A MINIMALIST’S PERSPECTIVE TO SETTING GOALS
Goal setting is paramount to individuals as it helps with the rebranding, focus, and orderliness of life. I mean, we all have aspirations and dreams and accomplishments we would love to attain yes? And when it comes to aiming that peak, it’s all about good intentions, yes? When it comes to sharing our aspirations with others, we get bold, we get optimistic, and we get daring, yes? Most people even go as far as creating reward systems for themselves, like when I positively tick so soon my goal list, I have to get me some Birkin Bag because I sure deserve it! Right? So why do we let the negative kill our vibe? Why is it that we often fall short of the goals we set for ourselves? How come we wonder why we are at the same place we were years past, with the same poor habits and no sign of progress? It’s simple. [bctt tweet=”Start simple and work your way from the ground up” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] The answer to the entire why questions are because as human beings, complicated is our tag names, no offense. We tend to overcomplicate and make vague the steps necessary to accomplish the goals we set for ourselves. As there are loads of various perspectives to setting goals, this article gives you another strategy to set and look at your goals progressing from a minimalist’s perspective. LITERALLY, HUG BIG PICTURE IDEAS This may be very contrary to what minimalist’s belief in but its standard. Embracing that big light bulb idea will make one hone in on what we tend to get out of this life. This idea may range from securing a major deal in your niche, wanting a big family or just being financially well off. It could be anything that tickles your fancy, just make sure you write it down on a paper with your lovely pen. Note: it’s important to take the time to grasp what you want your life to be all about, and what you would want to achieve big time. PRIORITIZE THE PARAMOUNT This is the forte of minimalists. So once you’re done listing out your big ideas and dreams’, noting the order of importance is the next step. When you create a prioritized list, you are getting rid of the confusing clutter and allowing yourself focus on what you truly want to accomplish. So this is it: you create a list of your goals beginning with the most important to achieve at this point in your life to the least important. Note: One has to realize that the goals found at the bottom of the list are still important but not as crucial as the ones found at the top. Now, success is just around the corner because you have something real, a real end goal you wish to achieve and not just wishful thinking goals. CREATE TANGIBLE STEPS Now that your priorities have been set, you can start using this information to pinpoint steps that would help you achieve the most important goal on your list. Remember, you need to take time out and think deeply for you to establish well thought out steps to achieving your goal. Now, try to begin with the most basic achievement you can think of. As with how we humans evolved, and our learning process, we started learning A, B, C before forming sentences. So start simple and work your way from the ground up. Remember with previous steps, it’s important to note them down so you can refer back to them later.It helps when you keep your laid out thoughts short, black & white and precise so it’s clear to see if you have successfully accomplished a step…or not. This phase is more or less, understanding the significance of creating a solid foundation that is easy to grasp and build upon. GET RID OF THE CLUTTER As a minimalists’ main goal is to declutter in all aspects of life, this works in setting goals as well. Any step or thing that doesn’t aid in your success should be scratched out, with every ounce of intentionality and no looking back. Anything that proves as a barrier in achieving your goals, be it an excess of social events, ideas, obligations, people or items, scratch ‘em out, please. Now don’t get me wrong, they may not be negative influencers, in general, but they may be distractive and you won’t be needing any distractions when it comes to pinpointing the goals and heights you want to attain at a certain period. We need focus vibes and not distraction vibes. [bctt tweet=”If you want to lead a simple life, scratch the reward system, let go of that chocolate and be bold.” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] REWARD SYSTEM…OR NOT. Reward system is an innocent idea but totally unnecessary. For minimalists, they see value in the lifestyle they have opted in for and they know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. They know the rewards and gains they have to look forward to by achieving their goals and so they embrace the simple idea that for every phase completed, they are a step closer to achieving their desired goals. This setting goal strategy may be very tough on people and opting in for the reward system is not a bad idea but if you want to lead a simple life, scratch the reward system, let go of that chocolate and be bold. REVAMPED LIFESTYLE A minimalist strategy to setting goals gives a more defined approach to things and a simple approach to creating and meeting your desired goals. Once you’re done setting your goals, you start getting results in your overall lifestyle, positive results as that’s the beautiful outcome of setting goals. It’s more like you put in hard work in one area of your life and you see a transformation in other areas. Keep that in mind. Note: Don’t try to skip previous steps to jump. It doesn’t work that way as the steps
5 Marketing Tips from Business Guru P.Diddy
Sean “Puffy/Puff Daddy/ Diddy/Brother Love” Combs is one of the greatest marketing geniuses on earth. He has remained relevant and dominant to hip-hop music, culture, fashion, business and entertainment over the past 20 years. Last year, Sean was also recognized as one of the Forbes 100 Greatest Living Minds. He is also often considered one of the top 3 of 5 wealthiest hip-hop artists on the Forbes list. Amidst all these, you may wonder, how does he keep all eyes on him? In this article, we will discover 5 tips from Diddy that can help us improve our marketing game and slay! 1. Say Your Name If there is one thing Diddy always does, is use every advantage to promote his products or name. Whether its an interview on Ellen or a cameo on The Breakfast Club, Diddy always has his products such as a bottle of Ciroc. You should take advantage of every airtime you get to promote your brand and products. Through being strategic, you should find a way to guide the conversation in a way that allows you to talk about your products. This will help increase your revenue and the reach of your brand. 2. Make The Circle Bigger The fact is you can only be in one place at a time, but you need to get the word out about you, your brand or business. You need people spreading a positive word about you to others. Diddy figured this out in his early days as a music producer when he started Bad Boy Records, which celebrated its 20-year reunion tour last year. Diddy has been instrumental in the careers of musicians like Notorious BIG, Mase, and more recently French Montana. Whenever a record of their plays, it will at some point announce “Bad Boy.” Through shaping and promoting the careers of the musicians he worked with, Diddy also extended his marketing reach. When you help other people achieve their goals, you also, in turn, grow your circle of influence and people who will do anything for you. 3. Stay On the Beat Is Diddy an expert of the FMCG, Film and Music industries? Probably not, but he knows enough of the field to spot a real opportunity. You don’t want to seem like you are all over the place, but rather that you ‘happened’ to be in a certain place or sector because you keep your finger on the pulse. Whatever you are working on, you need to know all the new developments and contribute to the conversations in a meaningful way that elevates the topic. Diddy lost his father to gun violence at a young age. Though he became successful, he didn’t forget to empower his people. His response to Black Lives Matter through building a world-class school in Harlem, the neighborhood he grew up in. 5. Have Fun Diddy always looks like he is having a great time, from salsa dancing in his underwear to the energy he brings when he is hosting shows. People are attracted to someone who is upbeat, so plaster a smile on your face and get hyped about whatever you do! We are always exchanging energy so make sure you put out positive vibes only! DO YOU HAVE ANY BUSINESS LESSONS TO SHARE? Let us know here.
