There are basically two different types of people in this world.

1. The people who believe that hard work, an open mind, and a willingness to make mistakes is all you need to accomplish just about anything you want.

The people who believe that someone else is responsible for their success or failure in the world.

If you’re one of the #2’s, you’ve probably quit reading by now, so I’ll focus on the folks who believe you can accomplish anything and are looking for some techniques to get there.

Most of what actually prevents you from being successful is the things you are thinking about — your B.S. Here are three things you can do to change your mental attitude to one that makes you capable of infinite success.

1. Your thoughts are not necessarily accurate

This is a huge distinction of successful people versus everyone else. When a thought goes through your head, realize that it may or may not be actually true. The whole idea of “true” or “false” is an oversimplified construct that doesn’t necessarily have any practical use in reality. Everything is a matter of perception. You can perceive your situation in any way you would like.

Your conditioning and the world around you would have you believe that the world is a bad place that is out to get you and wants you to fail. So, naturally, your mind will go down this path.

“This isn’t going to work.”

“I can’t do this.”

“It’s not possible.”

You don’t have to keep going down this mental path. Let’s keep going.

2. Think about a different way to view the situation

Remember, we established that true and false, good and bad, right and wrong and other binary thinking are tools designed to make the world appear simpler than it really is. So, you don’t have to accept anything as true or false. Instead, you can seek out ideas and thoughts that will better serve your pursuit of whatever you want.

Turn your negative thoughts and beliefs around and take your little brain on a walk down a different path. How about all the people who have accomplished this thing you are working towards? How about all the skills, resources and advantages that you have? You’ll have to get creative. When you do, you’ll see that there are an infinite number of different ways to view any particular situation and it’s up to you to pick one that will help you to achieve the result you want.

3. Break your pattern of failure thinking

The only way to get different results is to do different things. Take your brain down a different path. Here’s an exercise that will help you break the pattern of failure thinking and start you thinking in a way that will make you successful.

1. Write down your biggest goal in your life right now.

Write down the biggest barrier your facing to achieving that goal.Write down ten reasons why it’s B.S.

It may not be easy, and it may take you some time to come up with the ten reasons, but since you are one of the folks who believe that YOU are in control and can accomplish anything, you have to break the patterns of thought that are going through your head right now. This exercise will move your brain in a different direction. If you do this exercise regularly, focused on big things and small things, it will become a habit — and that’s a very good thing.

For more free video training on this topic, click here or watch below:

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Sometimes you just have to get stuff done. And sometimes it’s not fun stuff. You don’t want to do it, but it needs to get done.

Whether it’s a major step on your path to achieving a goal or just some mundane task, you don’t always feel like doing it.

But to live your best life, achieve your goals and, frankly just survive in the world, you have to do a lot of things that you don’t feel like doing. Here are three simple ideas that will help you push through when you’re trying to do stuff you don’t want to do.

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1. Remember why you’re doing it

Whatever you’re doing, it’s ultimately aligned with a larger thing that’s important to you. If you’re sitting at home waiting for the plumber to come and fix a leaky pipe instead of being at the pool, it’s because you want a safe and dry place for your family to live. If you’re working on a mundane task for your business, like a business plan or financial projections, even though it doesn’t seem fun, there’s a reason you are doing it. It’s necessary to run your business. It feeds some larger goal or value that’s important to you.

Keep that thing in mind. Remembering a bigger, more exciting reason why you’re doing something boring keeps you focused on something that’s easier to get excited about.

2. Try to make it fun

I said “try.” You’ll probably need to get creative here. A few days ago, someone I hired to clean an empty apartment didn’t show up. Because this filthy 900-square foot apartment had to be thoroughly cleaned by the next day, I decided to put all my plans on hold and do my least favorite activity — clean. For about eight hours. After I got over my initial fit of rage and frustration about having to spend the day doing something I didn’t want to do, I tried to figure out how to make it a little more pleasant. I had a long list of podcasts and YouTube videos I had been wanting to listen to, so I loaded them up and enjoyed eight hours of mentally stimulating content while I performed this mundane task. It ended up being a great day.

Figure out how to make this thing you’re doing more enjoyable. Can you do it with music, do it with a friend, do it naked, do it outside, do it in some unique way that might make it more fun or interesting. It’s not easy, but if you open your mind to creative possibilities about how you can make it happen, you’ll figure out something that will help you get through it.

