Typically, entrepreneurs are people that manage and facilitate a business, or multiple businesses and adopting risks that are greater than normal. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Pierre Omidya of eBay, Peter Thiel of PayPal, Niklas Zennstrom of Skype, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Michael Dell of Dell Computers, and Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines are among some of the most well-known entrepreneurs.

Adult learning is most often thought of as a formal or informal self-directed, on-the-job process which is created to enhance adaptive potential. Learning can result from a variety of interactions. Coaching, mentoring, e-learning, blended learning, job rotation, experiential learning, and job shadowing can bring a wealth of educational experiences.

Then when combing the entrepreneur and learning professional, a new kind of educator is created. This is a creator of learning and development opportunities. Entrepreneurial learning professionals typically demonstrate the following characteristics: a defined curiosity, passionate about learning, a high motivation to design and create own learning, identifying opportunities to learn, adaptive learners, experiential learners, able to learn, relearn, and unlearn; engages in fun and play in peer relationships, viewed as an energizing partner, demonstrated experience with technology, and thrives in knowledge and creatively bases workspaces.

Does this sound like you? Learning and development in organization can easily migrate to opportunities to craft and create learning and development. While entrepreneurship may not be on your radar screen, if you exhibit several of the aforementioned qualities there may be a great opportunity resting at your fingertips. Challenge yourself to create more than just learning opportunities, and anticipate great things happening.

Conduct a very simple exercise and Google the words “financial success”. The search reveals:

• Ten Easy Steps….
• Seven Keys to Achieve….
• A Five Point Plan….
• The Two Simple Equations….
• Five Early Retirement…..
• One-Hundred and Eight Mantras….
• Four Ways to Save
• Ten Habits…

By now you get the picture!

Fundamentally every single person on this planet is different, and although it is fabulous to have a mentor helping us out, all our needs are ultimately different. For one person financial success could be having the means available through residual income, to travel the world. For another this might be running a successful business, for another, retiring with enough to get by, and for others – just having enough to donate to their favorite charities at the end of the month.

Success is measured by the person enjoying that success, not by standards in advertised media, or the measure of how many vehicles Mayweather owns. It is something deeper than the tangible items and services that money can buy. It has been said that money does not buy happiness, but it sure does grease the wheels of happiness a little, and it is no sin to make a profit. However, how much is enough? Just like there are any number of steps to financial success, any number of money can be enough or not enough. It is a personal choice!

There is a character in Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield – Wilkins Micawber – he said “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness.” These are very wise words, after a lesson learned by a character who was eternally running away from debtors, and eventually found himself and his family locked up in a debtors prison.

One requires sufficient income to satisfy needs and stay out of debt, whilst at the same time being able to create wealth. It is identifying the need that can sometimes become complex on a personal level. It seems to be at this juncture that we would like to believe, there is some kind of magic in the number of steps taken to fulfil that need. However, there are some very practical approaches available to start with right away.

Most income comes from salaried earnings, so for the purpose of this article we use earnings as an example. A minimum amount needs to be earned to survive, anything above this amount can create wealth. While there are ways to maximize earning potential, we don’t need to wait for higher earnings in order to have surplus available. Keeping spending below earnings allows for surplus.

If Penny makes $40 000 a year and spends $27 000, she has a $13 000 surplus. If Bob makes $1.5 million a year and spends $1.75, it does not take a mathematician to see who has more fiduciary responsibility – it is Penny. While Bob has the potential to make more money faster, if he doesn’t mend his wicked ways, he could wind up in serious trouble. If Penny continues in this way she has more potential for growth.

It is like we said earlier, there are no number of steps that are going to guarantee success when it comes to finances. The simpler we keep things the better, and the better we know our needs, the easier it will be to get just what we want. Fundamentally, any kind of success is about making the right kind of choices for you.

Let’s explore how this daily practice can work. Humanistic free will has fascinated people for ages, and Benjamin Libet, a neurophysiologist, was focused on this question. Dr. Libet researched the mental timing of when a voluntary act occurs. His research consisted of a simple task of lifting a finger.

The research shows those 0.3 seconds before lifting a finger, the brain sends a call to action message.

0.3 seconds doesn’t seem like a lot of time for free will to occur. However, there is 0.2 seconds in which a person is aware that the movement is preparing to occur, and can stop the movement.

Viktor Frankl, a Nazi concentration camp survivor who later became a successful psychiatrist, summed this situation up rather well. “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lie our growth and our freedom.” 0.2 seconds is not a significant amount of time, however, our brain can accomplish a lot in a short amount of time.

