Keep Going...the beautiful path is just right in front of you

I believe in changing mindset is where you going to change your life.

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How Smart People Handle Difficult People

This is a really interesting article, for the last few weeks, I m busy either people push my button and at the end of the day. It seems waste of time and full of frustration. However, get know how to deal with difficult people is to get out of the unnecessary argument and being happier.

So I would like to share the below article:

Difficult people defy logic. Some are blissfully unaware of the negative impact that they have on those around them, and others seem to derive satisfaction from creating chaos and pushing other people’s buttons. Either way, they create unnecessary complexity, strife and worst of all stress.

Studies have long shown that stress can have a lasting, negative impact on the brain. Exposure to even a few days of stress compromises the effectiveness of neurons in the hippocampus -- an important brain area responsible for reasoning and memory. Weeks of stress cause reversible damage to neuronal dendrites (the small “arms” that brain cells use to communicate with each other), and months of stress can permanently destroy neurons. Stress is a formidable threat to your success -- when stress gets out of control, your brain and your performance suffer.

Most sources of stress at work are easy to identify. If your non-profit is working to land a grant that your organization needs to function, you’re bound to feel stress and likely know how to manage it. It's the unexpected sources of stress that take you by surprise and harm you the most.

Recent research from the Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology at Friedrich Schiller University in Germany found that exposure to stimuli that cause strong negative emotions -- the same kind of exposure you get when dealing with difficult people -- caused subjects’ brains to have a massive stress response. Whether it's negativity, cruelty, the victim syndrome or just plain craziness, difficult people drive your brain into a stressed-out state that should be avoided at all costs.

The ability to manage your emotions and remain calm under pressure has a direct link to your performance. TalentSmart has conducted research with more than a million people, and we’ve found that 90 percent of top performers are skilled at managing their emotions in times of stress in order to remain calm and in control. One of their greatest gifts is the ability to neutralize difficult people. Top performers have well-honed coping strategies that they employ to keep difficult people at bay.

While I’ve run across numerous effective strategies that smart people employ when dealing with difficult people, what follows are some of the best. To deal with difficult people effectively, you need an approach that enables you, across the board, to control what you can and eliminate what you can’t. The important thing to remember is that you are in control of far more than you realize.

1. They set limits. 

Complainers and negative people are bad news because they wallow in their problems and fail to focus on solutions. They want people to join their pity party so that they can feel better about themselves. People often feel pressure to listen to complainers because they don’t want to be seen as callous or rude, but there’s a fine line between lending a sympathetic ear and getting sucked into their negative emotional spiral.

You can avoid this only by setting limits and distancing yourself when necessary. Think of it this way: if the complainer were smoking, would you sit there all afternoon inhaling the second-hand smoke? You’d distance yourself, and you should do the same with complainers. A great way to set limits is to ask complainers how they intend to fix the problem. They will either quiet down or redirect the conversation in a productive direction.

2. They rise above. 

Difficult people drive you crazy because their behavior is so irrational. Make no mistake about it; their behavior truly goes against reason. So why do you allow yourself to respond to them emotionally and get sucked into the mix? The more irrational and off-base someone is, the easier it should be for you to remove yourself from their traps. Quit trying to beat them at their own game. Distance yourself from them emotionally and approach your interactions like they’re a science project (or you’re their shrink, if you prefer the analogy). You don’t need to respond to the emotional chaos -- only the facts.

3. They stay aware of their emotions. 

Maintaining an emotional distance requires awareness. You can’t stop someone from pushing your buttons if you don’t recognize when it’s happening. Sometimes you’ll find yourself in situations where you’ll need to regroup and choose the best way forward. This is fine and you shouldn’t be afraid to buy yourself some time to do so.

Think of it this way -- if a mentally unstable person approaches you on the street and tells you he’s John F. Kennedy, you’re unlikely to set him straight. When you find yourself with a coworker who is engaged in similarly derailed thinking, sometimes it’s best to just smile and nod. If you’re going to have to straighten them out, it’s better to give yourself some time to plan the best way to go about it.

4. They establish boundaries. 

This is the area where most people tend to sell themselves short. They feel like because they work or live with someone, they have no way to control the chaos. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Once you’ve found your way to Rise Above a person, you’ll begin to find their behavior more predictable and easier to understand. This will equip you to think rationally about when and where you have to put up with them and when you don’t. For example, even if you work with someone closely on a project team, that doesn’t mean that you need to have the same level of one-on-one interaction with them that you have with other team members.

