Having a big ego may sometimes be considered a negative thing but I think having an ego is very important when it comes to creating a successful business. I am not saying that you can’t run a successful business without one, I just think it is a huge asset.

I want you to know that I do think there is a difference between having a big ego and being arrogant. I hate being around people who are arrogant and think they are better than everyone else. I especially hate it when those people like to tell you why they are so awesome and why you should think so too. But is it okay for us to think we are better than someone else at something? I think it is, you just don’t need to go telling everyone you are better.

Since having a big ego can be perceived as a negative personality trait, another way to think about a big ego is to think of it as having a large amount of confidence. When we think of someone having confidence it is usually something we admire about that person. Having confidence is something that shows outwardly but we don’t have to go telling everyone how great we are.

Why you need a big ego.

Having an ego means that you think pretty highly of yourself. If you are going to be successful in any business it is important that you believe that you are one of the best at what you do. You must also believe that you are going to be successful because you are just that good.  It is okay to think highly of yourself and believe you are the best at something.

When you truly believe something almost anything is possible. When you begin to doubt the potential for success then there is a good chance things will not work out the way you had hoped. Stop doubting and identify why you are going to be successful.

Be careful.

If you decide to start building up your ego it is very important that you don’t get carried away. I hope that you can acquire a big ego but I ask that you don’t become an arrogant bastard. Becoming arrogant and completely in love with yourself will make a lot of people not like you and can also make running your business harder.

So you want to start building your ego?

Building up your ego is really about listening to others and changing your mindset. When others say you are good at something, believe them and remember it. Usually people only say something positive about you if they truly believe what they are saying. If they don’t think you are good at something they will usually not say anything at all.

You should also focus on being optimistic. Work on intentionally changing you mindset to where your have a positive outlook on things. Optimism is one the driving forces of a successful entrepreneur and pessimism is one of their downfalls.

Below are some ways you can start to build up your ego:

• Recognize what you are good at. We are all good at something. Write down everything you are good at, even if it doesn’t have to do with pursuing your own business. If you are good at soccer write it down. Anything you are good at is something to be proud of and will help to build your ego.
• Remember compliments you have received. Any time someone compliments you believe them and if it helps write it down when you get a chance. Remembering compliments you have received can easily give you an ego boost if you are in need of one.
• Find ways to measure your success. I am addicted to measuring and tracking everything I do whether it is my running workouts or the number of visits to my blog. I guess you could say I am a spreadsheet junky. What is great about measuring your success in different areas is that you can see how far you have come. If I started off only running one mile at a time and now can run 10 miles, that is something to feel proud of.

There are a number of other ways to build your ego but remember that a big ego means that you feel confident in yourself and does not mean that you have to go around telling everyone about how great you are. When you believe you are great others will too without being told.

Is having a big ego necessarily a bad thing or do we just need to change the way we think of our ego? Let me know your thoughts and if you think increasing your ego could potentially increase your success or if you disagree with this idea.

Photo credit: ntr23

Run for the Water Race

I heard somewhere that most people never complete their new years resolutions. I think this is because most people focus on the result instead of focusing on the process. So for example instead of focusing on reaching a certain weight, focus on working out three times a week. If you can make consistency your goal, you may just create a new habit and your result will be fulfilled.

I usually don’t make new years resolutions. I try to set goals on a monthly basis so you could say I have January resolutions. However, I do have plans for 2010. But I won’t get into those here. I always like to look back on the previous year and see what I am happy with and what I could have done better.

Looking back on what I am happy with in 2009:

Created 2 successful businesses. At the beginning of 2009 I started Four Eyed Monkey.com, a web services company. In August I started a web development and branding company called Design Shaman. Both of these companies have continued to grow through strong pushes in social media marketing as well as good ol’ fashion networking. I am excited to see what happens in 2010.

Started working for myself full time. In August of 2009 I quit my job at Apple, Inc. to work full time for myself. This is something I had been looking forward to for a long time. It took me stepping out of my comfort zone and overcoming my fear. And look what happened… everything turned out great!

