#WebSummit 2015 – What Happened in Dublin DAY #1

It’s been my dream for three years to attend #WebSummit and now it finally happened. We got an email, in March 2015, asking us (me & Roswitha) to attend and cover the event on our blogs. You can imagine the joy that I felt and I can still remember screaming when I got the news.

With approximately 42,000 people attending the event, there was a lot going on and I’ve covered some of the most interesting talks and events from day one below.

With approximately 42,000 people attending the event, there was a lot going on and I’ve covered some of the most interesting talks and events from day one below.
 
Spoiler alert: there’s a picture of green & red colored sheep at the end! (No kidding!)

Elbi – Good on the go

In my search for awesome startups, I always look for these few things in them: purpose, authenticity and creativity. Exactly in that order. Today, I’ve stumbled over a great startup called Elbi.

Elbi it’s actually an app founded by Natalia Vodianova, a Russian supermodel famous for her seven-figure contract with Calvin Klein. The main purpose of the app is to connect charities with regular people that don’t have millions of dollars to contribute to charities no matter how much they believe in them or how much they want to make this world a better place. Within the app, charities post

According to the latest stats, there are over 4.5 million likes given on Facebook every single day. Elbi has created a “love” button through which you can donate $1. If Elbi gets to just 1% of Facebook’s total likes, they could raise $45,000 every day or $1.35 mil. every month.

The app is still an MVP, but I truly believe it can be another great tool that could make this world a better place. As Natalia says it very well:

“If you love something you have to put money in it.” – Natalia Vodianova

Forbes vs Wall Street Journal

There was a very interesting conversation today between Charles Yardley representing Forbes and Carla Zanoni from Wall Street Journal. As one would think, these two media companies are very similar and you’d think that they’re approach to gaining more readers and a bigger reach would be similar as well, but I noted one big difference.

Forbes puts a lot of accent on demographics, on finding new ways to engage “Millenials”, while WSJ is more focused on what exactly do users look for when browsing over their website. They are more into the psychological side of things.

Another interesting fact that I’ve learned from this talk was that Forbes is actually paying their contributors by the number of followers they have, which I believe to be a very fair way of rewarding their content creators.

The power of a pixel

Mike Krieger, co-founder at Instagram had a nice talk with Anna Dickson, photo lead at Google about the power of visual content these days, especially pictures. However, one of the coolest things I’ve heard today was:

“Image is the last thing a journalist thinks, but it’s the first thing the user sees.” – Anna Dickson

As I talked in my latest webinar, you can write the best article ever, have amazing references and a great storyline, if your image is not telling users anything or if your title is not catchy, no one will get to see your amazing article. The image and the title are the first things someone sees when you share your article on social media, so make them count!

Changing the way the world moves

This was the talk that made me write the most and that says something.

One of the very first books that I’ve read on my journey to become a better man (join the free email course here!) was “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill and I became very passionate about the stories behind how he ended up working with Andrew Carnegie and the whole secret societies behind the wealthy people.

Bill Ford at #WebSummit

One of the wealthiest men of the time was Henry Ford who, according to some sources, did not want the book to go out, but he said one of the wisest things ever:

“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t. Either way, you are right.” – Henry Ford

I was very excited to actually see Bill Ford, the great-grandson of Henry Ford, on the stage talking about Ford and how they aim to make the world a better place.

One of the key takeaways from his speech was “one company can’t and shouldn’t do it all” as he talked about how Henry Ford did everything but the tires when he first started out, but now we live different times and people are becoming more focused on partnerships and ways in which companies can grow together and help each other succeed.

He also mentioned something about perfectionism, which is a fascinating topic for me at the moment as I am focused on dealing with my perfectionist thinking as I read Brene Brown’s book “The Gifts of Imperfection”. He said:

“No company is perfect. We can deal with reality and define it.”

Bill Ford gave some awesome advice on hiring talented people. He said that people like to solve interesting problems and that if you give them something interesting to solve, you can hire and retain better people.

Other mentions

1. Saul Klein ended his awesome talk “Majority World Report” by saying:

“We can learn from US, but I believe the future is no longer there!”

He was referring to Africa, of course.

2. Yancey Strickler, co-founder at Kickstarter said gave some great, timeless advice to all the business people present at the event by saying:

“Don’t sell out. Don’t sell out on your principles and have patience!”

