SHAMELESS NO-NONSENSE STRATEGIES TO WIN IN BUSINESS
FOREWORD BY JEFFREY HAYZLETT • PRIMETIME TV AND PODCAST HOST, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE HERO FACTOR
vii FOREWORD by Jeffrey Hayzlett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii Discover That Success Is Not Just Possible—It’s Easy! .................... xviii How to Use This Book ...................... xx PART I REALITY-STRETCHING SUCCESS SECRETS CHAPTER 1 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . with a New Reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 contents
success Is easy viii • Contents Creating a Success-Driven Mindset ...................... 4 Win in Business with Belief Shifts ........................ 5 Successful People Make It Look Easy ..................... 7 Seven Strengths and Habits That Successful People Possess ... 9 The Number-One Problem That Doesn’t Guarantee Success .. 11 The Word “Success” Holds Power ..................... 12 Decide to Choose from This Day Forward ................ 13 Choose Success or Failure ............................ 14 Success Is Easy Reality Check.......................... 16 Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ...... 17 CHAPTER 2 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . with Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Forget About Fear and Get Back into the Winner’s Circle .... 21 Prepare to Win .................................... 21 Define What Success Means ........................... 23 What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up? .......... 26 Three Steps to Define Success .......................... 26 Get Out of Your Own Way ........................... 29 Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ...... 29 CHAPTER 3 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . with the Right Mindset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Say No to F.E.A.R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Quit Stopping the Flow of Success ...................... 34 Don’t Tolerate Excuses! .............................. 37 Level Up Your Mindset for Success ..................... 42 Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ...... 45 CHAPTER 4 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . when Failures Turn into Lessons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Embrace Failure and Dysfunction ...................... 48 Invest in Winning from the Start ....................... 50 Focus on Course Correction ........................... 53 Become a Lifelong Student of Failure .................... 54 Lessons I Learned from One of My Biggest Failures ........ 55
success Is easy Contents • ix Not All Failures Are as Dramatic as They Appear .......... 57 Be Willing to Do Things You Don’t Want to Do ........... 60 Practice Overcoming Failure with the Best-Case and Worst-Case Scenarios .......................... 61 Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ...... 63 PART II SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION AND STRATEGIC MARKETING CHAPTER 5 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . with Shameless Self-Promotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 If You Don’t Believe in Yourself, No One Else Will ......... 71 Resenting Self-Promotion Will Sabotage Your Success ....... 72 Ineffective Self-Promotion vs. Effective Self-Promotion ...... 75 Become Shamelessly Sold on Yourself ................... 76 You Cannot Not Market ............................. 76 Learn to Never Give Up .............................. 77 Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ...... 81 CHAPTER 6 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . with “Your ASK in Gear” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83 Ask For What Others Won’t .......................... 85 Asking For Help Cultivates Success ..................... 85 Gain Instant Recognition with the Ask .................. 89 Ask for More Business ............................... 90 Ask for the Sale .................................... 91 Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ...... 93 CHAPTER 7 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . with the Right Mix of Skills and Traits . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95 Success Requires Patience ............................. 96 Seven Powerful Success-Building Characteristics ........... 98 Successful People Think Differently .................... 101 Ten Simple Ways to Improve Your People Skills .......... 103 Create More Positive Vibrations ...................... 106 True Success Begins by Giving Back ................... 107
success Is easy x • Contents Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ..... 108 CHAPTER 8 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . with a Strong Marketing Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Marketing Is Like Fishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Brand Message Consistency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Develop a Solid Brand Promise ....................... 114 See Your Marketing Foundation from a Clearer Viewpoint .. 114 Seven Insights to Help Build a Strong Marketing Foundation .. 116 Build an Effective Marketing Strategy .................. 116 Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ..... 117 PART III PROVEN SUCCESS PRINCIPLES TO WIN IN BUSINESS CHAPTER 9 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . with Vision and Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Seeing Is Believing ................................. 122 Focus on the Big Picture ............................. 125 Set Your Intention ................................. 125 Listen to Your Inner Promptings ...................... 126 The “How” Is None of Your Business .................. 127 Put Your Big Vision into Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Affirmations and Emotion Add Motivation to Your Vision .. 129 Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ..... 132 CHAPTER 10 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . with Focus on Business Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Focus on What Works for Easy Success ................. 136 Avoid the Squirrel Syndrome ......................... 137 Pick a Path and Focus on the Future ................... 138 Focus on Activities That Create Results ................. 139 Mindful Multitasking ............................... 139 Focus on Developing One Big Project at a Time .......... 140
