John Barksdale Polymath, Cryptocurrency Specialist

Many people are of the opinion that, when it comes to the choice of taking a risk, they should always go with their intuition. However people often find it difficult to differentiate intuition with common sense. People mistake the uneasiness that they feel with their instinct telling them not to go ahead with something and thereby avoid taking risks, missing the opportunity to make some worthwhile progress in life. One will never be able to progress in their life until they step out of their comfort zone. The propensity to avoid risks has cost many people a lot and this is mainly because they are unable to assess risks appropriately. Whatever the reasons are, avoiding risks is bound to result in lost opportunities eventually. A lot of successful people have been repeatedly stressing the importance of taking calculated risks in life and it is high time that people took notice of it. In this article we shall discuss, why taking calculated risks in life is important. How fear influence...

Although you have chosen a particular industry and launched your company, you may be procrastinating carrying out certain important tasks such as hosting your website, opening a good LinkedIn profile, and so on. Your notion is that these tasks can wait until your business picks up. You may not realize that by not carrying out these important tasks immediately after you have launched your company, you are postponing your business success itself. This means that you are misled by certain myths. You should dispel these myths so you can unshackle yourself from those things that hold back your business success. Myth # 1 - Mine is just a start-up company and hence, I do not need to do these tasks now. You may think that there are strong reasons to decide to do tasks at a later date, but the fact is that by not carrying out these tasks immediately after launching your company, you are making others think that you are unprofessional. Not only that, if you ensure to do them on time, o...

Once you launch your company, you start making efforts not only to run the business smoothly, but also to make your company grow. You do not ignore any avenue that can help you achieve this aim. Experts say that the results you get can be much greater than the sincere efforts you put in. You may be surprised to hear this statement but you should know why they say so. Let us find out. Mind-set Your efforts do not work alone. In fact, you are putting your heart and soul into what you do. You change your mind-set and attitude so as to suit your aim of achieving your business goals because you have come across what Zig Ziglar has said, "Your attitude, not your aptitude, determines your altitude." You have heard or you have read that John Barksdale, an entrepreneur of very high repute, also quotes this frequently. To cut the long story short, your efforts accumulate greater power thanks to your optimistic attitude. Confidence Another factor that readily blends with your ...

As an entrepreneur, you may have to meet your prospects a number of times for persuading them to buy your products and for closing the deals. But can you go with a prepared script when you go for such discussions? Let us find out. A few experts say that you can go with a prepared script for discussing with your prospects It is true that a few experts opine that you can go with a prepared script when you go for discussions with your prospects. This means that you should have a mental rehearsal within yourself so you can have a fair idea of the questions you anticipate that your prospects will ask. This will help you prepare your answers for their queries. In other words, these experts insist on the importance of good preparation before you go for discussions with your prospects. Of course, there is no denying the fact that preparations are very important when you go for discussions with your prospects or when you have to make vital decisions. As John Barksdale quotes Benjamin ...

Branding is the process of creating an identity for your brand, which is unique and helps you stand out and be noticed. Branding is not an easy feat and many a times in the process of creating a brand and the hurry that exists, the branding remains uninteresting and usually copied from similar brands. It is easy to pick up an existing, successful branding idea and try to make it yours but rest assure it will not get you famous. So what is branding strategy? Branding strategy is when you are able to think out of the box to brand your company or product that you come across as unique and interesting. What are these Strategies? Understand your product and what the USP is. It is also crucial to know what are the features of your product that are not appealing. Step one is to sell your USP. Step two is to not lie about the product’s problems. For instance a jam brand that lasts only two weeks but it made of pesticide free produce, the chances of people not picking it for its shelf lif...

