5 habits of successful entrepreneurs

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Hi docs. Welcome to the ontremd podcast where it is all about helping amazing physicians just like you. Embrace entrepreneurship so you can have the freedom to live life and practice medicine on your terms. I'm your host, Dr. Una.

Welcome back to the Entre MD PODC. This is your one stop shop where you get the empowerment, the inspiration, the motivation, tips and hacks to be a successful entrepreneur. And as always, I'm super pumped that you're here and we are going to be looking at something really cool which is the five habits of successful entrepreneurs. And there are more, but these are the top five that I've come across. These are the ones that I've applied and I want to share them with you. Now I'm going to tell you a little bit about. You know, my husband and I, we do a lot of study of entrepreneurs across different fields and we have a special name for them. We call them our crazy friends. And every so often when we're studying one of them, we'll tell a story about something one of them did. And we're just like, you know what? They're all the same. And when we say they're all the same, what do we really mean? We mean that the habits of successful people are the same. The things that they do to get there are the same. Which is so reassuring because that means that they're not necessarily special, they're not necessarily Better than any of us or anybody else is just that they do certain things and if we learn them, we can do them too. So that could either make you successful or up level your success. Because of course, wherever you find yourself and there's still more in front of you. Okay, so habits. Habits are like keys. You know, a key has no respect for who is holding it, right? As long as a person uses the key, the door would open. Whether they're five year old, a five year old, or they're a 90 year old. No matter what their gender is, no matter what, you know, the circumstances of their birth was, keys will open doors, okay? And habits are just like that. If we acquire them, they will give us the results that we want. Habits are also like laws, like the law of gravity. The law of gravity does not care who you are. If you jump off a building, you are going to break your legs. That's just the way it works. So habits are the same way. If we learn them and we apply them, it will open doors and it will make our businesses so much better. So we're going to be looking at those habits today. All right? So the very first habit is that successful people have. They set big goals. Okay? So first of all, they're goals, but they set big goals. And what I mean by that is they set goals that would stretch them. Goals that are not comfortable to accomplish, goals that they know would require them to change and learn new stuff and learn new skills in order to pull it off. Goals that, you know, when they're done setting them, they gulp and they're like, okay, well, let's do what we can to pull this off. Now, I don't mean silly goals, right? A silly goal would mean you've never done anything in business, you don't necessarily have any the experience of entrepreneurship, and you set a goal for $5 million in your first year of business. Now when you're saying that, chances are you don't even believe it yourself. You're just saying that to say something, right? So they stretch, but they're still believable. So they set big goals. And what that does is that it makes them very clear on their destination. They know where they want to go. Okay, so I'll give you a few examples. And if you know me, you know that I always choose examples across industries. So these are not all physicians, but I want you to see the kind of goals they set. So someone like Grant Cardone will say that I'm going to build a real estate portfolio of US$1 billion, okay? That's a big goal, and he's pushing towards it, but he's very clear. So everything he's doing is. Is to push him in the direction of that one goal. Okay, you may say I have a side gig, and I've really treated it like a side gig. And I probably get $200 a month. And this year, I want it to be this year where I am going to make my side gig a five figure a month type of business. Type of business. And that's a clear goal. I have a goal, a BHAG. I want to help 80,000 doctors embrace entrepreneurship so they can have the financial freedom to live life and practice medicine on their terms. I'm very clear on what that is. So most of the actions I take are pushing me towards that goal. Okay, so they have goals. They have goals. So that's the very first habit that they have. The second habit is that they are focused. Okay, so they have the goals, but. But they are focused on those goals. Now, to illustrate this point, I'm going to tell you a story that I heard about Richard Branson, the multi billionaire. He's worth like $4 billion with the B B B B B, right? And this is a story about him. Now, he is friends with Darren Hardy, who is the editor of Success magazine. And he had a friend come to him and say, hey, you're friends with Richard Branson? Ke, can you reach out to him? We have a Success conference coming up and we would love for him to be a speaker. Um, it's a one hour talk, and we will pay him a hundred thousand dollars. So then Hardy called his office and says, you know, this is. This is who wants to use your services, and this is how much they're willing to pay. And they said, unfortunately, we cannot accommodate that request. And, you know, he. He goes back, he tells his friend, this is what they said. So he says, okay, tell him we'll pay $250,000 for the one hour talk. We really want him to come for our event. So he goes back to Richard Branson's office and says, this is what they're willing to pay. $250,000 for a one hour keynote. And the office says, I'm sorry, we cannot accommodate that request. And so at this point, they're like, okay, I know his time is valuable. I know he's busy, so. So let's bring him in. We will pay him $500,000. Okay, we will pay him $500,000 for a one hour talk. We will take him in a private jet so we will bring him from his office to the event. Once he's done speaking, we'll take him back. I need you to hear this. $500,000 and a private jet. So he goes. He. He goes back to the office. He says, this is what they want to give you. $500,000 private jet, so it won't be a waste of your time. And the office says no. And at this point, his friend is frustrated, like, what in the world? So he says, so ask the office, what will it take for us to get Richard Branson at our event? What will it take for that to happen? Tell him to name his price. Now, I want to show you the power of focus. So I want to tell you what he said, and you tell me if you think this is why he's worth 4 billion. Okay, he's. So this is what his office said. Richard is focused on three strategic goals. He will allow a schedule in his calendar, things that would significantly contribute to one of those three priorities. Speaking at your event for any price is not one of them. He was so focused that he turned down half a million. Now, granted, he's worth 4 billion, but I don't think half a million is no money. Right. He turned down half a million and no waste of time, since he's going to be in a private jet. So he could stay focused on three things. Okay, So I say all that to say this. Successful people are focused. What are your goals? And all the things that you're doing should be activities that will take you in the direction of your most important goals. Of course, they're gonna be things that are nice to do, that are interesting to do, that would, you know, maybe even make you some money and stuff like that. But if they're not taking you in the direction of your most important goals, that they are what they are a distraction. And successful people learn how to turn distractions down. So that's number two for you. Focus. I thought that was a pretty impressive story. I heard it years ago. Never forgot it. All right, so the third thing is that successful people build powerful networks. And the truth of the matter is, I mean, you've heard me say this time and again that I'm an introvert. The people thing was not really my thing. But when I realized that networking was a. It was a power habit of successful people, I had to embrace it. And the truth of the matter is, if I could, you can, too. Okay? So success is a team sport. That's what it said. It's not. It's not a solo race. And it's not just what you know. It is who you know. Okay? So who you know is almost as important and sometimes maybe even more important than what you know. And. And you may have heard this quote, and if you haven't, I want you to hear it and keep it with you at all times. Your net work, the people in your life will determine your net worth. Your network will determine your net worth. So what that means is you have to build into your tribe people who have accomplished what you're trying to do, people who kind of intimidate you. You know what I'm saying? Like, if you walk into the room and you're the smartest in the room and everybody's just like, oh, my gosh, you're the best thing since sliced bread, you are in the wrong room. You will need to be in a room where even if you start feeling like you're too cool and you've arrived, that someone else's accomplishment or somebody else's character traits or somebody else's habits make you go like, man, there's still so much more I can do, not in a comparing way, but more like an inspirational kind of who will inspire you to keep moving even though you've accomplished so much. So you need to insert these kind of people into your lives. You need to insert mentors. You need to reach out. There's nothing wrong with doing that. You need. You know what? Let me tell you this story. I had a practice that I had followed for about a year, and I'm like, they are so amazing. It was almost like they could read my mind. And they knew the kind of practice I wanted to own own. And they were doing it. They were like, you know, maybe five years ahead of me, you know, in carrying it out. It's amazing. Now, my practice is in Georgia. This practice is in Texas. And I didn't know the owner personally, but we were in some group together, but. And we had never really had any conversations, but I'm telling you, networking works. And I. I sent her an email. I'd like to say I called her, but I was not bold. I sent her an email, I said, you know what? I'm in Georgia. I'm not your competition. I'm a pediatrician as well. Can I just come and see your practice in action and follow you around for a day and pick your brain and stuff like that? She's like, yeah, of course. We settled on a time. I bought my flight tickets. I paid for a hotel. I went there like a resident. I followed her around every, you Know, for a day, she showed me, you know, how the building operations work, what they were doing for marketing, what they were doing for building team culture, what they do to hire, how they hire strategists, strategically, how they hire, anticipating turnover. It was the most amazing 24 hours. What did I just do? I took somebody who was not in my tribe and I inserted them in my tribe. And I got so much out of it. I mean, so much. Till today. I'm still reaping the dividends of that one visit. Okay, you need to build powerful networks. Okay, now you might be thinking, okay, when I reach out to these people, what do I do? You know, like, what do I do with them? So I learned this from Jack Canfield, that's the author of Chicken Soup for the Soul. Sold like a gazillion copies. And this is what I learned from him. When you meet someone who's more powerful, more influential than you, has been, is, you know, crushing goals that you wish to crush and is doing all of that, There are two questions that you need to ask. And if you ask these two questions, it will put you on the map. It will open the door to start a powerful relationship. The first question is, what is the most important thing that you are working on right now? What's your big goal? What are you working on? What is the thing that's stretching you? Okay, this is a conversation. What is that? Then? The second thing is, how can I help you? Listen, everybody is tuned into wiifm. What's in it for me? Everybody. We're all tuned into that radio station. And the more successful people are, the less likely people are to help them. Usually people come to get stuff from them, not to help them. So when you are reaching out to help, you are in the minority. You stand out, you make an impression, and you definitely open up that person's heart to help you. Okay? So they build powerful networks. That's the third habit. The fourth habit is they embrace failure. Like, we need to actually rewrite our narrative about failure, right? So what they've done is they've. They changed the way they interpret failure. Okay? And I want you to think of this. Think about a child. A child turns 1 or 11 months or so and decides it's time to walk. What happens? They take a few steps, they fall. They take a few steps, they fall. But let me tell you what the parents do. This is so amazing. I hope you never forget it. What the parents do at that time is they're cheering them on. There is no time that a child who's learning how to walk takes a few steps and falls. And the parents are like, oh, my God, he's never going to be able to walk. I mean, this is so horrible. I had high hopes for this child. That's not what happens. The parents celebrate like, oh, my gosh, he took three steps. Nobody talks about the fall. Nobody says a word about the fall. Nobody documents the fall. They document the steps. So what that means is, for the child, we don't see the fall as failure. We just see it as part of the process, and we celebrate the accomplishments. What if we could do that as adults? Right. What if we can say, I started this business? I was thinking at this time, it would at least be at six figures. But it's still at five figures and all that. Guess what? You took three steps. You weren't an entrepreneur before. You didn't know how to hire before. You didn't know how to market before. You didn't know how to rock a stage before. And you've done all those things. Yes. You haven't hit your revenue goals. But if you could take three steps, you can take five. And if you can take five, you can take eight. And if you can take eight, eventually you'll be running, Right? So they rewrote the narrative about failure. They embrace it. They don't see it as a thing. It's just part of the process. And they, like, fail already. Now let's look at a statistic, okay. Which will help put this in perspective. When I started listening to salespeople talk, they say that great Salespeople have a 30% conversion rate. What that means is if they try to pitch their product 10 times, people will say yes three times now. Three times. That's great. And that means they can do math and they can predict their revenue and all of that stuff. That's wonderful. But I need you to listen, though. Three times means that for every time they close three sales and got three yeses, seven people told them no. But they don't see that as failure. They celebrate the three and keep it moving. I want that to sink in. They rewrite the narrative about failure, okay? And that is one of the things that stops a lot of people. And that is one of the things we have to give up to be successful. So that's number four. Number five is that they have success routines. They have, like, morning routines. Some have evening routines, depending on their energy cycle and stuff like that. And when you look at them, like I say with my husband, our crazy friends, they're all the same. They all have some kind of routine. A lot of them will have a prayer and meditation routine in the morning, which helps center them, which helps them be in the right mindset to face any obstacles that the day may bring. A lot of them, they exercise. They all are exercising. Okay? Why? Strong body, strong mind is all connected, okay? No such thing as feeling crappy and being a great entrepreneur, like, you know, at least not for. For a long period of time. So they do that. A lot of them will do a healthy breakfast and they have a fixed, you know, range of things they choose from. A lot of them would read, and when it comes to reading, I mean, that's something we should all be doing. You can choose. It can be 15 minutes, 20 minutes, an hour, three hours. But reading has to happen. A lot of them would plan their day either the night before or the morning of. A lot of them will listen to a podcast or something that will motivate them and keep them on fire for that day. Okay? Because, you know, motivation wears off every day. So they all have success routines now. After I learned this years ago, I developed a success routine, a morning routine that works for me. And what it is, is I call it my daily five, which is really funny because it's six things, but it's, you know, it's my daily five is six things that I do every day that will move me in the direction of my most important goals. Cuz granted, I am an entrepreneur, but that's only one aspect of my life. There's so many other aspects, and I do not want to be a successful entrepreneur who failed at life, right? So every morning I have some time in prayer and meditation. And what that does for me is it gives me the mental toughness to handle my day. And we can talk about that on a different podcast. And that's the, you know, that's the first thing I would do. The second is exercise. A lot of times I would walk. I'm a walker. It is exercise, but it's primarily very, very, very relaxing for me. So I would take a long walk, days that I don't have to see patients in the mornings, and I'll do a brisk walk on the days that I have to leave the house earlier. So I do a long walk. I would read and like I said, you can choose the time. And some days is longer and sometimes it's shorter. But I would read every day. I would review my goals. I would either write them out or I would either write them out or I'll say them out loud as if they already happened. I have what I call me tweak. Meaningful time with kids. I made that up, but it's called me tweak. And that's because I'm a very driven person. And I want to make sure that every day I'm spending quality time with my kids, building those relationships because I don't want to have a successful business. And then, you know, my kids are like, you were never there for us. Right? So I do that as well. And those are the things that I do every day. And then I listen to a podcast every day because I am not that person who stays motivated all the time. I give myself a pep talk, a jump start every morning by listening to something that will inspire me to go and, you know, give my best to the next 24 hours. So that's my routine. So successful people, they have habits, okay? So they set big goals, they stay focused, they build powerful networks, they embrace failure, and they have success routines. All right? So these are the habits and habits, they're like keys. They're like laws. If you apply them, they will absolutely 100% change your life. Okay? So what I want you to do today is if you found this helpful, I want you to subscribe to this channel. I want you to share this with one other doctor who, you know, wants to be an entre md. They want to embrace entrepreneurship. They want to have that freedom so they can live life and practice medicine on their own terms. Remember that you're only a few habits away from being the successful entrepreneur you know you can be. So start applying them today.

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