Have you ever met someone who was very smart, yet never really achieved the success they should have?

Or have you met someone who worked really hard, yet still never succeeded the way they wanted?

I have even met people who had both intelligence and a great work ethic with a never quit attitude who still were missing something to get them to their goals. I know many who feel that those who possessed these two traits were sure to succeed. Why was this false?

I have found over the years there is much more to being successful. The key part of this quote is the phrase “by themselves”. Now the part of ‘working for yourself’ is one reason why many become an entrepreneur. They feel they want their freedom and can do it better than anyone else. They get into business being the lone ranger being everything from the chief to the cook to the bottle washer as the saying goes. Sound familiar for anyone you know?

I used to be the same way. I used to take care of as much as possible myself. I achieved some success, yet never the freedom I was truly looking for. This is because all I had created was a higher paying job for myself. Not exactly the lifestyle I envisioned when I started.

I realized after talking with my mentors I was lacking a key component to create the life I wanted – I needed a team! With a team, I was able to leverage their time, their abilities, their commitment, their ideas. I was able to reach more people. Provide more value. Solve more challenges. Spend more time doing the activities which grow the business as opposed to just maintaining my existing business. Having a strong team is one of the keys in growing from a being a solo-preneur to being an actual business.

This realization and action steps taken toward creating this is what allows me the time to balance my life. I get to spend time with my family. I get to take off when I want. I’m able to take care of my health. I get to enjoy the lifestyle I had always envisioned when I thought of successful people. Is this part of what your vision of success looks like to?

When it is, take a lesson from my path to success. All the intelligence and grit in the world will get you only so far on your journey. Adding in other components like building a strong team is important to have the impact to truly reach the success you always dreamed. Time to start figuring out what team members will help your business grow.

What is the one common element in each line of Karen’s quote above? That’s right, it’s the fact it all starts with you – how hard you are willing to work, how far you are willing to search, how deeply you analyze yourself and how big your vision is.

Knowing that it all comes from you, what have you done lately to help yourself grow?

Once the average American finishes school, they read less than 5 books for the rest of their lifetime. The amazing part of this is, the truly successful 5%ers in the world realize the value in constantly learning and improving themselves. They continue to sharpen and expand their minds since they know it’s the greatest tool they have to create the vision they have for their life.

Now many ask themselves, what is the importance to reading? Reading continues to open and expand your mind and your thoughts. And as you know from attending my Mindset Mastery Experience or Maverick Selling Business Builder Bootcamp, your success begins with your thoughts. Whatever you think in your mind, you will become. To continue to grow in today’s quickly changing world, you must want to continue to learn new ideas to continue your growth path, new ways to approach challenges, and new methods to identify and change limiting beliefs.

What skills do you need to step your life and business up to the next level? What do you feel is missing or could use sharpening? Make a list of these areas. Now go search out books which focus on these. It’s a great place to start to learn about the some of the additional ingredients you want to include in your recipe for success.

Knowing the success which can be created from reading and implementing new ideas, what was the last book you read? Instead of just answering this one in your head, reply back to this question via email. I would love to hear what you have been reading since I am usually reading 3-5 books at any given time which means I always need a good recommendation for my next book.

Are you ready to stretch and grow your mindset to achieve more? Add in 15-30 minutes a day of reading every day. This will expand your mindset and expand your life.

Do It Different!
Paul Finck
The Maverick Millionaire

P.S. This is one of my daily Maverick Moments which is part of my Maverick Membership program.  To receive daily Maverick Moments along with other expert trainings and question and answer times with me, grab all the benefits for you as one of my Mavericks today by clicking here.