It takes a lot of conscious energy to stay on top of the choice point. There is a simple way to practice the choice point every day. If you prefer to use your right hand for simple tasks, just make the choice to use your left hand. Opening a door, holding the remote control, or brushing your teeth with you non-dominant hand can be a healthy workout for your brain. If this is practiced daily, when the pressure is on, you will have a greater sense of self-control in emotionally charged situations. Give it a try for a day, and if you make it a day, then try it for a week. Give your brain a workout, and consciously think about the difference!

Andy Stanley, the author who wrote “Fields of Gold”, is the person responsible for the following quote:

Often, stepping outside your comfort zone is not careless irresponsibility, but a necessary act of obedience.

This statement just about says it all with regards to how true financial success can only be achieved when we are prepared to take risks, even if the risk has been calculated. Todays’ entrepreneur well-knows that in an increasingly competitive Global economic community, the discomfort of uncertainty leads to the biggest reward.

The perimeter of the courage zone does not need to expand at the same pace for everyone, but as long as it keeps expanding – the sky, as they say, is the limit. Bigger challenges can be handled in the future, as more confidence is gained. Not everything we are willing to take a risk on works out in the end, but the willingness to make mistakes is what truly matters.

Many successful people tell us that they don’t do what is expected of them, they are driven by what inspires them the most. So, we don’t necessarily have to do what scares us, but rather what inspires us. A willingness to push boundaries, and challenge assumptions may mean we need nerves of steel, and might not be for the faint of heart, but we also learn loads from criticism, and experiencing setbacks. At the risk of being exposed, should we protect out patch of power, and pride, or get out there, toot our own horns, ruffle feathers and get noticed. We think you know the answer to that.

On-going assessment of the decisions we make allows us to manage any fear of failure or rejection. Yes, at times we all feel exposed and vulnerable, but does that mean we should play it safe? No, it means we need to continually and proactively seek out new challenges, move forward, and attempt to take positive action. Doing what we have always done, if this means being safe, secure and comfortable, only leads to the same results.

No failure is ever one cataclysmic event – it is simply making the same mistakes over again without learning from them. Therefore, our failures were never mistakes, they do not determine our future success, but are simply a benchmark for how to move forward into success. Using the discomfort of uncertainty to achieve success, is simply a matter of engaging with the movement of life, stepping onto centre stage, doing whatever it is we have been putting off, and participating boldly in our own lives. This attitude opens up all sorts of possibilities for new ideas, opportunities, relationships, and successes to bloom.

Sensitive as this subject matter might seem, it is not difficult to address. If the definition of success is the “accomplishment of an aim or purpose”, this states nothing at all about wealth, fame or social status. The accomplishment of an aim or purpose is personal to every human being. Prosperity, luxury and an easy life are all modern-day trappings of this word. In archaic times its antonym was not failure, and success could be used for a good outcome, or ill-success for a not so good an outcome.

It is stunning to think how many people define this word purely with making or having a great deal of money. Don’t get me wrong – it’s nice to have money, and it certainly makes life a lot easier, but different people define success differently. Often concentrating on the “money” part of success only creates worry, stress, misery and the naive belief that because we have money we should be happy. It’s all about balance and having a holistic ideology – perhaps health, wealth and happiness are more sensible components of success.

It seems almost pointless being wealthy if there is no enjoyment in this. Besides that, it is a great deal easier, more likely and more fun to become wealthy when we are doing something that makes us happy. All things considered if we start thinking about creating wealth from a position of happiness or peace, and health then we have a positive foundation from which to build. Defining success as being happy rather than rich may not meet other people’s standards, but the important thing is one’s own standards.

Pursuing a career that is lucrative for the sake of making money rarely makes for a happy person, unless they are pursuing a career that they love. For those who have this it’s great, for those who have not, things can change. Charles Darwin is often credited with the phrase “survival of the fittest”, but what was actually said (this is a free translation) – the species most likely to survive are those with the ability to embrace, and adapt to change. So, a determined focus on change often yields dramatic results.

Motivation is important for change in focus, career, or one’s own definition of success. It means conditioning the mind to think positively, and avoid negative thoughts. The body is important too – the way one looks and feels helps boost positivity. Exercise and healthy eating always makes us feel good, even if this is hard to admit when munching on another Big Mac. Don’t take success too seriously, mix with, or speak to like-minded people, avoid the naysayers negative onslaught, and take action to do this right now, there never a better time to start than in the present.

Customer Service is the Bottom Line

The way you serve and support your customers is key to your overall business strategy. Customer service should be represented at boardroom level, and not as a subsection of sales. In a market where everyone is chasing a smaller pot – it’s absolutely essential to protect what you already have.

