It is quite important for a young entrepreneur to “act as if” they already are successful. Extremely important. It remains true that you must act wealthy before you become wealthy. You don’t become wealthy and then decide to form good habits. That’s just not how this game works. Literally, take a few seconds to think about that. You have to do the things successful people do to become successful. When I think about this concept, Ben Affleck rings in my head from the classic sales movie Boiler Room, “Act as if you are the *bleeping* President of this firm.” I swear, after watching this film you will feel like you can sell anything. But beware, the stock brokers in this movie are down right criminal. That is my disclaimer.
Acting wealthy does not mean that young entrepreneurs should feel that they must pretend to be someone they are not to become successful. You have to be you. It is the habits surrounding you that must change. Actually the more authentic you become, the more the right people will come into your life. It is like the girl that keeps dating assholes. Sorry baby, it is the Law of Attraction mumbo jumbo that keeps showing up in your life. You attract more of what you are. I am not saying you are that word, but you are looking to fill a void in you life. So how can you make it as a young entrepreneur without having to fake it? Simple.
Less Talk, More Do
It is quite exciting to realizing the unlimited potential of your new found opportunities. Everyone in your life probably did not believe you will amount to anything. You are out to prove them wrong. When you become successful, you can buy the baddest Mercedes and park that sucker right in the driveways of the non-believers. That will show them.
Spending almost two years in the real estate industry, I thought the only way I will gain the respect of other investors is to amaze them with all the projects I had in my pipeline. I thought if I sounded like I knew what I was talking about, then everyone will respect me and want to work with me. There really may not be any industry worse than the real estate industry in which people have the biggest jabber-jaws. I swear everyone and their aunties-brothers-3rd cousins-stepsons-daddy are “working on” six deals and they have been for the past 15 months. Don’t count me out either. There was a point that my business partner and I were working on 17 real estate investment deals. And we were sure to let everyone know about it. Where did it take us? Not a single one of them closing. Now who is the arse? Anyone can talk a big game, but the fact is no one cares until the check is cashed. At the end of the day you are just tricking yourself into thinking you are doing something big. The problem is that you will repel the very people who can help you get the deal done.
So where is the line drawn from maintaining a sense of posture and confidence and blatantly lying to people about your situation? There are certain things that you may want to veer away from telling people you don’t know. Like if you failed out of school, your flat broke or that you don’t have a car…other than the fact that you live in the city. Even if you have all these things in affecting your life right now, you can maintain a sense of posture that makes you look like a credible source. No one will expect you to be a millionaire by 21 and if that is your goal, no one will be disappointed you don’t hit it. Let their imaginations do the talking. You don’t have to say you are successful or that you are broke. Just don’t talk about it. When you get caught up in that first lie, you will be feeling much much much more embarrassed than you originally thought.
Show Your Ace of Spades
Do you want to know the secret to catapulting yourself to massive success quite quickly? Just show one of your cards to the whole world. The best trait you can display to people in your network is your willingness to learn, or humility. Humility is sometimes misconstrued for meaning humble. Actually, it means rich, fertile, organic soil poised for growth. So while everyone else is worrying about talking about success, focus all your energy on learning and increasing the value of your personal brand. The more valuable you become, the more you will be sought out.
When putting on a show, you reflect the people away that could very well get you to where you want to be. Every successful business owner knows that a 20 something entrepreneur is not a master and are currently trekking to overcome some of the biggest challenges they ever faced.
Embrace Your Story
First you must find your story. You may have been through a lot more junk then you thought you have. The hardest thing for me to announce publicly was that fact that I went broke after I made a bunch of money. Especially with having the label of being a finance major. What was interesting was that everyone respected me more after I told everyone then they did when I kept it hush hush. And it was like a huge weight off my shoulders. How many people out there are going through the same junk and need someone to relate to? Be open and accepting with some of your challenges. These make up your story. Learn on how to tell it well. You will be surprised how far it will get you.
What Successful People Look For
The only way anyone can impress me is by taking action. When someone talks about how I’m going to this or that, I’m like “yeah-huh, come back and talk to me when it’s done.” Successful people will respect your confidence, drive, humility, your story and kindness. Also, your ability to take action and move closer to your goals. No one cares how much you know. What is important is how much you know you don’t know. Think about that. This is where asking tons of questions will help you to get the knowledge you deserve to get you to where you want to be. Criticism is huge. If you are offended by criticism, you’re screwed. Accept it and celebrate it. When you do this, you will attract successful people into your life that want to help you grow and may mentor you to success. And we all know mentors are one of the most important things on becoming successful.
Kill ‘Em With Content
So you’re not an expert. So what. It is amazing when you can leverage what others have already created on how smart it makes you look. When I started doing book reviews, everyone thought it was the greatest thing ever (unless they were lying to me). I think it was cool for them to see the breakthroughs I was having unfold in front of their eyes. I want to say it once again. The more valuable you become, the more you will be sought out. Start churning out great content. Here are three ways you can start creating content to appear as an expert.
1. Start a blog doing book reviews.
2. Do a video or written blog where you interview experts in your niche.
3. Review other blogs, articles, or products.
Photo cred: SalaBoli
