5 Lessons That Have Helped Me Become a Better Leader
by Joshua Conran


Unlike best-selling author Robert Kiyosaki, most people didn't have a "rich dad" mentor while growing up. For instance, I came from a working-class family, so my exposure to successful business leaders was limited. But looking back, I can identify five groups of people that shaped the businessman I became: family members, friends, TV characters, teachers, and authors.

These people weren't my mentors by design, but without them, I would've missed out on lessons about toughness, honesty, and ingenuity. And more importantly, I wouldn't be the leader I am today. Great mentors can take on many roles, but here are the five key insights my mentors taught me:

1. Be tenacious. There is a connection between physical and mental labor. I learned that from splitting wood and baling hay with my father. The toughness and discipline required to finish a physical task can also be used to tackle mental challenges, such as pushing through an off-kilter project.

Look at the people in your life who have overcome great physical challenges. Did they throw up their hands and quit? Of course not! Instead, they worked hard and pressed on. Learning this tenacity has helped me push through failures, and it can do the same for you.

2. Seek out honest friendships. The concept of friendship has changed a lot lately, but when I think about my friends, I don't think of my Twitter followers. I picture the people with whom I share an authentic connection.

Your friends can (and should) influence your life. Focus on the friends who actively listen. They'll talk about what's really going on and help you jump some of life's hurdles along the way.

3. Learn to solve problems. I grew up watching re-runs of TV programs featuring characters such as Andy Taylor (The Andy Griffith Show), Charles Ingalls (Little House on the Prairie), and Ben Cartwright (Bonanza). These characters taught me a great deal, and I watch their shows today with my kids.

As a leader, you have to face difficult challenges. If you work hard to overcome them, there's always a lesson to learn. Even though it might sound a bit silly, don't discount the challenges faced by your favorite fictional characters. The lessons they've learned might apply to your life as well.

4. Become fully engaged. Some of the minor tweaks my teachers made during my early years continue to affect how I learn today. For example, one teacher recognized that I had trouble learning in a lecture setting. She decided to change things up for my benefit and would occasionally open up classroom-wide conversations after lectures. My teacher taught me that new information could be fun when I learned it in a way that suited my needs.

I still enjoy learning by diving into projects that will force me to learn the subject matter better. Look back and see how you learned most effectively growing up. Revisit those methods to see your comprehension improve.

5. Absorb knowledge through books. I didn't have access to business leaders at the beginning of my career, so I turned to books. If you ask me which business book will put you on the path to success, I'd say you're missing the point of reading.

John Donahoe, president of eBay, has said, "Pursuing a full life and pursuing balance is a journey and not a destination." I think the same is true of reading. There's no book that contains the secret to success. If you read a wide range of topics, you'll find valuable nuggets of wisdom during your journey.

You can't rely on my mentors--I've only been able to identify them through self-reflection, after all. You must seek out your own. Don't let your influencers just happen. Be the architect, and line them up to help you achieve your idea of success.

Hi treasurehand

Great post.

Many people don't have the work ethic or will to do the things that it takes to become a success. But what many don't realize is these traits can be learnt and you don't need to be some kind of bionic superhuman to do it.

Over the years ordinary people have been achieving extra ordinary things just by changing the way they think.

Leaders are reader!

Ben Ajose

Hello Ben,
You are right. Readers are leaders because they are equipped with the right information.Hope you enjoy this post.



LinkedIn Tips for Standing Out, Even if You’re Just Starting Out
by Stirling Cox
When it’s finally time to leave college behind, you might go about joining the real world in one of two ways. You might trade your textbooks for a Eurail pass and gallivant around Europe, eating croissants and taking selfies at the Eiffel Tower. But if you’re a real go-getter, the race for your dream job is on.

Neither choice is wrong, but driven job seekers know that college graduates are plentiful — and jobs are not. They’re ready to do whatever it takes to position themselves for success. And one of the best ways to outshine your competition is by building a high-quality LinkedIn profile before hitting the job market:

LinkedIn: Facebook with a tie and briefcase
Unlike Facebook, where you can share keg stand pictures or your snapshots of eating cement after a missed parkour jump, LinkedIn is where you show the most polished version of yourself: The “you” someone would want to hire.

Think of it this way: LinkedIn is the place for your responsible daytime activities, while Facebook is where you post what you get up to once the sun goes down. (Click here to tweet this thought.)

It’s increasingly common for companies and recruiters to scour the Web for info about potential job candidates, and LinkedIn is one of their go-to sources. A lot of students don’t realize this, so they either don’t have a profile or they ruin it from the outset by plastering (no pun intended) a drunk photo as their profile picture.

Since there aren’t many students paying attention to LinkedIn, those who do make good profiles have a chance to get ahead of the curve when recruiters go hunting for information. Recruiters are out to gather as much data as they can, and a fleshed-out profile can cover a lot of bases.

Standing out from the crowd
There are a number of things you can do to make your LinkedIn profile pop:

Use a good photo: Make sure you use a professional photo. You’d be surprised by how many students use grainy webcam shots of themselves.
Make your headline count: Many people use the most visible space on their LinkedIn profile to state their name and job title. Instead, use this area to write a professional headline that will showcase your skills or make you stand out.

List your experience: Document and describe any relevant experience, including internship and volunteer experience. Explain what you achieved in those roles, not just what your duties were.

Make yourself “visible”: Recruiters will Google you, and your LinkedIn profile can be a valuable asset for reputation management. Next to the “Edit Profile” button, there is a drop-down menu that allows you to manage your public profile settings.

Add connections: Connect with people in your desired field. If a recruiter looks at your profile and sees you’re connected to someone who works for the company he is hiring for, he’s more likely to start inquiring about you.

Follow companies in your industry: Many organizations post job opportunities on their own LinkedIn pages, so this is a good place to begin researching the types of positions available in your industry.

Master subtlety: A lot of people make the mistake of overselling themselves. You don’t need 50 recommendations attesting to how amazing you are. If you overload your profile, you run the risk of coming off as full of yourself — or desperate.

Add examples of your work: LinkedIn lets you add photos, videos and slideshow presentations to your profile summary. Impress recruiters by showing what you can actually do.

Essentially, building a strong LinkedIn profile is all about making yourself visible. Headhunters are sick of job boards like Monster, which are flooded with unqualified candidates. LinkedIn allows them to digest a lot of info about candidates quickly and efficiently. But if your profile is incomplete or nonexistent, you’re not giving them a way to find out any info about you.

If you’re on a take-no-prisoners quest to land a job you’ll love, look over your LinkedIn profile and see what you can do to improve. Did you use a photo from a recent beer pong competition? Get a new profile pic. Does your profile include a recommendation from your mom testifying to how great you are? Axe it. Did your ex endorse you for your twerking skills? Make sure that doesn’t see the light of day.

Dress up your LinkedIn profile the same way you’d dress for an interview: professionally but not too aggressively. Remember, it’s hard to overcome a bad first impression — or an unremarkable one. Make the time you’re not spending at the Eiffel Tower worth it.

Stirling Cox
Find more resources and articles to build a career and business you love at [urlhttp://impactly.bitballoon.com/]Impactly[/url].

Hello Ben,
You are right. Readers are leaders because they are equipped with the right information.Hope you enjoy this post.



LinkedIn Tips for Standing Out, Even if You’re Just Starting Out
by Stirling Cox
When it’s finally time to leave college behind, you might go about joining the real world in one of two ways. You might trade your textbooks for a Eurail pass and gallivant around Europe, eating croissants and taking selfies at the Eiffel Tower. But if you’re a real go-getter, the race for your dream job is on.

Neither choice is wrong, but driven job seekers know that college graduates are plentiful — and jobs are not. They’re ready to do whatever it takes to position themselves for success. And one of the best ways to outshine your competition is by building a high-quality LinkedIn profile before hitting the job market:

LinkedIn: Facebook with a tie and briefcase
Unlike Facebook, where you can share keg stand pictures or your snapshots of eating cement after a missed parkour jump, LinkedIn is where you show the most polished version of yourself: The “you” someone would want to hire.

Think of it this way: LinkedIn is the place for your responsible daytime activities, while Facebook is where you post what you get up to once the sun goes down. (Click here to tweet this thought.)

It’s increasingly common for companies and recruiters to scour the Web for info about potential job candidates, and LinkedIn is one of their go-to sources. A lot of students don’t realize this, so they either don’t have a profile or they ruin it from the outset by plastering (no pun intended) a drunk photo as their profile picture.

Since there aren’t many students paying attention to LinkedIn, those who do make good profiles have a chance to get ahead of the curve when recruiters go hunting for information. Recruiters are out to gather as much data as they can, and a fleshed-out profile can cover a lot of bases.

Standing out from the crowd
There are a number of things you can do to make your LinkedIn profile pop:

Use a good photo: Make sure you use a professional photo. You’d be surprised by how many students use grainy webcam shots of themselves.
Make your headline count: Many people use the most visible space on their LinkedIn profile to state their name and job title. Instead, use this area to write a professional headline that will showcase your skills or make you stand out.

List your experience: Document and describe any relevant experience, including internship and volunteer experience. Explain what you achieved in those roles, not just what your duties were.

Make yourself “visible”: Recruiters will Google you, and your LinkedIn profile can be a valuable asset for reputation management. Next to the “Edit Profile” button, there is a drop-down menu that allows you to manage your public profile settings.

Add connections: Connect with people in your desired field. If a recruiter looks at your profile and sees you’re connected to someone who works for the company he is hiring for, he’s more likely to start inquiring about you.

Follow companies in your industry: Many organizations post job opportunities on their own LinkedIn pages, so this is a good place to begin researching the types of positions available in your industry.

Master subtlety: A lot of people make the mistake of overselling themselves. You don’t need 50 recommendations attesting to how amazing you are. If you overload your profile, you run the risk of coming off as full of yourself — or desperate.

Add examples of your work: LinkedIn lets you add photos, videos and slideshow presentations to your profile summary. Impress recruiters by showing what you can actually do.

Essentially, building a strong LinkedIn profile is all about making yourself visible. Headhunters are sick of job boards like Monster, which are flooded with unqualified candidates. LinkedIn allows them to digest a lot of info about candidates quickly and efficiently. But if your profile is incomplete or nonexistent, you’re not giving them a way to find out any info about you.

If you’re on a take-no-prisoners quest to land a job you’ll love, look over your LinkedIn profile and see what you can do to improve. Did you use a photo from a recent beer pong competition? Get a new profile pic. Does your profile include a recommendation from your mom testifying to how great you are? Axe it. Did your ex endorse you for your twerking skills? Make sure that doesn’t see the light of day.

Dress up your LinkedIn profile the same way you’d dress for an interview: professionally but not too aggressively. Remember, it’s hard to overcome a bad first impression — or an unremarkable one. Make the time you’re not spending at the Eiffel Tower worth it.

Stirling Cox
Find more resources and articles to build a career and business you love at Impactly

Your LinkedIn post is great! But not just because you have directed it at graduates.

This post is also good for those who want to start building a business online and want to mingle with those who can help them move up and beyond.

For those who are looking to be online professionals this post is definitely for you