Overcoming Your “Great Wave”

Written by Hollis Nelson on September 13, 2021. Posted in Personal, Training.

Article is posted by Hollis Nelson, written by Sergio Abrams

So, you say today is the day you’re going to do it. You’re finally going to start your own business and become the successful businessperson you want to be. But wait, didn’t you say that yesterday? In fact, you’ve been starting a business for years now, haven’t you? No, it isn’t the naysayers and no; it isn’t a lack of time. No, my friend, the problem is you and the wave you’ve yet to conquer is yourself. You’ve been fighting with yourself for years and it is your inner self which has clouded your mind with many fears and self-doubt. Your negative thoughts about what may happen cause you to become stuck in what’s called “analysis paralysis”.

That’s you analyzing and accepting every reason you believe you might fail, instead of analyzing all the reasons you may succeed. It is that self-doubt and inner voice feeding on your fears, telling you day in and day out that you will fail if you venture away from your safe place. Yes, that wave of fear that overcomes you each time the mere thought of venturing out on your own comes to mind, lies in wait, waiting to shoot you down and steer you back into your comfort zone. The voice says, “It’s too dangerous”, “no one’s going to buy that”, “you don’t want to leave your 9 to 5”, “starting your own business is way too hard”, “how are you going to pay your rent?”. Your fear and self-doubt win by knockout in the first round.

In the movie Castaway, actor Tom Hanks finds himself on a deserted island after a plane crash with seemingly no way of escape or being rescued. To survive he improvises and uses unconventional methods, including using a volleyball which he aptly names Wilson, as a companion whom he talks to, to stave off insanity. He soon realizes that no one’s coming to save him and if he’s going to get off that island, he’s going to have to save himself. Standing in his way is the great wave. The wave is a barrier between the island he’s stuck on and open waters and the chance to be saved. Eventually, he builds up the courage needed to face and overcome his great wave, and after he gets past his great wave, he looks back at the island that once held him captive.

The island that would have still held him captive had he not faced his greatest obstacle overcame the great wave.

You can survive with fear, but you cannot truly thrive with fear, because verily fear will only keep you stranded on your comfort zone island. Fear and self-doubt will tell you that trying is no longer an option, and only contentment with mediocrity and life regrets remains.

Each of us has a “great wave” we must overcome to find genuine success, but sadly, so few ever find the courage to do so, waiting for someone or something to come along and save us from our inner selves. Nope, no one’s coming to save you. No one can save you from yourself. This is a battle you will have to fight on your own and until you step on the battlefield and face the enemy within, there can be no victory. Verily, the road to success is the hardest road to take, which is why it is the road less traveled. However, for those who choose to face that wave, the reward of living is great.

Yes, there will always be naysayers and dream busters outside of you, waiting to tear you down with “you won’t succeed” bombs, and you may fail a few times along the way, but success is a journey, not an overnight mission. There is no instant recipe for success unless you plan on winning Lotto, and we all know the chances of that happening. If that’s your game plan, then hey, have at it, who am I to knock someone’s hustle?

In the end, there are only two choices, and as Yoda once said, “Try or do not try; there is no in between”.

You can choose to stay on your island of despair or overcome the “great wave” of fear and self-doubt and achieve your dreams.

It is all up to you!

Why Everyone Should Learn Entrepreneurship

Written by Hollis Nelson on July 22, 2021. Posted in Achievement, Community, Training.

“The highest manifestation of life consists in this: that a being governs its own actions. A thing which is always subject to the direction of another is somewhat of a dead thing”. Thomas Aquinas

One of the biggest misconceptions around learning the principles of entrepreneurship is that it is only for those considering starting and running a new or existing business. This line of thinking is shortsighted because, in truth, we are all in business for ourselves. We all engage in the principles

of entrepreneurship we just may not realize it. If we look a little closer, we will see the similarities.

