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Changing careers is a crossroads many people encounter in their lifetime. Many people negatively make the assumption that wanting a career change somehow makes you into a failure — especially when you’re older. But a study by the American Institute for Economic Research showed that it may actually be a good thing to change careers later in life. Not only did the study find that 82 percent of older workers made a successful transition, but they also tended to earn more and feel happier in their new role.

Regardless of your age, there’s no valid reason to get stuck in a career you hate. Here are a few hints to help you decide if you should steer toward a career change.

Dread is a common theme.

Even movie stars don’t want to show up for work some days. However, some work environments are continuously toxic, leaving workers with a feeling of dread on a daily basis.

First, consider whether there are other things going on in your life that are the true cause of your dread. For example, do you stay up too late and dread waking up for work at 7:00 a.m.? This is more of an outside work issue — something you shouldn’t be blaming on your career (e.g. you don’t get enough sleep, idiot). However, if you find that, upon entering your office building, the people, tasks, and general atmosphere make you hopelessly miserable, that’s your cue — it’s time to be out.

… But you worked so hard for it.

Oftentimes, there is one weak, fear-based excuse that holds people back from a career change – you worked so hard to get to your current position. Your current career path might have entailed extensive schooling and a degree, or maybe you just worked your way up in a company. Regardless of your past efforts, this is not a good enough reason to stay in a position you don’t like in the present moment.

Maybe you figured out that the job doesn’t really suit you, or maybe you used to enjoy the job, but you’ve grown tired of it. This isn’t a sign of failure. Rather, it’s a sign that you’ve grown and learned more about yourself and your strengths/weaknesses.

Your performance is poor.

If you’ve been in your current position for a considerable amount of time, you have probably gotten the hang of it by now. However, that doesn’t mean you will excel at the job. If you know your job like the back of your hand, but find that you are making more and more thoughtless mistakes, this is yet another sign of dissatisfaction. Another way of putting it is that you find it difficult to take pride in your work — it doesn’t matter to you and have a hard time caring about anything it entails. Now any kind of work can be done with pride — whether it’s working on a construction site, in an office, or anywhere else. But if you really despise your job, it becomes more difficult to perform well — even when the tasks are well beneath your skill level.

You don’t have any better ideas.

A far-too-popular trend: Many people stay stuck in careers they hate for years simply because they are indecisive. Years can quickly turn into decades, and before you know it, you’ve missed dozens of opportunities due to indolence. It’s important to remember that the whole transition doesn’t need to be planned out. All you need to do is take step one. For example, make a list of jobs you are qualified for, or jobs that would pay better. Another option is to look into certifications that might interest you and narrow them down to a few. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your ideal career won’t be either.

Your career won’t be action-packed all the time, but there should be times when you enjoy, or even get excitement out of work. Excitement is the number one sign you’re on the right track with your career.

The movie “Office Space” resonates with you.

Sure, most people like the movie Office Space. But if you like it because you strongly relate to it and feel like Peter Gibbons is your spirit animal — that’s not normal. The guy suppressed his anger and was miserable and unassertive in his life. This isn’t supposed to be the “daily grind” — it’s supposed to be a wake-up call. You can spend your life next to the weird guy who loves staplers too much, or you can honestly ask yourself, “What do I want to be doing with my life?”

You daydream constantly.

Another key sign that you’re dissatisfied at work is daydreaming. Everyone daydreams from time to time, but when you can’t stay focused at work, your job may not be stimulating enough. If you find yourself frequently longing for better opportunities and considering all the possibilities you could be experiencing instead, there’s just something missing in your current career. Put simply, daydreaming is an indicator that you would rather be elsewhere — to such an extent that you distract yourself from a mundane job with mental meanderings. The next decision to make is whether you can somehow mold your career to be more satisfying, or whether it’s time to skip out.

The post Should You Change Careers? Here Are 6 Ways To Decide appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.

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Everyone is busy nowadays — or at least everyone says they are busy. The word “busy” has become the most-convenient excuse to avoid just about anything we don’t want to do. Don’t want to answer a text? Just say you were busy. Don’t want to meet up with someone? Just say you’re swamped at work.

