Successful Blog

My First Big Failure and What It Meant …

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about my first big failure and what it meant

When I was in my 20s, I lost my job. The guy who said good-bye, my boss, did it in the nicest way. He talked about territory restructuring and other changes. The company gave me a lovely package so that I could move back to my home in Chicago. I might have tried to believe that I had no part in what happened, but in my heart I knew my job was gone because of nonperformance.

It was the first time I had failed at anything.

I’m not going to tell it was fun or that I learned a lesson then that changed my life. It wasn’t and I didn’t.

It took me a long time to even make sense of it. I was a winner, always successful. How was it that I totally missed on this one? How was it that I couldn’t seem to find a way to get to the winning? How did I get myself lost in a spiral of unhappiness that made every small loss lead to another slightly bigger one? What was I not doing or seeing?

Really I was blind to one HUGE thing.

It was the wrong job for me.

How hard I’d tried to fit myself into a space that didn’t fit me.

I bent and twisted, smashed and squished, curled and flattened, until I was walking in circles without direction. All the time that I was doing that, I was sure that my lack of performance was the problem — it was only a symptom. The problem was that I was trying to reconfigure myself to fit a job I’d taken.

We live in a time finding the right job may seem a challenge, but living in the wrong one still isn’t the answer.

Ever wonder what you bring to the world? … where you belong?

Look at what you’ve always done well, what problems you’ve always solved for other people, the things you do that other folks rely on. You’ve been successful before. Look inside those successes. You’ll find the answers have always been there.

I can say it’s so.
I know.
I’ve lived it.

All that my first big failure meant was that wasn’t MY path to change the world.

Be irresistible.

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PetCareRx Offers Advice for Online Success

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Guest Post
by Riley Kissel

The survival rate of any business is fairly low. Only 1 out of every 10 succeeds in the first five years. With the popularity of online businesses growing daily, the success rates of these types of businesses is even lower. However, one online giant, PetCareRx () has endured and continue to succeed in spite of the odds, and the company’s COO, Blake Brossman, is more than willing to offer 5 great tips for success in the online business world. In order for a business to succeed, Brossman believe every company needs:

Passion

Always choose to start a business that revolves around something that you are passionate about. When business becomes difficult, when the long hours and seemingly endless marketing becomes too much, it will be your passion that gets your through. Brossman became determined to offer great pharmacy services to pet owners after having to deal with his own Rottweiler’s expensive medications. “I looked around the vet office and saw all the helpless people spending astronomical sums of money to treat their pets,” Brossman recalls.” I wanted to give these people the opportunity to treat their pets without breaking the bank!”

A Great Business Plan

PetCareRx was started during the dot-com hype of the late 90s, and was able to survive when the bubble burst during the early 2000s, and they credit their success to the company’s solid business model. “The 2000 bubble was caused due to incessant hype, and weak business models with high investments,” stated Brossman. PetCareRx new the products and type of service it wanted to offer, wrote it down in their business plan with precise goals, and stuck to it. Now they are an industry leader.

Excellent Customer Service

PetCareRx reviews couldn’t be better. The online pet pharmacy has been a hot spot for pet owners for years, and has built incredible company loyalty. “At PetCareRX, the customer always comes first,” stated Brossman. “PetCareRx, built a strong foundation around every pet parent’s requirement, backed by a great product line and the highest level of service and convenience. This helped us survive and grow over the years.”

Social Media

Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are great ways to spread word about your online company, and a great way to allow patrons a way to create a community, without having to spend anything. They are also a great way to offer special discounts to Fans or Followers to add to increase company loyalty. PetCareRx can be found on both Facebook and Twitter, and frequently offers fans great discounts to use on a variety of store items.

Show Your Credentials

Many online businesses fail because they don’t convey that they are trustworthy. People don’t want to purchase a product or service from a website that doesn’t look secure or isn’t backed by prominent watch groups. PetCareRx has made it a top priority to be licensed in every state and to make sure their customers are aware of this. However, other less successful pet pharmacies don’t take the same precautions which can easily put a pet at risk. “Visitors should be skeptical of ordering medications or any products from any non Vet-VIPPS certified pharmacies,” stated Brossman.

Starting an online business is difficult. Succeeding with an online business is even more difficult and requires time, dedication, and perseverance. However, the rewards can easily prove to be worth the hours and energy poured into it.
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Riley Kissel is a freelance writer who covers many industries with style. You can find out more about him at RileyKissel.com

Thanks, Riley, for simply showing how great thinking has built great success.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

From Neil Patel to Ben Franklin: Do You Learn from History?

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Guest Post
by Riley Kissel

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Old Word Wisdom Ensuring New World Success

Upon sitting back and listening to Neil Patel ( @neilpatel )discuss some of his greatest achievements and losses he didn’t skip a beat when asked what his biggest professional failure was. In fact, in Patel’s eyes, failure isn’t quite the correct word. Patel referenced a time when he lost million dollars on a web hosting business in Rockwall Texas. From that loss came something he prizes most in his profession; learning a valuable lesson. This is part of the dogma that has made Patel so successful. It’s not out of a revolutionary idea or approach but it’s his good business sense coupled with old world wisdom that’s allowed him to become a top 100 blogger and consultant for numerous Fortune 500 on SEO, and all before the age of 21.