And I got to take a cool selfie with him

Selfie with Yancey Strickler from Kickstarter

3. Mike Krieger showed everyone what it means to have a clean presentation by having about only one word written on approximately 50% of his slides, simple text on a one color background. Loved it!

Mike Krieger Speech WebSummit


Conclusion

All in all, I am very impressed with #WebSummit so far, everything seems to be working according to the plan. There is a lot going on and I feel like there’s not enough time to do everything that I’d like to do.

A lot of interesting speeches, startups and fellow press people and I feel like I would need at least two weeks to cover everything.

I will leave you with this weird picture:

Weird stuff at #WebSummit 2015

How I Fed 12 Families Last Week #PayItForward

I don’t know about your week, but mine was pretty amazing because I got to serve others and you probably know that there aren’t many feelings that are as good as contribution and connecting with other human beings.

How everything started

It all started last year, while I was still in the US, and one day I woke up and thought to myself “I want to pay it forward today and help out a few families”.

#payitforward fruits and vegetables

Without thinking too much about it (I always love to help out) I went out and spent $82 on organic fruits, vegetables and a cool pumpkin butter (organic as well) from the local farmers market.

There’s no need to tell you how much those $82 meant to me in a time where I did not know what to do with my life and I just started blogging full time for only about 3 weeks, plus I had a debt of $3,000 to pay off.

By the evening, I managed to pack everything and, together with Roswitha, we left the cool packages in front of three houses that we knew had kids – it felt amazing!

What happened this year

This year, we wanted to do something similar and don’t wait until it’s Christmas because it’s too mainstream and people need to eat now as well.

Together with Roswitha and a good friend, Andreea, we decided to get started, but we also created an event on Facebook just in case some more people would love to join. In under 7 days more than 30 people joined the event (with just little marketing) out of which 12 actually met with us and gave us money.

Two of them decided to help us even more and they joined us in our “adventure”.

We managed to raise enough money to feed 12 families and to also help the local farmers because about 80% of everything that we bought was from the local farmers market.

This year, however, we did not leave the food in front of the houses, we decided to go at those families that need it the most. We got in touch with a teacher from a close-by village and she took us to the families in need that also had kids.

I am not going to lie to you, it was heartbreaking at times, but the thought that those few people had something to eat for 2-3 days makes me smile. We met beautiful children and wise people that are poor, but some of them so confident and with so much faith in God – it amazed me.

Three families did not even have electricity, but thank God it was at least warm inside their house.

It was a life changing week, I met a lot of wonderful people, especially the teacher who prepares breakfast and serves tea to her students each and every day because some don’t have anything to eat at school. These are the real heroes!

Here are some photos from our little project:

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]

farmers-market-romania
This is how farmers markets look like in Romania.

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]

car-full-of-food-payitforward
This is how the back of my car looked like after buying all the food.

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]

roswitha-andreea-payitforward
Roswitha, Andreea and Dana

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]

roswitha-andreea-payitforward
Roswitha and I with the little girl, Dana.

What’s next?

Tomorrow we’re going to collect letters for Santa from those kids and other kids that need us together with the teacher and we will do everything we can to deliver happiness, smiles and delicious food once again this Christmas.

If you live in Romania and would love to join us, just get in touch and we’ll figure something out.

Besides the “Letters for Santa”, which is not our project, we will do another round of donations and shopping sometime before Christmas so that we can impact their lives in the best way possible.

Through this little project, I’ve reminded myself about the importance of giving and about how much of an impact $25 bucks can have on someone else’s life. Amazing!

Got a pay it forward story to share? Leave a comment below! 

[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

How Telling Your Parents “I Love You” Can Make You Happier

Do you ever feel like your relationship with your parents could be better? Find 10 reasons why you’re grateful for them and be the first in your family to say “I love you” and things will begin to shift. In this article, I go over my success story, some tips on how you can do the same, alternatives to the “scary words” and some inspiration to get you started. Excited? Let’s get started!

I come from a more conservative family in Romania and we are not used to saying things like “I love you” to each other, may be because of the communist mindset still floating in the air or it’s just our culture. And here I am talking about the pure and sincere “I love you” to a dear friend or family member not how much you like someone – be aware that love is a different feeling than liking something.

