Hey, it's Rachel Cook, your modern mentor. I'm the founder of Lead Above Noise, where we help leaders activate performance and engagement without burning out, whether it's boot camps, keynotes, or pulse checks, we design solutions that drive meaningful change. If your organization is looking for that kind of change, reach out anytime. So it's a brand new year. The season of fresh starts, ambitious goals, and new calendars with no missed deadlines yet.
I love the energy that comes with flipping to a new year. I think a lot of us feel this way. We bask in the fresh starts, and then pretty much without fail, within a few weeks, the starts to shift. People start to get caught up in the bumps and uglies of work, the grind, the boredom, the disconnection that here we go again. Feeling and while running my own business isn't perfect, I think back to my days of being an employee and I realize how much I've had to shift my mindset.
Mindset when I worked for a company, I think I spent too much time waiting for the perfect plan to emerge or the perfect opportunity to fall into my lap. But that's not how success happens for me. It happens when we decide to own it to make it happen. And honestly, that's what entrepreneurs do every day. So what if we all channeled a little entrepreneurial energy this year? What if we approached our careers with the mindset of an entrepreneur, someone who owns the business of their own success?
If you're into it, then stick with me today. I am gonna share five ways that you can think like an entrepreneur to make this your most successful year yet. First, create. Don't wait for opportunity. You can't run a business just waiting for products to build themselves or customers to find you. You gotta pound the pavement, make it happen. But I talk to people all the time who in their workplaces are just not satisfied with what's being handed to them.
I didn't get tapped for the promotion or I would've been great on that project team, but I wasn't asked to join. If this in some form resonates for you, then let's change the course of this year. Are you feeling underutilized? I don't mean are you twiddling thumbs because everyone is super busy, but are you being truly utilized, like working on the things that tap into your potential? If not, what do you wish you could be doing?
Instead, talk to colleagues or leaders on teams across the organization about what they're focused on. Ask around about projects or committees or employee resource groups that could use an extra hand, or even better, start something of your own, like maybe you've noticed there's a skill gap on your team. Could you start a learning circle to share knowledge? Or maybe there's a newer colleague who could use a mentor.
These are all opportunities to show initiative and build your skills and get noticed for the right reasons. Go make opportunity happen next, stop complaining about what's broken and just fix it. So to be honest, this one came not so naturally to me. I am pretty good at whining about things, but when I'm running the show, it's really just me and my dog. Ruth, you know what, Ruth is not great at like fixing literally anything.
Also, she's not good at patiently waiting for her food, but that is not so relevant to this discussion. So I've had to become a fixer sort of, and I'd love you to do the same. Not so much of printers, but of processes, of ways of doing and working. When you see something that is inefficient or failing to include an important team member's voice or that's gonna put the company at risk, or that's just a leadership opportunity, don't grumble about it. Take an action instead of pointing fingers.
Yeah, we've all done that. Try suggesting a solution. Like maybe your weekly team meeting is heavy on updates and light on dialogue, and it feels like a waste of time. Suggest to your boss a shift in that balance. Maybe recommend a topic that you'd like to have a conversation about. Or better yet, ask if you can host the next team meeting just to give something new a try.
When you are the one offering solutions instead of complaints, you're not just solving problems and delivering impact, you're building your reputation as someone who makes things happen. Next, prioritize. Like your time is money. Because for entrepreneurs, it literally is. Time is their most valuable resource and they don't waste it. They're laser focused on what matters most, and that's a habit we could all stand to adopt. When entrepreneurs aren't working, they aren't being paid.
So think about how your time gets spent at work. Do you let the urgent crowd out the important? Do you say yes to things that don't align with your goals? Just because you don't wanna disappoint someone, do you not ask for clarity on which project or initiative is most important right now? And then do you spread yourself way too thin across the mall and complain you're exhausted because you are? Entrepreneurs don't have that luxury.
They know that every minute spent on the wrong thing is a minute stolen from what really matters. So this year, start treating your time like the precious resource. It is push for clarity on priorities. Ask your boss or your team, what's the one thing we need to nail this week? And then protect your time fiercely to make sure you're focused on what matters most. Next, build partnerships wisely. Entrepreneurs know they can't do it alone.
They're tiny but mighty, so they build communities to support them. And the same is true at work. Success doesn't happen in a vacuum. It's powered by relationships. Think about who you need in your corner. Maybe it's a mentor who can help you grow, a colleague who pushes your thinking or someone in another department who can give you a fresh perspective.
Building your network within your company and even across your industry doesn't just make work more fun though it does that, but it's also a great way to share wisdom and uncover opportunities to lift each other up and finally learn to apply. Not to certify. Entrepreneurs do a lot of learning, but not generally in service of collecting certifications. To post them on LinkedIn.
They learn the skills they need in the moment and apply them immediately to solving problems, to innovate or to build something new. And honestly, I think we could do more of this in the workplace. Instead of tracing credentials, ask yourself, what's the one skill that would propel me forward right now? Maybe it's mastering a new software to streamline your work or improving your presentation skills so you can share your ideas more effectively and persuasively whatever it is.
Focus on learning it by doing and apply your skills to a real world challenge to build not just knowledge, but also confidence. And there you have it. Five ways to channel your inner entrepreneur and create your own success this year. Find your own opportunities. Fix what's broken, prioritize your time and build community, and certainly focus on learning what matters. If you're ready to take action but could use some support, maybe your team could use a jumpstart.
Reach out to me at rachel@leadabovenoise.com. Whether it's an activation bootcamp, a keynote or a pulse check will create the momentum you need to make this year your best. Join me this week for another great episode. Until then, visit my website@leadabovenoise.com. You can follow Modern Mentor on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Thanks so much for tuning in and have a successful week. Modern Mentor is a quick and Dirty Tips podcast. It's audio engineered by Dan und.
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