Author: Paul Singh

My friend Ramit told me a story about how he’d been consistently turned down for scholarships back in college. When he made the effort to start smiling more often during the interviews, he immediately saw positive results (and was able to land a few scholarships in no time).

Small gains in the things you deem important, consistently and over a long period of time, are the cornerstone of what will get you ahead.

What small steps can you start taking today? If you’re unsure, email me – I’d be happy to brainstorm a few ideas with you.

1. Have a Plan. Alright, this sounds really simple.* It is.* The hardest part is finding the motivation to put it on paper. Start by putting together a simple timeline – all you need is two dates:
   1. When are you going to leave your current job?
   2. When do you plan to start your new job?
2. **Narrow Your Focus. **Hopefully in your first job, you had the opportunity to experience new things, build on your strengths and find things that interest you. Instead of applying for every job out there, be picky. Find and pursue roles that excite you. If you want to get into Finance but you were a Medieval History major – give it a shot. Your experience, talent and confidence will speak volumes about you.
3. **Call Your Friends. **Wait, what? Just like you, your friends have been out there busting their butts for the past few years. You might have friends in different fields and companies all over the world. Your network is much bigger than you think. Network with the people that know you best and those that can sell your strengths!
4. Don’t Forget the Internet. I know Monster.com and all its derivatives can be cumbersome to use and hit-or-miss. But you never know where opportunity is hiding. Put your brand new resume out there and see who bites. I know from experience that some of the best opportunities can fall into your lap from where you least expect it.
5. Don’t be Afraid. You’re smart, young, talented and ambitious. You’ve probably thought of a million reasons why you shouldn’t quit and how it will lead to disastrous results. It won’t. If you think you can’t find something – you will. You might think the getting rejected is the worst thing that can happen to you, but it’s not. It’s far worse to accept fate and stagnate at a young age. This period in your career is a time to learn new things, develop yourself and find what really motivates you. Find the right opportunity and take it!

Now, about that girlfriend that wants to get married… maybe next time.

In the words of Calvin Coolidge:

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “Press On” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.

Most successful people will tell you that they “failed” many times along the way. The difference between them and the people who are struggling to get by is that the highly successful picked themselves up and tried again. And again. And again.

Dale Carnegie noted that, “The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way.”

So ask yourself this: Do you want to be successful or mediocre?

Here’s what you can do now: After you’ve thought deeply about a big idea you can execute, and you’ve verified just how sleepy your competition is, don’t let anyone talk you out of charging ahead. Pursuing big ideas requires persistence. So don’t give up when things don’t go exactly as planned – stay the course and you will see (big) results!

I’m going to share the rules of the road that summer interns should live and breathe – follow them and you’ll save yourself some embarrassment and start impressing your new coworkers. Get to it:

1. Observe first—then speak. You’re an intern for a reason. Do I really need to explain this further?
2. Aim high. You’ve got a real job now. While the rest of your friends fold clothes at the latest department store, you’re starting your professional career. Go you.
3. Introduce yourself to others. That’s right: I don’t know you and I probably deleted the email announcing your arrival. Make the most of your bathroom breaks, copy machine runs and TPS reportdeliveries – say hello to people on the way.
4. Set goals. You’re going to report on Project XYZ every Monday. While you’re at it, you’ll be reporting on Project ABC every Wednesday. You get the idea -** **become the always-gets-things-done kid. Listen, there’ll be plenty of grunt work; get that done, efficiently and professionally, then focus on the real reason you’re here.
5. Ask for work. There’s nothing greater than an intern that asks to get involved in projects. Sure, do the work that your boss assigns you but don’t be shy when you hear about a project that interests you.
6. Attend every meeting. Every. Single. One. While you’re at it, go to every lunch that you’re invited to. (Best practice: If invited for a date, don’t go.) It’s the best way to learn how a business works. There’s no better way to learn about office politics, decision making, interpersonal communication and management hierarchies.
7. Come prepared to work, well rested, and ready. Seriously, no one cares that you were out, like, drinking and, like, hanging out with hotties. You’re working with professionals now, start acting like one.
8. Make friends with everyone, equally. Sure, make a list of everyone you’re dying to meet and go knock on their doors; if they’re not in their offices, pop them an e-mailed hello. Don’t discriminate: the new employee that no one knows might be the one to tip you off about a job opening next year.
9. Get over yourself. An internship is an opportunity. You were good enough to get hired, so give yourself a pat on the back but now it’s time gain experience. Be a sponge. Take every assignment. Attend every event. Who cares if you look like an ass? This isn’t the time to play it cool.
10. Figure out who the ‘stars’ are and do what they do. This is the most important tip – memorize it. These people have done all the hard work for you, all you need to do is mimic them. What could be easier?

Remember: You’re going to get ahead by working your ass off and showing up for everything.

That’s it – now get back to work. Someday, when you’re my new boss, please don’t forget that I helped you succeed in your first internship. So work hard and have a great summer. Now go get me a coffee, intern!

Sometimes we get down on ourselves for “slacking off” or procrastinating, when in reality we are thinking through a tough decision. In The Procrastinator’s Guide to Success, author Lynn Lively reassuringly notes that if you feel uncertain, confused, overwhelmed, and clueless on how to proceed (we all have those moments!), then you’re not procrastinating; you’re a person who is considering options in order to make the best possible decision. Starting to feel better about yourself yet?

If you spend a little time putting a positive spin on all your actions, it will become second nature, and you’ll soon find that you’re more productive. How, you ask? Think of it this way: Every moment you spend worrying about the past is a moment you could spend learning from your mistakes so that you can become a better (and more successful) person.

