Make Your Own Lane: Live Feedback on Daily Discipline

I am fascinated by few of Jim Rohn’s famous quotes and these are included in the Beginner’s Guide for working online. As these are apt in different stages of your journey to establish online income, the learner can relate to each one of them.

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

I remember attending webinars almost two decades back and the guy who stood on the stage had the same piece of advice. He used a different word – Association. Today I watched a video who used yet another word – Individuals you hang out with. 

Same essence and message, just differently worded.

“If you really want to do something, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse.” 

The one who is not ready to work, learn and challenge habitual thought patterns is always an encyclopedia of excuses. As a coach you need not waste your bandwidth in showing them ways because they are well capable of finding that themselves.

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” 

You need minimum 21 days to build a new habit. You also need consistent efforts.

“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment” 

What you decide to do one fine day is a random act. What you do every day for positive results and goals is Discipline

“Don't wish it was easier wish you were better. Don't wish for less

problems wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenge wish for more wisdom” 

Listen to the whiners. They all sound the same. In Jeff Olsen’s words there are two paths - Life of Responsibility and Life of Blame.

When things are getting difficult – There is unlearning (letting go of old habits)

When things are getting easy – There is learning (Acquiring new skills)

Both are equally important

  

“You cannot change your destination overnight. You can change your direction”

Changing direction is easier said than done. If your need to reach your destination is not strong enough, you do not quite move in the required direction. Check your lead and lag measures - How close or how far you are from your goals based on the activities you do?

“Successful people have libraries. The rest have big screen TVs” 

Non-readers waste roughly 700 hours in watch TV even if you consider an average of 2 hours per day. Does that give a rough idea about how many hours readers spend on books and libraries?

“When you know what you want, and you want it bad enough, you'll find a way to get it.” 

Do you want to establish your side-hustle bad enough? If yes, get started. If no, read the first quotation again.

Write to advocating.outcomes@gmail.com to have a daily learning road map leading to desired outcomes

Make Your Own Lane: A B C D E F For Beginners To Establish Online Income

When someone approaches me wanting to learn more about

1] What are some genuine online income opportunities?

2] Can they get started on their side hustle with their regular job? 

3] How fast can they can either add to or replace their current income?

They know the answer for all three questions. So I do not quite give them direct answers - I show them a plan.

Many of my friend’s friends who are complete strangers have the exact same questions. As I do not know their background, I prefer to begin the plan with some open ended questions in response to their fundamental three questions.

Just to be sure they remember what I discussed when I show the plan, I capture key components in a mail so that even if they are second thinking the whole thing again – whenever the need arises, they can read the same mail again to help them overcome their inertia.

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Here are excerpts from one such mail I shared last night who joined the BECKON Learning Community yesterday (with some explanation)

A - Association 

You are the average of the 5 people you associate with the most - Jim Rohn

If you are getting ready to start something new and you seek opinion from those people who have not walked that path – exactly what do you expect to learn?

There are people with fire in their belly wanting to make a difference and they are really surrounded by average people – corporate guys with materialistic ambitions then how do they create that association – The first thing is to begin by reading books.

B - Background 

How you are conditioned and what is your belief system?

Give a subject and let that person talk for a minute – you will know how his mind is influenced – negative or positive.

C – Capability

What are your skills?

Is that enough to get started?

What are your plans for learning and bridging gaps through coaching?

D - Disciplined 

How determined you are directly impacts your discipline scope.

The more excuses you have the more delay you will experience to see results of your efforts.

E - Every day 

I reiterate again and again, no matter what, some things you have to every day, every single day

F - Financials 

How you manage the fundamentals will reflect on your financials.

Critical questions discussed are listed below:

1] What is your financial goal today and post retirement?

2] What will you say if anyone asks what you do?

3] Three top income streams today

4] Three top income streams in future  

5] Whatever is your annual target income - Your aim should be to source one client in 1 year who will give you orders worth that amount - rest of the orders are just practice

6] High level skill assessment

7] Activate your social media channels

8] When any one asks about your freelancing pursuit, since you are new and yet to conduct presentations and coaching, be honest that you are still in the learning mode

9] Transit time to be used for reading.

10] Today as learner you are BECKON Aspirant. In future you become BECKON Coach when you retain 80% of order value 

11] If you support large project with me (This is not guaranteed but a possibility) we will separately discuss scope and quotes well in advance before quoting my client.

*12] Scope for improvement: Email Communication as what you write and how you write creates the first impression on clients. 

*Point 12 is relevant to the participant in scope. I add just one point where the BECKON aspirant can begin working to improve by self-learning.

Write to advocating.outcomes@gmail.com to join BECKON Learning Community to learn live, on the job and get started with  your ventures.