You can establish a boundary, but you’ll have to do so consciously and proactively. If you let things happen naturally, you are bound to find yourself constantly embroiled in difficult conversations. If you set boundaries and decide when and where you’ll engage a difficult person, you can control much of the chaos. The only trick is to stick to your guns and keep boundaries in place when the person tries to encroach upon them, which they will.

5. They don’t die in the fight. 

Smart people know how important it is to live to fight another day, especially when your foe is a toxic individual. In conflict, unchecked emotion makes you dig your heels in and fight the kind of battle that can leave you severely damaged. When you read and respond to your emotions, you’re able to choose your battles wisely and only stand your ground when the time is right.

6. They don't focus on problems -- only solutions. 

Where you focus your attention determines your emotional state. When you fixate on the problems you’re facing, you create and prolong negative emotions and stress. When you focus on actions to better yourself and your circumstances, you create a sense of personal efficacy that produces positive emotions and reduces stress.

When it comes to toxic people, fixating on how crazy and difficult they are gives them power over you. Quit thinking about how troubling your difficult person is, and focus instead on how you're going to go about handling them. This makes you more effective by putting you in control, and it will reduce the amount of stress you experience when interacting with them.

7. They don’t forget. 

Emotionally intelligent people are quick to forgive, but that doesn’t mean that they forget. Forgiveness requires letting go of what’s happened so that you can move on. It doesn’t mean you’ll give a wrongdoer another chance. Smart people are unwilling to be bogged down unnecessarily by others’ mistakes, so they let them go quickly and are assertive in protecting themselves from future harm.

8. They squash negative self-talk. 

Sometimes you absorb the negativity of other people. There’s nothing wrong with feeling bad about how someone is treating you, but your self-talk (the thoughts you have about your feelings) can either intensify the negativity or help you move past it. Negative self-talk is unrealistic, unnecessary and self-defeating. It sends you into a downward emotional spiral that is difficult to pull out of. You should avoid negative self-talk at all costs.

9. They get some sleep. 

I’ve beaten this one to death over the years and can’t say enough about the importance of sleep to increasing your emotional intelligence and managing your stress levels. When you sleep, your brain literally recharges, so that you wake up alert and clear-headed. Your self-control, attention and memory are all reduced when you don’t get enough -- or the right kind -- of sleep. Sleep deprivation raises stress hormone levels on its own, even without a stressor present. A good night’s sleep makes you more positive, creative and proactive in your approach to toxic people, giving you the perspective you need to deal effectively with them.

10. They use their support system. 

It’s tempting, yet entirely ineffective, to attempt tackling everything by yourself. To deal with toxic people, you need to recognize the weaknesses in your approach to them. This means tapping into your support system to gain perspective on a challenging person. Everyone has someone at work and/or outside work who is on their team, rooting for them and ready to help them get the best from a difficult situation. Identify these individuals in your life and make an effort to seek their insight and assistance when you need it. Something as simple as explaining the situation can lead to a new perspective. Most of the time, other people can see a solution that you can’t because they are not as emotionally invested in the situation.

Bringing It All Together

Before you get this system to work brilliantly, you’re going to have to pass some tests. Most of the time, you will find yourself tested by touchy interactions with problem people. Thankfully, the plasticity of the brain allows it to mold and change as you practice new behaviors, even when you fail. Implementing these healthy, stress-relieving techniques for dealing with difficult people will train your brain to handle stress more effectively and decrease the likelihood of ill effects.

Full article: Click Here

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Keep Going...

This quote is amazing!Keep going where difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations. Let's move on and focus on what you want and you will find your way out.

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LY

4 Straightforward Steps to Success

 Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.

I truly agreed on item 4 below, it is not easy to change oneself however it takes time if you have the persistent and consistency to do that! List all the changes and you must work on it to make it happen. Change such able to control your emotion, smile more often, be patient, time management and able to speak up and etc.  A small change it is also an achievement. Be positive and stay positive!

1. Collect good ideas.

My mentor taught me to keep a journal when I was 25 years old. It’s the best collecting place for all of the ideas and information that comes your way. And that inspiration will be passed on to my children and my grandchildren.

If you hear a good health idea, capture it, write it down. Then on a cold wintry evening or a balmy summer night, go back through your journal. Dive back into the ideas that changed your life, the ideas that saved your marriage, the ideas that bailed you out of hard times, the ideas that helped you become successful. That’s valuable, going back over the pages of ideas you gathered over the years, reminiscing, reminding yourself. So be a collector of good ideas, of experiences, for your business, for your relationships, for your future.

