you will stop intravenous injections of butter immediately.

By eliminating the production goals, you are focused on the process goals that will allow you to succeed. It is there that you will find the success that you have been seeking.

If this kicked you in the pants, then leave a comment, forward it to a friend, or hire me to help you kick your life into gear.

P.S. The external links are affiliate links. That means that I get a percentage of any purchases made through the links.

Stupid Goals is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. Stupid People Making Money

The Winners Are . . .

Rich Hopkins

Joe Tillman

I will be in touch with Joe and Rich this week to set up our consultations.

Now about that Huge Dose of Failure

I was surprised by the outcome of my contest. Though my traffic numbers are not huge, that with my current blog traffic, twitter followers, and Facebook fans, I thought I could drive some new traffic to my website with a contest.  I failed and will have to revisit what I did to figure out how I can improve the next time I attempt something similar.

Why I need to Learn From this Failure

I am working on a new e-book called In Search of Freedom Money. Don’t worry, the e-book is not about driving traffic to your blog, but I was looking to build some exposure so that the e-book has a larger impact when it is released.

What The E-Book About?

In Search of Freedom Money is call to others in the same failure rut as I am to co-create a successful Freedom Money Businesses.  This is not a look at me I am an expert book, but a manifesto of how we can together create something great.

I might not be there yet, but I believe that together we can make great things happen.

Are you with me?

We will be in touch.

P.S. Even though the contest was an abysmal failure, you can still pick up a copy of INSERT YOUR TITLE HERE: A Step by Step Guide to Creating an Original Product for 50% off until Tuesday at 9:00 PM EST, so get it while the getting is still good.

Enter the coupon code: CONTEST50 and click Buy Now to get it NOW!

Contest Winners and A Huge Dose of Fail is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. You Will Fail if You Are Not Passionate About Your Business
2. 5 Reasons Smart People Fail at Creating On-line Businesses
3. Are You Raising Yourself Up by Pushing Others Down?

I don’t care about the size of my list, because that’s not how I do business. I am more social in the way I sell product. I hate long sales copy. I don’t buy from long sales copy so I am not going to subject anyone to it. I don’t need to pitch my readers, because I will lose them if I seem too sales-ey.

Do you know anyone that has uttered statements similar to those?

The statements above came from me three years ago when I first dipped my toes into marketing my speaking, coaching, and products. Do you know how much money I made during that time period? Zero. Sound familiar?

If you aren’t marketing anything, maybe you have said,

I don’t need to kiss up to the higher ups to get ahead, I don’t need a college degree to get ahead because I am a rebel, or I don’t need to save money for my retirement because I am going to get promoted soon then I will start saving.

Does anything in that statement sound familiar?

I am not surprised if it does, and I would be less surprised if you followed it up with saying, “Why am I not succeeding? Bob is a freaking idiot and he is making a killing online, moving up the corporate ladder, and spends half his week playing golf. Why is that idiot making money and I’m not?”

Why Are Stupid People Making Money?

Here is an example from one of my mentors, Darren Lacroix as he talks about his experiences running a Subway franchise into the ground.

I thought I knew it all. I was 22 years old and fresh out of business school. A dangerous combination. Subway told me that the most successful franchisees were farmers. Farmers? And the worst franchisees? Business graduates.

Think about it . . .

• Why are people that know next to nothing about running a sandwich store succeeding at running a sandwich store?
• Why are people that know little about technology making money selling products online?
• Why are people that have no knowledge of manufacturing running billion dollar manufacturing companies?

Do you want to know their secret?

They stupidly follow the rules.

Why Being a Renegade Can Hurt Your Chances of Success

Renegades, Rogues, and Rebels make for great characters in novels and movies but are not ideals if you want to succeed in life.

Browse the business section of your local bookstore or pick up an entrepreneurial themed magazine and you will find plenty of books and articles that will tell you to, “Break All the Rules, Play Your Own Game, or March to the Beat of Your Own Drummer!”

So what happens when you don’t suck up to the boss, don’t ask for a sale from potential customers, or make up your own lesson plan in school?

YOU FAIL!

What does someone that is stupid do? They spend time sucking up to the boss to figure out what they want them to do, they ask for the sale, and they read the lesson plan to figure out what the teacher wants them to do.

The stupid person learns what rules are in place and they follow them, because they know they are too stupid to make up their own. They succeed because they don’t try to reinvent the wheel, annoy people by doing it their own way, or trying to build something from the ground up when they don’t have to. They make stupid an advantage over the rebels that try to over think everything.