“Love is a different frequency. You have to love your enemy or love people that harm you. You don’t have to like them or the actual act, just love them. Love is a different frequency.” – Michael Beckwith

Growing up, no one ever never told me that they loved me and I am sure a lot of you can relate to this, especially if you grew up in Eastern Europe, even though the videos at the end of this article made me realise that it’s a problem that most of the world confronts with. Even so, I am confident that with all the positive changes going on in the world, our generation has the power to change this once and for all. I believe every person on this planet has the right to be told that someone loves them and too many people die every day without getting a chance to hear those wonderful words from their family or friends.

Before we move on, let’s get one thing straight: you are, by no means, a weak person if you express your feelings to a loved one. On the contrary, you have to be a strong person to be able to tell someone that you love him/her.

Moms Come First

Moms come first when you tell your parents that you love them @MihaiHerman

After watching a few movies, I realised that it can be different and I decided that something needs to change. After weeks, probably months of self-sabotage and fear of being judged or not getting the expected reply back, I finally had the courage to tell my mom that “I love her”…in a text message. It was the first step and I just wasn’t ready to tell her face to face.

That was the moment our relationship has changed and we began to bond much better and support each other more. I opened my heart to her and she did the same.

Since then, there’s not a single week passing by without at least an “I love you” over the phone, text or even face to face – yes, we’ve gotten that far, but don’t believe it was overnight – it took us probably 2-3 years to be able to say it regularly. 

Not Everyone Reacts the Same!

Not everyone reacts the same to "I love you" @Mihaiherman

This is a crucial aspect to consider, otherwise you can have your feelings hurt.

After about 2 years since I first told my mom, I felt that someone else needs to hear these wonderful three words and I’ve sent him a text. I am talking about my dad, of course. First time I said it, I did not get anything back – like nothing happened. It was a bit painful, but I knew he is different and has a different way of showing his feelings.

After probably another 2 years since the first attempt, I told my father again (in a text) that I love and support him, and this time the response was much better because I got a “Thank you!”, which was more than enough coming from him. 

I have to admit that after my first attempt, our relationship started to become much better (it was always bad!).

To this day, I still did not hear it back and I might not ever hear my father say the three magical words to me, but I won’t let that dictate my level of happiness and wellbeing. I can choose to either live my life being resentful and feeling like a “victim” because my father never told me that he loves me or I can choose to look for other ways in which he expresses his love to me. It’s much better to accept that some people react and act in a different way and that you’re missing out by not looking for those signs, which sometimes can mean much more than those three words.

I haven’t gotten that far of telling my father that I love him over the phone or face to face, but small steps will take me in the right direction, I am sure.

I managed to change my relationship with my father from having a fight almost every week, because I wanted to blog full-time instead of continuing my studies (masters degree), to a loving, caring relationship where both parts know how and when to listen. But the most interesting thing happened when my father started backing me up to friends and family: I recently visited an old aunt and she always encouraged me to look for a power engineering job in Germany and I will be “set for life” just because it’s very well paid (unfortunately, 90% of the people believe that is all that matters – don’t get me wrong, I love money, but loving what you do comes first!). This time, however, she was very calm and interested in what exactly do I do online and she only told me once that she believes engineering is the right thing to do – believe me when I say it’s a very big step ahead!

You Have the Power to Change a Relationship

You have the power to change your relationships @Mihaiherman

You can change your relationships with anyone by just becoming a bit kinder and compassionate, by taking the time to listen, by being there for them and genuinely help them. Be aware though and keep your patience level high, because results won’t come overnight. They might still treat you badly, but soon something very interesting will happen: they will be ashamed to harm you because of your kindness towards them!

It is really possible to change those around you if you change yourself, if you choose love over anything else. Love is really the answer!

I am a big believer in peace and that by responding with peace, love and understanding to any situation will do more good than trying to be revenged! 

How to Prepare for the Big Day

How to tell your parents that you love them by @Mihaiherman

1. Make a list of all the good things that could happen because you told them. This way you’ll force your mind to focus on the positive side of things and will eventually cut down from all the fear and doubt that you might experience.

2. What’s your goal? Is it to get a similar answer or just to get your message out there? This is very important because it will save you hours of frustration.

3. Get to know him/her – spend a few weeks being more aware of what they like, this way they’ll feel more loved and saying it won’t come out of the blue, which will raise your chances of getting a positive reply.

4. Start small – just a text or a note on the fridge would be just fine to start with. After you get comfortable, you can then take it to the next level.

5. Accept your fear – yes, you will feel scared, tensioned and uncomfortable, but that’s just fine. Accept them and think about why you do it in the first place. Take a moment to relax, take a few deep breaths and think about the big picture.

