If you were here last week! We talked about two or five tips to success! Well today I am back with the final three! Lets get into it!
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Sometimes it is hard to understand, but the problems that we face may be the door to a new opportunity. As you watch this video, you will notice several of the women saw a problem in their life and found a way to create an opportunity. 

Every problem needs a solution what you have to offer may be the answer. Instead of allowing the things that frustrate you to turn you away, why not dig to find a resolution to the problem.  When Steve Jobs started Apple, it was because he hated his current phone. Instead of allowing his frustration to sit, he found new and innovative ways to get technology into peoples hands. 

As you see today, many people have iPhones, and the Apple company has had tremendous success. That success would not have been possible had Jobs not turned his frustration into an invention. 

The thing you must understand is that your frustrations may also be someone else's frustration. So instead of allowing people to walk around frustrated, why not be the solution to the problem? Let's start finding and being solutions, rather than continuing to let issues sit! 

                                              You are the answer to someone concern!
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Success starts with taking small steps daily to reach the overall goal. We live in a popcorn paced world, and as a result, we can look for the fastest way to achieve our goals. The thing about quick results is those results can just as quickly fail. Instead of focusing on how quick to succeed, focus on how to accomplish well. If you want to start a business, make a five-year plan and begin by figuring out what you need to do today to get there. 

                                   Focus on what is necessary today to succeed tomorrow!​
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The final and most crucial factor to success is to permit yourself to move! You never have to wait around for someone else to give you the green light to do something, start now! 

Being your CEO starts with taking a vision and building it the way YOU want to create it. Do not be so people driven that you do not do things your way! You make the decisions, and you plan the direction of your dreams! ​

When we go to a 9-5, we are fulfilling the vision of the companies CEO. But now is the time to start bringing YOUR vision to fruition. Never allow yourself to get so busy accomplishing the goals of others that you forget to build what was placed inside of you! Today, give yourself permission to put your vision first!

Each and every day we get a new opportunity to reach out dreams. Success is available for you, but you have to make a choice to work for it! Until next time! -Tamika!

Over this past week, I came across a fantastic video on YouTube (linked below). In this video five women, CEOs share their top secrets to success. While success looks different for everyone, the insights shared within this video can help you no matter who you are. The journey to reaching your dreams can often be long and tedious, but remaining focused on what is on the other side of the grind is much more beneficial than being uncomfortable temporarily. 

“Opportunities don’t happen. You create them” -Chris Grosser
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The critical thing to understand about success is it starts by taking advantage of the opportunities that are in front of you. Success requires you to work hard and be dedicated even when you do not see results. It requires that you learn to produce your best even when no one is watching. Success starts with taking opportunities and maximizing them. It starts with learning to stop sitting on your ideas and visions and creating them into a reality. These ladies did that, and their insight can help you get the push you need to do it also. Today I want to share with you five success tips the stories of successful entrepreneurs can teach you.
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We can get so focused on everyone else’s program to success that we start duplicating what they did. When we see others succeeding in a certain way, we can develop a mindset that their way is the best and only way to success. While this may seem like a resolution, I ensure you, it is not. People are not looking for replicas; they are looking for the difference in the crowd. 

Just because someone has a lifestyle blog does not mean that you can’t too, but find creative ways to share your content. Your unique ability is what will attract others to you. We all have a unique vibe that we bring to the table, being confident in what you have to offer is the number one way to succeed! Instead of allowing your difference to limit you, let it motivate you to reach new people in a new way. Being different is a good thing!
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It is our human nature to focus on negative rather than the positive. It is easy to talk yourself out of doing something instead of figuring out how to reach your goals and be successful. Start by refocusing on your game plan. Instead of focusing on things that limit your success, find ways to conquer! Success starts with you being determined to face adversity head-on, knowing that you will not allow it to win! Some of the best ideas and inventions never take off because the person was so focused on the limits instead that they lost the opportunity to create something amazing!

Being success minded starts with training your mind to focus on what looks like a challenge and to see it as an opportunity. 
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                                                       Do not allow your obstacles to win!

Well friends, I know I said five tips and I promise they are coming, but since this post was getting lengthy I decided to do a part 2. Come back next Thursday for part two!

If you look around at the world today, you'll see there's been a significant shift in the culture. It seems now, more than ever people are leaving their "stable and steady" 9-5 positions, to embrace the risky world of entrepreneurship. While many people leave for many reasons, more and more we see the corporate world is no longer the only norm. 

While many people are running to leave their day job, they are not allowing themselves appropriate time to grasp the lessons a 9-5 teaches. Going to a job every day is much more than punching in on a clock, it is an opportunity to learn lessons for your personal growth and development. The lessons you learn allow you to develop the skills that you can apply toward the fulfillment of your future goals.

Each life lessons is a stepping stone towards personal growth and development. During my journey, I have learned to embrace the 9-5 season. Instead of that looking at it as a burden, I have learned to take note of what is going on around me. Today I want to share with you three lessons I have learned, and my hope is you too will learn to look past the day to day of a 9-5 and look at it as a training ground for your future. Let's dig in!
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During my working years, I have seen both good and bad communication! I have learned it is essential to be mindful of how you communicate in any capacity. It does not matter if you work in the mailroom or if you are the CEO of a company, you are required to communicate with somebody. Communication is one of the critical components to a companies success. It is more than just getting the point across; it is how you get the point across.

Good communication requires you to be clear and effective. It is crucial to learn to explain things in an easy to understand manner and to allow it to be something that produces change. When you communicate better, you develop better internal and external relationships. 

Excellent customer communication may bring a happy customer back, good conversation with a vendor may lead to a great deal/partnership, proper employer/employee communication may make it easier to retain the employee. Proper communication is essential to drive success and positive results.
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Adaptability is not something that can be taught. When we learn to adapt, we learn to respond better to change, and when we can better respond to change, we are more likely to succeed. Life is full of change, and that change is evident in companies. Even when a company is doing good, there is always an opportunity to do and be better. It is important to realize that you can not settle in where you are now (no matter how safe it feels) as you must learn to get in position for a shift.

All businesses and companies go through good seasons and bad season. And while the good seasons allow us to ride on the high, there is always an opportunity to do better. Difficult seasons teach lessons to enable a company to reexamine current processes and procedures while considering a new plan of action. 
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Whether you are the employer or the employee, be prepared for change. There is ALWAYS change. I know that change can create chaos, but how we respond to change is up to us. Being prepared and understanding change promotes success.
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I used to think that the title boss and leader were interchangeable! When I delved into the 9-5 world, I quickly learned they were not. Being boss focused is typically an individual who is self-absorbed and focused on results. They can be critical and often blame others as the cause of issues. A leader focuses on how to help grow, develop, and maximize their team. They find their focus on assisting you to become the best you that you can be. 

A title does not make someone a leader! I think we often get that confused! "Leadership" roles within a company provide fantastic learning and growing opportunities however many see it as an opportunity to be demanding. Most employees want someone who can help them grow, rather than someone who has no empathy and is only result driven. 

Having excellent leadership opens the opportunity for employees to grow to their highest potential. Being a leader is not about a title/position, it is about how you carry yourself as a person and how you respond to others. 

​Going to a job every day can seem like a task, but today I encourage you to pay attention to what is going on around you in your current corporation, the good, the bad and the ugly! Allow what you see not to be a distraction but a lesson to push you in the right direction. I wish you the best in your daily ventures! Until next time!

Tamika

PS. Share below some things that working at a 9-5 has taught you!