Customer Service Really Matters

Over 70% of clients rate customer service as the single most important factor in doing business. They place it above sales, marketing, brand, everything. Over 80% place after care for a major purchase as the determining point for future loyalty.

Your Customers Must Come First

When times are tight, people are more ready to switch suppliers or providers than ever before. Nearly 50% of consumers say that they would consider making a move if the benefits were right.

Cost Cutting Is Not The Priority

It’s easy to focus on new revenue streams and tighten care budgets, after all – sales are what count right? Wrong. Your existing customers spend more money than your new clients in most instances and serving them is cheaper than winning over new clients. Don’t slash care budgets to chase rainbows.

Well Trained Employees Deliver the Goods

If you want to have a reputation for the best customer care, then make sure your people are well prepared to deliver it. Invest in motivating, training and empowering your service staff – their level of professional competence translates directly into the customer experience. Happy clients means more money.

Engage with your customers and empathize with them

Remember your clients if you meet face to face, keep key details to make dealing with you more rewarding – on CRM systems. Use social media to broaden your reach. Make it easy for your customers to reach you, and make it easier to serve them.

Monitor Feedback and Complaints

Each complaint is potentially lost revenue, turning a complaint around successfully can bring enormous financial benefits to your business. Make sure you have the appropriate systems in place to track problems all the way through to resolution. Make sure you can analyze the data and use it to prevent some problems from occurring again in the future. In short be proactive for your customers, and don’t wait for a disaster before doing something positive.

Be Creative and Strategic

That means make sure that every point of contact is consistent in its approach and that customer delight (not satisfaction) is at the heart of what you do.

A downturn in the economy can still bring plenty of opportunities to the customer savvy business. Don’t waste that moment – go after perfection while your competitors are licking their wounds. Make your company the single best in your field, and listen to your customers tell the world about it.

Good leaders are the only way to achieve success in an organization. Leadership in a modern world takes place in the face of fast, uncertain and complex change. Good leaders aspire to motivate employees, to further inspire the organizations’ shared vision. It’s about relationships, achieving goals, empowering others to act, fostering trust and providing role models.

There are no easy answers, but, with a holistic approach. Effective leaders may find that their leading does what it is meant to do, and this is to…well…lead!

Short-term coaching and long-term mentoring is the modern approach. This means more than merely sending employees on performance enhancing courses.  Learning does not just simply take place and then automatically happen within the working environment. The long-term mentoring approach improves ROI as well as continuous employee performance.

An organizational mentoring program that is accountability-based, structured and action-oriented improves loyalty and retention rates, which speak volumes for professional development. These efforts are worthwhile to achieve a significant edge in Global business which is becoming increasingly competetive. This is why we should all make the most of our mentoring moments as they will lead to our own individual successes too. It creates a unique opportunity for employees to grow personally as well as professionally.

But what is mentoring?

The etymology of the word derives from Greek mythology – where King Odysseus went off to fight the Trojan War for ten years, but had no way of knowing how long he would be away. He left his son Telemachus in the care of Mentor, and Telemachus grew up to be Mentor’s protégé, as well as a very good boy.

Basically to mentor is to have the wisdom to offer one-on-one leadership. Always a less experienced person with a more highly qualified role model. Protégés tend to accelerate their own growth and shorten their learning curve naturally.

A mentor is basically a servant leader who shares wisdom and experience while demonstrating maturity. This modeling role provides a win-win situation and if you think that being a leader does not mean being a servant, think about the President of the USA? He is supposed to work for the good of the people; the people do not work for the good of the President. Well…they do…but in a different way, but then everyone has to serve in some way.

Just like the words of Bob Dylan ~

“You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls.”

“But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
It may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.”

Like we said at the beginning, and Peter Drucker said it the best ~ “There is no success without a successor.”

Legitimate leadership legacies are left to protégés who tap into the enduring truths and wisdom of the successful before them. A protégé is a potential leader to whom the baton is passed in the race of life.

1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
2. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
3. Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
4. When you say, ‘I love you,’ mean it.
5. When you say, ‘I’m sorry,’ look the person in the eye.
6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone’s dreams. People who don’t have dreams don’t have much.
9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it’s the only way to live life completely.
10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name-calling.
11. Don’t judge people by their relatives.
12. Talk slowly but think quickly.
13. When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, ‘Why do you want to know?’
14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
15. Say ‘bless you’ when you hear someone sneeze.
16. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
17. Remember the three R’s: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.
18. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
19. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
20. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
21. Spend some time alone.