6. Wait for an answer (or not) – accept that your part is done. You can’t force them to say it back! All you can do now is wait and trust that your message was well received and it does not really matter if you get an answer because I am sure you put a smile on their face.

7. Lather, rinse, repeat – the journey doesn’t end after the first “I love you”. NO! This is just the beginning of a new and wonderful journey that could benefit you a lifetime.

TIP: to make it sound less odd, thank them for all they did for you and then tell them how much you love them.

Too Scared to Say it?

Too scared to say I love you? Try these alternatives by @Mihaiherman

If you are too scared to say the three words, you can at least show your parents how much you love them. Here are a few ideas:

  • write down a letter with 10 things you appreciate them for
  • cook dinner for them
  • take them out for dinner or even breakfast
  • buy them movie or theatre tickets
  • give them handmade presents
  • take time to listen what they have to say or teach (see how to develop a teachable attitude!)
  • treat them with respect, which doesn’t mean you have to approve everything they say.
  • go home for important holidays
  • call them once a week so they know you think about them
  • be aware of what they like and do more of that
  • invest in their hobbies
  • send them away for a weekend
  • take them for a walk in the park Sunday afternoon
  • hug & kiss them when you leave

There are endless ways in which you can show your parents that you love them and care about them, just pick the ones that feel right for you. Always trust your intuition and work on your courage 🙂

Need Some Motivation? Get Inspired by These Videos

While doing a bit of research for this article, I’ve found these courageous young men and women who told their parents the magic words for the very first time. Very inspiring and I am sure this will bring the right motivation in your life to do the same.

Conclusion

Start looking for ways in which you can better appreciate those around you, we don’t have that much time on this planet and it’s always better to experience a few minutes of fear and shame, than a lifetime of regrets.

Here are a few important points to remember from this article:

  • Start with the one parent that you feel closer to or that you feel would react best
  • Back your actions by a strong why and it will make it easier
  • Not everyone reacts the same, so there’s no need to feel disappointed if you don’t get a positive reply back
  • Accept your fears and do it in spite of them
  • Start small, a short text will do it and work your way up
  • If you can’t say it, look for ways in which you can show them, for now

Remember that your parents are just the beginning. Once you master this, go and tell your closest friends, grandparents and people that you truly care about. The sky is the limit!

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_tagline_box backgroundcolor=”” shadow=”yes” shadowopacity=”0.4″ border=”3px” bordercolor=”#06a87d” highlightposition=”top” content_alignment=”left” link=”” linktarget=”_self” modal=”” button_size=”” button_shape=”” button_type=”” buttoncolor=”” button=”” title=”Remember” description=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”5px” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””]Your parents are just the beginning. Once you master this, go and tell your closest friends, grandparents and people that you truly care about. The sky is the limit![/fusion_tagline_box]

No matter what happened between you and your parents in the past, at the end of the day, they are the reason why you get to be alive. So try to find compassion and forgiveness in your heart and see the good side of them – we are all good in our essence.

[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

6 Ways to Develop and Maintain a Teachable Attitude

Developing a teachable attitude should be at the top of your self-development plan because everything else is directly related to how teachable you are, how open you are to new information. You cannot grow if you are not willing to change, to accept new perspectives on life or to change your habits.

After you learn something new, it is very important to use that knowledge, to act – this is how you incorporate that knowledge into your being. Learning is great, but learning without action will bring you a great amount of overwhelming feelings that never help.

What Does it Mean to be Teachable?

Teachability is not a talent or something that you’re born with – those are just victim mindsets. You can learn to be teachable, even if it sounds very odd. We all have the ability to learn different skills in life, some skills will come easier for you, while others will be a pain in the butt, but you have the ability to learn anything you set your mind to and you can also become world-class at it if you are persistent!

Might be a bit too much to say this, but your level of teachability might dictate your level of happiness and success in life. Why? Because, to become successful in any industry, you have to constantly work on keeping up with the latest information and technology. But you can only become as successful as your level of teachability.

Your teachability index has the power to create lasting success because if you constantly work on learning new stuff, you constantly work on growing yourself as a human being, which keeps you happy and successful. Once you stop learning, you are not actually standing still, you are going backward because the Universe is ever expanding and moving forward. So, you either learn something every day (grow) or take on the “know-it-all” attitude and die (in a metaphorical way, of course).

