3 keys to liberation, Personal excellence
#1. to-do lists
To realize how far you have come and gradually take responsibility for your successes. I personally use two tools to create lists: Trello and Notion. The first one allows me to visualize almost all of my writing work from the last five years, because I’m in the habit of making a Trello card every time I start writing a newsletter, a blog post or a book chapter. (…)
#2. Keep evidence of encouragement and praise from peers
(…) Building a professional network is a key skill for any entrepreneur for many reasons, including getting rid of the impostor syndrome. Contrary to popular belief, having a network is not instinctive or natural. It is learned. (…)
Since 2012, when LiveMentor was created, I cherished a Dropbox folder called “Sweet Memories”, which originally contained only screenshots of compelling emails from more experienced entrepreneurs, like Paulin Dementhon . (founder of Drivy, the peer-to-peer car rental platform) or Nicolas Brusson, founder of Blablacar, the leader in carpooling. This file has been enriched over time by encouragement of a different nature (such as simple opinions left by people who took training with us), but I realized, thanks to the research work necessary for writing the book that this, that, during the first three years of LiveMentor, I saved only the encouragement of “peers”, these entrepreneurs whose equals I had difficulty considering myself.
Write down in a notebook the compliments that are given to you verbally or take screenshots of the feedback received in writing. Above all, try to centralize everything, it will be your personal gold mine to consult your will. I recommend that you continue to do this exercise. (…)
Three recommendations for building your network
· List in a notebook all the people you want to approach and note next to their name what you know about these people, what to say to them during the meeting and what value to bring to them in return. · When writing your message to get to know the person, talk about your common acquaintances first, avoid sounding like a salesman, be as brief as possible and make life easier for your interlocutor by offering direct some spaces. · Within the limits of your available time, help your network as much as possible, it will help you in return… Often, a connection, advice, a resource is enough to help the person in contact to you to advance in his path.
#3. Experience the impact of their work
Unnatural for business creators, beware! Contrary to what one might think, it is not natural to feel the impact of one’s work when one is performing.
But this is one of the main motivations for starting a business! But through fellow entrepreneurs over the past few years, we’ve noticed a stark gap between intention and reality. [Voici] 4 solutions to connect to your impact as an entrepreneur.
> Set up automated satisfaction surveys
(…) The entrepreneur blocks emotionally when asking for feedback from his customers, hence the interest of automating the collection of satisfaction. Are you an e-merchant with a Shopify or WooCommerce site? You can easily connect an e-mailing tool like Mailchimp or ConvertKit to automate the sending of an e-mail referring to a Typeform satisfaction questionnaire a few days after the order, for example. A freelancer who manages clients on Trello can set up a similar system (like a trainer, coach, etc.). There’s nothing more exciting about getting out of your head and out of your impostor syndrome than seeing feedback come naturally to you.
> Ask customers directly for their opinion
(…) It’s important to ask for feedback, unexpectedly. Especially for entrepreneurs in the wellness or training world (like therapists or coaches) who need to balance the relationship.
> Rely on a community
To benefit from the ongoing discussion and not stay alone in your head! (…) What does the daily life of an entrepreneur who can count on his community look like? It’s impossible to stay in your head and your inner demons when:
– you receive suggestions from your community on new products, activities or services to create, so you feel supported in your strategy;
– we see the members of his community supporting each other, feeling proud of the origin of these exchanges;
– asking us to organize meetings reserved for community members, finally seeing the confidence bestowed upon us in a leadership role.
(…) Creating a community is the tool I use the most to get out of my mind in recent years. By taking care of our members, we stop putting all our worries on ourselves. “If you think there are no resources, help someone”, said Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. (…)
> Find the equivalent of a (good) manager
What is the role of a manager? Or rather, what should be the role of a manager if all companies understood the importance of this role and created a framework for managers to grow? The answer is simple: develop the person and help him overcome his blockages (like possible impostor syndrome).
By default, the entrepreneur is alone and does not receive a manager as a bonus to his Kbis from the Chamber of Commerce. So we must ask for help (…). And this help can take different forms: a paid coach, a partner, a shareholder, a mentor as part of a training course… There is no general answer and each option has advantages and disadvantages. Only one thing is important: don’t be alone!
Alexandre Dana is the author of the book “Entrepreneurship and (most of all) being happy. The 6 wounds that prevent entrepreneurs from accessing happiness”, published in March 2022 by Eyrolles editions.
The author of the book:
Alexander Dana has been an entrepreneur for 10 years, co-founder of LiveMentor and author of The LiveMentor Method. This text is a testimony taken from his book “Undertake and (above all) be happy. The 6 wounds that prevent entrepreneurs from accessing happiness”, published in March 2022 by Eyrolles editions, 302 pages, 19 euros.
