SkillInside

Confidence breeds success. Are you as confident (and successful) as you can be? When I look back on my 20s, I see two different versions of myself. The first five years were dominated by feelings of insecurity and anxiety. I was living a life I did not want, and I wasn't confident enough to stop it. Then, in the second half of my 20s, I learned to embrace my purpose and began living the life I wanted -- the life of an entrepreneur. One thing is clear: The success I've experienced while launching and growing SkyBell would not have been possible with my old mindset. Now at age 32, I can clearly see my shift from a  negative mindset  to a  success mindset  was caused by my developing more confidence. When you feel confident, the whole world seems to belong to you. You suddenly surround yourself with other successful and confident people, and both opportunities and success come your way with ease. Here are 10 ways you can develop the mindset shared b...

You are limitless.  And I don’t mean that in a “woo woo” law of attraction kind of way.  Science says we have not yet reached the limits of human performance.  Within you, lies the ability to run a 4-minute mile, become a world-class concert pianist, master quantum mechanics, build a hundred-million-dollar business or achieve any other goal you want to accomplish. The catch? It might take 20 years of hard, focused work and sacrifices to accomplish the above goals. Of course, you might not want to dedicate the next 20 years of your life to becoming the best in your field. You might be satisfied to get in the best shape of your life while building a successful 7-figure business and want to stop there. That’s fine.       Regardless, the process of getting better is always the same. The way a couch potato goes from taking an hour to walk a mile to being able to run one in 10-minutes is the same way one would go from running a 10-minute mile...

It's a common debate that is gaining more traction as we move towards the future of work: should you be a generalist or a specialist? It's a common debate that is gaining more traction as we move towards the future of work: should you be a  generalist  or a  specialist ? There are pros and cons to both answers, but the best solution might be right in the middle. Generalists can typically do many different things, such as a handyman who can fix a number of  problems  around the house like plumbing and woodworking or a marketer who can cover everything from social media to broad advertising campaigns. The benefit of this approach is that a generalist has a variety of skills, which can be incredibly useful in the freelancing economy; with a broader skill set, it can be easier to market yourself. If something needs to be done, a generalist can typically do it fairly well and can be called upon in a number of situations. However, there's also the notion of "j...

A major issue continues to plague the modern workplace -- a lack of recognition. As a September 2016  Leadership IQ study  found, most employees aren’t sure if they’re doing a good job. It’s difficult for employees to feel engaged and motivated when they can’t tell if they’re meeting expectations. The best way to tell employees they are succeeding is by offering them career development. Nothing tops investing in the future of the workforce. It establishes trust and respect within the office. To get the most out of employees, focus on establishing a growth oriented culture. When everyone is in the same growth mindset, there is more support and enthusiasm behind efforts that contribute to career management, like a talent mobility program. But it all has to start with a culture that celebrates growth. Here’s how to make those changes: Adjust Your Values and Vision Review the company’s core values once management agrees on emphasizing growth. How do the current valu...

It's time to change your approach . Are you overwhelmed by selling, but underwhelmed by your sales results? Making small tweaks to your professional and personal life can make a huge difference. In fact, you can dramatically   increase your sales  by implementing just a few high-impact changes , at home and at work. Check out these seven proven life hacks for consistently beating your sales goals—without adding to your stress level. Make these powerful habits part of your daily routine to start crushing your sales goals today: 1. Rethink your to-do list.  This might sound controversial, but to-do lists almost can lead to procrastination. If you’re like most salespeople, then you have an ongoing list of items to complete. Most of those items probably get carried over to the next day—and the next day, and the next. Why does this happen? To-do lists are overwhelming: They lack specific deadlines and quickly take on a life of their own. Inst...

Managing your team is a serious responsibility. Are your employees enthusiastic about coming to work? Do they trust and support your vision? To grow your business, you need to do more than supervise. You need to engage and inspire the people you work with to go above and beyond what is being asked of them -- because they want to. One of the best ways of leading is by example. Successful leaders do the following. 1. They never say they’re too busy. Successful leaders know how to manage their time. It’s pretty simple. You either care enough to make time, or you don’t. In my view, helping others is not the enemy of productivity. To better understand what I mean, I recommend reading  an article   The New York Times  magazine published several years ago titled, “Is Giving the Secret to Getting Ahead?” It might stick with you, too. 2. They put forth solutions as often as they identify problems. Pointing out a mistake or that something could be better is easy. ...

The skills gap is widening and workers are feeling it. In fact, Lynda.com recently conducted an  online survey  of nearly 10,000 respondents, and found that about half of them lacked confidence in their job skills. This presents a problem when onboarding new hires. Chances are, they’re feeling the pressure to "know it all" right from the start.The survey found this to be the case with 94 percent of respondents. Such a lack of confidence, of course, would make settling into new jobs potentially rocky experience without the right people and tools to help guide them. Here are four tips to help bring out your new hires’ best qualities from day one, using the right onboarding and social learning experiences: 1. Provide a training path. To be successful, every learning and development initiative needs to begin with a plan. New hires need to know with whom they are training, when they’re training and what they’ll learn, so they don’t feel lost coming into...