Become Stupid

In order to succeed in many endeavors, you need to be stupid. Give up on your knowledge of how to do something and start from square one. Read the instructions, ask someone what they did to be successful, or figure out what has worked for someone else and implement it in your life.

Many times we are too smart for our own good and just need to be stupid to get ahead.

How can you bring a little stupid into your life?

Let us know in the comments.

Stupid People Making Money is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. 5 Reasons Smart People Fail at Creating On-line Businesses
2. That is Not How This Business Works
3. Good is the Enemy of Great

Author’s Note: Scott Ginsberg a.k.a. Scott the Nametag Guy is celebrating the launch of his new book, -ABLE: 35 Strategies for Increasing the Probability of Success in Business and in Life, by challenging his readers to come up with their own –able word and write about it in a blog post. Reading Scott’s blog post announcing the challenge, I realized the one –able word that I would use to describe what I strive to be, and what Scott has nailed, is transferable.

What Does It Mean to be More Transferable?

Transferable is more Memorable

Think about all of the knowledge you gained in High School. What ideas, concepts, or principles stand out most in your memory? If nothing stands out, what events during high school stand out in your mind?

Unless you have a perfect memory, the most memorable ideas or memories are attached to a concept presented in a surprising way or were highly emotional. One idea that I remember is the “Mole scream” from Chemistry class, which was a high pitched scream that our teacher let out when anyone correctly used the concept of a mole in discussions.

Since the Mole Scream was memorable, it caused me to remember the concept of the Mole and the teacher’s knowledge was transferred to me.

What are you doing to make your ideas, products, and services more memorable?

Transferable is more Understandable

To be more memorable, you could stand on a busy sidewalk and yelling random equations at the top of your lungs for a few hours. While that would make you very memorable and possibly get the video of you screaming a few hits on YouTube, like many Internet Memes, the effecive lifespan of your demonstrationwould be short.

In order for you to be transferable, you need to make yourself more understandable. I recently heard about Danica McKellar, an actress turned author who was writing math books for girls by using stories and examples from a young girl’s life to explain concepts in math. These books are understandable because they link familiar concepts to new ones.

Since these books are more understandable, they transfer the power of mathematics to people that might not have taken as much of an interest.

What are you doing to creating understandable products, services, and ideas?

Transferable is more Actionable

Let’s go back to High School (OK, I don’t want to either so let’s just go back to what we learned in High School).

While someone might have presented a quote out of the Federalist Papers in period costume so that you remembered the passage, what good did it do if you were not able to apply that knowledge in your daily life?

When you are transferable, you are able to provide information that is actionable. While many business classes provide a wealth of information, many professionals turn to public seminars, coaches, and consultants in order to bridge the gap between knowledge and execution.

When you are transferable, you are able to help people turn their knowledge into operational improvement, life enhancement, or monetary gain. From a product perspective, this is accomplished through actionable checklists, process diagrams, and worksheets that help people grasp the concepts that they need to take action on.

Though college is a great way to gain knowledge, it does not always provide actionable tools that transfer the knowledge to people that will use it.

Are you providing great knowledge with a heavy does of actionability?

Transferable is more Marketable

When you are transferable, your transferableness is more marketable. 

Which business book would you be more apt to read?

“The book contained a lot of good information, but I had to wade through ten long chapters of extraneous self promotion, archaic terms, and unnecessary definitions to get to the material that was actionable.,”

Or

“This book was great? Using the knowledge in the first chapter alone, I was able to save my business thousands of dollars.”

I would prefer the second. What about you?

When you, your products, and your services are transferable, that transferableness becomes marketable.

Transferable is more Compatible

When you are transferable, you are more compatible.

I could talk about the chemical reasons that oil and water doesn’t mix, but I am afraid I wouldn’t be transferring understandableness in my description. Instead, think about relatives you might have that don’t get along. For some reason they are just not compatible!

What happens when those relatives get together during the holidays? They usually end up bickering, making snide comments, and not listening to what the others person has to say. If there was an important message that had to get from one of them to the other, do you think it would get there with the right intention?

When you are transferable, you are compatible with your surroundings, people, and the technology in your life that allows you to be a superhero.

What are you doing to be more compatible?

Of all the –ables that I can think of, to me, being transferable has the most potential to help someone achieve success. When you are transferable, you are more memorable, understandable, actionable, marketable, and compatible than your competitors which will lead you to amazing successes.

Are you transferable?

Make Yourself More Transferable is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. How to make your speaking, e-mail marketing, and blogging more effective.
2. The Cake is a Lie
3. Good is the Enemy of Great

Compare that to the person that saw when you were having difficulty with a move. What would that person do for you? They would slow down, show you, and guide you to doing it correctly. They didn’t try to show off or hurt you. That person let you learn the techniques without fear that you were going to get hurt.

Which of the two people would you want to practice?

The first person, call him Mr. Hard. He wants you to know that he is good. When he is able to toss you around like a rag doll, it makes him feel like he knows what he is doing. By knocking you down, he is pushing himself up.

The second person, call her Ms. Soft. She wants you to know that it is OK that you are not good, but she is here to help you become great. She knows what she is doing, and wants you to get there as well. By helping you up, she will get helped up as you grow.

How are you growing yourself and your business?

Are you balancing on the backs of people that you knocked down or are you being held up by the people that you brought up with you?

Many times, whether we realize it or not, we are Mr. Hard when it comes to our business and personal development. Consider the last time you saw one of your competitors in business or at work fail. Did you offer your hand to pick them up or were you cheering their failure?

If you are feeling bad at this point, don’t fret. It is common in our society to cheer for the victors and to bash the losers. If you have ever read Stranger in a Strange Land (Amazon Affiliate Link) by Robert Heinlein, then you might have learned from Valentine Michael Smith’s humor hypothesis that all humor is at the expense of someone else. This is one of the consequences of being human that we have to realize. It is OK to laugh, but also feel for someone’s misfortune.

Start Lifting Others Up

The first step to change from pushing down to lifting up doesn’t have to be large. It could be asking a co-worker that is struggling with a problem if there is anything you can do to help. Maybe a committee member of an association needs some help getting a project done. It doesn’t have to be a huge act on your part but sometimes, many times, the small things you do to lift people up have a huge impact in the future.

I believe that our lives and our businesses cannot be sustained on pushing others down. The only way to build a sustainable future is by supporting others so that they will support you whether it is in success or failure.

What do you think? Is it better to succeed from other’s failure or do you try to help everyone have a chance at success?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Are You Raising Yourself Up by Pushing Others Down? is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. Why Being Great Matters
2. How to be a Superhero – Part 4: Taking Action
3. Stupid People Making Money

Don’t Know How to be Mentored?

Yes, that is right. Most people that seek mentoring don’t know how to be mentored. Call it arrogance or just plain human nature, opening up to being mentored is difficult and many of us have a resistance to one or more of the diseases of bad mentees.

Diseases of Bad Mentees

1.   They Want to Show Off What they Know

This is my number one flaw. When I meet someone that is further along, I let my brain move faster than my mouth and I start trying to show off what I know already. When you are being mentored, you need to learn to shut up, listen, and ask questions. Are you doing thee same thing? If you are, this is the fastest way to cause your mentor to shut you out and not want to help you.

2. They Don’t Know What they Want

Many people fail to be mentored because they don’t know what they want from the mentoring relationship.  Your mentor is not a mind reader, so it is important to tell them if you are looking for referrals, knowledge, or feedback on how you are progressing. Also, have a very clear idea of where you are trying to go with your pursuit. A mentor is a guide along the path and not the person that selects the path you are to follow in life.

3.  They Want to get Personal

Often in a mentoring relationship, we want to know more about the personal lives of our mentors. Unless your mentor lets you into their personal life, you should not pry into their life outside of the mentoring relationship. Getting too personal can hurt the objectivity of both you and your mentor, so in most cases it is best to keep things professional.

4. They Are an Energy Leech

Don’t bug your mentor with phone calls, e-mails, or other requests for their time, knowledge, and resources. This does not help you develop as a person and can be a drain on the energy of your mentor.

5. They Don’t Do What They Are Told

A mentoring relationship flourishes when you are taking the steps your mentor prescribes. Many times a mentor will tell you to do things you have never done before. Doing them might put you outside of your comfort zone , which is good because doing something different might be what you need to move forward.

How to be Mentored

1. Respect the Your Mentors Time

If your mentor can meet with you for a limited time, then be there on time and be focused on what you need to achieve. Respect the time you are given and don’t miss meetings, be late, or allow the discussions to run over their allotted time.

2.  Keep Secrets Secret

Your mentor might share with you much of the knowledge that they have gained over the years. Respect what your mentor tells you and don’t talk about your meetings or what you discussed on Facebook, Twitter, or any other medium without the express permission of your mentor. There are some things that might be valuable intellectual property to your mentor and they are sharing it to help you and not the world as a whole.

3.  Be Willing to Change

When being mentored, open yourself up to being changed by your mentor. When a mentor makes a suggestion for you to change something and you don’t do it, then they might be less likely to mentor you in the future. You have to be willing to be open to changing what you are doing.

4.       Reciprocate

Time is not free for you or your mentor. There are times where your mentor might as for a referral, an investment in a course, or your help with something in their business. Respect that they are making an investment in you, so you will have to make an investment in them as well.

A Note of Caution: Trust Runs in Both Directions

A mentoring relationship is based on trust. Your mentor must be able to trust that you are a good person and you have to be able to trust your mentor. Never be mentored by someone that asks you to do something illegal or unethical in your industry. If your mentor does do something that you consider unethical, then get out of that mentoring relationship.

Having a mentor can be a wonderful experience, but many of us are burdened by our inability to accept mentorship in our lives. I encourage you to allow yourself to be open to being mentored and give yourself to changing and growing in whatever pursuit you are trying to achieve.

Do you agree or disagree with my stance on mentoring?

Let me know in the comments. I look forward to hearing from you.

How to be Mentored is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. Are You Raising Yourself Up by Pushing Others Down?
2. That is Not How This Business Works
3. Are You Looking at the Giant Leap When You Should Focus on the Little Steps?

The last post was about taking action. Why there are many ways that you can take action in becoming a superhero, the most effective way is joining forces with other superheroes.

Why Do You Want to Work with Other Superheroes?

Many new superheroes often wonder, “Why would I want to work with other superheroes? I don’t want to share the glory with someone else. Why do you think I became a superhero in the first place? I did it for the recognition and not to play second fiddle to someone else.”

When you take the plunge and start to develop your superpowers you often say or think statements similar to the one above and it is a very valid statement. One of the reasons I started writing and speaking was because I wanted to be recognized for my work. In a corporate job, we are not often recognized for our contributions and developing our superpowers is a way to get the recognition that makes us feel like we are achieving something greater than ourselves.

Why would we give that up and work with other people?

There are quite a few reasons:

1. Increased Reach

As you develop your superhero status, you will start to attract fans. Your fans are people you have helped, or people that like what you are doing and want to watch to see what you will do next.

When you work with other heroes, you have a chance to reach out to other superhero’s fans and help them in ways that the superhero you are working with cannot. This expands your reach into groups you might not have had access to alone.

2. Ability to Use the Superpowers of Others

Maybe you are a graphic designer for web sites, but you want to offer blog set ups as well. You could join forces with someone more technical that can handle that component while you focus on the design.

You could be a financial planner, but need someone to handle legal matters. When you join forces, you can offer your customers a greater service from someone that has already helped them conquer evil forces.

3. Connections to Other Superheroes

What I enjoy most about joining forces with others is the opportunity to meet other superheroes through the superheroes that I partner with. I cannot spend every moment of my day working with new organizations, so joining forces gives me the opportunity to meet people through other networks without having to be a full member of that community.

4.  Someone to Lean on When Things Aren’t Going Well

No matter how many times you say, “The World is out to do me good,” some days it feels like everything is aligned against you.

Being a superhero is hard. You have the demands of helping people, there are evil doers out to destroy you, and you might have to balance the demands of your alter ego. Some days it might feel like everything is going to come crashing down around your shoulders.

That is why it is good to have other superheroes to talk to when things are going rough. Someone to be there when you get beat down and pick you up. Working with other superheroes can lift you back up and remind you of how important it is to do what you are doing.

They help you move forward when everyone else is pushing you back.

Meeting Other Superheroes

Living as an alter ego, we might not get the opportunity to meet other superheroes that we can work with. You might be in a place where you can’t display your super powers, but there are places you can look meet others on the same quest as yourself.

This includes:

Associations

There are many professional associations that you can become a member of to help you meet other super heroes. Many of these associations have local, national, and international meetings that allow you to get together with others in your industry to network, share ideas, and develop your super powers.

Service Organizations

It is always good to give back as a superhero. Joining an organization such as Rotary, Lions, or Kiwanis gives you an opportunity to work with others for the common good of society. You will also make connections with people that have complementary superpowers to you and demonstrate your commitment to helping others.

