At least, that’s title of the post I’d like to write – if only my annoying sense of morals would allow it! I got a chance to pick Seth’s brain last week and thought you’d benefit from a field report of the Q&A.

To be 101% honest, calling it a “Q&A” would be like calling a Manatee a “beautiful, graceful sea-swan”.

The reality: I snuck into a webinar for female business people of Australia, that Seth was participating in.

Not only was I not in Australia at the time, but my wig was totally unconvincing too.

Nevertheless, when they opened up the floor for questions and some 600 women clamoured to have their queries answered, my question somehow got through.

I asked Seth:

“What advice do you have for someone who struggles to define their superpower?”

If you’ve read Seth’s latest book Linchpin, you’ll know that a “superpower” is the ultimate elevator pitch – it’s what makes a linchpin indispensable.

For a long time I had really struggled with this. I’ve helped clients out as a therapist, strategist, consultant, coach, speaker, trainer and more… always creating enormous value.

Yet, I could never sum up what I had to offer. In fact, when people at parties asked “What do you do?” … my most common response was:

“Well, it’s complicated and I don’t wanna bore you…”

Yikes!

Seth’s reply was simple, to the point and change-my-life-and-business-forever awesome:

“Your closest 50 clients and friends know your superpower. Just ask them.”

I immediately got on the phone and speed-dialled my favourite client. I asked him what he thought my “superpower” was.

His response? “Its uh, like you’re some kind of awesome Shrink… but for entrepreneurs.”

Zing!

I phoned around a bunch of other clients and friends to bounce that idea off them. The verdict was universal:

My superpower is being THE Shrink for Entrepreneurs.

If you’ve ever had trouble articulating what you have to offer, now you know Seth’s shortcut.

So… what’s your superpower? (Leave a comment below)

I get to meet and hang out with a bunch of people who are teetering on the edge of the entrepreneurial dream.

They know that they want the freedom, wealth and happiness that small business success can bring. Some of them are keen to build an empire!

They also have read books that drill in the “be passionate about what you do” message.

Problem is, these people still end up utterly stuck and frustrated. Sound like someone you know (perhaps really well)?

If you feel like you’ve been there, it’s probably because you don’t know what you’re passionate about!

For me, this is one of the areas the inspirational authors skim over too quick. Not everyone knows their passion as well as Gary Vaynerchuk or Chris Guillebeau – nevertheless, both links are worth clicking to take a look.

A psychologist, when asked to help a patient discover “their passion” would probably try to analyse the activities that created the most pleasure for the patient. They’d figure out what gave your brain the biggest shot of dopamine.

My solution is simpler:

Turn procrastination into a business

You know that thing you do when you procrastinate?

That thing that you love to do – even when you know you don’t have the time (or money) to do it.

That’s your passion. Now just figure out a way to make money from it. It won’t be easy, but you’ll love every minute of it.

A good place to start is by asking a question in the comment section (below). I’ll happily answer any queries (no matter how broad) about turning your passion into a profitable business.

I recently stumbled across a rare (and incredible) video interview (watch it below) of two of the most revolutionary, technological magicians of this age: Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Apple’s Steve Jobs.

Right at the end of the interview, an audience member asks for advice and both Gates and Jobs touch on an issue that is central, critical and revolutionary to every one of my clients, blog subscribers and friends.

If you’re going to go into business, you damn well better be passionate about it… because it’s going to be so tough to win big, that you’ll burn out and give up if you’re not in love with what you do.

In fact, without passion, you’d be crazy to even try.

Hear it from the world’s most successful, game-changing entrepreneurs (around 1min 50 seconds in) right here:

What do you think? How are you passionate about what you do?

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning.

A man with a violin plays six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately two thousand people passed  through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After 3 minutes a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.  

4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: A woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk. 

6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.  

10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave  money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a  total of $32.

1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest  musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever  written, with a violin valued at $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold out a theatre in Boston where the price of seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and  people’s priorities.

The questions raised: in a commonplace  environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment?

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made… what else are we missing?

The psychological angle

Humans tend to practice an advanced form of mental deletion. We do this to protect our fragile minds from the sensory overload that the rich experience of waking life offers us.