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3. Do it with focus

When you get really focused on what you are doing, it changes drastically. First, stop thinking about all the other things that are racing through your mind. You might be thinking about what you’d rather be doing, what you’re going to do after you get done or wondering if you’re doing it good enough. Quit thinking about that stuff and focus on what you are doing. You’ll get it done faster, better and you’ll be happier while you’re doing it.

Happiness exists inside you at all times and the fastest way to become happy is to feel the happiness that was there all the time. Don’t focus on how much you don’t want to be doing this thing you are doing, focus on doing the thing and being happy while you do it. Stop every 45 minutes or so, and just sit still and feel peace and happiness deep down inside you. It’s not easy to access this at first, but if you practice, you’ll master it and can access it any time you want.

It’s taken me 40 years to figure out how to maintain peace in a world that frequently doesn’t behave how you want it to. I don’t get it right all the time, but when I do, it’s because I’ve remembered these three things.

You can do it too. It might not work the first time, or even the fifth, but if you believe there’s something better than constant frustration and discontentment, and you incorporate tools like these into your daily practice, you’ll see big improvements — eventually.

Yep, eventually. You won’t see results right away. But with practice you will see them.

For more free video training on this topic, click here or watch below:

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Ambitious people have drive. Drive is a deep motivation to have a better life, do bigger things and achieve all you desire. Drive makes you do stuff. And that’s good. You make progress by doing stuff.

But here on planet Earth, you’ve surely discovered by now that stuff doesn’t always work out how you want it to. But you have to keep doing stuff anyway because doing stuff is how you get a better life, do bigger things and achieve all you desire. You even have to keep doing stuff that doesn’t work. Not the same things (that would be insanity), but different things; all along knowing many of the things you do may not work out how you want. This part stops a lot of folks.

When folks hit those roadblocks (things not working out), they either:

• Become angry and frustrated.
• Quit.

Quitting is no good, so let’s talk about how to deal with those things that inevitably will go wrong without getting frustrated or angry.

1. Just be cool with things going wrong

Things go wrong. They just do. People who accomplish things don’t live in some alternative universe where nothing goes wrong, they live here on planet earth just like you (well, most of them) and they too deal with things that don’t go the way they wanted. It’s just pretty much how it is, so be OK with it.

2. Push past the obstacles

This one is simple, yet it’s not easy. But nobody has ever figured out who to deal with obstacles other than to put your shoes on and march over, under, around or through them.

Be aware that your action in this moment right now — staring down that big, ugly obstacle in front of you is where your success or failure is determined. Whether you figure out a way past it, or let it defeat you is the determining factor. So, when that obstacle is staring you in the face, be excited about getting an opportunity to defeat it.

3. Commend yourself

Congratulations. Whatever that obstacle that arose was, you pushed past it. Great job. It sucks that you didn’t get to do the other things you would have rather done while you were pushing past that obstacle, but you did something better. You got over an obstacle, which is how all successful people become that way. Remember they live in the same world as you do.

When things go your way, it’s easy. When they don’t, it’s a crossroads. How you deal with the obstacles you inevitably face in life determines your ultimate result. There aren’t many guarantees in this world, but if you like promises, here’s one: Things are always going to go wrong and obstacles are always going to arise.

How you handle the obstacles will always determine your result. So get out there and get over some obstacles.

For more free video training on this topic, click here or watch below:

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Everybody has that friend. That guy or gal who never keeps a commitment. You ask them to do something, maybe they offer to help you with something, come out for a drink or send you an email with some information. They NEVER do it.

We humans are pretty smart. We quickly learn that this person cannot be relied on. It doesn’t take long until you completely quit relying on this person for anything. You may even chuckle to yourself when they make a commitment because you know they are never going to do what they said they are going to do. You quickly lose all trust. You no longer have any expectations.

The same thing can happen with yourself. When you constantly procrastinate, or put off doing the little things (and the big things) you know you must do to become successful, you lose trust in yourself.

When it comes time to do something, you say to yourself, “Meh, I’ll do that first thing tomorrow.”

Tomorrow comes and you say, “Maybe I’ll get to that next week.”

Next week you don’t do it. You quit even recognizing that you’re failing yourself. You become a habitual procrastinator. Just like with that friend, you lose all trust in yourself. You no longer believe that you will get anything done. You no longer trust yourself. You lose hope that you are going to achieve your dreams.

That sucks.

When it’s somebody else, you can’t control their actions. But you have complete control of yourself. Here are three simple steps to stop procrastinating so you can trust yourself again and become the person you want to be and achieve everything that is important to you.