We could all take a lesson from Thomas Edison, who struggled through more than 10,000 unsuccessful attempts to create the first light bulb before he finally got it right. Imagine if he’d wasted his time dwelling on his so-called “failures” or (even worse) if he’d called himself a failure and given up; who knows how long mankind would’ve been left in the dark.

So the next time you hit a stumbling block, note what went wrong, make the appropriate changes, and celebrate the fact that you’re one step closer to your goal.

As Jack Welch put it:

Don’t beat yourself up if you get it wrong some of the time, especially when you’re starting out. Just remember, it’s your mistake to fix.

And that’s the key: As long as you recognize the mistake and take action to correct it, move on. Life’s too short to beat yourself up anyways.

How you can make this work for you: Take a good, hard look at a recent mistake that you’re beating yourself up over. Instead of focusing on the negative, stop and think about the good that came from the experience. Did you walk away with a better understanding of how to handle a similar situation the next time it rolls around? Did you learn a new skill? Look for the silver lining, and commit yourself to taking something positive from everything you do.

Most successful entrepreneurs have adopted some form of process to capture ideas that (randomly) come to them on a daily basis and from the people that matter (usually their customers or employees).

Here’s what I do:

1. I carry a Moleskine notebook around on a daily basis and keep my favorite Parker pen (with gel insert, of course) to capture my ideas immediately.
2. On a monthly basis, I email 5 people (usually a mix of recent contacts and previous clients) asking them what they think of me. Here’s what you can do today: Email your friends, trusted customers and advisors (you have those, right?) and simply ask them, “When you think of me, what words come to mind?” Input from those who know (and love) you best is invaluable when it comes time to build a personal brand that is uniquely you.

As Tom Peters said, “take a lesson from the big brands.” Most businesses will survey their customers by simply picking up the phone and calling them. If email is more your style, shoot them a quick note asking what comes to mind when they hear your name. The comments you gather can help determine if their vision of you is how you want to be seen. If they weren’t able to capture your personal brand in a sentence or two, or if they stumbled through their response, your personal brand isn’t clear enough.

Remember, new ideas are all around you. Make sure you’re organized enough to capture them when they start falling in your lap. Bonus: Having all of your ideas captured in one notebook will make it easy to go back and see patterns. (Still don’t believe me? Tim Ferriss has an eight-foot stretch of shelves in my house containing nothing but full notebooks.)

1. Select the strategy: Looking for an underserved market.
2. Connect to customers: The social network as idea collector.
3. Generate ideas: Brain-storming done right.
4. Select an idea: Time to separate the good from the great.
5. Prototype and test: Bring on the customers.
6. Go to market: Cookies versus cookie dough.
7. Adjust for growth: The process evolves.

One line especially jumped out at me because it applies to you and me:

It’s not about brilliance. Valuable new ideas are the product of hard work and smart, disciplined processes.

I’ve read a couple of Ram’s books but two of my favorites are “Profitable Growth Is Everyone’s Business: 10 Tools You Can Use Monday Morning” and “What the CEO Wants You to Know : How Your Company Really Works”. Definitely worth picking up.

You get the idea: I tried to be everything to everyone but ended up being no one to anyone. More importantly, my clients started to see me as the guy they could just dump any task on. (In retrospect though, perhaps they trusted me enough to know that I could handle nearly anything they gave me and they knew I was the poor college kid that would take it with a smile.)

Look at monster.com or careerbuilder.com and compare them to the jobs section of your local newspaper – which are you most likely to check when you’re hunting for a new place to work? (If you’re reading this blog, you better not have chosen the newspaper.)

What I learned is that success favors a “best-of-breed player”, a company devoted to one line of business. The people that focus on dominating a single market usually destroy the people that try to be the best at everything. Make sense?

If I were to ask your friends, coworkers or employees what you’re an expert at, would they give me a concise answer that could be wrapped up in 10 seconds? If not, it’s time to take a step back and take a look at what you’re doing that’s confusing those around you. (Email me, I’ll help you brainstorm ways to fix it.)

Remember: Focus on what you do best and then tell the world about it. Widen your lens, narrow your focus.

I’ll admit it, I’m a perfectionist. I spend way too much time trying to make sure that everything is just right (read: perfect) before I show it to anyone. Besides the fact that I waste precious time beating myself up over trivial things, I’ve learned that there is a huge benefit to pushing things out quickly to see if they even work.It’s called the art of failing fast.

A fascinating New York Times article on the many errors in thinking about mistakes explains why we all tend to avoid mistakes in the first place:

We grow up with a mixed message: making mistakes is a necessary learning tool, but we should avoid them.

The problem is the vast majority of us (myself included) were probably raised this way, so encouraging us to embrace failure is – gasp!! – blasphemy. Get over it.

The same article continues:

“We get fixated on achievement,” he said, but, “everyone is talking about the need to innovate. If you already know the answer, it’s not learning. In most personal and business contexts, if you avoid the error, you avoid the learning process.”

Here’s what you can do today: Recognize that old habits die hard and make the decision to be more open to — or less afraid of — making mistakes. Then, just get started.

Feel free to email me if you need some extra motivation, I’m always happy to help.

Take a look around the web and you’ll easily find 375649874 tips on building community to help evangelize your brand. Or The First 7 Days of Personal Branding. Or even Start Thinking About Your Personal Brand Early.

The truth of the matter is that you need to actually do something while you spread the word about it. Sure, go read the latest tips and tricks, but never forget to tend to business. The ultimate proof of your value is that someone is willing to pay for it.

P.S. Do go check out the personal branding links up above, they have some great insights!