Custom built my fixed gear bike. At the beginning of 2009 I worked with my friend Kansas to completely rebuild my 1980’s Puch road bicycle into a fixed gear bike. Kansas only guided me in the process making me do all the work myself, including re-spoking my wheel. Re-spoking a wheel is a very tedious endeavor. I am now hooked on building bikes and fortunately I received lots of bike tools for Christmas.

Ran a series of races. At the end of 2008 to the beginning of 2009 I participated in the Austin Distance Challenge. The challenge included many races including two half marathons, a 20 mile race and the Austin Marathon. I completed every race except the marathon (made it to mile 18) due to a tendon injury I got from over training. Sometimes I think I am Superman, but am always reminded that I am not.

Started riding my bike most places. After finishing my fixed gear bike I started trying to ride everywhere I could. My wife and I scaled down to one car several years ago, so riding my bike everywhere makes sense. I hope to ride even more this year.

Started a personal blog. I have made an attempt to start a blog a few times over the past several years, and every time have failed. I write 2 or 3 posts and then get lazy. This time has been different. I have made it a point to write consistently and hopefully write good content. Remember what I said about focusing on the process not the result. I am trying to make writing a process to become a habit.

I believe it is always good to also look back and decide what could have been done better the previous year. Not to think of myself as a failure, but to intentionally improve on those areas the next year. So here are some things I wish I could have done better in 2009.

Traveled more, internationally. I did some traveling this year, but not much. And all of my traveling was done in the U. S. For 2010 I want to travel more and make sure to travel internationally. My wife and I already have some things in the works to make this happen, but more on that later.

Worked out more. I was working out almost everyday when I was training for running, but since the Austin Marathon in February I only work out sporadically. While I do ride my bike quite a bit, I have not run or lifted weights much.

Eat healthier. I started off eating very healthy in 2009, but the past 6 months or so I have started to eat more and more unhealthy food. It is very noticeable that I feel and act differently when I am not eating healthy. Time to eat more veggies!

Those are the big ones in each category. Here’s to another great year!

What were you happy with in 2009?

We all have dreams of the lives we would like to be living or the business we would like to start or the job we would like to have. People who fear failure are limiting themselves and will not achieve what they are capable of without overcoming this fear.

The fear of failure is very much rooted in the fear of what others think about us. It is a fear of rejection, or a fear of how people will view us. We are so worried that others will think less of us if we fail, so we just decide it is not worth it to try. The funny thing about it though, is that those same people we are worried about have the same fear of failure that we do, and for all we know they may admire us for even trying.

If you want to be successful you must overcome your fear of failure. I am talking about success in a very broad sense. The fear of failure is always going to hold you back from what you really want in life. You must start thinking of failure a different way. Think of failure as a positive outcome. When you fail you learn. No one gets it right the first time every time. From failure comes success. Successful people understand this and do not fear failure but embrace it.

The best thing you can do to begin overcoming your fear of failure is to take action. Action is the most important step any of us can take when going after our dreams, because if we don’t take action we will just talk ourselves out of doing anything at all. Action can be broken up into multiple actions. If you are wanting to move to a new place you may start by making a list of all the things you need to get done before you can get on the plane and go. Then set a date when you need to have everything done and be on you way to that new place. Now you can break all those things up and do a little at a time. Just take action as soon as possible or you probably won’t take it at all.

If you fail you must be persistent. You must not give up just because something did not work out the way you thought it was going to. If it is something you really want, keep going for it until you get it. Use your failure as a learning experience and use the knowledge you gain on your next try. Persistence is a very important part of overcoming the fear of failure.

Let’s go back to the idea that the fear of failure is also sometimes the fear of what others will think about us. It is very important to realize that others feelings towards us are usually a reflection of how those people think about themselves. If we fail others may like that because it reaffirms to them that their dreams are not reachable either. It makes them feel good to see someone else fail and know that it is not them failing. But we need to break free from caring about what those people think, because when we fail we should not take it personally. It does not mean that we are not capable of succeeding. It only means that we now have more information for the next time we try again. Just think how people will think of you when you are persistent and actually succeed at what you wanted.

So go and take action on the dreams you have for your life. And embrace the idea of failure, don’t fear it anymore. Remember to always be persistent. You may fail several times before you get it right but that is all part of the learning process.