As the co-founder of KISSmetrics and a founder of Online Poker Lowdown , a poker tip site, Patel has always valued the strength and endurance of wisdom and lessons over the fickleness of ideas. He values each triumph and failure in equal measure and upon loosing those million dollars he states that, “I learned that you don’t invest in ideas. You invest in people. Ideas can change over time, but good people will always stick it out until they can figure out how to make a business succeed.” This is just a part of the tapestry of Patel’s approach and has enabled him to climb to such great heights.

Patel attributes much of his success to the lessons that he learned as a child. In various situations he references bits of wisdom handed down to him from two of his most valued mentors: his parents. It’s been through leaning from mistakes and applying those lessons that has enabled him to be such a success. Patel states that his parents, “didn’t groom me into being a businessman, but instead they just taught me what their parents taught them”. These lessons ranged anywhere from getting the most from your money to using the resources that are available to you instead of buying something you don’t necessarily need. These lessons were basic but their efficacy has been substantial at ensuring Patel’s success in the online world.

One can’t help but notice a strong resemblance in Patel’s approach to the wisdom of Benjamin Franklin.

Where does your approach fit with what has historically built success?
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Riley Kissel is a freelance writer who covers many industries with style. You can find out more about him at RileyKissel.com

Thanks, Riley, for simply showing how great thinking has built great success.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

4 Essential Elements to Deliver Consistently Repeatable Success

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Can You Articulate What Makes Success?

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Once, at least once in your life, you succeed at something big. You learned to read. You graduated. You built something, won something, proved you could do something well and elegant. You stood up for something believed in. You held a friend’s hand through the night. You were part of a winning team. Your team brought in a project in a way that only your team can.

You know the feeling of succeeding. Everyone does.
But can you articulate what made that success?
Can you repeat it, consistently achieve it, and deliver success with confidence?

4 Essential Elements to Consistently Achieve and Deliver Repeatable Success

Success relies on a four important characteristics to be realized – the right mind, the right heart, the right skills and talents, and the right focus and passion in the right direction. How do we align all of these “rights” in a truly successful combination?

  • The right mind – The decided outcome was clear. Success was defined in clear concrete terms. You named it and were determined to claim it.
  • The right heart – The currency was trust not fear. The idea that you or your team wouldn’t succeed wasn’t even on the radar. Getting to the goal was just the plan.
  • The right skills and talents – The chosen challenge was at the right level. Peak performance comes when the challenge stretches us just enough to keep us from being bored without causing anxiety.You played to your strengths. You took advantage of opportunities.
  • The right focus in the right direction – Obstacles, distractions, and roadblocks were irrelevant. When we have our entire focus and passion on the prize, those things that might have sabotaged, undercut, or sidetracked was simply another detail to deal with or ignore on the way to success. If we look back, every roadblock and obstacle to a true success seems like a learning experience, an adventure, or a quest that made the hero’s journey more valuable in our eyes.

Let me say that as clearly as I can. I’m willing to bet that …
Every time you succeeded, just as many obstacles and roadblocks found their way to your path as every time you tried something and left it unfinished.

Those four essential elements of success are all you need to repeat the success that you’ve enjoyed in the past. Everything else — the people, the resources, the money, the business plan, the whatever you might mention — depends on the four that I just named.

We have to know a few things, believe a few things, and take on our path fearlessly. It’s a matter of commitment of head, heart, talent, and focused passion to achievement. Or as my husband just said, “No victory is won by the side that is only willing to fight until it hurt a little bit.”

Which of the four essential elements do you need most to achieve and deliver consistently repeatable success?

Be irresistible,
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

How to Deliver Yourself to Your Dream Everyday … in Small Amounts

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What Are You Doing

When I was young my dad used to say, “If you’re going to be a teacher, own the school.”

I’d explain that’s not how schools work — that schools provide a place to do what I want. I’d tell him about what I’d teach and how what kids would learn would change the world.

He said I had my dreams in the clouds.

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My dad proposed.

  • In our own ways we can make any place our own by filling them with ideas that turn into action.
  • It’s the action not the ideas that make the difference, the difference that wouldn’t happen without us alone.
  • People who do things build their future by delivering value that would be missed if they weren’t there..

Whether we work in the most obscure company, or work for ourselves at contract jobs. People notice value added contributions. People look for folks who offer them unique value.

Value added is an irresistible contribution and it brings surprising opportunities as a reward.

Don’t wait for your dream to deliver … deliver yourself to your dream everyday … in small amounts.
It’s easy to get where you’re dreaming by always showing up with your dream work. Every little value will bring you closer to that dream you’re after.

How do you add a little of yourself to what you deliver today?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

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What's at the Crossroads of Your Skills and Your Most Passionate Challenges

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Doing What You Love

We’re always hearing that to live the life that we’re meant to live, we should be doing what we love.

Easier said than put into practice.

Sleeping on the beach in Caribbean won’t find most of us getting enough income to keep the life moving forward.

Yet, every one of us has had some experience with success, with that optimal experience when we’re so sure of where we’re going that we know we’re on the right path.

Strategy always starts with our own unique position. What better way to strategize a great life than to start with who you are and what you love?

If we make a connection with where our skills are perfectly matched to the challenges that fit our passions, we’ll find that we’re already loving where we’re going.

What’s at the crossroads of your skills and your most passionate challenges?

I dare you to claim it in the comment box. 🙂

I make connections.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Connect to yourself!!