You are the average of the five people you hangout with most. Why not make one of those people Tim Ferriss? Or Phil Knight? Richard Branson? Benjamin Franklin?

By listening to audiobooks daily, you can have these amazing minds be one of the five people. 

Everyone is looking for a mentor. How do I find a mentor? How do I ask someone to be a mentor? Finding a mentor is a more natural process. But, if you can’t find someone who wants to mentor you, use some of the greatest minds ever. 

These important people are your mentors. You listen to them everyday. You apply the principles they teach. You try some of the strategies they use. You learn from their mistakes. 

You don’t need a traditional mentor. You can look for one and eventually you’ll find someone, but mentoring cannot be a forced process. If you go out and pay for a mentor you’ll most likely get mixed results. Sometimes they’ll be fantastic. Other times you may not mesh well.

While you’re looking for a mentor, use these brilliant minds. They have so much to tell. So much greatness. So many tips and tricks. 

If you can’t find a mentor that’s fine. Use the resources you have available. Buy audiobooks. Listen to them on your way to work. Once you get home. While you’re getting ready. Take time to also sit down and listen to what they’re saying. Write everything down. 

Spend your time reading and listening to some of the greatest minds in our history. I guarantee it will change the way you do things. 

“Your happiness is at the intersection of your passions and learning from great people.” -Scott Weiss

“What I often do is just think of a completely obtuse thing to do, almost the wrong thing to do. That often works because you start a different approach, something no one has tried.” -James Dyson

What’s the worst that happens? It doesn’t work. But it could work. If what you’re doing right now isn’t working, then there’s no risk. Take the chance to try something different. 

If everyone is doing the same thing and not seeing the results, do something completely different. You’ll learn from a different way of trying things. 

If someone is successful, it’s most likely because they’re trying a different approach. Learn from them. Figure out what they’re doing a replicate it. Do things differently. If you keep trying the same approach forever, you’ll never grow. You won’t learn. Do something else.

Gain a new perspective. Try something way off the beaten path. Don’t follow what everyone else is doing. If you want to be different, you have to be willing to try and do different things. 

Have fun with it. It’s exciting trying a different approach. You’ve done it the same way for so long. 

You cannot succeed doing the same thing the same way if it’s not working. Beating your head against the wall is not the solution. 

Be different. 

If you tell someone you’re going to do something follow through and do it. Don’t lie. If you know you won’t do it, don’t say you will.

No matter how small or big, if you tell someone you’re going to do something for them or with them you have to do it. Be known as the person who always follows through on their word.

When it comes down to it, you’re the person they know to rely on. They know if you tell them you’re going to do something for them, you will. You’ve now established trust. No matter what skills or abilities you have you can always control your ability to follow through.

If they ask you to send them more information on your products, do it. If they ask a question that you don’t know, get the answer for them. If they want you to call them back in 3 months, call back then. Be known for that.

Be a person of your word. It’s an easy task. Follow through with what you say. At least it sounds easy. When you tell someone you’re going to do something don’t wait. You have to do it in that moment or you’ll forget. If you’re too busy at that moment, set a time to do it. Create an alarm or calendar invitation. Write it down on your to-do list. Don’t forget to do this.

Trust is extremely important in every situation. When you follow through on your word it shows you’re not only trustworthy but you care. It shows you’ve taken time out of your day specifically for them. You become the person they go to for information. They come to you for answers. They come to you for tips.

If you’re selling a product the time will come when they’ll need a product likes yours. When it does, you’ll be there. They’ll come to you. You’ve established the trust, expert knowledge, and a genuine interest in them.

Follow through with your commitments.

“It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through.”  -Zig Ziglar

Think of it as a necessary evil. Something that needs to be done to get better. It’s the hard work that’s needed to succeed. 

Learn to enjoy this process. Whether that be sales, accounting, administrative work, training, working out, etc. Think of the results from these activities. You may not enjoy this work in the moment but it’s crucial to you succeeding. 

If you don’t lay the ground work you’ll never go anywhere. You can’t build a house without the foundation. The grind is hard. Not many people can do it. That’s why not many people succeed in their careers. Here not willing to do what it takes.

You may not like to do these things and that’s okay as long as you know you have to. If you don’t prospect, you’ll never close any business. If you don’t send out proposals or RFPs you’ll never sell anything. If you don’t sell anything your business doesn’t exist. 

Think about the results at all times. Why are you doing this? What positives come from these activities? 

Focus on tracking these activities. Make sure you don’t rush these activities. This work will pay off. Remind yourself that when you’re having a tough day. No one enjoys boring work, but it needs to be done.

Imagine your life after you succeed. Let that drive you. 

“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.” -Muhammad Ali

“I worry that business leaders are more interested in material gain than they are in having the patience to build up a strong organization, and a strong organization starts with caring for their people.” -John Wooden

No matter how well or poor someone on your team is doing, show them that you care about them. Don’t only care if they’re performing well for that month, care about them at all times. 