It is challenging to be a student of your own life, your own future, your own destiny. Don’t trust your memory. When you listen to something valuable, write it down. When you come across something important, write it down. Take the time to keep notes and to keep a journal.

2. Have good plans.

Building a life, building anything, is like building a house; you need to have a plan. What if you just started laying bricks and somebody asks, “What are you building?” You put down the brick you’re holding and say, “I have no idea.”

So, here’s the question: When should you start building the house? Answer: As soon as you have it finished. It’s simple time management.

Don’t start the day until it is pretty well finished—at least the outline of it. Leave some room to improvise, leave some room for extra strategies, but finish it before you start it. Don’t start the week until you have it finished. Lay it out, structure it, put it to work. The same goes for the month ahead—don’t start it until you have a plan in place.

And, the big one, don’t start the year until it is finished on paper. It’s not a bad idea, toward the end of the year, to sit down with your family for the personal plans, to sit down in your business for the professional plans, to sit down with your financial advisor to map out money plans. Plan out your calendar, your game plan, for all of life’s moving parts.

The reason why most people face the future with apprehension instead of anticipation is because they don’t have it well designed.

3. Give yourself time.

It takes time to build a career. It takes time to make changes. It takes time to learn, grow, change, develop and produce. It takes time to refine philosophy and activity. So give yourself time to learn, time to start some momentum, time to finally achieve.

I remember when Mama was teaching me a little bit about the piano. “Here is the left hand scale,” she said. I got that; it was easy. “Here is the right hand scale.” I got that, too. Then she said, “Now we are going to play both hands at the same time.” “Well, how can you do that?” I asked. Because one at a time was easy... but two the same time? But I got to where I could play the scales with both hands. “Now we are going to read the music and play with both hands,” she said. You can’t do all that, I thought. But you know, sure enough I looked at the music, looked at each hand, a little confused at first, but finally I grasped it. Then I remember the day when Mama said, “Now we are going to watch the audience, read the music and play with both hands. Now that is going too far! I thought. How could one person possibly do all that? By giving myself time to master one skill before we went to the next, I got to where I could watch the audience, read the music and play with both hands.

Life is not just the passing of time. Life is the collection of experiences and their intensity.

4. Change yourself.

Learn to solve problems—business problems, family problems, financial problems, emotional problems. The best way to treat a challenge? As an opportunity to grow. Change if you have to, modify if you must, discard an old philosophy that wasn’t working well for a new one.

The best phrase my mentor ever gave me: “Mr. Rohn, if you will change, everything will change for you.” I took that to heart, and sure enough, the more I improved, the more everything improved for me.

You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.

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4 Techniques Successful People Use to Make a Positive First Impression

Creative a positive first impression:

If you are not sure what to do then just go ahead and follow the below:

1. Master the art of the handshake.

Your father probably discussed with you the importance of having a good handshake, but did you know that handshakes really are a big determining factor when it comes to first impressions?

In one study, University of Illinois researchers used MRI scans to monitor the brain activity of participants as they watched videos of people interacting in business situations. The researchers found that a positive “social evaluation” occurs in the brain when handshakes are present.

Asked what the most important takeaway would be for business professionals, the study’s co-leader didn't hesitate in her response.

“I would tell them to be aware of the power of a handshake,” University of Illinois researcher Sanda Dolcos reported. “We found that it not only increases the positive effect toward a favorable interaction, but it also diminishes the impact of a negative impression. Many of our social interactions may go wrong for one reason or another, and a simple handshake preceding them can give us a boost and attenuate the negative impact of possible misunderstandings.”

Sounds good. But how you give a handshake matters more than the simple act of offering your hand to someone you meet. A good handshake is firm and dry, lasts two or three seconds and is accompanied by eye contact and a smile.

2. Get your visual appearance right.

What you wear and how you look really does matter to people. According to studies conducted by researchers in the U.K. and Turkey, something as simple as the suit a man wears can have a direct impact on how people view his character. In the study, 300 participants were exposed to images of a man and woman. In some of the pictures, the man wore a custom-tailored suit. In other pictures, he wore an “off the rack” generic version.

After being exposed to these images for just three seconds, participants overwhelmingly judged the man in the tailored suit more favorably. And they didn’t just say he looked better -- they actually rated him as more successful, confident and likely wealthier. This speaks to the importance of getting your clothing right.

