Posts

Showing posts from March, 2023

When “Success” Feels Like it’s Not Happening Fast Enough

The post When “Success” Feels Like it’s Not Happening Fast Enough appeared first on I Will Teach You To Be Rich . from I Will Teach You To Be Rich https://ift.tt/V4R5krN

Shaping Sara Blakely: Meet the Billionaire Founder of Spanx

Sara Blakely had just been rushed to the hospital. She was scheduled for an emergency appendectomy when a nurse glanced at her chart and suddenly lifted her uniform, brazenly revealing her undergarments. This unexpected peep show didn’t faze Blakely a bit (nor did the surgery, by the way). In fact, she was used to it. “People flash me all the time,” she says nonchalantly. “It’s hysterical.” Blakely , 52, is the founder and executive chairwoman of Spanx , the Atlanta-based shapewear company that rocketed to fame after Oprah Winfrey included it on her “Oprah’s Favorite Things” list in 2000. Spanx’s line of slimming, toning and other garments is expansive, including jeans, leggings, dresses and even swimwear, alongside a line of products for men and the shapewear the company is known for. And her loyal customers apparently just can’t help but show off to Blakely that they’re wearing her products whenever and wherever they see her. She’s been flashed at concerts, cocktail parties and ev

10 Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get Things Done

Perfectionists are often great procrastinators. Having stalled until the last minutes, they tear into a project with dust flying and complaints about insufficient time. Perfectionist-procrastinators are masters of the excuse that short notice kept them from doing the quality job they could have done. But that’s hardly the only variety of procrastination. Mine comes with a gnawing feeling of being fatigued, always behind. I try to tell myself that I’m taking it easy and gathering my energies for a big new push, but procrastination differs markedly from genuine relaxation— which is truly needed . And it saves me no time or energy. On the contrary, it drains both, leaving me with self-doubt on top of self-delusion. We’re all busy. Every day we seem to have a giant to-do list of people to see, projects to complete, emails to write . We have calls to answer and calls to make.  By the Inch Life’s a Cinch, by the Yard It’s Hard People usually procrastinate because of fear and lack of

How to Manage Spring Break as a Working Parent

What comes to mind when you see the words “spring break”? Perhaps it’s being enveloped by beachfront breezes, luxuriating in ocean views and feelings of stress melting away with each sip of your brightly colored drink. Rather than mitigating the stress of working parents, however, a week-long school holiday can potentially multiply it , adding to the frenetic pace of life that comes with juggling a career while raising a family. Spring break tips for parents Here are a few tips to successfully navigate spring break as a working parent, as well as how to better address the overall balancing act . Have a plan—and make it in advance Unlike an up-all-night sick child who requires day-of scrambling to readjust schedules, you’ll know at the start of the school year the date of your child’s spring break. Then you can determine if you’d like to: Plan a family vacation during that time (giving your workplace plenty of advance notice) Make alternate childcare arrangements for young chil

8 Reasons Why Walks Are Good for Relationships

Hey, brain researchers—yeah, you with the lab coats and electrodes. Where are all the studies on how walks benefit relationships? On why taking a stroll together is as great for romance, family ties and friendship as it is for muscles and Reebok sales? My web sleuthing has turned up no such studies. Well, no biggie. Over the years, I’ve developed plenty of my own theories on what makes walking the best thing for human bonding since the smile : 1. Walks benefit relationships by showing you care. Going to dinner with someone could just mean you’re hungry. A movie? Maybe you’ve got a crush on Angelina Jolie. But inviting a friend or loved one for a walk shows you really want to spend time with that person. I’ll never forget how, one day in the mid-1980s, my pal Bill offered to walk with me clear across our New Jersey college town so I could buy yarn. He had zero interest in yarn—which is how I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he was interested in me. (Yes, he’s the Bill I’m now

Stay on Track for Productivity

Technology makes it possible to work and run a business from anywhere—and millions of U.S. workers have packed up their cubicles and headed home to do just that . Although they bade a not-so-fond farewell to challenges such as commuting, meetings and rigid hours, the solo situation isn’t 100% rosy: It’s easy to fall into time-wasting traps that deplete energy and sabotage productivity. In Buffer’s “ 2022 State Of Remote Work ” report, 21% of participants reported “difficulty focusing” as one of their struggles with remote work. So, what can you do to stay focused while working form home? How to stay focused while working from home We asked working-from-home experts and entrepreneurs to discuss common problems and solutions. Set boundaries with friends and family. Lisa Kanarek , a Dallas-based home office guru, freelance writer and author, says many entrepreneurs who use home as their headquarters share this thorny situation: Friends and family don’t take your business seriously.

From the Archives: Taking Stock of and Improving the Quality of your Character

Merchants take account of their stock at least once a year. Grocers must know if the canned goods are accumulating while half the tea boxes are empty; dry goods merchants must list their muslins, merinos, silks and ribbons to decide in what quantities to buy next time so that the coming year may be more successful than the last one. Whatever your business may be, your character—your personality—is your chief stock in trade. Did you ever take stock of the quality of your character? How do you know you are not carrying an oversupply of qualities that are not only dead stock but also tend to lessen your success receipts? Did you ever calmly count the number of times you were rude in a day and realize that your rudeness is keeping you from customers, friends, money, advancement and, perhaps, even the love of your family? How “long” are you on dishonesty? Wouldn’t your standing in business and society be higher if you “stocked up” on business integrity ? You say that a rash venture of you

Gaby Natale, 3-time Daytime EMMY® winner, on the Power of Believing in Yourself

When Gaby Natale looks back and connects the dots of her own life story, she sees a thread uniting her experiences. “As a journalist, as an immigrant, as an author, as a speaker, the commonality is a story of breaking barriers,” she says. The Argentina-born author, entrepreneur and popular SuperLatina TV show host and executive producer calls this breaking of barriers part of the “pioneer spirit.” She often says that being a pioneer is the story of her own life. “As a journalist, I am the first Latina to win three daytime Emmys back-to-back,” she explains. “As an author, I am the first Latina author published by the Leadership Division of HarperCollins, and as a speaker, way, way too many times I am either the only woman or the only Latina or the only woman of color, and for sure the only one with this accent.” “It was a long road of embracing my uniqueness and celebrating my uniqueness,” Natale reflects. “The more comfortable I felt in my own skin and with who I was , the better

Perform at Your Peak Level with These 5 Mind-Sharpening Tips

Did you know your mindset and emotions are the gateway to your success? They hold the keys to unlock the innovation, ingenuity and potential you have within you, allowing you to overhaul and improve your business. How you think impacts everything, so it’s important to learn how to sharpen your mind. From competitive positioning to impeccable leadership, mindset is the greatest dictator. Mastering your thoughts and cultivating superior thinking will serve your business well. Are you ready to harness your intellect and think big? How to sharpen your mind Try these five simple steps to upgrade your thinking and maximize your success: 1. Optimize your mind. Optimizing your mindset lays the foundation for your success. It involves powerful mind shifts about who you are and what you can achieve. Just as athletes optimize their bodies, entrepreneurs should optimize their minds. Start by recognizing self-defeating and sabotaging thought patterns and replacing these patterns with pow

So What’s The Deal With Prenups?

Divorce is an expensive process —you can lose significant wealth between lawyer fees, alimony and the general splitting of assets. On this episode of rich & Regular , Julien and Kiersten Saunders delve into the controversial topic of prenuptial agreements. Prenuptial agreements, or “prenups,” can dictate how assets are allocated, debts will be paid and children will be raised . Kiersten observes that divorce without a prenup is a bit like building an IKEA chest without directions. Prenups are about planning for the unexpected , like insurance for marriage. However, as vital as they are, there is a stigma around them.  The Saunders weigh in on how the nature of marriage has changed, bust three prenuptial myths and discuss the idea of the “postnuptial agreement,” done after a couple is already married.  Learn more at richandregular.com , purchase Cashing Out: Win the Wealth Game by Walking Away by Kiersten and Julien Saunders and follow on Instagram @richandregular . Support

Even Creative Geniuses Create Things That Don’t Work

For the past year I’ve been fascinated with creative work and the people who do it for a living. I think it all began with this quote from Ira Glass: “Nobody tells people who are beginners—and I really wish somebody had told this to me—is that all of us who do creative work… we get into it because we have good taste. But it’s like there’s a gap, that for the first couple years that you’re making stuff, what you’re making isn’t so good, OK? It’s not that great. It’s really not that great. It’s trying to be good, it has ambition to be good, but it’s not quite that good…. A lot of people never get past that phase. A lot of people at that point, they quit. “And the thing I would just like say to you with all my heart is that most everybody I know who does interesting creative work, they went through a phase of years where they had really good taste and they could tell what they were making wasn’t as good as they wanted it to be—they knew it fell short, it didn’t have the special thing th

7 Questions to Answer Before Starting a New Business

Becoming a business owner is an adventure into new, exciting territory. It takes a special blend of dreams, business sense and looking within for what matters most to you in order to succeed in starting a new business. If you watch Shark Tank , you know that entrepreneurs go in front of the expert panel looking for funding. It’s great entertainment, but it’s also a learning opportunity to see if these entrepreneurs have matched their dreams with a plan that makes others want to invest in their new business. Now that I’ve been an entrepreneur for 19 years, I get lots of calls for advice and tips on how to start a new business successfully . In truth, there is no one easy answer. But if you can answer these questions, it can help you make sure starting a business is not only the right decision, but that it’s the right time to do so. 1. Why do you want to start a business? Know the deep-down, real reason you want to create this new business. It must be more than having a career or jo

The Power of Strong Friendships in Strengthening Well-Being

The Missouri River rolled by on our right, shining bright as it reflected the noonday sun. To our left, leafy green trees obscured a golden-yellow cliff face that climbed high into the sky. Below us lay a crushed limestone bike path called the Katy Trail, a gray snake that slithers east to west across Missouri. Small rocks crunched and cracked beneath our tires. We forged ahead at 14 mph, a brisk pace but one that made conversation possible. And when my friend Fred “Honey Pot” Williams, M.D., a 62-year-old gastroenterologist and beekeeper (hence the nickname), talks, I listen. We talked about friendship; we talked about loneliness; we talked about defeating the cancer that lurks within him—and we talked about how all of those are related. This conversation came during an annual adventure called 50-50-50 in which my friends and I hike 50 miles, bike 50 miles and canoe 50 miles all in one epic four-day weekend. We originally scheduled it so Williams would join us on the last day of h