They’ll be able to tell what your intentions are of you only come to them when you want something. You only check in and see how things are going when you know they have something going on. You don’t really care how they’re doing, you have an ulterior motive. 

Genuinely make sure your employees are happy at least once a week. Dot do it as a group, do it individually. It may take time but it’s a huge benefit. See where you can help them. 

Be the leader not just the manager. As the leader your team will follow you into battle. They’ll do everything in their power to help the team succeed. 

If you’re a manager, they feel like another number. They don’t feel motivated to help you accomplish your goals. It’s not a team goal as much as it’s your goals. Managers will always lose to the leaders because they’re just focused on revenue. 

Leaders are focused on developing their team. They want to help everyone gain valuable skills they can use for years to come. 

Show your employees how much they mean to you. 

If you have a team of numbers, you’ll never succeed. But, if you create a team with valuable skills, dedication, and motivation to succeed, you’ll win. 

It starts with the way you lead your team. If you’re not succeeding don’t blame anyone else, look in the mirror and reflect.

Motivate the people around you to do great things. You always need a positive push. You need reassurance that you’re doing the right thing. You always need to have someone else who believes in you too.

When you let someone else know that they can accomplish anything, it makes them feel more confident. They’ll start believing that they can accomplish anything too. 

Everyone needs support. Everyone needs motivation. Spread confidence in the people you interest with everyday. Let them know you believe in them. Mean it. 

Show them you respect their decisions and will be there no matter what happens. 

Try to motivate people around you to go after their goals. Don’t try to push your goals on them. Let them follow their own passions and help motivate them to reach their goals. 

Once you show your support and confidence in someone, they’ll never forget that. They’ll be motivated to help someone else accomplish their goals. 

Help someone close accomplish their goals. 

When it comes down to it, if you didn’t accomplish what you were trying to, it comes down to you. It’s no one else’s fault. It’s not the economy or the lack of leads. It comes down to you. 

Focus on improving yourself first. Don’t try to blame someone else for your pitfalls. Focus on improving your skills daily. 

You may want to complain that something didn’t go right. When it comes down to it, you didn’t hit your goals. Learn from it and move on. Don’t dwell on what you didn’t do well. Focus on what you did well and adjust what you didn’t do well.

Talk to others who did hit goal. Those who accomplished what they set out to will have some great strategies for you. They help move you forward. They help you make those incremental improvements you need to make. 

They’ve most likely been doing it longer. It takes time to get really good at something. They have been through many similar situations, and now they know how to deal with them.

Admit that you’re the only one to blame for you missing your goals. You have to be willing to admit hat you can get better in certain areas. You have to be more aware of your faults. 

Get feedback from everyone. Always look to improve. The journey for self improvement will never end, you can always get better. 

When you fail, don’t blame anyone or anything. Realize you could have done better. You fell short. Accept that you have control of your life and your outcomes. 

You can accomplish your goals if you focus on what you can control, don’t complain about the outside factors, and focus on constant improvement. 

“Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.” – Og Mandino

Don’t underestimate someone’s ability to get things done. Don’t underestimate the role they may play in an organization. Treat everyone with the same amounts of respect, whether that be the CEO of a large organization or the janitor that works in the building, they all deserve respect and courtesy.

You never know who might be watching you. Always act with dignity. Keep people’s feelings in mind at all times. We all want to be respected. We all want to be admired. We all want to be successful. Admire everyone. Treat them with the same respect you want in return. See the success in everyone’s lives.

If you want to be liked, you have to show interest in other people first. Don’t underestimate the impact someone can have on your life. Don’t underestimate the impact a smaller customer can have on your business. Treat each customer the same. The smallest order could change your business.

You never know who your customers know. Maybe your smallest customer is best friends with a huge potential customer. That could change your business. You never know. Referrals are so important to your business. Make sure you show every single person you interact with the utmost respect even if you don’t receive respect in return.

In sales, most salespeople will blow past the gatekeeper or try to say something smooth to get past them. What most salespeople don’t know is that sometimes the gatekeeper has an impact on if you get a sale or not. Even if they don’t, if you’re rude they’ll remember you. If you had a chance to make a sale before, that chance is now gone. On the other hand, if you’re memorable in a positive way the gatekeeper can be your best cheerleader. At the very least, the gatekeeper has the ability to patch you through to your contact.

Every conversation you have show interest. Be kind. Smile. Genuinely go out of your way to help everyone.

Positively impact someone’s day. Make it a goal of yours to make one person’s day, every day. Never underestimate another person’s life. Everyone is important.

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” -Mark Twain

Don’t let age be your excuse. I’m too old to start over. I’m too young to have credibility. Age cannot be a restriction on what you do with your life. If you have a goal go after it, no matter how young or old you feel you are.

