4 Ways to Become an Optimized Leader and Fulfilled Human

Believe that you deserve it and then do something about it.

Professional athletes train hard and closely monitor what they put into their bodies. They have a team and even hire professionals on the side to help them reach peak state within their body and in their mind.

They know this is how they’ll become the one percent of their profession. They’re always looking for that edge and they’ll go to great lengths to get it. 

It’s the same for top leaders. You have no doubt read articles, watched videos, and listened to podcast episodes about one percent leaders such as Warren Buffet, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, etc.

They are literally changing the world and setting an example of different ways to think about entrepreneurship and its impact. 

Here’s the thing, you don’t have to be a big name or have what they have to become a one percent leader at what you do. There are four tactics that you can use to become the best at what you do and experience explosive growth.

Have complete clarity on where you’re going.

One of the biggest edges you can give yourself is a great self-awareness. Knowing as much as possible about yourself helps you understand when to push and when you need to take a break.

You understand what works for you and what doesn’t. You know what you’re likely to implement and what you’ll make excuses about. All of this helps you become more efficient as you do the work that builds your life. 

You have to know you. Clarity on how you tick will help you map out what you’re building towards. Growth means constant work. You can’t go somewhere if you don’t know where you’re going. You should know what your ideal life looks like and have major goals to get there.

Leaders in the one percent don’t have major struggles with self-worth. They know who they are and what they’re capable of. They have a clear vision for where they’re going in life and business. Get clarity on your major why’s. It’s the road that helps you get clear on the plan.

Cut out everything that doesn’t fit.

You may have heard that whom you surround yourself with has a direct effect on your attitude and what you’ll do. It goes beyond that. Those who are negative or complacent will drag you down without even trying. That attitude and outlook will have a negative effect on your mindset.

Cut negativity in any form out of your life. It will feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulder.

Not everything that’s in our life or business is meant to be there forever. Some things fit for a period of time and then it’s time to grow beyond that level.

Elite leaders’ self-awareness helps them see what fits and what needs to go. Then, they’re not afraid to make the hard choices. Don’t be afraid to cut things that aren’t serving your business goals.

Get real about your mind battles.

A large battle that needs to be won to become one percent happens in your mind. The mind is a beautiful and scary place at times.

As humans, we often make things a bigger deal than they actually are. Getting control of your thoughts, feelings, and emotions will help you operate your business on another level.

You will have negative and sad things going on in your mind — that’s natural. But, you control how you respond. You can give in or you can process through it and do the work to move forward. The one percent of leaders know that most situations have a way out.

Win that battle in your mind daily. Learn how to stay in peak state more often and you’ll be more efficient in the action you take.

Do the work consistently. 

Thoughts, words, plans, and intentions are a great start but they have to be followed up with action. To be a leader and experience explosive growth, you’ll need to do the work consistently.

That work involves creating a strong foundation, fulfillment, creating content, planning, partnerships, and more. Whatever it takes to grow your business and life is what you should be doing.

Too many leaders take the hot and cold attitude towards business. Build-in lots of consistency and watch your growth flourish.

More than anything, you have to want this. You can’t let the fear of rejection or self-limiting beliefs keep you from doing what it takes to accomplish all of your major goals.

Believe that you deserve it and then do something about it. Become an authentic leader and claim the life and business that makes you happy and fulfilled.

Betty White's 5 Surprising Strategies for Influence and Impact

Taking a page from Betty White's playbook, any businessperson can become iconic without trying.

The term influencer may be overrated. Being called an "authority" may seem a bit cocky. But making an impact — that's a respected and important term.

Betty White is definitely a well-respected icon, yet she never set out to become one. After watching interviews with Betty White and her life in television, it's clear she didn't plan a career path or roadmap to fame. She didn't have an internal drive for becoming famous. Nor was there a hunger for making millions. Surprisingly, with the exception of her charitable passion, she never mentioned creating an impact.

Entrepreneurs have a lot to learn from her. If you intend to make an impact, your intention is tainted with ego. If there's a hint of ego laced in your intent, your brand, influence and impact can be significantly dampened. People can sense intent, so let it go. Like Betty White — just be.

Be likeable, not just authentic

"Authentic" is a buzzword that has been taken to new heights, bordering the absurd.  Authenticity does not mean revealing your daily dinner selection on social media or bearing all your disdain for your ex on a livestream. In Betty’s case, she's simply herself. Pure. Natural. Unassuming. It would take a Herculean effort to find someone who dislikes her.

Be useful, not simply an authority

In many marketing channels, there's a massive drive to become the authority or a thought leader in a given topic. The prevailing idea is, if you can show off how many followers you have, the herd must be right.

But White took a different approach. She championed animal rights and did endorsements for her favorite animal charities, but she never claimed or positioned herself as the leader in the cause. She leveraged her fame for the betterment of animals. This sincere campaign was her embodiment of servant leadership.

Be a leadership creator, not a leader with followers

Is Betty a leader in television? Not by a longshot. Her iconic brand, however, is founded not only by her longevity in the industry, but by her accolades from those who support her. True leaders create other leaders, first and foremost. Failure to do this and leadership suffers.

Be entertaining, not an entertainer

Unless you're naturally funny, don’t try. Being entertaining in business is much more delicate a dance than it is in television and movies. Actors, dancers and musicians all practice their craft with the intent to entertain. When they are successful, it is one of the most highly paid professions. In business, you don’t have to do stand up on a Zoom call and you don’t have to do magic tricks to warm up a prospect. Betty White is naturally humorous, so she doesn't need to try to be entertaining. But all entrepreneurs can channel their enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is compelling. Enthusiasm is contagious. With the right passion for your clients and team, enthusiasm is the type of entertainment never gets old.

Be socially fun, not a social marketer

Don’t waste time and destroy your brand value with fake significance. Posting about how cool you are is always a dangerous game of narcissism. Social media posts are great for social interaction, but don't fool yourself thinking you can create a lasting impact with a newsfeed that moves faster than the speed of light.

With the speed of our business ecosystem, it's easy to want to move fast and often. In the world of lasting impact, the opposite is true. Consistency with these 5 principles is the path to making a lasting impact. Don’t wish for it. Don’t plan for it. But if you seriously want to make a difference, play the long game.

Betty White has created lasting influence with a lifetime of patience and being genuinely likeable. Are you prepared to invest your life with the same commitment?

How Do Small Businesses Become Big Ones?

Marketing expert, Robert Coorey knows a thing or two about growing a business. In his best-selling book, Feed a Starving Crowd, he outlines 200 fresh and underutilized marketing strategies to grow any small business into a large one.

“Most small business owners dream of becoming bigger. Their biggest challenge isn’t technology, It’s using the right technology in combination with a hungry audience,” said the author.

Coorey knows a thing or two about marketing. After earning his MBA from Macquarie University, he spent time in the sales trenches selling office equipment. As the director of global business at E-Web Marketing in Sydney, he’s routinely grows businesses from 7 to 8 figures regardless of the economy.

In his latest book, Feed A Starving Crowd, Coorey has done years of research, tested his principles globally and organized the book into an easy to digest format. From deconstructing killer marketing campaigns to mastering the neuroscience and psychology of consumer activity, he shares brilliant, inexpensive strategies anyone can profit from.

Coorey recently completed a TV pilot, based on his book. Wrapping up filming in California in August, I had a chance to catch him in-between consulting with a local martial arts dojo and organizing a “flash mob” to blitz awareness for the featured company in the show.

“Flash mobs aside, marketing effectively is quite basic, actually. After you embrace the core principles of psychology, delivering the goods is a really just an exercise in creativity. Marketing should be fun!” he quipped. The marketing expert certainly lives what he speaks. At the E-Web marketing offices in Sydney, Monday morning meetings are a round table discussion on bean bag chairs. Each person shares their individual activities. Regardless of position, each employee has their pulse on what everyone else is doing and how their performance affects the bottom line.

In addition to running a global marketing machine, Coorey’s resume includes taking a shot at the record books, too. A recent webinar he developed and marketed had the 2nd highest number of attendees for any private business in the world.

While pulling off tens of thousands of registrants for a webinar comes with a commensurate amount of marketing investment, many of the marketing strategies in his latest book require spending no money on advertising at all. For example, readers will learn how a "small-time" promoter sells out high priced business events, and how an "unknown" author launched a best-selling book on Amazon. All of these strategies were successful without spending a single cent on advertising.