1. Make a list

This is pretty simple, but critical. If you don’t have a clear list of the things you need to do, you won’t even know what you’re procrastinating. Use any of the billions of apps (it doesn’t matter which one, they all get the job done), a sheet of paper or an ink pen on your arm (or your leg if you have a really long list). Use a simple method to get that list down.

Don’t think too much about the logistics, just do it. Don’t spend hours researching the “best productivity app.” Spending hours researching apps is another form of procrastination. Then you’d be procrastinating stopping procrastinating and that’s really bad. Pick a method as quickly as you can and put down everything you need to do.

You’re tracking system only needs three elements:

• A brief description of the task

The date by which it needs to be doneA way to “check it off” when it’s complete

2. Do the things on the list

This seems pretty obvious — and it is. Just get the things done. Don’t worry about this or that. Don’t try to make everything perfect. Just get the things done. There’s no big secret to be revealed here. You just have to get the things done.

Life is going to get in the way. It always does. If something comes up that needs your attention, maybe a kid emergency, a work emergency or some leaky plumbing, you’ll have to move away from your to-do list and address it. That’s OK. It’s perfectly fine to address the real issues that we all face in life that need to be placed ahead of the items on your list.

Don’t ignore the list and don’t get frustrated. Take a look at the list and move the date to the next day, the next week or whenever you can fit it in. Be totally OK with the fact that something happened and you addressed the issue according to your priorities in life. Then just reschedule your tasks. It’s not a bad thing, it’s part of living life as a human being on planet earth. Things come up, you address them, and then you get back to your list.

3. Recognize your accomplishments

At the end of the day, look at all the items you crossed off your list. Look at your list and celebrate how much you got done. Look at the list and know that you were a productive person; not a procrastinator.

If you had “life stuff” come up, recognize that too. Be glad that you addressed the circumstances of life according to your values. If you had a sick kid, you took care of her and that was the right priority.

The most important thing is to go to bed feeling like a person who gets stuff done. Go to bed every day knowing that you had a good, productive day and you will very quickly stop feeling like a procrastinator and you’ll be more confident. You’ll regain trust in yourself, which is critical for success in business and life.

You can stop procrastinating. Just decide today that you are no longer a procrastinator and follow these three simple steps to become a productive person who gets stuff done every day.

For more free video training on this topic, click here or watch below:

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Everybody’s been there. You’re standing around the water cooler talking with your coworkers, talking with friends over drinks, or maybe just taking a shower. Then it hits you — a brilliant business idea.

Everybody will want this!
This will sell like hotcakes!
I can’t believe nobody thought of this before!

Then you start talking about it with your friends and family. No surprise — everybody has an opinion. Your mom thinks it’s a great idea. Your brother-in-law sees lots of problems. Your best friend isn’t so sure. Who’s right? Who actually knows if the idea is going to work?

None of them — and neither do you.

If you’ve ever watched ABC’s Shark Tank, you’ve noticed that one of the first questions the sharks ask contestants after their initial pitch is: “How many have you sold?”

The “Sharks” know that the only people who can tell you if a business idea is going to work is the customers. The people who actually pull out their wallets and give you money are the only ones who can answer the elusive question: “Will it work?”

Here’s how to find out if your business idea will work. The great news is that you don’t have to go on Shark Tank or bump into Mark Cuban at the grocery store. You can figure this out yourself.

1. Get really good at explaining it

Sometimes an idea makes great sense in your mind, but it may not make sense to other people. People may not think your business idea is good, but that may be because they don’t understand it. Everyone has a different view of the world and different filters through which they understand and process things. Maybe you aren’t getting through their filters. Maybe they assign different meaning to the words you use. Maybe they have a fundamental belief that is different than yours — which you may take for granted.

Or maybe you just suck at explaining it. That’s OK. You just have to practice until you get it right. It won’t happen right away and it will be clunky as you figure it out. Put yourself into your customer’s brain and think like they do. Think about how they would think about it. What would it do for them? How would it make their life better? What problem do they have that it would solve? How would they feel if that problem was solved?

Watch infomercials. Whether you find them annoying or addicting, they know how to do this well. Watch an infomercial for a product you don’t care about and would never buy. Then you can watch it unemotionally and observe how they connect with their customer as they pitch their product.