We are all in the business of managing our personal lives. We are a business of one. Like any business, we have expenses: rent or mortgage, food, transportation, utilities, insurance, etc. Just like any business, we need to generate enough income to meet expenses. This is Business 101. Generate enough income to meet expenses and hopefully have something left over. Businesses call this “profit”, and personally we call it “disposable income.” They have different names, but they both mean the same thing.

Businesses provide products and/or services to generate income. Entrepreneurs provide a product or service that meets the wants and needs of their customers. They must market their services to attract customers because they there is plenty of competition seeking to gain the same customer.

As a business of one, we need to redefine our search for employment. A job is an exchange of a service provided for a fee; we just call it paycheck. The service could be physical labor, providing customer service or administrative help. The type of job is not the point. We do the job, whatever it is, to generate income to meet expenses. While you may not call it that, but that is a business of one.

An employer from this perspective is a customer that pays a fee for the services provided. As a business of one, an open position is simply a potential customer with a need. Sending your resume and applying for the position is marketing your services to say you can meet the need of the potential customer. Just as we do not spend our money on products and services to meet the needs of the seller, employers do not hire individuals because of the needs of the individuals. They do not hire us because we need a job. Employers hire individuals that can meet the needs of the employer.

Business marketing is about distinguishing themselves from the competition in order to gain new or keep existing customers is what. Applying for and interviewing for a position is essentially the same thing. The resume is the marketing tool of the business of one.

Understanding this analogy hopefully helps develop a fresh way of thinking. The number-one reason for learning the principles of entrepreneurship is to develop the entrepreneurial mindset. A new way of seeing yourself in the world of work.

Learning the principles of entrepreneurship is bigger than starting and running a business. It is also about developing a way of thinking that empowers our lives, whether we are starting a formal business or seeking gainful employment. Understanding and implementing these principles in our personal lives is one of the most empowering moves we can make. The same skills and way of thinking required to be a successful entrepreneur are the same ones required for living an empowered life.

I encourage you to take the steps for success in the business of life. Find whatever method works best for you but learn the fundamental principles of entrepreneurship and your way of thinking about the business of life will never be same. We integrate developing the entrepreneurial mindset into all our skills training courses, so there is a good place to start.

If you need help, we are there to help you. Contact the Greater Paterson OIC: hnelson@gpoic.org or visit: www.gpoic.org.

Want to develop the entrepreneurial mindset? Want to prepare yourself for the new world of work? We can help.

The Importance of Entrepreneurship Training

Written by Hollis Nelson on February 16, 2021. Posted in Training.

It has always been the position of the Greater Paterson OIC that entrepreneurship education has a place in workforce development for youth and adults.

In this post, we share a panel conversation that discusses the importance of this education.

Certiport is the host of this conversation.

Certiport is the administrator of the Entrepreneurship and Small Business (ESB) certification offered at the Greater Paterson OIC.

For more information on the ESB training course, visit our contacts page and email Hollis Nelson, the Training Director at the Greater Paterson OIC.

Developing One of Our Most Important Skills.

Written by Hollis Nelson on February 5, 2021. Posted in Community, Jobs, Training.

Most of the people I know had a great sense of relief and renewed hope when 2020 ended. I am confident that I am not alone in saying it was one of the most challenging years of my life.

Of course, the elephant in the room was the COVID-19 pandemic, but there were other issues that made the year so challenging. Racial and social injustice, excessive force by police against unarmed citizens, economic downturns, and warring political ideologies brought to the surface the division that is present in the country.

The divisiveness that exists in America was on clear display in 2020 and increasingly exploited to a large extent by people in positions of leadership.

I firmly believe one of the primary contributors to the divisiveness that remains a part of American culture is a lack of critical thinking skills. The lack of critical thinking skills leads to being moved by our emotions instead of the facts, and to being manipulated to take actions we might not otherwise take.

Without critical thinking skills, we accept and act on beliefs that have no basis in fact, no evidence or proof, and sometimes, we can become so stubborn that we reach a point where we vehemently reject facts or evidence when presented.

The ability to gather, compare, examine sources, and test information before deciding on courses of action is an essential skill to develop.