It has been proven beyond doubt that entrepreneurs who shun the traditional path and use offbeat methods for carrying out their business related tasks are likely to enjoy their journey better. They are likely to out-smart most of their competitors who choose to go by the traditional path.  Let us see how and why. What do those who choose the traditional path do? Those entrepreneurs who choose to go by the traditional path always try to adopt the ways of their predecessors who have succeeded by using them. They unfortunately do not realize that circumstances in the commercial world are constantly changing. They also do not realize that they have to adopt new and unique ways that can help them confront the changed circumstances more confidently and effectively. Since they are conservative minded, they are unwilling to unshackle themselves from the age-old ways, most of which might have become obsolete and useless. That is the reason most of the businesses that refuse to change...

When you go to a discussion session with a prospect for persuading him/her to buy what you are offering, you are likely to think that you need luck. However instead of praying that luck should favor you, you should make efforts to handle the session effectively. Of course, you need to prepare well before the session. As John Barksdale quotes Benjamin Franklin, "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." Not only that, you need to put certain things out of your mind during the session. Let us now look at what these thoughts are. Never keep worrying over your own problems As an entrepreneur, you may be facing some problems in your business, but those issues should not distract you when you discuss with your prospects. Remember that when you allow yourself to be distracted, you will not handle the discussions efficiently. Customers can easily sense that you are not in your element. This may repel them and so, your efforts to persuade them will not fructify. Never a...

When you launch your business, you will be investing your money with the hope that you will succeed in your entrepreneurial venture. However, when something goes wrong or if you take a wrong step the implications of which are quite severe, you are likely to fear if things will become a muddier morass or if you will be able to come out of the boggy ground. You are already having the stress of not being able to produce the results you want to have. In addition, you will attract a lot of criticisms from all quarters. These criticisms will be adding fuel to the fire. In this context, you will not know how you should respond to such criticisms. Let us find out. Realize the fact that failures and roadblocks are a part of an entrepreneurial journey You should understand the facts that roadblocks and setbacks are bound to be there in an entrepreneurial journey. When you confront such situations, people including your partners, relatives and friends are likely to criticize you. You should...

If you are able to achieve work-life balance, despite being a business owner and despite devoting time for making all the efforts for growing your business, you certainly deserve accolades. However when you suddenly stumble upon a powerful idea that can catapult your business to great heights but that can also negatively impact your work-life balance, what will you do? Let us find out what aspects you should consider before making your decision. Recall why you are doing your business Recall what inspired you to choose the entrepreneurial path. Revisit the question once again. Most probably, the reason for your choice might be that you wanted to have complete control over your life. Of course, financial freedom might have been one of the reasons as well. What is work-life balance according to you? You may be a believer of what John Barksdale said quoting Rumi, "Live life as if everything is rigged in your favor." So, according to you, work-life balance means that ...

Is success only about financial profitability? Because if that were so, your journey to success would be longer than you would have imagined. While financial profitability of course is one major milestone of defining success, there are many non-financial milestones, that when crossed, would make you a successful entrepreneur. Success is of course subjective but most successful entrepreneurs define success through these milestones. Famous motivational speaker Zig Ziglar, once said, “The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty”. Changing the definition of failure: Many successful entrepreneurs say that they felt successful when they changed their attitude towards failure. Failure is defined as not trying and not on the basis of the outcome. Level of engagement: The more engaged you are in your venture and passionate about it, the more successful you feel. If you feel it, you become it, says noted entrepreneur John Barksdale...

Being a business owner, you want to achieve success quickly, but remember achieving instant success is impossible whatever may be your venture. However it is certainly possible to achieve your business goal within a reasonable period. There are some experts who emphatically say that if you adopt certain ways, you can achieve success in your business within 11 months. Remember the words of Jim Rohn who said, "Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines practiced every day." Let us find out what steps you should adopt. Get a firm grip on what you do You should first make a firm choice on what you want to do. Why should you take this step of making a firm choice? Only if you take this step, you will not get distracted from it. Before you make the choice, you should do a lot of research so the choice you make is perfect. It should not only suit you, but it should get you the success you are aiming for. Once you determine what you want to do, you should ensure to...

