6 Steps to Creating a Warrior Mindset in Life-Changing Situations

Difficulty doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t matter if you have a net worth of $50 million or $50,000.

It doesn’t matter if you’re running a multi-million dollar company, or working for someone else.

You’re going to encounter situations that draw a before-and-after line in the sand, where things change in a moment’s notice.

If you are a business owner, you face more risk than others because you have so much more on the line. Therefore, the ability to recover is absolutely essential.

Recently, several friends have encountered what I call “before-and-after moments.” Most recently, a friend received news that her 9-year old daughter has Type-1 diabetes and will be on insulin the rest of her life.

In my own life, I’ve beaten melanoma, had a breast cancer scare, overcame two business bankruptcy possibilities, lost people I love, and recovered from a fairly devastating betrayal by someone I thought was a true friend.

I recently provided some experiential wisdom to my friend whose daughter was diagnosed with diabetes.

I’m sharing my 6 strategies for creating what I call a Warrior Mindset.

1: Block out the sky-is-falling supporters. When we receive bad news, or go through something traumatic, our natural response is to reach out to others for support. While the outreach is important, what is even more important is who we are seeking for support.

We are at our most vulnerable state when we are facing a difficult situation. We require support from those who can lift us higher and move us forward. We need support from those who are stronger than we are.

2: Move out of the “why-me” response as soon as possible. It’s natural to feel a loss of control, and to feel victimized by our circumstances. When circumstances drastically change, they often require a mourning process to eventually accept the new reality. This may include denial, anger, grief, and finally acceptance.

3: Get a grip on your fear. Fear is also a natural response to life-changing news and situations. We must remember that it is just an emotion. Nothing else. However, if we empower it – if we go to that place of, “What happens if….” then we will be paralyzed. There’s no time for inertia or inaction.

4: Seek out your new “tribe.” Diabetes has profoundly impacted our family; we have lost young people we love to the disease. I advised my friend to quickly connect with others that have already walked her path. I recommended the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) as well as Facebook support groups and meetups.

When the rules & parameters of our daily living change, we must create a tribe so that we know we are not alone, and so that we can make informed decisions based on knowledge & facts, rather than emotion. We need people like us.

Our other tribes may not understand, or even approve. That’s not your concern. Your healing & progress depends on getting the right support.

5: Seize control over the situation. This may not be the situation you would have chosen, but it is YOUR situation. Choose control over it. We either control our circumstances (even the poor ones) or they control us.

6: Remember that your circumstance does not define you. Your situation is one piece of a tapestry that is your life. I had cancer. I am not cancer. Several friends struggle with depression. They are not depression. Several friends have experienced business failure or divorce. They are more than their business situation or marital situation.

We decide how well we-co-exist with our new reality… how much it defines us.

Life delivers us a blend of the good and the bad. How it all shows up for us largely depends on our outlook and our mindset. We are not our struggles. They are only a part of the amazing people we are.

Good luck!

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About Successful Culture

We work with business owners, CEOs, and leadership teams that want to achieve their greatest personal & organizational potential. Through coaching, strategic consulting, retreat facilitation, and workshops, we equip leaders & emerging leaders with the mindset, tools, strategies, and processes they need to excel.

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, Linked In, and Twitter.

Please check out my Inc. Magazine columns on my Author Page too.

Learn about the 12 Habits of Horrible Leaders, and How to Break Them.

Wishing you joy and success on your journey!

In gratitude,

Marissa Levin
CEO, Successful Culture
“Taking Leaders from Triage to Transformation.”
[email protected]

Four Barriers to Closing a Prospect or Organizational Stakeholder & How to Move Past Them

One of the greatest rewards I witness with my clients is to see their revenues grow, and to see them move forward with their missions. We work on so many aspects that directly impact business & personal growth:

• Time Management (increasing productivity and decreasing busy-ness)
• Mindset (seeing & believing in one’s own self-worth & value is essential for others to see & believe our value)
• Our Network (are we investing time with those that can help us move forward)
• Marketing & Communications Strategy (what is our messaging, does it accurately reflect our brand, and are we communicating it effectively – both online and offline)
• Sales Strategy (are we communicating with decision makers or influencers, and how are we communicating with them)
• Organization, Prioritization, & Accountability (are we moving forward as efficiently as possible, and achieving measurable results for the activities that are most important now)

In my experience and continuing education, I’ve learned that there are really only 4 barriers that block us from moving forward with a prospect. Anticipating these barriers, and knowing the strategies to apply when we face them, will directly impact our growth.

