3 Tips for Success
As @GaryVee said it best, "There's so many ways to win. There's different ways to do it, the key is which bird knew himself best."
Success is not based on luck; it is not based on how much money you had to start with or what family you were born into. Success is something that is earned, that is given to those who want it badly enough. If you ask me right now if I consider myself successful, the answer is no. I have a long way to go and a lot more to do. I'm still young, we all are, and as Gary Vaynerchuk consistently echoes, "you have to be patient."
I was asked the other night on Instagram Live, "what are your tips for being successful?" FYI, I love Instagram Live and if you want your questions answered, make sure you turn on post notifications (@bylisalinh)! Now back to the question, my tips for success - well I have quite a few but here are my key tips that I believe has worked (at least for me).
1. Hustle + Heart: There's no question about the work you have to put in to get to where you want to be. I've always been a hustler, from elementary school selling my cousin's toys, to middle school, making deals for snacks. I guess you can say that money has always been on my mind and I've always came up with ways to make it. I had no problem working at the age of 16, I loved it and wanted to work more than just weekends.
In high school, I worked 2-3 different jobs over the course of 4 years and got a taste of corporate life. I was kicked out of my parent's house at 18, so I learned how to be a responsible adult and pay bills. This also forced me to hustle harder because I refused to live on the streets. In college, I managed to work full-time while going to school, became a club promoter at one point, then picked up a 2nd job waitressing. So I never got a normal college life, never went to a frat party, didn't get to go on the snowboarding trip and have yet to see snow in real life, but I don't regret it at all because I wouldn't be where I am now.
The point is, if you're passionate about your goals, determined as fuck, and work your ass off - no one can stop you.
2. Do you believe in yourself? Do you see yourself being successful? If you can imagine it, you can do it.
Many people believe in seeing is believing, but why not reverse that? Believe it so you can see it. If you never talk about your goals, if you don't become obsessed with it, then how do you expect others to believe what you say?
But - "don't just talk about it, be about it." Make sure you back up your talk with that walk. People will automatically doubt you so while they might not believe it at first, at least they'll know how serious you are about it with the work you put in.
So many people doubted bloggers and blogging to be a thing. They talked shit, they said it'll disappear in a couple of years and here we are. I believe Chriselle Lim and Amy Song are going on strong with over 5+ years in the business. Influencer marketing is still growing and people are now just catching on.
3. Don't cheat yourself. Don't take the easy route or the short cuts that will just end up putting you back at square one down the road. No one knows how hard anyone else works but they'll sure as hell underestimate you and then tell you that it was just "so easy" to get where you were. There's no quick rich scheme that works.
There are ways to improve how efficient you can be and to help cut down on time consuming tasks, but don't go out and spend large sums of money on e-courses or classes that will "guarantee" you to be as successful as they are. There's no one way to do it, everyone has their own path to success and you just have to do it to figure it out.
The thing I love about Gary Vaynerchuk is that he isn't trying to sell you anything. Yeah, he writes books but his audience buys it because they truly want to - not because he asks them to. In fact, he doesn't ask for anything at all. He puts out free content, advice, takes on calls from his audience and so much more - all for free. Why? Because he understands and knows that everyone is different so it is up to them to find out how to get to where they want to be. He just helps but motivating and inspiring you to get off your lazy ass and do it!
Lastly, my #1 tip for success is to always remain true to who you are. Success can change you, for worse or better is up to you. People will say you've changed because they don't understand what you're doing and why - but that's OK. As long as you know that you're still true to who you are and you don't start treating people differently because the money's flowing in then it's all good.
Now go chase your dreams.