2. Listen to what people say when you explain it

First off, accept the fact that at least half (probably more) of your initial conversations about your product idea will be awkward, clunky and you’ll be face-to-face with an either confused or uninterested person. Be cool with that. It’s part of the process and embrace the fact that these initial, awkward conversations are not only part of the process; they are also crucial to learning enough about your customer to create a product they can’t wait to give you money for.

Business ideas developed in this way start with the customer, instead of starting in the aspiring entrepreneurs’ mind. Since the customer is the one who is ultimately going to make the decision of whether or not to buy (and whether or not the product is going to be successful), it ought to start with them.

3. Identify who really wants it

I recently talked to the inventor of a children’s learning game. He was working to get it into toy stores and websites that sell educational products. But as he was having conversations with potential customers (using this very process), he learned that senior centers were very interested in the product because it allowed older folks to remain active with their hands and it challenged them mentally. Now he has another market for his product.

Human beings are complicated creatures and there are a lot of us. Get out and talk to as many people as possible, so you can understand who is interested in this brilliant idea you have. People of various walks of life have different problems, needs and are seeking all different sorts of solutions. Keep your ears and your mind open for possibilities that you never would have thought of.

The great thing about following a simple process like this is that if you approach it right, it makes failure nearly impossible. If you listen to your market closely enough and evolve and change your business idea enough, you’ll eventually find that million-dollar product.

It won’t happen overnight, but persistence will get you there every time.

For more free video training on this topic, click here or watch below:

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How do you live an exciting life without regrets? You decide what you want and then go get it.

That’s what Sara Hastreiter, Team SCA sailor, did.

Sara grew up on a farm in Wyoming. Her dream was to be a rodeo princess. That didn’t work out, but because she’s been open to opportunity, she’s found something a little bit more exciting.

“If you don’t do things that scare you and push your boundaries, you’ll never know how far you can go or what you can achieve.”

It all started when she jumped at the opportunity in college to visit Africa to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. While there, seeing the impact this disease had on the people of Africa made Sara want to do more. This lead her to an internship in the Caribbean doing more work with the disease and also exposed her to sailing while working as a deckhand on a day-charter catamaran.

When she discovered you could race big sailboats on the ocean, she knew she wanted to do that. She found a boat that was looking for sailors and was willing to train and sailed 6,000 miles with them. Sara found out that if you are serious about sailing, you go to Newport, Rhode Island. She did and eventually logged 40,000 miles sailing, breaking into the sailing scene, including the Cookson 50 Privateer and other top teams.

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In August of 2012, Team SCA was looking for a crew.

By now, you know what Sara did. She applied right away, but shortly after, she broke her ribs. If she couldn’t recover in time, this would be the end of the road. But fortunately, she recovered and was called back to training camp — but there were no guarantees they would keep her.

“I just knew I had to show dedication at all times,” Sara says.

Sara got what she wanted. She eventually got word that they wanted to keep her. Now, as a member of Team SCA, she is currently racing in the 2014-2015 Volvo Ocean Race.

When I asked Sara why she doesn’t just work a job and come home and watch TV, she said, “Honestly, I couldn’t think of anything worse. There’s so much to do in life and I love the experience of doing different things.”

Sara believes we shouldn’t let other people tell us what we need to be happy. Each person should determine what they need to be happy and then go after it.

Her biggest piece of advice is to just be nice. She says it’s amazing how far that will get you in life.

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What does tantric sex have to do with being an entrepreneur? My friend and colleague, Aprille Trupiano, explained it to me. She is an international expert on business and leadership and she’s really passionate, in both life and work. So when she explained how sexy building your business can be, her analogy of tantric sex with entrepreneurialism made perfect sense.

We have to start with what “tantric” actually means. It’s a Sanskrit word that revolves around the concept of weaving and expansion. It’s a derivative of the word “tan” which means to expand, spin out and weave.

Free Dictionary explains it as “concerned with powerful ritual acts of body, speech and mind.”

Isn’t that what our businesses are all about?

As entrepreneurs, our business is a reflection of who we are, how we think, what we say, and how we behave. Here are the basic tenets and how they weave into being a Tantric Entrepreneur.

1. Honor what’s sacred
Your business is an extension of who you are; both as a human being and as a contributor to the world. But too often, entrepreneurs run their businesses as if they are an employee. An employee who is in constantly trying not to get fired – by our clients, by our vendors, and by our landlord. We have to understand the areas in which our business is sacred. In other words, know the values upon which you built your business. The values of your business drive everything.