3. Always carry a business card.

Business cards . .  . are they even useful anymore? With the rise of social networking, search engines, text messaging and email, it’s easy to feel as if business cards are a thing of the past. However, this is a grave mistake. While business cards may no longer serve their original purpose, they remain an emblem of professionalism and responsibility.

When you present someone with a business card, you're showing that you’re prepared and professional. You’ve taken the time to design, print and carry a card with you. While the person you’re meeting can search your name on LinkedIn, the fact that you carry a card is what matters most.

Not all business cards are created equal, however. When designing a card, carefully consider the selection of cardstock and the image you’re presenting. A thicker stock may be more expensive, but there’s something about holding a sturdy card that leaves a good impression.

4. Become a small-talk aficionado.

Small talk. A lot of people despise small talk, but we live in a world where conversation plays an important role in making impressions. If you want to make positive first impressions wherever you go, you have to strike a good balance between not saying enough and speaking too much.

“Ideally, small talk will uncover common interests, business alignments, the six degrees that separate you, potential need for your product or service and basically whether or not you enjoy each other’s company,” corporate trainer Allison Graham wrote in Fast Company. “The goal is not to become best friends or a new client on the spot.”

If small talk isn’t your thing, the best skill you can pick up is the ability to ask good questions and listen. Once you get the other person talking, you become more comfortable and can occasionally interject a few lines of your own.

 Link: Click Here

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Try something today

Start with today to make some accomplishment. Every decision changes your life, I believe if you put in the effort every day it will soon derive to where you want to be. Trust yourself is the most important power of success.

Happy Sunday and enjoy to your fullest!

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5 exercises to train your brain for happiness and success

I believe that happy brain will bring you to successful path. “Laughter is contagious”

Here are five exercises that will train your brain for happiness and success:

I believe that happy brain will bring you to successful path. “Laughter is contagious”

Here are five exercises that will train your brain for happiness and success:

1. Differentiate between ruminating and problem-solving

Thinking about strategies that would help you overcome an obstacle is helpful, but imagining yourself unable to tolerate pain isn't productive. Whenever you find yourself thinking about something for an extended time, take a minute to think whether you're ruminating or problem-solving.

If you're actively solving or preventing problems, keep processing. But, if you're simply rehashing things that already happened or making catastrophic predictions about things you can't control, change the channel. Get up and do something to get your mind off the issue and keep your brain focused on more productive activities.

2. Give yourself the same advice you'd give to a trusted friend

If you're like most people, there's a good chance you're overly critical of yourself. But beating yourself up and magnifying your mistakes will only drag you down.

Studies have linked self-compassion to everything from improved psychological well-being and better body image to enhanced self-worth and increased motivation. So make it a habit to speak to yourself in the same way you'd speak to a trusted friend.

3. Label your emotions

Most people have an aversion to talking about or showing their feelings. As a result, many people have become quite distanced from their feelings, which makes it hard for them to even recognize how they're feeling in any given moment.

And when adults do label their feelings, they often do it in an indirect manner. Rather than saying, "I felt sad," someone might say, "I had a lump in my throat," or, "My eyes got watery." Or, instead of saying, "I am really nervous," someone might be more included to say, "I have butterflies in my stomach."

Spend a few minutes every day acknowledging your emotional state. Label your feelings and consider how those emotions are likely to affect your decisions.

Whether you're feeling sad about something in your personal life, or you're worried about something going on in the office, your emotions will spill over into other areas of your life if you aren't aware of them.

4. Balance your emotions with logic

Whether you're faced with a tough financial decision, or you're experiencing a family dilemma, you'll make your best decisions when you're able to balance your emotions with logic. When your emotions are running high, take steps to increase your rational thinking.

The best way to balance out your emotions is to create a list of the pros and cons of your choices. Reading over that list can help take some of the emotion out of the decision and equip you to make the best decisions.

5. Practice gratitude

Gratitude has been linked to a host of physical and psychological benefits, including happiness. One study even found that grateful people are 25% happier.

So whether you make it a habit to talk about what you're grateful for over breakfast every morning, or you write in a gratitude journal before bed, train your brain to look for the good in life. It could be the simplest, yet most effective way to boost your well-being.

Create a healthy mindset

The conversations you have with yourself have a profound effect on your life. If you want to reach your greatest potential, it's important to build your mental muscle. Exercise your brain every day and over time, you'll train your brain for happiness and success.

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3 Questions to Know If You’re Truly Confident

What is confident? Do you have the confident to speak in the public? Is self-confident is important? Well, let's read the below article. 

Does your confidence have conditions?