success Is easy Contents • xi Focus on Your Motivation and Decisions ............... 141 Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ..... 142 CHAPTER 11 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . with Set Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 What Motivates You to Achieve Your Goals? ............ 147 People Who Set Goals Are More Successful ............. 148 Make a Firm Commitment to Your Goals ............... 148 Break Big Goals into Small Ones ...................... 149 Take Consistent Action Steps Every Day ................ 149 Define Your Goals with Clarity and Mission ............. 150 Don’t Ignore Obstacles and Challenges ................. 151 Develop a Strategic Goal-Setting Plan .................. 151 Strategic Planning Is Critical to Success ................. 153 Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ..... 154 CHAPTER 12 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . with Strategic Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Action Is the Key to Getting Things Done ............... 158 Action Is the Secret to Manifesting the Life You Want ..... 159 An Action Plan Keeps You in Motion .................. 160 Prioritize Actions and Build Your Business .............. 162 Avoid Perfectionism ............................... 164 Feeling Stuck Makes You Feel Overwhelmed ............. 166 Build Your Bold-Action Momentum ................... 167 Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ..... 169 CHAPTER 13 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . with Calculated Risks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 What Stops People from Taking Risks .................. 172 Playing It Safe Is a Silent Killer of Success ............... 172 Analyze Your Risk ................................ 173 Taking a Calculated Risk vs. a Crazy Risk ............... 175 Evaluate Your Risk/Reward Ratio .................... 177
success Is easy xii • Contents Say “Yes” Only to Risks Worth Taking! ................ 178 Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ..... 179 PART IV COMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE AND GROWTH CHAPTER 14 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . with a Plan for Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 Achieve Your Growth Potential with Accountability ....... 184 Decide if You’re a Business Owner or an Entrepreneur .... 186 Planning Your Way to Growth ....................... 188 The Five Defining Stages of Business Growth............. 191 Develop Systems for Consistent Growth ................ 193 Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ..... 194 CHAPTER 15 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . with Change and Reinvention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Playing to Win Instead of Playing Not to Lose............ 198 Expand Your Level of Awareness to Change ............. 199 Change Can Become a Force for Good ................. 199 Success Itself Fosters Change ......................... 201 Change Overcomes Fear ............................. 204 Harness Change to Reinvent Yourself .................. 206 Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ..... 206 CHAPTER 16 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . with Good Decision-Making Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Make Decisions Faster and Better ..................... 210 How to Get Unstuck ............................... 211 Don’t Take Advice from Chronic Advice Givers .......... 212 Sometimes You Just Have to Trust Your Intuition ......... 213 Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ..... 214 CHAPTER 17 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . with Persistence and Commitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 Regain Power Over Obstacles ........................ 220
success Is easy Contents • xiii Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ..... 225 PART V STEPPING UP TO A HIGHER LEVEL OF SUCCESS CHAPTER 18 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . as a Lifelong Learner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 Commit to Expanding Your Areas of Expertise ........... 230 Improve Your Quality of Life Through Learning ......... 231 The Lifelong Learner Mindset ........................ 232 Implementing the Lessons Life Teaches You ............. 232 Shared Thinking Can Expand Your Mindset ............ 234 Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ..... 234 CHAPTER 19 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . as You Master the Art of Influence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237 Do What You Love and You’ll Influence the World ....... 238 Make It Your Mission to Influence Others .............. 239 Build a Better Business Model ........................ 