Critical thinking skills are also essential in the workforce. This topic is important for educators and my colleagues in workforce development. In terms of the workforce, a recent report “Keys to the Future: Align Workforce Readiness Skills to Ensure Student Success” from the International Data Corporation (IDC) notes:

“The most required skills across all occupations include oral and written communication skills, detail orientation, marketing skills, integrity, and customer-service orientation.”

Critical thinking is an important part of all the skills mentioned.

In further discussing the sets of skills needed in the workforce, the report says:

“This set is more important than any specific technology skill, deep science or math, or even great business skills. This set represents skills that are both important and widely required across positions. And the vast majority of them are ‘soft’ skills that are applicable across a wide variety of occupations. Many of these skills aren’t foreign to most contemporary curricula. In fact, critical and creative thinking, problem solving, teamwork, and detail orientation are relevant across all knowledge and domains.” (underlines mine)

Restating an important point in the report; critical and creative thinking are relevant across all knowledge and domains. This includes both our personal and professional lives.

As a workforce development professional, I have committed to making sure we are including critical thinking skills in all our training programs. Not to tell people what to think, but how to think and make informed decisions. Both personally and professionally.

There will always be different points of view and disagreements on the issues and how to go about changing things; but we owe it to ourselves to seek facts, to find credible evidence for the positions we take, and remain open to changing if additional information becomes available. That is the essence of critical thinking.

Not only is this relevant in the workforce, but it will improve communication and relationships in our personal lives, our communities, and the country.

The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Greater Paterson OIC, its Board of Directors, or any other group or individual affiliated.

The Post: Developing One of Our Most Important Skills appeared first on transformationtraining.net

3 Keys to Building an Effective Team

Written by Hollis Nelson on August 14, 2020. Posted in Achievement, Training.

“Individual commitment to a group effort–that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” –Vince Lombard

The importance of teamwork today is something that cannot be overstated. Teams exist in a broad spectrum of environments. You will find teams functioning in business whether working remotely or in an office setting, in community-based organizations, church groups, social groups, non-profits and more. The ability for individuals to work effectively in, and as, a team is an indispensable skill. The key word here is effective, because not every team is always effective.

What goes into building an effective team? In terms of this post, an effective team is defined as one that is able to deliver the desired results within the allocated amount of time. There are three things I consider essential to building an effective team. Of course, there are others, but these three I think are critical for building an effective team.

Commitment to a Common Purpose

It is important that everyone fully understands why the team exists. They must be passionate about and committed to the project being undertaken. They must be clear on what it is the team intends to accomplish, and by when they intend to accomplish it. There are no surprises and no hidden agendas. This is at the foundation of an effective team.

Shared Values

Something that is often overlooked in building effective teams is the personal values of the team members. It is very hard to commit to something that violates your personal values. Going through the process of determining your personal values is not something that everyone does, we all have them, but many times they are unconscious. Sometimes the reason why a team does not function effectively is because the personal values of one or more of the team members is being violated. A person who values freedom and creativity will have a hard time being part of a team where everything is structured and highly systematized. Determining if the members of the team have a value fit is important to the team’s effectiveness.

Complementary Skills

The third essential is ensuring the team has a complementary set of diverse skills. Each member understands why they are a part of the team, and what skills they bring to the project. The skill sets are complementary with each part contributing something of value. Ineffective teams happen because they often have one or two people carrying the load, which breeds stress, resentment, missed deliverables, and conflict in the team. Making sure that every member knows their role and has something of value to contribute makes for a more effective team.

These are the guidelines I use to decide if I am a good fit for a team or not. As noted, there is more to building an effective team than just the three elements mentioned here but remove any one of these and the effectiveness of the team can be severely hindered. Teamwork is here to stay, but not every team is a good fit. Make your choices wisely and be a part of something great.

The post 3 Keys to Building an Effective Team first appeared on Transformationtraining.net

CALL US: (973) 881-0540

Author: Hollis Nelson