Note #1: These assume you are engaging with the decision maker. If you aren’t working with the decision maker, then you’re wasting your time.

Note #2: In my work with executive leaders who are trying to move up their organizational ladder, they also have “customers” to whom they are selling. These barriers also apply within organizations, when an executive is seeking support for key initiatives. Executives that want to move up require an intrapreneurial mindset. All of the bullets above, and barriers below, apply to executives inside an organization.

Barrier #1: We don’t have the money. Money is a priority. Every buyer has money. The question is, how are they allocating it? What is their priority? As the solutions provider, the burden lies upon you to fully understand their pain points, and link those pain points to your solution. It’s your job to explain why they need to invest in you. It’s your job to educate them on why they should move your services to the top of their priority list. This gets back to mindset which is one of the first, and most important aspects of my work with my clients. You must be 100% confident in your abilities to move your clients forward and to make their lives better. If you doubt this, then your client shouldn’t invest in you. It also links back to the messaging work we do, to ensure my clients are positioning themselves as effectively as possible.

Barrier #2: We don’t have the time. Time is a priority. We make time for those things that matter most. Similar to barrier #1, it is your responsibility to demonstrate to your client why you are worth their time. Again, you will require a thorough understanding of your client’s needs, pain points, and goals so that you can inform them on how you are a pivotal part of their solution. I have been working with a client that sells a robust set of engineering/IT products. For the last several months, I’ve been working to shift their mindset from “here are the products we sell” to “here are the problems we solve.” It’s not your client’s job to make the connection between what they need and what you provide. If you want your clients to invest their time (and money) in you, the burden lies on you to demonstrate why they must make you a priority.

Barrier #3: We don’t need you. If your client can’t see the need for your services, they are either not a good prospect, or you haven’t communicated why they need you. You job is to create need. They may not even be aware that they need you. So often, business owners wear blinders that obstruct their views from what’s really happening in their organizations. They think their problems are linked to one aspect of their business, when they are actually linked to something else. How do you get to the root of their real problems? You continuously ask why. “Why do you want this?” For every answer keep asking why, until they reach the real problem. Your value lies between what they want, and what they need. The closer you are to what they really need, the higher of a priority you will be for their time and money.

Or, perhaps you have not differentiated yourself well enough. The goal is not to be the best. The goal is to be the only. Again, this gets back to the need for a positive & confident mindset, supported by compelling messaging that moves your prospect to action.

Barrier #4: We don’t trust you. All business is relationship-based. We buy from people we trust, and it’s your job to build the trust. We buy from people that we believe can really help us, and that have our backs. How do we build trust? We establish ourselves as experts. We communicate our value to the public. We share our intellectual property. We communicate the impact we are making with others. We do what we say we are going to do. We create referral networks with other trusted advisors that can vouch for and refer our services. If you are working with a qualified prospect that you truly believe will benefit from your services, but they are skeptical or hesitant, invest some upfront time to earn their trust. I create many different online & offline strategies for my clients to build both public and client trust, which ultimately leads to more business, because every situation is unique. We work on establishing trust, maintaining trust, and rebuilding trust when it’s been compromised. What are you doing to establish and strengthen public and client trust?

These are the only 4 barriers to closing new business with a qualified prospect, or successfully selling your ideas to your internal stakeholders: money, time, need, and trust. Of course, all businesses must have the fundamental pieces in place before they even connect with prospects: a clear mission, a core value system, strong messaging, a strong revenue/business model that delivers transformational customer value AND generates a healthy profit, and processes to deliver on the promise. Similarly, executives that are moving up must have a full understanding of their organization’s mission, and how their programs will help the organization move the mission forward. Successful Culture works on all of these elements to set up our clients for success.

I would love to help you build your foundation for success, and put strategies in place to overcome these 4 barriers. Whether you are a business owner/CEO looking to move your business to the next level of growth, or an executive looking to propel your career to the next level, we can work together to enable you to reach your greatest leadership potential. You CAN accomplish greatness! Please reach out to me to schedule a 20-minute Skype chat to discuss the greatest barrier holding you back.

Keep growing!

Sign up here to receive Successful Culture’s leadership blog every Friday. All posts contain actionable content to make you the best leader you can be, to help you develop your people to their greatest potential, and to help you build your best organization.

About Successful Culture
We work with business owners, CEOs, and leadership teams that want to achieve their greatest personal & organizational potential. Through coaching, strategic consulting, retreat facilitation, and workshops, we equip leaders & emerging leaders with the mindset, tools, strategies, and processes they need to excel.