But amidst our jam-packed culture of never-ending busyness is a long-forgotten question that would change everything: Does this need to be done? Ok, actually there are two questions. The next one is, “Does this need to be done right now?” Once you apply these two questions to every task in your busy schedule, a good chunk of it will probably just fall by the wayside.

Assess your to-do list.

So how do you put these two basic questions to work in the real world, which is full of complexities and gray areas? For some people, applying those questions may be enough to return clarity to your daily routine. For others, it might be a little more complicated. If you’re struggling through tasks every day that you don’t enjoy, it’s time to think about the bigger picture. Don’t be afraid to get all philosophical — this is your life, after all. Try to identify your major goals and dreams, including anything long-term that truly matters to you. Then, look at your to-do list. How much of it relates to these big-picture goals? If none, you’ve got some serious day-to-day remodeling to do. If some of it doesn’t relate, that’s a good place to start eliminating things. Of course, not every task in your day will be thrilling. You’ll still have to pay bills. But at least your days will start to find balance between the not-so-great tasks and the fulfilling tasks.

Remember your priorities.

A common weakness in mega-busy people is proper prioritizing. You may think your priorities are in order, when in reality they are completely out of whack. For example, some people prioritize everything related to their jobs, while totally neglecting sleep, diet, exercise, socializing, etc. Other people find that, upon examining their to-do list, every single item listed is for other people. Are those really your priorities or the priorities of your friends, family, and coworkers? Sometimes the reason you feel so busy is because you are pushing yourself to do what you think is critical, while ignoring everything else.

Work in blocks of time.

Spending an entire day or week working on the same project can become daunting — especially when you feel stuck with it. At the same time, multitasking is a surefire way to half-ass everything on your to-do list. So, instead of going to either of these extremes, dedicate small blocks of time to one specific thing that needs to be done. This only works if you’re willing to turn off your phone and eliminate other distractions for that interval of time. Once an hour is up, switch to the next task and be completely done with the previous one — even if it’s not finished. Do this on a weekly basis and you’ll find more tangible progress with all of your projects.

Group tasks efficiently.

This is another way to be more efficient with your time. An obvious example would be this: Let’s say you have a list of errands to run and two of those stores are next to each other. Of course, you would visit each of those stores consecutively, instead of heading to another store in between. Finding less-obvious ways to group tasks can save you a ton of stress and have you completing your to-do list faster. For example, you might group all tasks that involve your email, or a particular software program. This means not having to log in multiple times throughout the day. In another instance, you might group together all tasks that relate to one room of the house. This way, you’re not killing so much of your time by wandering around in confusion.

Quit procrastinating.

Of course, this is easier said than done. Procrastinating is a deeply ingrained habit for some, and many times we don’t even know we’re procrastinating. For example, do you ever put off difficult work by replacing it with less urgent work? You may feel like you are being productive regardless, but you may be creating more stress and a bigger workload for the day. Another insidious type of procrastinating is over-thinking or over-planning for a certain project. Ultimately, if a project is still months away from fruition, meticulously planning ever detail is a waste of time. Things may change and you may need to adjust in the future. Thus you are getting ahead of yourself instead of working on other, more important tasks in the present.

Delegate tasks.

If you’re a parent, or even just a full-time worker, the time in your day can be usurped in the blink of an eye. Even if you don’t feel exhausted, burning the candle at both ends will eventually catch up to you. So if there is literally not enough time in the day to accomplish everything you are responsible for, it’s your job to recognize this and ask for help. Once you let your guard down, you might be surprised to find that you are surrounded by people who can help you whittle down your to-do list.

The post What Really Needs To Be Done? 6 Ways To Cut Down Your To-Do List In 2 Minutes appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.

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TED Talks aren’t popular because we like listening to strangers talk for hours about random topics. They’re popular because they provide a desperately needed shift from stale, negative perceptions to useful new ones. Some of the supposed “rules” we repeat to ourselves are the only things that hold us back. Like, “once I can afford this one thing I’ll be happy,” or, “people can’t have fun at work.” These “rules” are actually just beliefs, and they may be barring you from genuine happiness.

1. Happiness means making others happy.

“How to Know Your Life Purpose in 5 Minutes” by Adam Leipzig.

This Yale graduate was surprised to find two groups of people at his college reunion: those who were content and sure of their purpose, and another much larger group that was lost and unsatisfied. There were five reasonably simple questions that the happy group could answer and the other couldn’t:

Who are you?

What do you do?

Who do you do it for?

What do those people want or need?

How do they change as a result of what you offer?

These questions can help anyone who is unsure about the direction of their career. If you can’t answer them, you’ve got some thinking to do. If you can honestly answer each one, there’s pretty much no way you could be unclear about your career.

Once you think about these questions, you’ll find yourself in 1 of 3 possible scenarios:

1. You confirm that you’re happy in a career that suits you.

2. You realize where you need to be, and now your task is to find or create that position.

3. You can’t answer the questions and have to experiment in different roles to figure it out.

2. Follow your inner child to a profitable career.

“How to Retire Before Your 20” by Kristin Hadeed.

This is a great talk for anyone who is hesitant to start their own business, or wants to help people but doesn’t know where to start. The message is simple: Follow your inner child. This doesn’t mean you have to start acting like a hippy. A simple assessment of your childhood will give you some clarity.

Curiosity and creativity aren’t bad things, though we often discourage ourselves from these things in the workplace. By pursuing things that genuinely excite us (and things that drew our curiosity as children), we can create sustainable careers as adults.

3. What you thought made you weak makes you strong.

“The Power of Vulnerability” by Brene Brown.

This talk raises an interesting question: Why do we see ourselves as weak when we’re vulnerable, but others as strong when they are?

We’d never tell a friend that they’re weak for sharing something personal. In fact, we’d probably applaud them. But when it comes to doing something scary or saying something no one else has, we freeze up. We think about the potential criticism involved and completely ignore the fact that what we’d like to do or say might be admired – it might actually change things for the better. If we could see our own ability to be vulnerable as a strength and a character builder, growth wouldn’t be such a struggle.

4. Unhappy? You might have too much.

“A Rich Life with Less Stuff” by The Minimalists.

If you have a career that pays well and tons of stuff to show for it, yet you’re completely miserable, you’ll have a lot in common with the minimalists who host this talk.

A lot of people work long hours, rise to the top of the tax brackets, and “have it all” – but they end up miserable, unhealthy, and empty. This is the point at which people need to look at themselves and what actually makes them happy. If your life is devoid of anything meaningful, you can work your way up the corporate ladder forever, finding nothing but more ladder.

5. Follow the boring folks.

“The Habits of Highly Boring People” by Chris Suave.

Have you ever laughed at someone who is extremely set in their ways with the little things? E.g., they eat the same lunch every day, or walk their dog at 8 a.m. on the dot?

This talk gives convincing reasons for why boring habits lead to successful people. Why? Because people who live by routines manage to get life’s daily menial tasks down to a science. This frees up more time for creativity on projects that matter. In a sense, it’s a small sacrifice with a big payoff. Why waste your spontaneity on things that don’t matter much? The more effort, thought, and time that is wasted on these tasks, the more they cut into your reserve of creativity. So in a way, smart people are boring – they only focus on being exciting and innovative where it counts, like in their careers and relationships.

The post 5 TED Talk Ideas That Will Obliterate What’s Holding You Back appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.

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What constitutes a startup? Who runs them? What causes most startups to go south? What factors matter the most during development? Some of the ideas we have about these subjects contradict each other. Depending on what founders you’re observing and what experts you’re listening to, the answers can be entirely different. Below are some general trends about the majority of startups that may surprise you. If you run or work at a startup, some of these may even cause you to reconsider your hiring process.

Old folks rule.

Today’s tech and business culture paints a picture of young, bold startup founders fresh out of college. Famous young entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg are fawned over with attention and front-page features. But this focus has more to do with our cultural obsession with getting rich quick while we’re young, and less to do with the reality of today’s startup landscape. Older, more experienced founders are still dominant. It’s common for founders to be in their 30s, 40s, and even older.

What’s even more puzzling is the reported decline in founders under age 30. There are fewer 20-something founders than there have ever been in the past 20 years. This finding reflects the reality of millennials’ financial struggles rather than the false perception of young people regularly striking it rich.

Immigrants rule.

Another demographic you might be surprised to find in the startup world is immigrants. Studies showed one-third of venture-backed companies from 2006-2012 were founded by at least one immigrant. Despite the struggles that often come with immigration (language barriers, poverty, education gaps, double marginalization), many immigrants are taking advantage of opportunities. Pakistani businessman Shahid Khan became one of the richest people in America after founding an auto parts supplier. As co-working spaces and startup incubators pop up around the world, individuals in developing nations are more equipped to build solid foundations for their startups.

Most products tank.

If you’re somewhat knowledgeable about startups, it’s probably no surprise that many startups fail. However, the fact that a whopping 90 percent of new products fail is a brutal reminder of just how difficult it is to succeed in business.

This stat, drawn from The Startup Owner’s Manual by Steve Blank & Bob Dorf, has sparked continuous analysis of successful startups and what sets them apart. Everything from marketing strategies to the number of co-founders has been said to have an impact.

Growth is everything.

What makes a startup a startup? Is a small business the same as a startup? According to Paul Graham, programmer, investor, and co-founder of Viaweb, the only factor that defines a startup is its a potential for rapid growth. Thus a major determinant of a startup’s success is how quickly that growth occurs. One study showed “companies with growth rates greater than 60 percent upon reaching $100 million in revenues — which McKinsey refers to as “supergrowers” — were eight times more likely to reach $1 billion in revenues than those whose growth was less than 20 percent.”

Education doesn’t matter.

You might expect those with the highest level of education to perform best in business. However, there is little evidence of this. One study showed just 37 percent of startup owners had bachelor’s degrees. 28 percent had earned technical or trade school degrees, and 10 percent had only high school diplomas. The percentage with master’s degrees was only 17 percent, showing that formal education doesn’t necessarily determine a founder’s propensity for entrepreneurship.

Friends and family are a risk.

When trying to pinpoint the most common factors in startup failures, one study found a surprising and somewhat depressing trend: co-founding with friends/family can turn ugly. Unless you’ve already collaborated successfully in a professional setting, co-founding with friends/family members is a shot in the dark. You don’t know if you’ll agree on different business decisions — especially the financial ones. Once a serious dispute occurs, you are not only terminating a business relationship, but a personal one as well.

New startups create more jobs.

Of course startups create more jobs, but the surprising piece is that newer startups create far more jobs than older, more established startups. A study found that “on average, one-year-old firms create nearly one million jobs, while ten-year-old firms generate 300,000.” This goes against the common assumption that startups have a greater impact on job creation as they mature.

The post 7 Surprising Stats About Modern Startups appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.

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What pops into your mind when you think of the term “successful business?” From a negative slant, you might think of big corporations that could care less about humanity, would do anything to increase sales, and pay their employees as little as possible. From a more positive perspective, maybe you think of hard-working small business owners who make sacrifices and provide great service.
But as times change and technology becomes more integral to our daily lives, the nature of a successful business continues to reshape itself.

1. Ethics

Sure, plenty of unethical businesses easily stay afloat each year, but there are fewer things they can get away with nowadays. With the internet, every unethical move a business makes can easily become common knowledge to half the population. News of Chick-fil-A owners being against gay marriage proved just how quickly outrage can spread and tarnish a brand’s reputation for good. The term “ethical” or “conscious consumerism” was unheard of until 1989, but is now a widely known practice.

Personality

The rising importance and effectiveness of content marketing has upped expectations from businesses. Businesses are no longer faceless entities, but representations of people. Why follow one business on social media when another in the same industry has a more enticing “personality?” Businesses that are able to articulate a positive personality to customers are going to win out, while ironically, those who are overly focused on the business aspect will fall behind in popularity. Customers no longer look for simple professionalism — in many cases, they’re looking to relate and be entertained.

Variety

Again, we can attribute this to technology and the increased pace of modern day-to-day life. The traditional corporate business model relied on uniformity and consistency, not so much on variety. From this perspective, variety equaled sloppiness. Think of McDonald’s and its formulaic method for getting the same exact products out to each customer in roughly the same amount of time — much variety going on there. But as our culture shifts, people are becoming more concerned with creativity. Namely, they want you to impress them, not hand them the same exact products and services on a daily basis.

Generosity

Of course, generous has a positive connotation as it pertains to individuals — generous people are good. But in business, generous was traditionally thought of as foolish. If you give too much away, you lose profit and your business eventually fails. Being stingy was being smart. Today, that idea is quickly disintegrating. Countless professionals now advise new entrepreneurs to give away valuable products and services in order to develop a reputation. Many established business owners insist this was what led them to their success. Instead of convincing potential customers to trust you and make a purchase, you first prove the value of your offerings with something free.

Exclusivity

Why would a business owner cater just to certain demographics? At first glance, it seems like marketing to everyone would raise the chances of making a sale — more the better. You don’t want a secret business, but a business everyone knows about, right? However, this is not common practice in today’s marketing world. In fact, just about all marketing experts advise against this and instead recommend pinpointing a very specific niche. By doing this, you will save money and build a loyal customer base instead of constantly trying to replace a parade of one-time buyers.

Modesty

What makes a good salesperson? Certainly, modesty is not what comes to mind. They are usually aggressive, confident, and constantly reiterating the value of the thing they’re selling. But the thing many of these salespeople fail to realize, is that people hate them. We avoid them at all cost… even salespeople avoid other salespeople. Pay attention to commercials, sales pages, and even store employees, and you’ll notice that this sleazy sales tradition is rapidly disappearing. What it’s being replaced by is a more modest, laid-back selling style. There is no aggression or pushiness. The benefits of buying are laid out to the customer in a more honest way, allowing them to feel comfortable and make an informed decision.

The post 6 Paradoxical Traits Of A Successful Business Today appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.

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To most people, entrepreneurship is unfamiliar territory. It’s challenging, gutsy, and autonomous. Thus, it’s tempting for people to separate entrepreneurs from themselves, thinking of them as “special” or more capable than the ordinary person. Along with this idea come stereotypes, which tend to rule our expectations for things we don’t understand.

But as industries change and develop more rapidly than ever before, entrepreneurship is more accessible to the average Joe. Moreover, we’re seeing individuals of all backgrounds, personality types, and skill sets thriving in very similar ways. So put aside those preconceived notions about running a business. Here is the truth about what you don’t have to be as a successful entrepreneur – and a more realistic replacement trait for each.

Cutthroat

Maybe it’s an outdated concept, but you might tend to think of business-savvy folks as cutthroat. They’re in it for the profit, and the bottom line surpasses ethics in importance. This is still true of many major corporations, and probably always will be. But the majority of entrepreneurs are not out to step on people and hoard millions. Plenty are more interested in providing products and services that benefit people, employing quality workers, and generally being productive in life.

Replacement: Rather than being cutthroat, the trait you’ll likely see in a lot of entrepreneurs is strong motivation. Entrepreneurs have to be go-getters who set objectives and accomplish goals efficiently. You won’t see a business owner ruminating endlessly, and failing to make decisions and improve conditions. (If you do, they won’t be in business for much longer.)

Social Butterfly

You might think, “It’s impossible to market yourself if socializing isn’t your strong suit.” While poor communication is certainly a drawback, successful entrepreneurs aren’t always flawless communicators. In fact, there are whole books dedicated to introverts who must uncomfortably market themselves.

Replacement: Instead of being an all-star socializer, entrepreneurs must simply develop the courage to put themselves out in the world. Most of us will never see ourselves as graceful and smooth when we give a speech or lead a discussion – the crucial thing is to do it anyway. Entrepreneurs don’t hide from the world. They display themselves and their talents, regardless of weak spots.

Genius

When we see someone with a great idea, whether it’s a restaurant owner, a software developer, or anyone in between, we tend to think: “Wow. I would never have thought of that.” Much like Steve Jobs, these people are forever labeled and revered as geniuses. But in reality, everyone is capable of great ideas, and everyone has them. Most of us simply fail to act on our ideas, or tell ourselves they’re crap before even making an effort.

Replacement: So if they’re not geniuses, what are they? Confident. Not necessarily just self-confident, but confident in their ideas. Seth Godin is widely respected, not because he is the only person with great marketing ideas, but because he firmly believes in his ideas, explains them precisely, and empowers people with them.