 

How Can You Tell if You are Teachable or Not

It’s pretty easy to tell if you (or someone) is open to learning new information. So you are teachable if you:

  • seek help
  • accept that other’s opinion might be better than yours
  • take notes
  • learn from criticism
  • take responsibility for your failures and seek lessons to learn
  • read books and seek answers
  • focus on solutions
  • live a conscious life and learn from all kinds of situations
  • are so aware that you learn from other people’s mistakes – this is next level!
  • love to get out of your comfort zone
  • love to try something new
  • are open to doing things in a totally different way
  • are confident in changing your routine
  • admit when you’re wrong
  • have a mentor or you are looking for one
  • ask questions and have a curious attitude
  • are aware that you don’t know everything and you are open to learning
 At the end of the day, it all comes down do these two questions:
  1. What are you willing to give up to learn something new?
  2. Are you willing to spend money and time to learn something new?

So, just ask yourself if you are willing to give up watching your favorite TV Show or whatever you love doing every day in order to learn a new skill or even language?

 

Ways to Make Sure You Keep Your Teachability Index High

1. Reflect Upon Your Daily Activities

Teachability-Mindset-Reflect-Upon-your-daily-activities

Probably the best way to make sure you keep a teachable attitude is to take 5-10 minutes every night to reflect upon your daily activities. A cool exercise that I do is to write down what was:

  • better
  • worse
  • the same
  • different

This gives me an overview of my day that enables me to improve all areas of my life. When you do this exercise, start small – just 3 ideas for each point is more than enough (but don’t force yourself to find three ideas for worse if there are none!). You will soon find yourself being more aware of your life and, you will automatically discover ways to improve the “worse” and do more of the “better”.

Stick to this exercise for at least 30 days in order to see great results. I used to write them down in Evernote, but since I’ve created my own self-development diary I write them down in there because it’s better to use paper than laptop – I know it’s hard to accept, but try it and see how relieved you’ll feel.


2. Complete Sentences Exercise

Teachable-Attitude-complete-sentences-exercise

I’ve first heard about this exercise in Nathaniel Branden‘s book “The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem” and since then I recommend it to everyone. Even though the sentences found in the book are for raising your self-esteem and becoming more aware of your life, they are evergreen and the same principle can be utilized in other areas as well.

How does it work?

As always, there are some rules, but they are easy to follow. Because there are 12 sentences in total, we’ll divide them in 3 big sessions. Each session will be one week long and all you have to do is write 6 endings to each sentence, either in the morning or at night – whatever feels better for you. One key aspect though, you cannot sit and think, just write down whatever comes first to your mind, it does not matter if it’s relevant or not, what matters is to try tofinish the exercise in up to 10 minutes.

Focus on just 4 sentences each week, otherwise it might be too much information to process and you’ll end up feeling overwhelmed. To read more about the science behind this exercise please follow this link.

What I always like to remind myself is that self-development is a marathon, not a sprint, so take your time and trust the process.

The Sentences

  1. If I will be just 5% more teachable today…
  2. The scariest thing about being teachable is…
  3. The scariest aspect of living a conscious life is…
  4. The positive side of not being fully teachable is…
  5. For me, being teachable means…
  6. If I would learn from my mistakes today…
  7. If I would be just 5% more open to try something new today…
  8. If I would be more aware of my beliefs today…
  9. If I would listen 5% more today…
  10. If I’d take into consideration the possibility of other people being right…
  11. If I would add just 5% more awareness in my relationship with (insert name)…
  12. If I would be just 5% more aware of what makes me mad…

3. Listen More Than You Talk! You Have Two Ears and One Mouth For a Reason!

Teachability-Index-Listen-more-than-you-talk

Now this is something I had a hard time learning, not that I am a big talker, but because I used to always rehearse my answers in my mind, which did not make me much of a listener. I believe there are three types of people:

  • The ones that talk and rarely listen (they always have something to say that is related to what you said in their 10 seconds break)
  • The ones that give you the impression that they listen, but they are just rehearsing their next answer/story (or even worse, playing their favorite Friends episode in their head)
  • The ones that are balanced and have learned how to listen in a genuine way.

A big benefit of listening to people is that they will feel more connected to you, which will create more contacts that can bring more opportunities in your life. As always, start small and listen to one person today, but genuinely be there in the present moment and even put a smile on your face – make him/her feel loved and cared for.