If your sense of self-worth relies on your relationship status, job, income or weight, your confidence is conditional, says Elizabeth Lombardo, Ph.D., author of A Happy You: Your Ultimate Prescription for Happiness. Conditional confidence works well when those conditions are met (you got the promotion or you fit into your skinny jeans), but when your situation changes, so does your self-esteem and emotional well-being. What happens if you gain a few pounds or you’re let go from a job? You’re back at square one without the self-love to help you bounce back.

Work on building unconditional self-worth instead, Lombardo says. “Unconditional confidence is based on applying your values and strengths and appreciating the life you create by doing so.” Is your life—your work, the way you spend your free time, the people you hang out with—aligned with your values? If not, bring them together because that’s where unconditional confidence begins.

Are you confident in some areas but not others?

It’s normal to be a confident athlete but decidedly unconfident when it comes to public speaking. Or maybe you’re sure of yourself at work but self-conscious in social situations. That’s OK. You don’t have to be confident with everything. In fact, people who act sure of themselves in all situations are probably either faking it or overestimating their abilities. Being secure in your innate worth as a person, even if you’re terrible at tennis or shy at parties, is what matters. True confidence, according to Glenn R. Schiraldi, Ph.D., author of The Self-Esteem Workbook, is an “honest, appreciative opinion” of yourself that accounts for your strengths and weaknesses.

So how does that translate to happiness? People who believe in their innate worth “strive for excellence with less pressure or fear of failure, since coming up short of a goal does not diminish who they are as a person,” Schiraldi says. When you aren’t afraid of failure, you try more new things and pursue more goals than people who are.

Do you believe in other people’s innate worth?

True confidence is not just about your estimation of yourself. It’s also about how you value others. “People who are high in healthy self-esteem are also high in healthy humility,” Schiraldi says. “They recognize that all people are valuable and have much to learn.” And valuing other people for all of their strengths and weaknesses is how social bonds are sparked and solidified. The people you associate with and appreciate every day—your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers—are the cornerstones of happiness.

Full Article: Click Here

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9 Entrepreneurial Lessons You Never Learned in School

Many things have not been taught in school and learning is through our everyday life.

“A day without learning is a day with breathing” – Robin Sharma

I practice sharing what I have learned and what I have achieved today before I go to bed. The achievement might be small however recognised it makes you feel great and always looking forward to a better day! 

School doesn’t prepare you to be an entrepreneur. Actual in-the-trenches experience does. These nine super successful businesspeople, and members of The Oracles, share the No. 1 skill you need to succeed in the world of entrepreneurship that traditional schooling never taught you.

1. The indomitable will to succeed.

The most important trait you won’t learn in school is to get out there and try 100 things to build a business and get over the fact that 98 of them won't work. And then get right back out there and try another 100.

—Barbara Corcoran, founder of The Corcoran Group and Shark on Shark Tank

2. Failing is OK when aiming big.

School punishes those who fail, so kids don’t push through their comfort zone to the next level. In the real world, there are no participation awards or grade inflations. From my experience at Draper University, I’ve learned that team-based teaching is extraordinarily effective. People work harder to make sure they don't let down their team. And we teach these teams that failing is OK if they try something big.

—Tim Draper, founding partner of DFJ

3. Question everything.

I wish school had taught me to question everything. As an entrepreneur, you’re always looking to find some basic assumption about the business that other people are following—but that you can question and use to gain insights into your business. For me, it was the thought that once you are pigeonholed as a TV writer, you can’t break into film. So I wondered why. Writing is writing. When I realized there was a basic assumption about how a TV writer is supposed to behave versus a feature film writer, I was able to erase the distinction in my own mind and in the industry’s mind. Today, it is commonly acknowledged that the best material is on TV. Question all assumptions.

—Roberto Orci, Hollywood producer and screenwriter whose movies and TV shows have grossed over $5 billion worldwide

4. Creativity and people management.

No. 1, school should teach creativity as much as multiplication tables. Entrepreneurs need to be innovative. Maybe your new company makes $10,000 a month. What will you do when it makes $10 million a month? The process of thinking about this ahead of time will help you prepare correctly.

No. 2, school should teach how to manage people. No one was born with that skill, but you need a team to scale your business. You need persuasion skills so awesome people will work with you. And you need people reading skills to spot those who are not high quality or have big personality flaws that will derail your team.