Make Your Own Lane: Leveraging Skills During Weekends

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#Grapevine rumor

#Chinese whisper

#Salary increase frozen

#Travel on hold

#Candidate selected for offer on hold

#Non-essential purchases banned or have to go through an approval cycle

#Cost-saving measures in almost everything

#Sales team under huge pressure

#Invest in industry consultants to discuss business

#Company got rid of temporary staff and contractors

#Fancy corporate communication talking about strategy and yet not coughing what you want to read – Will there be layoffs?

#Coffee corner discussions around re-structuring, mergers, acquisitions, redundancy

#Urgency for training to re-skill and prepare for future projects (which may or may not be in the pipeline)

#Layoff though not announced, it is anticipated by almost everyone

#In short there is a looming fear

#Attend too many team meetings with new updates about company and business.

Are these enough hints to tell you there are problems in your company? You know something is not right - you however have no idea how to contribute to better the situation. You do not have clear understanding about what is going on in the company and absolutely clueless who to ask, as your reporting manager is equally clueless about it.

Choices

1.   You want to wait and watch before you take a decision

2.   You want to leave the sinking boat and start looking for jobs

3.   You still want to be associated with your company during this crisis and willing to stay without salary hike hoping things will get better

It could be a passing phase. You gut feeling that this situation will not last for long is probably true. Meanwhile, you can focus on alternative incomes.

Build Alternative Income Stream

You can get started with a side hustle during weekends to be able to switch over full time just in case the axe is too close.

1.   Blogging

2.   Coaching

3.   Freelancing

4.   E-books

Remember to adhere to clauses in your appointment letter. Make sure there is absolutely no conflict of interest, company resources are not used and you are not overlapping your employer’s time for doing your own thing.

1.   You just leverage your skills during weekends.

2.   You engage in learning a new skill based on market trends

The Benefits

1.   Income – You can choose this to be active or passive

2.   Supporting other’s learning and building your credibility

3.   Assisting companies who cannot hire full time resources with your skills

4.   Clients you acquire are yours,  based on meaningful business relationship you build for your ongoing online business and future revenue.

To know more click here

Learning: The Buzz Around Up-skill, Re-skill, Re-train Today.. Now!

The crisis

Cutting jobs

 Mass layoff

The captions

Automation

Digital services

Global economy

Machine learning

Robot process automation

Skills not relevant

Artificial Intelligence

Algorithm

The consequence

Jobs at stake

Redundancy

Deferred salary hike

Voluntary retirement scheme for senior employees

The cover up

Employee's poor performance as per industry standards 

Company norms.

The case

Is it relevant only to IT sector?

Will this die down soon?

If you belong to any other sector/ industry - Retail, manufacturing or pharmaceuticals, is that a safe zone without skill enhancement?

Example, if you are social media manager of a company, is it okay to remain with your current skills for tomorrow?

Even if the buzz around the layoffs that have hit the IT sector in India dies down, the need is pretty obvious. To stay relevant, you have to work on your self, your skills, your personal growth - with or without the triggers that make news.

A 34 year old mother with two toddlers had received her Master’s degree in computer application in the year 2007. She has lost confidence in the subjects and she never even bothered to create an email ID for herself. A few months back. in an attempt to establish income online, she created email ID, SKYPE ID, profiles in freelancing portals, did a short project in Real Estate sector by researching target audience for a Nevada client and created a Facebook page for her embroidery craft. She did not have a monitor initially and managed to learn on her mobile.

Why do I need to mention this? It is not about what your qualifications are, it is about what you are willing to do proactively to acquire new learning, new skills, take infant steps to chase a purpose and not as a reaction to an emerging situation.

Are you driven by purpose or by circumstances?

The Conclusion

AI has direct impact on jobs. Based on adult learning theory (Constructivist) I would like to research how one (without any external dependence on coaches) can build on their existing knowledge to grasp new concepts in a meaningful way and achieve desired outcomes that is measurable/ quantifiable.

By the time BOTS get their jobs, the affected lot evolves as better thinking beings with better skills and capability, future ready for better projects that is beyond the capacity of BOTS or the like

You learn in phases, learn for results and learn with awareness.

If there is any buzz that you got to follow, it is buzz within - that you need to learn, pick a new skill, get ahead in the learning life cycle and a little closer to outcomes that you desire.

This article here in Harvard Business Review tells why people should have two careers

People from different walks of life, with different levels of academic qualifications are switching careers or looking to start up something that they can do not only for extra income but also to give a platform to a latent skill.

A skill that did not find prominence in their corporate career - their love for art, or their ability to click a shot, or the resonating voice they have. Many want to sell those little skills they have as services and they do not have much clarity how to begin. They are more than open to acquire this new skill to work for clients independently without a title or the backup of a company.

The Beginner's Guide is primarily to address their concerns and get them started.

To know more, click here or write to advocating.outcomes@gmail.com

Opportunity Presentation

I support startups across globe with a range of services - content strategy, social media plan, business plan, pitch decks, sales and solution presentation, coaching first time entrepreneurs, storyboards for video and website critical review. 


I also assist training companies with content for learning modules, training curriculum, e-books based on adult learning theories

I provide these services across geography and industry. My Clients are from Australia, US, Indonesia, UAE, Germany, UK, Jordan, Canada, Egypt and also India. 

Some of the testimonials are here

That "I" has recently turned to "We". I could never attempt to take bigger and ongoing projects for want of a team. Things have changed now. People who have bought the Beginner's Guide to establish their online income, now support me in my assignments. With baby steps they are on their way to build their confidence to deal with clients independently.

It is a win win situation. 

I can now lead projects with a virtual team across two cities, front end the client and use their assistance for back end research. In the process they are trained to source their own client, follow instructions and deliver to international clients while identifying their own skills. 

They deliver from the comfort of their own homes, connect with me on SKYPE and what is more, they will get paid too for their assistance.

They learn from a live project (We are now working for a Nevada Client)
They are appreciated for good work 
They are reprimanded if they depend too much for instructions 

The back bone of all this is the Beginner's Guide and I am hoping I can use some more assistance in near future.

To belong to the BECKON Community and know more about this opportunity, click Opportunity Presentation 

Freelancing Kit: 20 Years Corporate Experience Has Nothing To Do With This.

Ok, you are new to freelancing after many years in corporate. This is one blog, I wanted to write for a very long time

You better be ready to take some blows on your confidence initially.

Background

Let us consider your background first.

You are used to that cozy cubicle with an ergonomic chair to suit your long dedicated hours in office. Your opinions and perspectives are noted and pondered upon by Management. You begin your work day having a quick meeting with your team – those who report to you have immense respect for your organization skills and ideas.

Suddenly when you are trying to do this, you have no clue why no one cares. You thought you have so much to offer and contribute – You will definitely have a line of orders from buyers across the globe seeking your expertise.

They don’t. That’s the first blow.

As a buyer, when I see your impressive linked profile, the projects you executed and leadership skills you have, I wonder if I can guide you appropriately with my project or should I completely leave it on your shoulders to be guided by you? I sense loss of control already.

It is almost the same kind of dilemma a small company faces while dealing with big names – Will we fit into their strategic interest? Will we be treated well as their premium clients? Will the fees be exorbitant? If they do not deliver as promised, can we recover our investment or seek alternatives?

Be approachable. Your profile should make your target audience comfortable. So it is not about “I” and “20 years” – it is about the value-add you have to offer "them" who want to reach out to you.

Experience/ Education/ Environment

Your past experience, high education and the environment you were exposed to so far can actually be the hindering factors.

You feel like a teenager wanting to be heard and taken seriously. You feel like a fresher eager for a breakthrough. Each time you tell your buyers that you have 20 year’s extensive experience and blah, it does not sound right, echoes in your own ears and you feel the urge to stop bragging because here, you are nothing.

Well, if you do not feel any of these, stop trying to make a mark here. You are not ready for this adventure, just yet

Whether you want to offer consultation, domain/ industry expertise or execute any assignment independently how you handle it as an individual without the backup of a company’s portfolio is something buyers are yet to see in your profile. Can you deliver?

You can’t. That’s the second blow.

You realize that dependence you had on your team to get minor works done is going against you here – You feel handicapped – uploading that logo in power point presentation, writing that blog, reading a report and making critical notes to build your talking points – All were made ready for you by your team. Though you are a great thinker, the doing part was missing for a very long time. Why are you failing here? 

Is it because you are without your label and usual branding here? 

Is it because you have to compete with 20 year olds?

Is it because the young ones are actually doing much better than you with fundamentals? 

Is your confidence taking an irreparable blow?

It is time for the unlearning process to begin. Create your slides now and yes, format them too.

Capability

Let us understand the rationale behind why some companies/ startups hire freelancers. That is no rocket science actually. There are different thoughts and focus behind such a move. 

a)  They cannot afford or they do not need full time employees.

b)   There is no continuity of work – it is just need based

c)   They need the best in the industry, even if they can afford them just once

Your capability should align with this need and deliver the outcome they are looking for. Will you, with your current capability own this end to end?

You will not. That is the final blow

Your capability has limitations. I have worked with several leaders who are great to give tips and comments on how to refine a deck however they have zero understanding about how to storyboard the deck for the proposed target audience from scratch.

Anyone with little bit of awareness on left brain dominated people (logical – data specific) and right brain dominated people (creative – imagination prone) will know how to deal with this shortcoming.

Your knowledge should compensate for what the buyers do not have.

You should be able to deliver their desired business outcomes

Either you or another hired resource should be able to continue based on what you deliver to meet future needs and bigger needs of the project.

What are the three critical things you need to unlearn today to establish your online income? 

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