10 Rules of Success for Entrepreneurs

HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR

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BY EMMA "SIDELINE" ROCKLAND

11 YEAR OLD PROMOTER OF FINANCIAL LITERACY FOR KIDS

Sideline (Book One)

10 RULES FOR BEING A SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR

Rule # 1 Find a Friend.

This is the most important part of effective collaboration and successful living. Here's something you need to learn real fast. No one "makes it on their own." No one in the history of the world has ever, ever "done it alone"and no one ever will. Recognize and accept that you are human and like everyone, you need a little help at some point in time. Everyone. You can't be a successful entrepreneur without some assistance. I suggest you get a mentor. You probably don't believe me because I'm 11, I get it. So instead of listening to me, check this out fromPsychology Today magazine: The Importance of Friendship

Rule #2 Act on your creativity.

Risking being "different" is the only way to break out of the mundane. You were given creative powers, just like all of the people you know. Give it a shot. Again, the assumption is that I'm 11 so what could I possibly know. Read this from Elite Daily: Why Creativity Is The Most Important Quality You Have.

Rule # 3 Give people the joy of being right.

Many people love being right far more than they enjoy being happy. Really. That's why people often point out why something won't work. They tell everyone why they "can't do this, or achieve that." So, when they don't do this, or achieve that," they say, "You see, I was right!" Once more, from our friends atPsychology Today: Why is it So Important to Be Right?

Rule #4 Accept that everyone makes mistakes.

Everyone in the world makes mistakes. Everyone. There are no exceptions, including you who are reading this. Give yourself a break and give everyone else in the world a break, too. Assuming you are perfect or others could be perfect if only they listened to you is a good way to live an unhappy life. Assume mistakes are going to be made, forgive yourself or whomever makes the mistake and find a way to move on. Here's some professional credibility from Health Guidance: Accepting Your Flaws and Mistakes

Rule #5 Listen to everyone, then do what you think is right.

It's important to ask for and listen to all kinds of feedback. Seems obvious, but here's an article from the Huffington Post that backs me up: 5 Reasons Why Feedback is Important.

Rule #6 Don't let the world turn you into a pessimist.

Sure, there are innumerable reasons to be pessimistic, (wars, climate change issues, sexism, racism, agism, weight-ism to name a few) but there are also innumerable reasons to be optimistic: millions of good people working hard to feed the hungry, heal the sick, comfort the afflicted, house the needy, educate the young. Yes, I realize more could be done, but many people are doing the best they can to make the world a better place. Focus on those people and their actions, rather than on the people you might deem selfish or destructive, and the reasons for being optimistic are clear. The evidence, from Happify Daily: The Benefits of Looking on the Bright Side: 10 Reasons to Think Like an Optimist.

Rule #7 Appreciate all opportunities presented to you.

Everyday all of us are surrounded by opportunities, too many, in fact, to take advantage of. Realizing the bounty of opportunity that is within each of our grasps is one of the first steps towards a more enjoyable life. As I was reading the Harvard Business Review, I came across this: Why Appreciation Matters So Much.

Rule #8 Be a better listener than anyone you know.

Being a great listener is an invaluable quality that everyone can and should develop. It is most easily developed by responding to people's words by ACTIVE listening. One more time, viaPsychology Today: The Art and Value of Good Listening.

Rule #9 Be grateful that people listen to you at all. With so many websites, so many Facebook postings, so many tweets, (you get the idea) it's amazing anyone listens to anyone else at all. Learn to be grateful for the fact that all of us have an audience of some kind or size. In the end, we are all audiences for one another, and that means we're alive and part of the collective NOW. How fun is that? According to the International News Media Association: Why Audience Appreciation Matters.

Rule #10 Remember that effort is everything.

Everything. George Orwell, the author of 1984, said that. If the author of the greatest, most depressing dystopian novel ever written can recognize that "effort is everything," then who am I to disagree? Here's some evidence from the Daily Motivator: The Value of Effort So there you have it, the 10 Rules for Successful Entrepreneurs. Send me an email if you have other ideas, or go ahead and buy my story at Sideline (Book One) It's a five part series, BTW.