When you know the values of your business, you treat your time as sacred and stop wasting it on things that aren’t productive, don’t generate revenue or don’t fire up your passion. When you honor what’s sacred in your business, you stay true to the heart of your business goals, objectives, mission and vision, rather than changing course every time a client or customer wants something that isn’t the core of what you provide in your business.

2. Breathe
In tantric sex, you pay close attention to your breathing and get really in tune with how you’re engaging with your partner. In business, Aprille says “how you do anything is how you do everything.” It’s critical to notice how you’re doing things — even the most basic things that are like the act of “breathing” in your business. When you notice how you’re “breathing” in your business (as in sex) you stop and think before you make your next move.

In business, you have to think first and reflect on your actual plan. This is a critical step to assessing where you are, how it’s going, what your original intentions or goals were and then to pace yourself. Finally, you can “true up’ the course when you find yourself off track. But you can never do that, unless you were paying attention in the first place.

3. Vary position
Obvious right? Well, maybe during sex, but in business, it’s not so obvious. Entrepreneurs tend to do things the same way over and over – even when it’s not working. Sometimes it’s because we fear knowing the truth and where we really stand. (And don’t we all want to think we’re the world’s best lover…ehem, business owner?) Sometimes it’s because we don’t know how to do it any other way. (Who wants to admit that? — whether in the bedroom or the board room.)

Consider this. Doing things the same way all the time leaves little room for exploration and play. Entrepreneurs don’t like to get bored. When you take calculated risks, varying your position, your practices, your strategies or your methodologies, you see quantum growth. This is what happens when you have an intimate knowledge of your clients, customers, industry, business financials and business capacity.

The tantric tenet of varying position also assumes that when we do what brings us most pleasure and build on that, we make our partners happy too. The same thing applies in your business. When you do things that fuel your passion, like working with clients you love, doing the things you love and delegating the rest, not only do you have more fun, your partners, team members, customers, and clients also have more fun.

4. Make sound
Yeah, it’s getting a little weird, right? Wouldn’t you love it if your customers and clients had that “satisfied ruckus” after experiencing your products and services? And then if they told everyone else about it? It’s all about making some noise. Noise is communication to your customers and clients as well as your prospects. In fact, Aprille says you should be focused on three things:

a) letting your prospects know you’re here, you understand, and you can fulfill their needs;
b) letting your partners (prospects, clients, and team members) know you’re engaged with them and that you welcome open dialogue; and
c) letting your partners (both internal and external) know you’re enjoying them by celebrating, acknowledging and rewarding them.

5. Pay attention
In tantric sex you always maintain direct eye contact. It creates a deep connection that intensifies the experience and makes it memorable, so your partner can’t wait to have that again with you. That’s what you want between you and your customers and clients, too. You want them to think of you as the “best they’ve ever had,” right?

To have this kind of tantric entrepreneurial experience between you and your clients, visit Aprille’s website for five secrets to tantric entrepreneurialism.

Too often, we believe that business has to be boring, stuffy and confined to the daytime, so we can spend our evenings doing what we are really passionate about. As Aprille showed us, your business can be filled with the same passion and excitement as a good old-fashioned roll in the hay.

Photo by Ale Romo on Unsplash

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After serving the military and dipping his toe into a few different professions, John Lee Dumas couldn’t figure out what career was “right” for him. Until he discovered that no career was right for him — he’s an entrepreneur.

Once he started his business, he not only figured out how to make money in a way he actually enjoyed, he also discovered seven things he could never have done if he had kept living the life of mediocrity that a nine-to-five job keeps you trapped in.

1. Made over ​$2.5 million bucks in ​2014 with unlimited upside potential
Making lots of money is great, but it’s not the best part. As an entrepreneur, there’s no limit to the amount of money you can make. Hard work goes in and money comes out. Your paycheck is determined by your effort instead of the pay scales that human resources creates to make sure you get paid as little as possible.

2. Traveled to exotic locations like Paris, Prague, Barcelona​, Cinque Terre,​ and Puerto Vallarta
When you start a business and structure it right, you get the freedom to walk away at times and pursue other things that are important to you. Whether it’s visiting relatives in other parts of the world, traveling to do social good, or just laying on the beach, you get to make the choice, not your boss.

3. Work 12+ hour days and not notice
If you don’t love what you do, success is harder. But if you enjoy it, you’ll find that time passes without you even realizing it. John credits his success with being absolutely in love with what he does so that he’s never watching the clock or waiting for “quitting time.”

4. Wake up to a beautiful sunrise every day​
John and his partner in life and business, Kate, live and work in their dream city of San Diego in a home with an ocean view. This makes it hard to be in a bad mood when you get out of bed. Designed properly, a business can give you complete location freedom.

5. Interview over ​900 successful entrepreneurs
The centerpiece of John’s business is his Entrepreneur on Fire podcast, where he interviews successful entrepreneurs seven days a week. As a fan of these stories himself, John gets to have stimulating conversations with people he enjoys talking to — every day. Not a bad way to make a living.

Podcasting has provided me the platform to connect with people I never thought I’d be able to connect with, and build powerful, lasting relationships.

6. Inspired ​over 10,000 people to pursue their dream of entrepreneurship​
Helping other people to live a better life through entrepreneurship is one thing. The ripple affects is where it gets really cool. When one person leaves their job, they open up that job for someone else and start a business that has the potential to employ an unlimited number of people.

7. Never dread the alarm clock again
Like too many people do every day, John used to dread the sound of the alarm clock summoning him to get out of bed and do work he doesn’t like. When you design a business around something you love, you no longer dread the alarm clock and are excited to get out of bed and get started every day.

You might think John is ready to rest on his laurels and enjoy his success, but not even close. He is still “on fire” and continuing to build his business with a goal of ​inspiring one million people to take their entrepreneurial leap by 2016.

Photo by KAL VISUALS on Unsplash

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Starting a successful business is a dream for many people, as proven by the popularity of ABC’s Shark Tank. The hit show can teach us many great lessons about entrepreneurship. When TJ Hale, author of the Ultimate Guide to Getting on Shark Tank and I asked former Shark Tank contestants to share their biggest lessons, they generously agreed and candidly shared these 15 valuable business lessons learned from bravely putting their businesses in front of “the sharks.”

1. Validation Matters
Having successful entrepreneurs validate your idea, whether they invest or not, gives you a great level of confidence to know whether to move forward or, as the sharks say, “put it out of it’s misery.”

“Getting an investment from a shark is pretty much the equivalent of Michael Jordan saying ‘Hey, Nice Fade-Away jumper.'” — Michael Szymczak, OrigAudio

2. Believe in yourself
Other people, maybe even the sharks, will tell you your business sucks. They probably have good reasons for that. But you have to trust your gut. If you know something is right, go for it, no matter what anyone says.

“I’ll never be able to answer ‘why’ things didn’t turn out the way I envisioned it, but I’m not going to dwell on it and let those thoughts get in the way of success.” — Julie Busha, Slawsa

3. Be Prepared
Be able to answer any question the sharks throw at you. Know everything. Know every detail about your business, numbers, customers, industry, inventory, etc.

“I read every book the sharks had written. I watched every single episode of Shark Tank. I practiced my pitch over 1,000 times.” — Jason Hanson, Spy Escape

4. When opportunity comes along, you can still blow it
Opportunity is just opportunity, you still have to execute. Once you get an investment, you still have to do the work, meet the commitments and get the results.

5. Be yourself
Don’t fake it. The sharks are good at spotting phonies. Even though it can be hard in stressful situations, be your authentic self.

6. You’re selling yourself, not your product
You are selling yourself more than you’re selling the business. The sharks know the business can be changed and adapted, but if they invest, they are stuck with you.

7. Know who you are talking to
Everyone has their own point of view, history, expertise and preferences. When you pitch, know as much of that as possible.

“It’s important to hit on the points of your business that appeal to any individual investor, making the business interesting and relevant.” — John Tabis, The Bouqs

8. Keep your sense of humor
Entrepreneurship is a high-stress activity and it will get tough. A good sense of humor will help you through those tough times.

9. Be patient
It takes time to get from the show’s application to preparation to a deal. Patience are an important part of starting a business and you better have lots of them.

10. Don’t expect a lifeline
Your business has to have merit and stand on it’s own without an investment from a shark. They will not invest in a company that needs “rescuing.” The merit and value must be there to begin with.

“Don’t count on Shark Tank to save your company, count on Shark Tank to enhance your company.” — Ari Hoffman, AngelLift

11. Be ready for volume
When your product is exposed to 7.9 million viewers, no matter what the sharks say, you will get customers. Be ready to handle massive volume.

12. Take risks
Nobody achieves success without taking risks. Playing it safe is not how you create a successful business.