—Tai Lopez, investor and advisor to many multimillion-dollar businesses who has built an eight-figure online empire; connect with Lopez on Facebook or Snapchat

5. How money and cash flow work.

Learning about money and cash flow, and how to handle it, should be a required course in grade school. No one teaches us how to manage debt, and why we should or should not have debt. We also don’t learn how to handle investments and create wealth for ourselves. As a result, most people today die broke.

—Jay Georgi, founder of Nadvia and operations/management/profits-retention coach

6. How to be your own boss.

No teacher in school ever taught me about how to be your own boss.

1. Learn time management skills.

2. Focus on your strengths and hire for your weaknesses.

3. Find a mentor who has already been at the top of the mountain you want to reach and  made many of the mistakes that you will inevitably make.

— Gary Nealon, president of Nealon Solutions and The Rox Group; five consecutive years on the Inc. 5000

7. Never, ever give up.

The No. 1 thing I wish schools taught is to never, ever give up. No matter what. Have so much freaking confidence that there’s no way you can fail; just learn the wisdom to make adjustments and keep your head on straight. I learned that in the school of hard knocks, not the formal education system.

—Steve Griggs, founder and CEO of Steve Griggs Design; designs and builds custom residential backyards for affluent clients who want fast results

8. Success without happiness, love and service leads to emptiness.

Although information, competition and achievement are critical to success, they’re not enough to create a fulfilling life. Success is the sweetest when it is built with heart, purpose and passion, but you’ll never learn that in school. Money, power and fame by itself will never bring you true happiness.

—Nafisé Nina Hodjat, founder and managing attorney of The SLS Firm

9. Who you know to me is more important than what you know.

Learn to network and meet others. As an employer myself, not only would I allow a young person to be mentored, but I would pay them something as well. And so will many companies who admire the courage it takes to network and ask for the opportunity. Who you know to me is more important than what you know.

—Craig Handley, co-founder and CEO of ListenTrust

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9 Answers You Need About Yourself Before Starting Your Own Business

90% of people wanted to own a business, however, only 10% make it. Why?

Ask yourself some of the questions below to find out the reasons?

I would like to share the below article to get yourself be prepared and make it happen if you are looking forward to becoming one.

1. How much responsibility can I take on?

You will be responsible for not only yourself and your business but everyone that has a vested interest in it. This includes employees and their families, investors, business partners, clients and the community in which you run your business. It’s one thing to put your own fortune and reputation on the line; it’s another when you get other people and their livelihoods involved.

I am responsible every day to the BRIC Language Systems team in NYC, China, Brazil and Mexico -- as well as every one of our language learners, interns and business partners. Being your own boss sounds nice, but you’ll realize quickly just how much weight your shoulders can hold. Make sure you know you can handle it, for your own sake and theirs.

2. What am I willing to sacrifice in order to make this work?

There are tremendous sacrifices involved in starting up a business. Those sacrifices will include sleep, hobbies, exercise, relationships, vacations and your own personal freedom. A lot of these sacrifices are the result of realizing who you’re responsible to (see above). Be ready to sacrifice a lot in order to succeed and ask yourself if those sacrifices are worth the potential reward? More importantly, and more realistically, ask yourself if it would still be worth it if all of that sacrifice results in failure?

I lived in China for eight years. I sacrificed going to best friends weddings, the births of their children, my health, college football Saturdays and so much more. So far, it is well worth it, not only because BRIC is doing well, but even more so because of the experiences and friendships that developed out of my time there. If BRIC blew up tomorrow -- which I don’t expect nor want -- I can honestly say that it was worth it.

3. Can I remain calm amid constant chaos?

Batton down the hatches! You’ll be dealing with a storm of confused emotions and organizational chaos. How you relieve stress is incredibly important. Make sure that you have the mental fortitude to deal with an incredibly stressful environment and that you know how to decompress. Whether it’s exercise, meditation, yoga or whatever else -- make sure that you know how to relieve stress.

During my time in Shanghai I took kungfu classes at Longwu Kungfu, tried Taichi, and ran the Bund in the mornings. This helped me get through an otherworldly amount of stress and chaos that only expats living in Shanghai will understand. No matter where you are, stress relief is one sacrifice you can’t afford to make.

4. Can I make a decision under pressure?

When you start a company, you will be dealing with issues that you could have never imagined. You’re involved in every decision and every detail. This means everything from legal to hiring, accounting, marketing, sales, IT and design. You need to be able to calmly, rationally and quickly assess a situation and act. You’ll need to be decisive.

As Brian Tracy says “decisiveness is a characteristic of high-performing men and women. Almost any decision is better than no decision at all”. Be able to make the decision, move on, and deal with the results. We all make bad decisions at some point, I know I’ve made a lot of them in getting BRIC up and running.

5. Am I able to back down when I realize I’m wrong?

Leadership is as much about being able to accept when you’re wrong and listening to your team, as it is about being right. No one likes a boss who can’t admit when their wrong. If you’re leading the team in the wrong direction and people are pointing it out to you, as a leader you need to accept that fact and change course.

Being able to listen to your team and heed their advice is a hallmark of a good leader. I’ve been lucky in every leadership situation that I’ve been in to have either had a good team handed down to me or built a good team from the ground up. Those teams are why I’m where I’m at today.

6. What are my own weaknesses?

Being self-aware isn’t a prerequisite for being a good leader, but it should be. You need to know how what you think, say and do are perceived by others. This is far different from being self-conscious. Being self-aware allows you to understand others and effectively motivate, discipline and lead them. It’s recognizing not only where you’re strong but also where you’re weak -- and using that to build a team that compliments those weaknesses with strength.

7. Can I manage a diverse group of people?

You are going to be responsible for putting a team together that will inevitably have different political, social and economic backgrounds. They will have different attitudes, personalities and viewpoints. These differences are to be celebrated, but they will also need to be managed and lead towards a common goal.

Can you, as a leader, bring your team together when they don’t see eye-to-eye and are at each other’s throats? It will happen, you need to be able to help them forward as a team. Sometimes these differences are impossible to overcome and change needs to happen.

8. Can I let someone go, including someone close to me?

A lot of startups involve friends. Those friends may come from the neighborhood, university or a previous job. Sometimes those friendships get in the way of good business judgement. If anyone, including a friend, is dragging down the business despite repeated attempts to motivate them and having given them a fair chance, they need to go. This is part of your responsibility to everyone on the team who is executing, as well as all of the others mentioned in no. 1 above. 

I’ve had to let people go in all kinds of circumstances. Some of them were close to me. I’ve had people break down in tears, and I’ve broken down in tears myself, but we were able to have the conversation and get through it. It's not easy, so ask yourself whether or not you can handle that type of situation?

9. What are my reasons for starting this company?

Is it to make money, change the world, disrupt an industry, work for yourself, passion, pride? There are a lot of reasons people start companies. Make sure you know why you’re starting your company and that the reason is sound. 

Be realistic if you’re setting out to change the world. Change doesn’t come easy. Make sure that change is wanted or necessary when trying to disrupt an industry. Be self-motivated if you want to work for yourself, and make sure that passion and pride are both in check.

Once you’ve answered these nine questions, get ready for a whirlwind. You’ll feel extremes of every emotion from exhilaration to sorrow, success to failure, anxiety to serenity, doubt to certainty and anger to pleasure. You’ll feel many of those conflicting emotions at the same time and sometimes for the same reason. It’s a wild ride, and if you’re ready for it take the gloves off and come out swinging for the fences, it’s totally worth it.

Lastly, don’t overthink it. If you ask yourself too many questions, you’ll never get them answered and wind up never starting anything at all.

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7 Reasons the CEO Should Get Outside to Exercise

Dear CEO out there,

Try this! See what happen!

The majority of CEO’s spend their time inside, behind a desk, on a plane, in a car, on the phone or otherwise inside. It is easy for them to become overwhelmed with stress and fatigue turning to quick fixes such as caffeine, nicotine and now psych meds to give them the decrease in stress and boosts in energy they are looking for. They can develop a certain laziness with these quick fix solutions, believing they do not have the time to add exercise into their daily routine for fear of not accomplishing what needs to get done during their day. However, all people, especially CEO’s, would perform their jobs much better in taking some time to get outside and nurture their health. To follow are seven benefits to exercising outside.

1. Fresh air.

Offices are full of stale, regurgitated air so why leave the office and go to a gym that has the same feeling? Get outside and allow yourself to deeply and soulfully breathe in large doses of fresh air. It is amazing what fresh air does for the mind, body and spirit. Fresh air cleanses the lungs and brings more oxygen into the cells which increases the energy you need to do what you need to do. It also brings clarity to the brain by improving blood pressure, flow and heart rate. Feeling a deep sense of clarity produces a significant shift in mood from negative to positive.

Exercising outside leaves you feeling relaxed and refreshed, which is essential in strengthening your immune system by decreasing your stress. When you stress your breath becomes shallow, bringing less oxygen into your cells. With increased oxygen to the cells your body works more efficiently to destroy bacteria, viruses and germs, keeping you healthy and missing less days of work. When you truly take care of your body the impact this will have on your overall productivity will increase dramatically.

2. Sun exposure.

The sun is your friend. Exposure to the sun increases the levels of Vitamin D in your body which helps to optimize your hormones. Serotonin is your happy hormone. Being stuck indoors in artificial lighting can cause sluggishness and depression. In addition to natural light exposure, the intensity of the light you're exposed to is also important. Bright light entering through the retina of your eyes is also known to stimulate serotonin production. A great way to get a dose of natural sunlight is to exercise outside. You kill two birds with one stone; you decrease negative mood states, while also getting into peak performance physical and mental condition.

3. Outdoor beauty.

Human evolution occurred, for most part, outside. We lived our lives outside, therefore, there is much evidence to support that esthetically pleasing environments raise serotonin levels which helps you feel good physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. As serotonin increases it has an incredibly powerful influence over your mood, emotions, memory, and even the craving of carbohydrates.

Further, increases in serotonin provide you with feelings of positive self-esteem, it increases your pain tolerance, decreases your appetite, helps your sleep cycle, digestion and body temperature regulation. All of this from being outside in fresh air. It is an immediate stress relieving, feel-good cure. Being outside reminds you there is more to life than work, which is refreshing in itself. It helps you to find the gratitude for the small and more natural parts of life.

4. Triggers the primal regions of the brain and psyche.

Physiologically, outdoor exercise has been shown to inspire a greater commitment to an exercise program. Through this, you trigger the more primal regions of your brain and psyche. Exercising outdoors increases mental and emotional well-being by way of increased energy, regeneration, positivity, gratification, satisfaction, pleasure, self-esteem, liveliness, passion, and a sense of accomplishment, while ridding your psyche of feelings of pressure, unhappiness, stress, confusion, anger and exhaustion.

With a greater variety of options: walking, swimming, paddle boarding, surfing, running, isometrics, hiking, skiing, and far more, you are more likely to stay focused longer, less likely to get bored, and more likely to repeat and return for your workout. Going to a gym can feel like going to another office for another meeting, while exercising outside feels like complete freedom from the confinement of an enclosed space.

5. Sensory stimulation.

Being outdoors creates increased sensory stimulation, connecting all five of your senses. Outdoor exercise can be more strenuous, different and unique, challenging both your mind and body far more than an indoor workout. Factors such as weather shifts, changes in landscape, even running downhill, can challenge different muscle groups, even ones not often used. The more strenuous the exercise, the more energy is expended, the more fat and calories are burned.

It also serves to exercise your mind. When exercising outside your mind becomes aware of the changing terrain. Whether you use the hills, the sand on a beach, a wave, or a winding path, your mind has to focus differently than it would on a flat gym floor. It makes you think about the now, what is right in front you. This is a great way to achieve a true break from the mentality of work. It puts you in the moment allowing you to maximize your workout as a true and complete escape from your day.

6. Positive mood.

Outdoor fitness has many physical benefits but aside from those, the mental benefits are equally as impressive. Being outside and raising your heart rate is revitalizing. It clears your mind of wasteful thoughts and emotions. It allows you to put stress to the side as you focus on being in the zone. It is also a great opportunity to socialize with others and create lasting relationships and pride in your surroundings or to special landmarks in your area. There is no expensive gym membership, and no age limit, which allows you to exercise as a family, or with friends; everyone is welcome with outdoor workouts, and exercising with others is a great way to stay accountable and succeed. This helps you maintain the important relationships in your life that may otherwise fall to the wayside due to your work schedule or stress levels. Work is important but you need to have a life.

7. Spiritual connection.

Many would argue that connecting with your soul and nature is surely one of the greatest benefits to experiencing exercise in the great outdoors. Walking, running, swimming or hiking amid this Universe’s magnificent creations can certainly make you connect more closely with your soul in the most beautiful of ways. Whether it is a meditative state of being one with nature, time alone to think through your deepest thoughts, or time in silent prayer, exercising outside is an optimal way to connect with your spiritual side and get to know yourself, your faith, and your surroundings far better than ever before. It is a great way to metaphorically and figuratively find the deeper answers and solutions to your stressors and problems.

If CEO’s can get in touch with having a life outside of work and a life outdoors they will have a more complete experience of living, loving and working. The time it will take to get outside and workout can only improve their work performance. The time it takes to take care of themselves will be well worth it. When life is lived more fully, CEO's will achieve levels of Peak Performance that can only make them more successful.

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