Once you launch your business, you will make plans and strategies for acquiring a customer base, expanding it, marketing, making sales and earning revenue. You may put in place an elegant and attractive website for the business. The process for setting up your business may start off fun, but all your efforts can turn out to be 'mechanical monsters' that may ultimately mean "Zero" because you may not get the customers you expected to acquire. This also means that you will not be earning the revenue you have been aiming for. This increases the chances of you becoming frustrated. You may even start doubting if you have made the right decision of entering the entrepreneurial world. Of course, such self-doubts are normal when you are not getting the results for which you have been working towards. Even highly successful entrepreneurs face such situations when they become start-up owners. So, what is the solution for this and what is the key component that will help you o...

You may not realize it, but a poker player and a businessman have more in common than you may have thought. Just like in the game of poker, you need patience and confidence to carry on with the situation at hand. Poker requires you to concentrate, be careful and have the ability to put off fire all around you. Along with these, what you need is precision. As John Barksdale , the successful entrepreneur once said quoting the Sufi poet Rumi, “Live life as if everything is rigged in your favor.” You have to be confident that the fate will turn in your favor and hence, you must act accordingly. Be disciplined and principled You may feel sometimes that you need to leave your principles for some gain or some advances. Do not do that because karma will follow you. Always stay resilient, fight with your principles, with your disciplines intact and you will certainly reap your rewards. It is an age old proven formula and you will benefit from it as well. Do not bite off more than you can c...

As an entrepreneur, you cannot assume that your journey towards achieving your business goal will always be smooth. There are chances of your journey becoming jam-packed with challenges. If you allow these challenges to interrupt your journey or halt it, there is no way you can achieve the goal you have been aspiring for. John Barksdale  remembers the words of Tony Robbins who said, "The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you're in control of your life. If you don't, life controls you." This means that you should confront these challenges head on and try to surmount them. In other words, you need not be afraid of facing challenges. You should look for ways to surmount them. Experts point out that there is a way that can help you in this process. Let us see what it is and how it works. The Single Way To Surmount Challenges Challenges you face in your business will conti...

John Barksdale, a famous business mentor quotes Zig Zaglar who once said, “You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win and expect to win”. While there are great examples of entrepreneurial ventures that took the world by storm in the last decade itself, there are more whose stories are lost mid-way. Successful entrepreneur John Barksdale says that these three are the most common causes of failure. 1. Not understanding the market In the excitement of an idea, most people often forget to ask, “who’s going to buy this?”. If there is not an adequate market where you can sell your products, there is a big chance your ship will sink. People getting excited over a free product may not necessarily mean they will be excited once you ask them to pay for it. There has to be a demand in the market or at least a great potential for a demand for your product. Study and understand the market first before launching. 2. Cash flow The nemesis of all entrepreneurs; ...

As an entrepreneur, you cannot assume that your journey towards achieving your business goal will always be smooth. There are chances of your journey becoming jam-packed with challenges. If you allow these challenges to interrupt your journey or halt it, there is no way you can achieve the goal you have been aspiring for. John Barksdale remembers the words of Tony Robbins who said, "The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you're in control of your life. If you don't, life controls you." This means that you should confront these challenges head on and try to surmount them. In other words, you need not be afraid of facing challenges. You should look for ways to surmount them. Experts point out that there is a way that can help you in this process. Let us see what it is and how it works. The Single Way To Surmount Challenges Challenges you face in your business will continue to hau...

An individual’s skill set enables them to get jobs and a career, but an individual’s value set enables them to get an extraordinary life. All entrepreneurs will agree that entrepreneurship is a way of life. It is not something you can summarize in a bunch of to-do lists for a year, or on a weekly calendar. It is a constant way of living a life driven by a strong value system. Though everyone has their own set of core values they hold close to the heart and live their lives by, there are some values that are essential to successful entrepreneurship. 1.   Self confidence:  In a world full of doubting people, self confidence is what will keep an entrepreneur alive.  Confidence comes with an utmost commitment to one’s vision and also the readiness to accept whatever comes in the way. Motivational trainer and successful entrepreneur   John Barksdale  said quoting Arthur Ashe, “One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-con...