“It was not easy to go on national television and talk about all the issues I’d had in starting my business, but the risk paid off.” — Jayla Siciliano, Bon Affair

13. Be tough
You might get eaten alive by the sharks. Just ask Lori Cheek. You have to either believe in yourself enough to move forward anyway or go back to the drawing board.

14. Don’t be attached to an outcome
The exact thing you expect to happen may or may not happen. Don’t be attached to it. Something even better may happen.

“We thought Lori Greiner would be very interested but she dropped out. You have to roll with the punches. The experience and outcome has been better than we could have ever imagined!” — Rick Hinnant, Grace and Lace

15. Do it now
Don’t wait. If you have an idea you want to take to the world, do it now. The biggest regret most entrepreneurs have is not starting earlier.

Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

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Every single day, a vast majority of women get out of bed and do something they are not passionate about and probably don’t enjoy — all day long. Until recently, we’ve accepted this as the only way. The millennial mindset combined with the increased flexibility and options offered by the Internet allow more women to decide they aren’t going to be bound by the age-old idea that you have to do something you don’t like for a living.

But women have been making a career out of their passions for a long time. Long before YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and millennials, Debbie Travis turned her passion for home decorating into a business and a lifestyle. Whether your passion is decorating cakes, making pottery or home decorating, Debbie offers these 10 tips for creating a life that lets you do something you love and earn a living at the same time.

1. See and hear opportunity

When opportunity knocks, answer the door! Entrepreneurs are great at recognizing opportunity and making something of it. Keep your eyes and ears open and most importantly — pay attention to what’s going on around you.

2. Talk about it

Aspiring entrepreneurs are often afraid to talk about their ideas because they’re worried someone will steal them. That’s possible, but more frequently, talking about your ideas will generate feedback and get people excited about them. You may learn that people think it’s a great thing — or you may learn that folks don’t think it’s a very good idea. Either way, you’ll get valuable feedback.

3. Don’t listen to nay-sayers

There will always be people who will tell you that what you want to do isn’t possible or won’t work. Don’t listen to them. This even happened to Debbie early in her career and her nay-saying friend was very wrong.

When I was creating my very first TV series, “The Painted House”, a friend told me that nobody would ever watch a TV show about home decorating. Now there are entire networks with nothing else!

4. Go where your people are

Get out to trade shows, networking events or anywhere you can find people who might be interested in what you want to create. If you love cake decorating, go to cake decorating shows and start talking about it. You’ll learn about your industry and make great contacts.

If you are making candles, go to a place where they sell candles or a trade show and talk to the people who are interested in candles.

5. Build your Rolodex

Speaking of making contacts, build up your list of contacts. These people you meet may be able to support you in the future. Or maybe they will become friends. Either way, get their contact information and stay in touch. Your contacts are the lifeline of your business.

Don’t be afraid of reaching out to people. They are probably sitting at home wondering if they should call you.

6. Get off social media and have a drink

The Internet and social media are great networking tools, but nothing is as good as building face-to-face relationships. They are stronger. Meet your contacts for a cup of coffee to build the relationship instead of just Tweeting them or texting.

7. People are waiting for your ideas

Instead of saying to yourself, “Is anyone going to like this?” or “Am I good enough?”, know that people are waiting for you! They are waiting for the next big thing and you just may have it. Get out there!

8. Don’t worry about failing

OK, so maybe that great idea you had wasn’t the next Snuggie, but that’s OK. Failing is part of the process, so why worry about it? Just keep having conversations (number 2) and building relationships (number five) and you’ll come up with your next idea. If you do fail, no problem, you’ll have a great dinner party story.

We all make mistakes, and those mistakes are the grounding of anything you do, because we learn from them. Mistakes are a part of the process, so why worry about them?

9. Start slowly

You don’t have to put it ALL on the line. You can start slowly and you don’t have to put yourself in a situation where you will lose everything if it doesn’t work out. Never put all your eggs in one basket.

If you want to start a business, don’t mortgage your whole house to do it, because you have to think about what if it doesn’t work out.

10. Don’t let fear stop you

Debbie cautions against letting fear stop you.

To not take opportunity because you are afraid is the wrong thing because the only person who is going to suffer is you. Put your fear aside and just go for it.

If you fail to take opportunity because you are afraid, the only person who will suffer is you. What’s the worst that could happen? Either it works, or you have a great story to tell.

Photo by Badiuth on Unsplash

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