241 Learn to Develop Charisma .......................... 243 You’re Never Too Old to Influence the World ............ 244 You Have an Authority Figure Within You ............. 244 Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ..... 246 CHAPTER 20 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . as You Master in Sales and Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 Sales and Marketing Go Hand in Hand ................ 250 Good Sales People Become Good Marketers ............. 251 Good Marketers Become Good Salespeople ............. 251 Master the Influence of Sales ......................... 252 Master the Influence of Marketing ..................... 254 Persuading Others Is a Powerful Skill ................... 256 Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ..... 257 CHAPTER 21 SUCCESS IS EASY . . . when You Deliver WOW Moments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
success Is easy xiv • Contents Will Customers Respect You in the Morning? ............ 260 To Gain Loyalty, You Need to WOW Your Customers..... 261 Do What You Say You Will Do, Without Exception ....... 263 Admit Mistakes and Fix Problems When Things Go Wrong . 263 Customer Service Goes Far Beyond Satisfying Customers ... 264 Gain Respect from Customers with Feedback ............ 265 If Customers Are Not a Good Fit: Bless and Release! ...... 265 Make It Easy to Gain Testimonials from Great Customers .. 267 Always Follow Up and Follow Through ................ 267 Follow-Up and Follow-Through Strengthens Connections ... 268 Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and Affirmation ..... 269 The Final Word: Be Brave Enough to Define Your Own Success .......................... 271 RESOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275 ABOUT THE AUTHOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
by Jeffrey Hayzlett
Primetime TV and podcast host, bestselling author of Think Big, Act Bigger (Entrepreneur Press, 2015) and The Hero Factor (Entrepreneur Press, 2018), and part-time cowboy
Debbie Allen’s Success Is Easy offers a fresh, no-nonsense approach to empowering readers who are beginning their journey toward success. This book also covers the critical business concepts to support already-successful entrepreneurs who want to dive deeper and grow their business to the next level.
xv
foreword
The principles in this book provide a forward-thinking mindset and teach common business sense that’s not found anywhere else. The thought-provoking ideas, tips, case studies, and proven business strategies will lift businesspeople out of their rut and put them on the right path to success, whatever their definition of success is.
Whether you’re gun-shy by nature or feel stuck in your current situation, this book will help you visualize and manage the bold action steps required to move ahead and win in business.
I suggest reading this book from cover to cover. Turn to any page and gain instant knowledge in areas you need to focus on most right now. Keep this book in a personal success library as a reference and share it with business associates.
Saddle up! And dare to be honest while you read through this book and consider what you need to change and improve in your life. That’s how to gain the most insight from this book, and your success journey will become easier, with fewer bumps and obstacles along the way. And who knows what you might actually discover in this pot of gold on the other side?
Foreword by Jeffrey Hayzlett
success Is easy xvi •
Do you really need another book on success? Thousands of books on success and goal setting already sit on bookshelves around the world. But what is missing in those books is a real-world, say-it-like-it-is focus on no-nonsense, proven principles and shameless strategies for achieving success. There is a huge gap of practical advice, which is probably why most people still think of success as hard—or even unattainable. This mindset is instilled in them at a very young age. But it is simply not true!
xvii
introduction
If I believed success was hard, I would have failed or struggled with money my entire life. I got poor grades in school and barely graduated from high school. I never attended a day of college in my life. I never even applied for a job. According to popular belief, with my background, I was destined to be broke or at best live paycheck to paycheck just to survive. But some how I built and sold multiple million-dollar companies in diverse industries, beginning at the young age of 19.
I succeeded many more times than I failed, simply because I believed in winning. My goal is to achieve success—to do whatever it takes to never have to work for anyone else for the rest of my life.
I am an independent thinker and know how to break the rules. Much of what I learned in business was taught in the proverbial school of hard knocks. I believe I can be successful at anything I set my mind to, even when I am clueless about how to do something. There is nothing special about the way I think about business, except for the fact that I always believe I can succeed, because Success Is Easy.
Here’s the good news: You don’t have to know how to succeed to be successful. Success is taught in almost any business venture. With clarity, focus, and commitment, you can easily learn proven business skills from already successful people to gain the knowledge you need to build, grow, and prosper in business.
Taking action is critically important for achieving success, but those actions will fail until you master the deeply personal aspects driving success. The hard truth is that success isn’t just a series of actions. It is an attitude, a belief, and a hard-wired commitment.