Olwethu Mabumbulu: We have everything we need
[bctt tweet=”If we can leverage from one another, we can do so much towards growing prosperity within our communities” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] While we all sang along to Solange Knowles’ A Seat at the Table album, Olwethu Mabumbulu was propelled to create something that is for us, by us. By day, Olwethu helps people trade derivative instruments as a Sales Executive at a listed global trading company. She has gained four years of experience within the financial services industry, particularly investments and trading. The rest of the time, she nourishes her entrepreneurial appetite as founder of the subscription box startup, Heart of Brown (Pty) Ltd. Heart of Brown offers a bi-monthly lifestyle subscription box for women of colour, which features, natural and artisan products from local, black women-owned businesses. Olwethu’s subscription box aims to affirm young black women, and expose us to products that are great for our skin and hair, and helps us highlight the importance of self-care. Olwethu aims to make a difference in the lives of busy millennial women and lift up other fellow black entrepreneurs with great products and she shares how she plans to achieve this. Talk us through what Heart of Brown entails? Heart of Brown is a lifestyle subscription box for brown beauties. We curate lifestyle products spanning skin, hair, beauty, accessories and edibles based on our bi-monthly theme. Our purpose is to help busy young black women discover the best in local products. We have two boxes: a HOB box, which costs R400 plus shipping, and HOB mini box priced at R200 plus shipping. How do you choose the products for the subscription boxes? This is the part of the business that I thoroughly enjoy. I’m always on the lookout for good products. Firstly, I love visiting local markets and trying new products. I also spend an insane amount of time researching about local entrepreneurs. At any given time, I have a notebook with a running list of vendors and products I would like to feature in future. I then purchase and test the different products. If they meet the criteria in terms of the box’s vision and criteria then I will curate products that fit the theme and approach the vendors to purchase from them. Does innovation play a role in the course of running your business? Yes, in fact running a business successfully is a constant process of going back to the drawing board to come up with something new. In my experience, the quest for innovation has manifested in a new way to connect with local vendors, a new way to gain customers and frequently trying new products. Also, every second month, the box has a new theme. For example, the theme for the box running between April and May is ‘’Autumn Renewal”. [bctt tweet=”Running a successful business is a constant process of going back to the drawing board ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Are you looking to expand beyond the South African market? In the short term, my goal for HOB is to increase our customer base and dominate the subscription box market locally, while really showcasing and uplifting brilliant products made by independent entrepreneurs. In the medium term, I would love to expand our reach by collaborating with other African entrepreneurs and shipping our box to brown beauties across the continent. A friend of mine encouraged me with these wise words just the other day, “we have everything we need”, I believe this is true of us as Africans. If we can leverage from one another, we can do so much towards growing prosperity within our communities. So far, what happy days have encouraged you? The day I registered the company was a milestone for me. Heart of Brown really started its humble beginnings as a “Eureka moment” brainstorm I had while studying for my exams late last year. I had been researching the subscription box concept, particularly prominent in North America and the UK. I had a clear vision -to localise the concept and offer products to women who are like me. Once I actually registered the company, then got the logo done it really started to click that the vision was slowly becoming a reality. The real challenge that lay ahead though, was getting my first customers. After much trial and error, when I got that first sale I felt happiness and validation all wrapped in one. This still encourages me to keep going on a daily basis. Tweet: when I got that first sale I felt happiness and validation all wrapped in one What tools and skills have played a vital role to support and grow your business? An array of online tools have proved to be time saving and invaluable to my business (the great news is that they all have free versions) -Evernote, MailChimp, Hubspot, Canva, Google Ads express, Reddit, and of course, social media platforms as well. Skills needed to survive include passion, voracious reading, keeping abreast of industry developments, adaptability and people skills. Tell us about the Solange Knowles song being inspiration for you I have been a Solange Knowles fan for a long time; what I love most about her is her ability to honour her own path and not conform. A Seat at the Table, to me, is actually the pinnacle of her following her truth and this paid off. The whole album was a meditation on being unapologetic and proudly black. Having this message on rotation became a catalyst for me to ask what I can do to express my own truth. My favourite songs on the album are “FUBU” and “Don’t Touch My Hair” these songs resonate because they empower the black community, especially black women. What has been the greatest challenge so far in the course of the business? As a bootstrapping business, the number one challenge is making the best possible use of a limited budget, but I’m quickly learning to be creative as I go and that is also the fun part. You learn to let go of perfectionist inhibitions