Age is a mindset. If you want something, go after it. You’re never too old to start. You can keep waiting for the perfect moment to come around but it won’t. If you wait too long you’ll wake up one day and regret the things you never did. Don’t let it come to that.

Start something you’ve been putting off. Today. Don’t wait for tomorrow. Don’t think about what other people want you to do, do what YOU want.

It takes hours upon hours to get good at something. The first time you try something new you’ll suck. The second time, you’ll still suck. The hundredth time, though, you’ll start to see some improvement. It starts with that first small step. Age shouldn’t play a role in waiting to start.

Maybe you think that it’s age but it’s most likely something deeper. You’re probably wondering what your friends would say if you told them you quit your job to be a freelancer or to start your own business. You’re wondering what your parents would say if you told them you’re leaving college to go travel the world. You’re wondering what your children with think of their mother quitting her job to pursue her passion.

Get over what people think of you. Worry about what makes you happy. People will always have their opinions. Let them have their opinions and you have yours.

You can do what you want with consistent, hard work but if you never start, you’ll never accomplish anything. You’ll always think about the what-ifs. Forget your age for ten minutes. Do something you’ve always wanted to for that ten minutes. See what it feels like to learn your new skill or start that project. Tomorrow work on the same project or skill for ten minutes.

It only takes a small first step to accomplishing something great. Work on your project for ten minutes a day, that’s it. Start small. Focus on dedicating that time to your project. Add time on as you want.

Don’t regret waiting. Don’t let your age get in the way. Go do it.

At home. At work. Throughout your entire day. Protect your time like nothing else in this world.

Fewer people will try to hang out with you throughout the day. You may isolate yourself from the “cool” kids. That’s fine. Worry about how you can improve and learn. Don’t worry about impressing your colleagues. Focus on you.

It may feel uncomfortable at first. It’s not that you’re trying to cut yourself off from everyone and be the lone wolf on your team, you’re trying to better guard your time.

If you make it known that during x time periods you’re free or busy, people will start to respect that more. It may take some getting used to for you and others, but it will pay off. Time is so valuable.

You don’t have to be a dick about. Kindly let people know when they try to come up and talk to you that you’re busy for the next few hours. You can shut your office door. You can put a sign up on your cubicle. You can let your friends know that you can’t hang out during those hours of the day.

Whatever you have to do to protect your time, do it. You should constantly focus on improving yourself. The first step is to dedicate time every day to learning new skills and improving on your current skill set.

You can become great if you focus on making a commitment to consistent work. Tell other people about what you’re committed to as well. It will help you stay on course. Hold yourself accountable. If you miss a day or do something else during your blocked off hours it’s okay. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Make sure you get right back to it the next day or change up your hours.

If you truly want to get better at a skill or improve in your career, you’re going to have to guard your time and use the time you block off effectively.

Don’t worry about what people think. This is for you, your future self, your friends, and your family. They’ll understand once they start seeing results.

If you really want to do something, do it. If you want to accomplish something don’t stop until you do. 

If you’re determined to do something, you’ll do it. Nothing can stop you when you have a mission, goal, and a plan. If it’s the only thing you can focus on. It’s all you constantly think about. You’re going to have to sacrifice your time. You’re going to have to work hard, harder than you ever have. 

If you truly want it, you’ll do it.

You’ll accomplish your goal. You’ll be able to push through the hard parts. You’ll steadily improve. Do it consistently. Every single day. Block out a certain amount of time per day to your craft.

Turn your lunch breaks into learning sessions. Stop watching tv and start learning. Don’t go out with friends, study for your future. 

You’ll hit a certain point where nothing can get in the way of your goal. Push yourself to get better every single day. 

You can do it. Fuck what people say to you. You can accomplish anything you put your mind to. Believe in your abilities. You are capable of doing great things, start thinking that way. Life is too short to be afraid. 

Start living your life and accomplishing your goals not someone else’s. 

Start today. Start small and increase your workload. Don’t listen to what other people say. Go kick some ass.

Focus on being more aware of the areas you struggle in. Be aware of your bad habits. Be aware of your good habits and the areas you excel in. 

If you truly want to improve your life, you need to be focused on constant improvement. 

Track your days to figure out where you spend most of your time. If you realize you’ve spent 4 hours this week watching tv, try to watch 2 hours the next week and use that time to work on improving your skills.

Life’s too short to waste time. Think about improving yourself. In everything you do ask yourself if it’s going to benefit your future self. Is this conversation or activity adding value. If not, change it.

The people you hangout with have impacts on you and your outlook too. It’s always thought to lose friends, but if you feel like someone isn’t adding anything to your life or dragging you down, end the relationship. Negative people want to drag you down with them. Hangout with positive people who are looking to get better and grow.