Discover That Success Is Not Just Possible—It’s Easy!
Success Is Easy is a guide to what is possible. It pulls no punches in unveiling the truth about how easy it is to build a successful business. This book is designed to demystify success by introducing reality-stretching principles that work in any type of business.
success Is easy xviii • Introduction
Success Is Easy presents a no-excuses approach to turning timid, fearful, unclear, or stuck businesspeople into fearless, shameless, and powerful influencers who are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve success.
This empowering book encourages those who have failed in the past to step up and become winners. It will help turn negative complainers into positive, abundant stewards of success!
The key points in this book encourage you to visualize your own success, to pay close attention to the amazing opportunities surrounding you every day, and to know when to say “no” to opportunities that don’t serve and support your goals. The thoughtprovoking, reality-gripping ideas, case studies, and business strategies I share will inspire you not just to take action, but to jump into bold, shameless action. And to do that, there are a few tips you should keep in mind as you read the book. Let’s walk through them.
Success Is Defined Differently for Every Person
First, remember that success is defined differently for each person at different times in life. You are asked to define your own success in great detail so you can begin to feel it. This allows a deeper understanding of your “what” and “why” to give meaning and a sense of accomplishment once you arrive at success. Then it’s a matter of learning how to set a new benchmark to keep rising to a higher level.
Success Is a Road Paved with Obstacles and Opportunities
Although you can have an easy road to success, your journey will generally be paved with hurdles and obstacles to test you along the way. True desires and commitments are tested so you can learn lessons, improve, grow, and feel the satisfaction of achieving your goals. Think about that for a moment. Have you overcome challenges? Once you overcame an obstacle, did you learn a lesson? And, most important, Did it give you a feeling of satisfaction
success Is easy Introduction • xix
and achievement? Did it make you feel more confident and more successful?
Most obstacles are caused by negative beliefs that may not even be true. The obstacles may only be perceived or assumed, but once they stick in your mind, they may appear insurmountable.
A destructive mindset will block, limit, sabotage, and often destroy your chances for success. You may discover that crushing any limiting beliefs will lead to seeing more success show up everywhere, almost like magic. Why? Because looking at the opportunities that surround you every day with a more positive mindset allows you to see a new world of limitless success.
For example, in business, it really isn’t a question of if something will go wrong. Rather, it’s a matter of when: How do you respond, make adjustments, and move forward? That is what will determine your level of success.
The only thing that can turn mistakes into failures is when a person does not learn from the mistakes. Lessons are gifts of success in disguise. They are given to you to expand your thinking and to offer you a challenge for positive change.
The common-sense business advice and shameless strategies in this book will challenge you to roll up your sleeves and get to work when mistakes or obstacles appear—but only if you are serious about wanting more success in your business and your life.
How to Use This Book
I wrote this book to share my life’s work with you. In the process, I’ve learned to expand my own thinking and beliefs around the concept of success. The goal of this book is to get you fired up to become the best version of yourself. It doesn’t matter if your idea of success is running a business, growing a franchise, or becoming a financially independent entrepreneur. This book aims to raise your existing standards and move you toward achieving your limitless success potential.
There is no magic pill for achieving success. But this book will put you on the right path toward accomplishing more with drive and determination and much more success than you currently possess.
success Is easy xx • Introduction
Reading Success Is Easy strategies and taking action is easy, too. This book provides bite-sized chunks of easy-to-swallow business wisdom that will help you create abundance and success. The book is divided into five main parts:
• Part I: Reality-Stretching Success Secrets
• Part II: Shameless Self-Promotion and Strategic Marketing
• Part III: Proven Success Principles to Win in Business
• Part IV: Commitment to Excellence and Growth
• Part V: Stepping Up to a Higher Level of Success
You may, of course, read the book cover to cover (and I hope you do!), but also feel free to toggle back and forth between chapters as they apply to your situation. At the end of each chapter, there is a summary with highlights of the chapter to help you stay on track with your goals, with Shameless, No-Nonsense Action Steps and a Success Is Easy Affirmation.
Let’s get started on the road to success right now!
success Is easy Introduction • xxi