Lucky

Some of today’s entrepreneurs come from a similar background as you. If you sat down and had a conversation with them, you wouldn’t notice anything incredibly extraordinary. They’re just people. Of course, there is an element of luck attached to every little thing that happens in life, so why attach luck specifically to business? Successful business owners are not just lucky, and it’s naive to think so. They’re also likely to be hard-working, problem solvers, persistent, and a slew of other things that bolster their success.

Replacement: So if it’s not luck, what do thriving business owners have going for them? Realistically, it’s probably optimism. The way you frame each situation determines how you’ll behave within it. Jeff Goins’ book, “The Art of Work,” is based on this idea. It tells the stories of several accomplished people, showing how a positive mindset is the only common thread connecting them all.

The post 4 Things Every Entrepreneur Doesn’t Need To Be (But People Think They Do) appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.

Nickelodeon/SpongeBob SquarePants

Everyone likes to talk about stress reduction techniques, the dangers of stress and all sorts of related topics these days. We know the basic physical risks of stress, like fatigue and burn-out, and the more serious risks, like high blood pressure and heart disease. But what about the more complex emotional issues that can result from chronic stress?

“The Angriest Man in Brooklyn,” featuring the late, great Robin Williams, is an eye-opening depiction of how modern stress can take a profound toll on us. See if you can trace any of the following issues back to certain stressors in your day-to-day life.

1. Doubt

It’s hard to doubt yourself or something you’re invested in when everything is going smoothly. But letting yourself get stressed can be a downfall in itself. For example, beginning a new relationship is typically exciting — you usually don’t feel any resistance or negativity about it. However, the more you worry about minor issues, the more doubt begins to creep in. When we’re stressed, we often get the impression that something must be wrong — otherwise we wouldn’t be stressed. But sometimes, stress itself is the primary culprit, causing us to doubt things that would otherwise work themselves out.

2. Isolation

People who stress over social issues aren’t doing themselves any favors. Let’s assume that when you’re stressed, your nervous system is revved up, which is typically the case. This prevents you from behaving, speaking and thinking as you naturally would because much of your brain activity is already tied up. Your head could be spinning, or maybe you just feel a bit scattered. Either way, people can sense tension. They’ll have a harder time interacting with you, and they might even mistake your tension for rudeness or a lack of interest.

3. Close-mindedness

A little bit of stress is unavoidable in life, but constant stress can skew your outlook, creating an ongoing habit of negativity. Stress basically tells our bodies, “Something is wrong.” Even if that thing is insignificant, our bodies can’t tell the difference between serious and minor danger. Thus, constantly being under stress can train you to expect the worst, develop irrational fears and be closed off to new opportunities. We can accidentally force our minds into a loop of excessive negativity that never shuts off.

4. Resentment

It may sound a little strange, but chronic stress can also give way to resentment. You might begin looking at other people whose lives are running more smoothly and feel resentful that your life is so jumbled. The thing that people in this situation often fail to recognize is that they can directly eliminate some of the stress in their lives, no matter how out of control it seems. Working overtime, giving all your time to help others or even berating yourself — these are all types of stress we can reduce or eliminate completely.

The most important thing to take away from these stress complications is that they can be avoided. If you’re already stuck in some of these patterns, it will take a lot of awareness and deliberate effort to pull yourself out. However, it is entirely possible if you stick with it. By eliminating the most stressful parts of your day, or even setting a time limit on them, you are making progress.

The post 4 Not-So-Obvious Side Effects Of Stress appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.

screenshot via YouTube/TED

TED Talks are an awesome way to learn and get some new perspective when you desperately need it. These four talks are must-sees if you want to refresh your outlook on marketing, motivation and success.

1. Traditional incentives are bad for business.

Dan Pink’s puzzle of motivation lays out how motivation is actually counterintuitive. Forty years’ worth of research studies show that rewards often decrease our motivation to complete a task.

According to Pink, there’s a discrepancy between “what science knows and what business does.” Rewards work well for only some tasks — the easy and straightforward ones. However, for tasks that require a broader focus and some critical thinking, incentives like cash actually inhibit our ability to get it done.

Using this information, businesses need to transform their approach, steering away from incentives and toward autonomy, mastery and purpose. Through these three avenues, employees will be naturally self-motivated to succeed and solve complex problems. This is exemplified by Google, whose employees can spend 20 percent of their time working on whatever they want. This technique has given birth to projects like Gmail and Google News.