Ready to move forward? Email us today at [email protected]

Connect with me on Instragram, Facebook, and Twitter. Engage with me during my morning Periscope sessions as well (@marissalevin).

Please check out my Inc. Magazine columns on my Author Page too.
– In my latest Inc, article, I share The Essential Guide to Avoiding Workplace Text, Email, & Social Media Disasters.
– Learn about the 9 Leadership Behaviors that Lose Employee Trust & Respect here.

~Marissa Levin
CEO, Successful Culture
“Taking Leaders from Triage to Transformation.”

Strengthen the Body, Strengthen the Mind, Strengthen the Outcome

I’ve been a hard core fitness enthusiast ever since I was 15, when I saw Linda Hamilton in The Terminator. I learned then that physical strength is not only beautiful; it is also essential to feeling confident and capable in all aspects of your life.

Executing on a dream or vision to build a business is one of the most mentally challenging endeavors a person will ever pursue. Every day, we are faced with nonbelievers, seemingly insurmountable challenges, and 101 reasons to quit. But still we persevere.

Living Your (Customer’s) Mission

Only when we understand the motivations and missions of our customers can we create a compelling mission statement that inspires a customer to trust us. There is a big difference between selling a product or service and fulfilling a mission.

Driving an Intrapreneurial Spirit and Mindset

I’m working with a great company who’s committed to moving to the next level of growth. The owner/founder has done a very good job of establishing himself as a highly dependable and reputable subcontractor, but wants to triple the company size, and evolve into a prime contractor over the next 3 years. We have a lot of work to do. To make this pivot, we have to build his infrastructure, implement required processes, and align with the right people.

One of our most immediate tasks is to evaluate and shift the mindset and commitment of his current team. Growth can’t happen alone. It takes a village to build a business.

The Three Things Companies Need to Thrive

I’ve had a slew of podcast interviews over the last few weeks, and virtually all of the hosts have asked me what I think is the necessary ingredient for continued business growth. I speak from a place of making mistakes, and from getting things right over the last 20 years.

The three things I believe companies need to survive are a market niche, relevancy, and a mindset of greatness. I’ve named them in order of difficulty.

A Higher-Level Leadership Framework & Inspiring Through Adversity

As one who sees leadership and spirituality as two sides of the same coin, I often refer to Deepak’s 7-Step Framework for LEADERS. Deepak describes a leader as “the symbolic soul of a group of consciousness.” He says that group consciousness could be a family, an organization, a community, a country or the whole world. He explains that the leader represents the longings, the aspirations, the deepest desires of the group, so in a sense, “the soul.” This is exactly why the CEO owns the culture of an organization, which is the organizational DNA.

Personal Development IS The Goal

Personal development is not a tool for reaching a bigger goal. Instead, becoming a “complete human being is already the biggest and most noble goal you can aspire to.” Most of us are on a quest of continuous self-improvement, with the goal of attaining greater success. “If I attend this school, if I obtain this certification, if I achieve this milestone, then I will be able to attain another level of achievement.” The personal development is often tied to a desired outcome that moves us from one level to another.

Personal Development IS The Goal

Personal development is not a tool for reaching a bigger goal. Instead, becoming a “complete human being is already the biggest and most noble goal you can aspire to.” Most of us are on a quest of continuous self-improvement, with the goal of attaining greater success. “If I attend this school, if I obtain this certification, if I achieve this milestone, then I will be able to attain another level of achievement.” The personal development is often tied to a desired outcome that moves us from one level to another.

Starting 2014 Right With A Strong Marketing Strategy (That Won’t Break The Bank)

I came across a compilation of 19 shoestring-budget strategies that will help you connect with your target audience without going broke – exactly what a small business needs to expand their presence and stay financially healthy.

Here are my suggestions to move these ideas to implementation.

1: Pick three out of the list and focus on them. If you try to tackle the entire list, you will do a mediocre or poor job for all of them. Then, once those are done, move to the next three. The greatest ideas fail at implementation because we bite off more than we chew.

2: Determine what you can outsource, and what you need to manage yourself. For example, if you decide to join a Chamber, you personally need to cultivate those relationships, so ensure you have enough time to be present in the organization. If you decide to write a blog, you need to build your editorial calendar and write your blogs, but can outsource the mechanics of posting and sharing.

As a small business owner, deciding how and where you will dedicate your very limited time is essential to your success.

3: Finally, if an idea isn’t working for you, pivot quickly. Drop the tactic and move on. It’s all about figuring out what works best for you at this point in time.

Here is the link to the complete presentation.

Here are the tips: