13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do

A great little article by Amy Morin, 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do. Here are the 13 things (sans summaries):

1. They don't waste time feeling sorry for themselves.
2. They don't give away their power.
3. They don't shy away from change.
4. They don't waste energy on things they can't control.
5. They don't worry about pleasing everyone.
6. They don't fear taking calculated risks.
7. They don't dwell on the past.
8. They don't make the same mistakes over and over.
9. They don't resent other people's success.
10. They don't give up after the first failure.
11. They don't fear time alone.
12. They don't feel the world owes them anything.
13. They don't expect immediate results.

A year ago, I would have said I failed at at least 9 of these; today perhaps only 3! How many do you need to work on?

"Everything takes more time than you thought, everything costs more money than you thought, and almost everything turns out not quite as cool as you thought."

 - Merlin Mann

What is Thought Leadership?

On occasion I will ignore my usual Bennysian cheapness and actually spend a few extra dollars on a magazine or newspaper. I don't know why - most of the articles are available online for free anyway. Guess I just like to once in a while remember what it was like before e-readers, the internet, and computers.

This time it was an issue of Forbes, and one article in particular really caught my attention: "What is Thought Leadership? 5 Steps to Get It Right" by Michael Brenner. It is a great article, I recommend reading it! Here is my summary, if you haven't got the time:

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What is Thought Leadership? 5 Steps to Get It Right by Michael Brenner

• Thought Leadership: Becoming an authority on relevant topics by delivering the answers to the biggest questions on the minds of your target audience.
• It allows your audience to get to know you, and can be used for branding by determining the category of your solutions.
• It can include your unique perspective, but its agenda must be set by your audience.

How to Create Thought Leadership:

1. Identify, then prioritize all your audience's questions.
2. Answer those question across multiple formats and channels.
3. Give to get - Don't put up hurdles to your content.
4. Make it interesting, educational, and entertaining.
5. Invite your audience to participate.

The Best Way to Be More Confident

As soon as I saw this article's headline I just knew I had to read it. And of course, it doesn't hurt that it's written by my (unbeknownst to him) digital mentor, Jeff Haden. I am always interested in little tips and tricks about how to boost my confidence! So here they are:

• Lack of confidence is not the problem - it is the means to a solution.
• Hide from your weaknesses and you will always be weak. Accept them and work to improve and you will become stronger and more confident.
• Improvement breeds confidence. Success breeds confidence. Competence breeds confidence.
• Success in one pursuit yields greater confidence in other areas of life.
• Confidence comes as a result of reaching a goal (success), so therefore pick a goal and get to work.
• Celebrate small successes. Analyze and improve upon weaknesses. Keep going!