2. Success depends on whether your idea is remarkable; i.e., worth remarking on.

If you’re in any way interested in business or marketing, you’ve probably heard of Seth Godin. His TEDTalk, “How to get your ideas to spread,” explains the essence of marketing and lists a few damaging misconceptions.

Godin uses sliced bread as his first example. Sliced bread existed for 15 years before anyone even wanted it. The credit for making sliced bread a household essential goes to Wonder Bread, which was able to sell the idea, not just the product.

Now that obnoxious selling strategies like infomercials are out of style, businesses have to learn how to use a new strategy. Essentially, we must target the outliers who care specifically about our idea and want to talk about it. The media is so saturated with products, ideas and services that mass marketing has lost its effectiveness.

3. The reason you’ll fail is your own excuses.

In his talk “Why you will fail to have a great career,” Larry Smith lays out the real reasons that most people fail to have great careers and settle for average or mind-numbingly awful ones.
Smith acts out the stream of consciousness that typically runs through the mind of someone who makes excuses: Only geniuses end up with great careers, it’s all a matter of luck, I’m too normal to step outside the ordinary, the only way is to work extremely hard, etc. All of these beliefs and excuses have no logical basis. They’re not rooted in reality, but rather in outdated cultural beliefs.

He warns that many of those who find their passion don’t pursue it because of their relationships — they don’t want to “sacrifice” their marriage or children for a great career. But in reality, who wants to admit to their children that they didn’t follow their dreams because they had kids?

4. The “what” doesn’t sell; the “why” does.

Have you ever wondered what separates incredibly successful people from just plain capable people? According to Simon Sinek, it’s how they inspire their audience. All organizations know what they do, but not all communicate why they do it.

He uses Apple as an example. Their advertisements focus little on what they do (selling computers). They don’t even focus entirely on why they’re different or what makes their products great. Instead, they communicate what they believe in — innovation, going beyond the status quo, and so on. In this way, businesses can easily attract those with the same beliefs and life preferences. “People don’t buy what you do. They buy how you do it,” says Sinek.

Businesses in every industry are surrounded by similar businesses — ones with similar products and services. Thus, stating the “what” and the “how” are not enough. Stating the “why” gives your audience the opportunity to trust and align with your business’s brand.

The post 4 TED Talks That Will Alter Your Business Perspective appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.

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Do you spend most of your time fluctuating between “Why do I even bother?” and “I can’t live without them?” Here are a few things you may want to consider if your relationships haven’t been working out.

1. There hasn’t been enough time between relationships.

We all probably know a friend who goes through relationships faster than toilet paper. Churning through relationships at that speed could be problematic for several reasons. For most of us, it takes time to recover and let residual feelings work themselves out. Jumping into another relationship too fast means you’ll have to recover from the old one and be present in the new one at the same time. Don’t lie to yourself. It ain’t gonna happen.

Other times, people jump into relationships because they’re lonely, they want to get married or they want to get over someone else. Again, these are all bad reasons that will inevitably complicate things. Before getting involved, be sure you’re going in with a clean slate.

2. One (or both) of you is not ready.

This issue might tie into issue number one, but could happen for various reasons. The common saying goes, “You can’t love another if you don’t love yourself.” Sure, you can date, marry, divorce, remarry, etc. — all while being unhappy with yourself. But that doesn’t mean any of it will work out. It’s nearly impossible to be happy and secure with anyone when you are wading through jealousy, depression, resentment or any other heavy feelings. When both people are stuck in their own negativity, it gets even more complicated and harder to communicate.

In the long run, a relationship won’t fix any of your personal problems. It’s common for us to repeat the same mistakes with different people. Shuffling through people until you find the one that solves all your problems is a nice thought, but it never really happens. It’s important to recognize why you choose certain types of people, especially if things keep ending in disaster. In this case, taking a break until you’ve worked things out alone is your best bet.

3. You’re opposites.

But opposites attract, don’t they? Actually, according to a recent study (and common sense), people who are similar usually get together and stay together more frequently. Similar people have fewer conflicting values and tend to be in general agreement about how they want to live their lives. There may be an initial fascination between opposite partners, but people are often attracted to qualities in others that they feel they themselves lack. The problem is, it’s not wise to expect another person to complete you.