4. Surround Yourself With People From Whom You Can Learn

Surround-yourself-with-teachable-people

You can have the intention to become more teachable or to learn as much as possible in life, but if all your friends only talk about the latest news (and not positive ones!), celebrity gossip or just gossip, in general, you will learn something but it won’t be valuable for your growth.

“Align yourself with people that you can learn from, people who want more out of life, people who are Stretching and Searching and Seeking some higher ground in life.”Les Brown

As tough as it may sound, sometimes we have to let go of people that are not making our lives better, but you don’t have to have the awkward discussion. You will see that by just setting an intention to meet new open-minded people, you will be dragged into a new energy and those friends of yours that are not willing to grow will stop calling you. It’s a lot more easier that you think!

Life is short and there are so many incredible things to learn in life that you have to make every second count.

How can you tell if someone is dragging you down? Go have a cup of coffee for an hour and see how you feel on your way back home. Are you happy, full of energy and enthusiastic or do you feel tired, bored and negative? It’s really that easy, just let your emotions guide you.


5. Embrace Failure!

Be-teachable-embrace-failure

The education system does a hell of a job at teaching us that failure is bad by giving us grades and make us feel bad if we had a bad day and now more than ever people need to learn how to better embrace failure (yes, myself included).

“Give yourself a break. Stop beating yourself up! Everyone makes mistakes, has setbacks and failures. You don’t come with a book on how to get it right all the time. You will fail sometimes, not because you planned to, but simply because you’re human. Failure is a part of creating a great life.”Les Brown

Failure is just an opportunity to learn something new, to experience and grow. You are bigger and greater than your failures and don’t ever doubt that.

There’s a difference between failing and being a failure.  If things don’t work out, if you don’t produce the results you want, that’s all, but don’t confuse who you are with the results that you produce.” – Les Brown

At the same time, you cannot let yourself be paralyzed with fear in such a way that it dictates what you can or cannot do. In order to see if you like something, you first have to try it. Picture this: you go into a foreign restaurant and try something completely new, but you don’t like it at all. Does that make you a failure? NO. Will you try that again? Not if you take the time to acknowledge why you did not like that dish. It’s the same in life, how can you know if you like something if you never tried it before?! The chances are that you might fail and that’s okay.

Since I started working online, I had more than 10 businesses and it took me almost five years to realize that I want to inspire men to be happy, kind and stylish. And, the chances are that this will change every few months and the vision will become clearer and clearer, but this would have never happened if I wouldn’t have started by creating my girlfriend’s fashion blog five years ago.

You never know where your actions might take you, just trust your intuition and be persistent, if it feels right!


6. Read Something Every Day!

Teachable-mindset-read-something-every-day

Leaders are readers (or the other way around). Reading is crucial to our self-development as human beings because it has the power of giving us new perspectives on life. A single idea in one book has the power to totally transform your life.

 

Here’s a Myth

You have to read all the self-development books to get anywhere, you have to read one book a week if you want to become successful! That’s just one way of seeing things, and honestly is a bit limiting. It’s not about how much you read, but about how much you comprehend and eventually, how much you act based on what you read.

It’s better to read just 5 pages every day and let your mind truly understand the ideas found in the book rather than reading 100 pages a day just for the sake of it because your mind will most probably only retain a few important ideas.

Will Smith used to say that we are so many people on this planet that you can’t possibly have a problem that someone else did not confront with beforehand. This is where reading comes in handy – it’s pretty hard to get new information if you don’t seek it.


Conclusion

The conclusion is pretty straightforward: the learning process never stops – you will always have something new to learn and that is the beauty of life! If I were to recommend just one thing that would have the biggest impact on your life and self-growth it would be to try to keep your teachability index as high as possible. This is the only thing that will give you feeling of wonder and excitement, but also of peace, trust and acceptance.

Remember

No matter what you’re going through right now, nothing can help you more than keeping a teachable attitude!

What did you learn from this article?

  • You can learn anything even how to be more teachable!
  • How to identify if you have a teachable attitude or not.
  • Two powerful self-development exercises that you can do right away to become more teachable, both included in my self-development diary. Get yours here!
  • Your environment dictates your life. If you want to change something, start there!
  • The power of reading daily if you want to become a great leader.
  • And, least but not last, failure is important to your growth.

By understanding all these lessons, you already made the first step towards a better, happier life by having a more teachable attitude. Congrats!