Networking Groups

A search of meetup.com or your local paper can lead to many opportunities for networking events in your local area. These are great venues for seeing what other superheroes are doing, giving, and receiving referrals from other superheroes.

Toastmasters

Toastmasters International is a 200,000+ member strong organization devoted to helping people become better public speakers and leaders. I personally have been a member for 4.5 years and have met an amazing number of superheroes that are constantly working on developing their superpowers.

Online Gatherings

I am a member of three online groups that have helped me grow different aspects of my superpowers. These groups are typically lead by an individual or team of superheroes that have developed a community devoted to helping you grow your superpowers.

Working with other Superheroes is Inspiring

The greatest benefit I have found from working with others is the inspiration I get from my fellow superheroes. When I see someone doing great work, it inspires me to work on my superpowers, help more people, and start to live the life that I am inspired to live.

Are there people out there that will try to take advantage of you? Yes, but you cannot let that stop you from going out there and meeting the best people possible. Getting out there and working with others, you will find that you will be able to find the right people and work together to do something great.

What are you waiting for?

Get out there and start doing what you were born to do and become the superhero the world needs you to be.

I hope you enjoyed this series and I would love it if you left me your ideas, comments, and feedback on how we can all become better superheroes.

How to be a Superhero – Part 5: Joining Forces with Other Superheroes is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. How to be a Superhero – Part 4: Taking Action
2. How to be a Superhero – Part 1: Liberating the Superhero within You
3. How to be a Superhero – Part 2: Becoming more Aware

In my last post, I provided some tips on how you can develop your superpowers. Once your superpowers are significant enough to take on evildoers, it is time to take action. What kind of superhero would you be if you just sat around all day in a rocking chair not helping anyone?

I am a member of a number of different organizations. In these organizations, I meet with superheroes that want to use their superpowers as professional speakers, authors, and consultants. The problem with these superheroes is that they believe there are not enough evildoers out there to pay the bills.

Speaking to one superhero, Mr. Invisible, he might say, “I can’t get anyone interested in hiring me to battle evildoers.”

Another superhero, Ms. Whynotme, might chime in and say, “I don’t get it. Ms. Wonderful has hundreds of people she has helped . . . Why not me?”

Why Not Me?

The reason that many up and coming superheroes are not finding chances to use their superheroes is that they are NOT TAKING ACTION. Instead they are just hanging out online, surfing blog posts, reading another self-help book, or working on adding more initials after their name.

While it is important to develop your superpowers, there comes a point in the development of your superpowers where you have to stop searching for some book, article, or program that will bring people that need help to you. It won’t happen. In order to help people you have to find those people. The best way to find those people is to take action.

Taking Action

Taking action is a big step for many new superheroes. It is the point where they have decided that it is time to stop thinking about being a superhero and start being one. That thought is a big mental hurdle for a lot of people, but it must be overcome in order for you to realize your greatness.

Some ways you can take action are:

• Call People You Can Help – I admit that calling potential customers is extremely intimidating. Calling people scares me as well, but it is one of the most important actions that you can take to find people to help.When calling someone, I am not asking you to cold call anyone. What I am asking you to do is use what you have learned in previous posts and get out and meet people. Using your new found powers of awareness, you can develop a list of people you have met, their problems, and how you can help them.For example, when I meet with people that want to be professional speakers, I will visit their web pages. If they don’t have a website that is very appealing, then I will create a test site on my server that demonstrates what I can do for them to help them make their site more accessible to potential customers.Then comes the hard part., I will call them up mentioning when and where we met. I will tell them I visited their website wanted to how well their website was converting potential clients into paying customers.

  If they don’t know, then I will tell them about the tools I can provide that will make their sites a destination and not just a business card. This sometimes leads to a discussion of how much I charge and when I can have a proposal put together outlining how we can do business.

  Do I always close the deal? No, but I am reaching out trying to help people that need my help. I am taking action.

• Follow Up with Contacts – How many times has someone you met at a networking event said, “I am having a problem with something you might be able to help me with.”You then said, “I will give you a call.”Did you ever call them back?It amazes me how many people avoid taking the action of following up with people that request their assistance. This action is quite simple. If someone asks for your help, make a commitment to call them and follow up on how you can help them. The amount of money that is left on the table is huge from people not taking this simple step.

  There was a time a number of months ago that another blogger wanted to get together and chat about how he could help me on some projects. I thought that it could turn into a business relationship at some point, but I had a few other projects going on that was making it difficult for me to meet to discuss our mutual interests. I asked the person to call me back on a certain week when I would have a better idea of when we can meet.

  The blogger never called me back and potentially missed out on a sale of his services.

  To be a superhero, you must follow up with people that tell you to get back in touch at a later time and date. They might not seem interested when you first meet, but that could be because they are in the middle of some big project and need time and space to consider what you can do to help them.

• Tackle a Big Project – Are you an up and coming blogger? Then create a large series of foundational blog posts. These posts can demonstrate your knowledge of the topic area you are interested in pursuing.I know other superheroes that have written a book, created a product, built a house, or planned a large overseas wedding.The goal is to take on a project larger than your current abilities, but still doable if you put your energy into the project. When you do this, you will find that your superpowers will grow in strength from the difficulty of taking on a big project.

• Ask for Advice – Taking action can mean knowing what you don’t know and being humble enough to admit you need to learn what needs to be done to find people to help. Maybe you are at a loss for what people to speak with at a company, what organization would help you connect with the right people, or how to market your superpowers.Take the action of calling or e-mailing as many people that are doing what you want to do and asking them how you can get the knowledge you need to build your superpowers. Doing this you might learn what class you need to take, what books you need to read, or what jobs that you might need to pursue to develop your superpowers. It might also connect you with other superheroes that you can work with.

• Connect with Other Superheroes – We will discuss this topic specifically in the last post in this series, however I will mention here that taking action can be joining forces with other superheroes in order to fill the gaps in your knowledge. I know speakers that join forces with web design experts to create educational websites. Taking action can be hanging out with other superheroes and finding out where a connection can be made that benefit both parties in their development.

A Personal Story

I have been blogging on and off for years. Most of my early attempts were on blogger.com before learning how to sign up for a webhost, buy a domain name, and install WordPress. After learning how to do that, I had to continue to refine my knowledge of the technology while working on my writing skills.

It was not an easy process and I have had many missteps. I have had my sites hacked, moved web servers, bought useful books, bought useless products, started, and then stopped many different blogs. Each time I learned a little more, developed my abilities, and became a part of different groups and communities. If you are reading this, know that I didn’t start knowing anything, but have gotten to a point where I can write and post this with relative ease.

I took action by getting out there and starting to tackle the big project of starting a blog. When I wasn’t getting the readers, I started to ask people for feedback on what I was doing wrong. I then reached out to other bloggers, did some guest posts, and started to develop a small but loyal readership.

What I have learned and continue to learn every day is that you have to take action to make things happen. People don’t magically come to you asking for help. You have to go out and find them and when you do, you have to take action to show them how you can help.

How will You Take Action?

As you have embraced your superpowers, I hope that you realize that the journey has just begun. There are many more ways for you to learn and develop and I hope that this post has highlighted a few that have benefited me in my development.

Let me know how you are going to take action in the comments.

How to be a Superhero – Part 4: Taking Action is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. How to be a Superhero – Part 5: Joining Forces with Other Superheroes
2. How to be a Superhero – Part 1: Liberating the Superhero within You
3. How to be a Superhero – Part 3: Developing Your Superpowers

The Story of an Amaryllis

In November, my then girlfriend (now fiancée), bought an Amaryllis bulb (which is actually a Hippeastrum).  Her hope was that the Amaryllis would bloom in time for Christmas. Being a flower lover, she read about proper Amaryllis care and she lovingly tended to the sprouting base of the plant. She made sure it was in a sunny location by the back patio door, she watered it when it needed water, and she checked it daily to make sure that the plant’s needs were met.

The plant was placed near a table in her house where I often sit and work on the computer. For weeks I would look down at the nub and comment, “Your plant is not growing.”

My girlfriend’s standard response was, “Yes it is growing. Just wait and see. By Christmas it will be a beautiful flower.”

Weeks passed and Christmas had almost arrived. All that was to be seen of this beautiful flower was a brown nub with a few tiny leaves poking out. Every time I saw this gangly little nub, I would make the same comment, “Your plant is not growing.”

A few days before Christmas, she finally made the conclusion to move the brown nub in front of a large window upstairs.