Of course, being in complete congruence isn’t necessary. However, if you are dating someone who is very different from you, be prepared to put in some extra work.

4. You’re exactly the same.

You and your partner are so much alike that it’s almost as if you’re dating yourself. Gross. At first, it was probably wonderful. They understood you, there was synergy and you were ready to get married after about four days. However, in relationships like this, how you feel about yourself can have a significant effect. If your partner has the same flaws you have, it’s possible that these things will really agitate you. After all, you deal with enough of those issues on your own. Being around your partner could become a reminder of everything you’re trying to escape in yourself.

Another potential problem that stems from similarity is the barrier to having your needs met. If two people are alike, they may expect the same things from each other, often without even realizing it. When neither party is able to fulfill a role, both start to get antsy, sometimes without even realizing their own subconscious expectations.

For example, if two busy, career-oriented people start dating, both may expect the other to schedule time for dates and alone time. Then, the alone time doesn’t happen. Everyone gets upset. In this case, having clarity and being transparent about your expectations will help.

The post 4 Reasons Your Relationships Aren’t Working Out appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.

Fox/New Girl

It’s hard to know where to step when a friend or family member is chronically negative. Everyone knows someone like this and is probably often frustrated by them, but of course, you still care about them. You probably want to spend time with them, but you know from experience that your mood is likely to plummet in their presence. Maybe they’ll complain about all the same old problems, their horrible luck or how they are always a victim. When you find yourself in this position, keep the following tips in mind.

1. Limit Your Commiserating

The important thing to remember is that validating this person’s negative thoughts does not usually help them. Feeding into their complaints with things like, “Wow, I can’t believe that happened to you!” may seem polite, but it actually validates their woe-is-me attitude and enables them to keep wallowing. Even if things have been going bad for them, adopting a resentful attitude toward life will only pull them in deeper.

Instead, try to respond with neutral or slightly positive statements. Extreme positivity may annoy them or make them feel even more hopeless. However, you can highlight other aspects of their lives that are positive as a small reminder that they can choose to focus on those things instead. When they start plunging into self-pity, say something that takes the emphasis off of them, like, “Yes, that happens to a lot of people, but I know you’ll get through it in time.”

2. Distract, Distract, Distract

If you follow the first suggestion and limit the amount of commiserating you do, you’ll have to fill that conversational space with something else. Slowly moving the conversation toward hobbies they enjoy, friends or family members they are close with or even a TV show they enjoy can be a start. They may be resistant at first, but it falls on you to be consistent and not allow the conversation to drift back to negative topics. This requires some personal willpower, so if you feel too frustrated to be positive, being silent might be a better choice.

3. Be Silent

Depending on your level of closeness with the distressed person, you may be able to comfort them simply by spending time in the same room as them. Sometimes people don’t want advice (as much as you love to dish it out), and nothing you say can help them at that point in time. Sensitive people may take your advice as criticism, and stubborn folks might disagree and become even more upset. So your next option is to simply be accessible to them. Sometimes it’s not a solution a problem needs, but rather time for it to dissolve. If that’s the case for your friend or family member, accept that your only role is to hang out and be as Buddha-like as you possibly can. Your silence can serve as a comforting reminder of stability.

4. Retreat

Unfortunately, some people can be so negative that they are not worth the self-sacrifice. Being near them on a regular basis can seriously drain your energy and change your outlook — which could result in you not doing what you need to do in life.

A few red flags that you should just stay away: They often turn their negativity toward you, their problems are minor but they never take action to solve them, they repeat the same mistakes and refuse to recognize them or they really just want a “misery buddy” to complain with them. You can also look back at the time you’ve spent with this person and compare it to your overall personal progress — do you tend to veer off track from your personal priorities when this person is around? If so, they may a negative influence that you just can’t handle.
In these cases, you have to think of yourself and your own wellbeing first. If a person is unwilling to help themselves, you shouldn’t be bending over backward to help them, either.

The post 4 Ways To Avoid Being Engulfed In Others’ Bad Moods appeared first on Wall Street Insanity.