Always try to be improving. Always be learning. Set a schedule where you dedicate time to working on yourself. Set up and month budget on self improvement. You need to spend money on your future. The biggest investment you can have is an investment in yourself.

Read books. Listen to podcast and audiobooks. Take courses on your subject. Talk to successful people in your field. Ask them how you can improve. Get feedback from close associates. 

If you really want to get feedback, don’t take it personally. The other person is trying to make you better. Show them that you’re focused and eager to get better. They’ll respect that and more than willing to help. 

Constantly look for areas of improvement. Don’t settle for mediocrity. You’re journey for improvement will never end. You’ll always find things you can do better. Focus on eliminating the bad habits in your life and replace them with good habits. 

“We are more thoroughly an enlightened people, with respect to our political interests, than perhaps any other under heaven. Every man among us reads, and is so easy in his circumstances as to have leisure for conversations of improvement and for acquiring information.” -Benjamin Franklin

You’ll find them all over. They try to drag people down with them. They don’t believe anything will work and are never happy with their work. They always feel like someone is out to get them. They want you to join them in complaining. Don’t.

Avoid this people like the plague

That’s one way to do. Just walk away from them. Say you have a meeting or a call. Get away from the situation or soon you’ll slowly become infected. If you’re sitting at your desk tell them you have 1 minute before you have to do x. That could be take a call, send an email, or solve some problem. Whatever it may be it will either be a quick conversation or they’ll tell you they’ll come back when the time is better. Look at your watch a few times during your conversation if they decide to stay and end it at 1 minute. 

Solve whatever problem they throw at you

If they start complaining about an issue, remain positive. Solve the problem they’re complaining about. Whether that be the coffee being too hot or the weather outside, come up with a solution. Drink ice coffee. Wear a jacket if you’re cold. Boom, problem solved. They soon stop complaining – at least to you. 

Tell them they’re complaining

This might be my favorite tactic. Make them aware when they complain to you. Tell them, to their face, that they’re complaining. Don’t say shit behind their back because no you’re gossiping. Let them know. One of two things will happen. First off, they will never complain to you again or probably talk to you and two they’ll talk to you but make sure to never complain. It not only helps you stay away from people who complain, but helps them be more aware when they complain. 

Try any one of these strategies. You may like one route over the other. You may use all of these tactics. You might not use any, but either way you should come up with a strategy for dissolving the amount of negativity in your life. Help create more positive people in this world.

“People won’t have time for you if you are always angry or complaining.” -Stephen Hawking

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” -Helen Keller

If you don’t feel confident, people can tell. Whatever message you’re sharing you need to be confident. You need to be confident in the products you’re selling.

Be confident in your knowledge of the industry. Your knowledge of your products. Your confidence in the positive benefits your products have on the individuals you’re selling to. You want to come off as if you’ve been selling this product for years even if it’s only been a few weeks.

Confidence is key. If you’re on the phone, people will hear it or not. If you feel scared and unconfident, they’ll be able to tell. Focus on believing in what you’re doing, your product, and it’s benefits. 

Be the expert. Be confident in yourself. You can sell. You’re capable of accomplishing anything you put your mind to. Look for ways to improve your confidence.

Ask for feedback from confident people. Ask what they did to become more confident. Figure out who they learned from. Hang around confident people. Study your craft. Study your industry. Study your products inside and out. 

You can try to fake it till you make it but ultimately you need to put the work in to become more confident. 

Portray the confident people you see around you. Observe their mannerisms. Replicate what you see. Listen to the way they talk to colleagues and clients. Replicate what you hear. 

You can always act confident even when you don’t feel confident. It takes time to gain full confidence. Once you’ve been doing it for a while be confident that you know what you’re doing.

Stand up straight. Walk with purpose. Show confidence in everything you try and do. Believe you can do it, because you can.

“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” -Thomas Jefferson 

You can’t get away with being lucky and not working hard. Eventually it will catch up to you. Hard work is the backbone of all luck.

Consistent effort and hard work wins. You need to work hard if you want to have good luck. You won’t succeed in your job, business, or project by just hoping and waiting. You’ll most likely get lucky a few times, but your luck will dry up. 

As soon as the sales stop coming in or you stop receiving clients, you’ll have no idea what to do. But, if you work hard and get lucky along the way, the success will continue. 

You need to find what works for you and do it everyday. Don’t wait around for something to happen. Initial “success” may come but it won’t last if you don’t work your ass off. Don’t wait around for miracles, they won’t come. 

Create your own luck. Work your ass off until you get really good at something. It will take a lot of time. It will most likely take years, but if your are consistent and persistent it will pay off. Believe that. 

Focus on the long term outcomes you’re looking for. Let your goals drive your day to day. 

Having a mission that will push you to get better at your craft. Think about the positive impact your goals will have not only on yourself but also someone close to you. 

If you work hard, you’ll get lucky.