Within forty eight hours, the leaves that were poking out of that little nub grew an inch. The next day, the leaves had grown more, and within a week the leaves of the flower had grown over four inches. The flower grew because my beautiful, yet stubborn, girlfriend finally moved the flower to a different place where it was exposed to a different temperature, lighting, and humidity.

How Your Superpowers Might be Like an Amaryllis

As you pursue the adventurous life of a superhero, you might get to the point where, despite your best efforts you are not seeing an increase in the quality of your superpowers. Maybe you know what you want to do, but you haven’t been able to get any clients, create any products, or get hired for the job of your dreams. You are in a rut and don’t know how to get out of it.

You are like the Amaryllis, because you have great potential to be wonderful, but you are not growing. You are stuck in the wrong place unable to break free and realize your true potential.

In order to develop your superpowers, you must make some changes in your life. Some of these changes will be big changes, other changes will be small. Big or small, the important thing is that you are doing one or more of the following activities.

• Change Your Environment – Your environment has a huge effect on your productivity and ability to develop your superpowers. Here are a few ways that you can change you environment to spur development of your superpowers.
• Get Involved in an Organization – Many new superheroes will start their journey without a clear idea of the needs of the people they are helping. By joining an organization in the field you are interested in helping, you can surround yourself with practitioners in that field, other service providers, and people that are thriving in the field you have chosen. Getting involved in an organization also gives you credibility in the field and provides you with educational opportunities that are only available to members of the organization. A final benefit is that it gets you out of the house or office and into a new environment with new ideas, people, and opportunities for growth.
• Try to Find a New Job – I have seen many people crushed by their current employment. They have no energy, no drive, and no desire to create a life of their dreams. By getting out and getting a new job, you can have a feeling of doing something new and exciting. This can push you to developing new ideas, learning new skills, and furthering the development of your superpowers.
• Move Your Personal Workspace – Sometimes something as simple as moving your workspace can have a profound impact on your productivity. Maybe the desk you work on is a mess. Getting some new filing cabinets and getting everything clean and organized might make you more productive. Maybe you are in a dark corner of the room. Moving to a better lit corner might give you more energy during the day to develop the superpowers you are working on.

Increase the Knowledge of Your Superpowers

As you develop your superpowers, you will need to develop your knowledge of those powers. As Superman went to the Fortress of Solitude to study the knowledge crystals provided by his father, you will also need to find sources of information to learn about your superpowers. Some examples are:

• Study a Book – As you develop your superpowers, you will need to develop your knowledge of those powers. As Superman went to the Fortress of Solitude to study the knowledge crystals provided by his father, you will also need to find sources of information to learn about your superpowers.  If you are tight on cash, then you can go to the library and study the books about superpowers you would like to develop. In most cities, libraries are great sources of information about a wide variety of topics. If you don’t have access to a library, then order a book off of Amazon that is current and has a decent amount of positive reviews.
• Take a Course – Many large cities and suburbs in the United State have community training and development programs. For $100 or less, these communities offer classes in graphic design, web page development, cooking, dancing, yoga, tai chi, and many other topics. You can also look into degree or non-degree classes at local universities and community colleges.
• Get a Product – If libraries and your local community let you down, you can turn to the Internet to find a product that can help you develop your superpowers. There are many products available on product creation, web design, knitting, and any number of other areas that you might be interested in pursuing. Search sites like clickbank.com or the E-Junkie Marketplace for potential products that might provide you the information you need to develop your powers.

Small Changes can have a Big Effect

Sometimes a small change to the best environment for you will take you from being a small nub to a beautiful plant. When you are in the best environment, you might also find that you are stymied by a lack of knowledge of your superpowers. Working in the right environment, you can begin to study and learn more about your abilities. When these two tasks have increased your superpowers, you can then start taking action which we will talk more about in the next post.

Superpowers Take Time to Develop

Growing your superpowers will take time, energy, and in many cases some financial investment. The same way building a house takes buying and pouring a foundation, developing your superpowers takes spending time and energy in the right environment, with the right knowledge, and taking the right action. This is not an overnight process, but starting now is the best way to move toward future success.

If this post has given you some insight into helping you grow your superpowers, let me know in the comments how you are going to change your environment or learn more about how your superpowers can be put to use.

How to be a Superhero – Part 3: Developing Your Superpowers is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. How to be a Superhero – Part 4: Taking Action
2. How to be a Superhero – Part 5: Joining Forces with Other Superheroes
3. How to be a Superhero – Part 2: Becoming more Aware