Simply put, there is just way to much to pay attention to. We have to delete a huge portion of the experience available to us, in order to focus on the task at hand.

Completing such tasks are often necessary for our survival. But…

There is a grand irony concerning the folks at the train station, rushing to work to make a the next buck.

Beyond food and shelter, we work for money that is then exchanged for “experience” – tropical holidays, entertaining diversions and the occasional concert.

Sometimes it’s worth pausing in our journey, if only to enjoy the accidental rewards we encounter along the way.

What do you think? (Reply with a comment below)

Regular readers of my blog will be familiar with my habit of over-the-top headlines.

Fear not! This article really does deliver. Earlier in the week I published a summary of a leadership strategy I presented at my client’s bootcamp conference (hosted miles from anywhere, in the mountains).

Today’s article reveals the formula for business success that the company as a whole is adopting – including some startling insights for entrepreneurs and business owners of all kinds.

To set the scene:

Store Managers from a large retail chain traveled to an isolated camp at the foot of some seriously rugged mountains. Picture scrubby bush, gravel roads and drinking water piped fresh from icy mountain streams.

In true bootcamp style, the participants would spend time mastering high-ropes courses, raft building exercises and intensive orienteering… all mixed in with lectures on business related stuff from leadership (me) to business critical tutorials (like financials, loss prevention etc).

The critical point: Attitude

The week was designed to encourage one particular principal above all others. Specifically, these Store Managers needed to take ownership of their stores. Mental and practical ownership… in the same way an owner/operator would.

This ownership would force total accountability and a psychological commitment to “Results… not reasons” (which my ranting was designed to emphasise).

Results not reasons

This principal is borrowed from the psychological make-up of super successful entrepreneurs. It is a belief and a commitment, proven time and time again to be present in the “lizard brain” of the world’s top business leaders.

Explaining (and adopting) the principal highlights some confusing issues. The most obvious is the simple logical impossibility of the idea:

When an entrepreneur or store manager commits to “Results not reasons,” they are essentially expecting more from themselves than anyone could possibly ever expect.

The commitment means that every endeavour, no matter how difficult, will always produce a “result” which you will be totally responsible for.

Typically, when things go pear-shaped in business (and life) we justify our less-than-ideal performance with reasoning.

Classic “reasons” include…

“The economy is bad right now”

“The market wasn’t ready”

“My staff couldn’t get it together”

“I didn’t get the right kind of support from my boss/franchiser/government/investors”

These statements (and all others too numerous to list here) are used by under performing folks (we’ve all been there) to help them sleep at night… ultimately, by comfortably shifting the accountability and “ultimate cause” from themselves to others.

The really clever “reasons” blame intangible bogeymen (who never defend themselves) like “the economy”.

However…

What if we do adopt this impossible attitude/belief into our business practices?

First of all, the adoptee must instantly assume a total commitment to learning and flexibility. Because, if you now only ever produce “results”… all failures MUST be transformed into feedback.

… it becomes your responsibility to utilise any feedback, learn from it and follow up with a fresh, more successful strategy.

In other words, you must constantly seek out solutions and see ALL future problems as opportunities for change and learning only.

The only admission of liability possible is:

“I didn’t expect that, but I’ve learned something and now it won’t happen again”.

Is the gravity of this attitude starting to sink in? People who really “get” the principal really do expect more from themselves than anyone could possibly expect.

Where the magic lies…

The psychological study of the world’s most successful business leaders reveals that ALL the really huge tycoons share this over-blown sense of expectation.

Examples like Buffet, Trump, Branson and Gates (just some of my favourites) have all share the attitude of unreasonable expectation for results… and the implied responsibility and accountability that goes with it.

My clients are in the process of discovering what this attitude will do for the Store Managers of a huge retail network.

I’m curious to know how making the “Results not Reasons” commitment could affect the lives of the corporate executives and business owners who are reading this.

The challenge

(This will be much harder than you think)

For one entire week, commit to producing “Results not Reasons” in your job or business.

When a problem comes up, look for ways you can be responsible and accountable. Forget blame – but take on board the necessary learnings. Work out what you need to do differently in the future.

Do this and I guarantee your week will be one of the hardest and most worthwhile to date.

What do you think? Anyone want to share the reasons why they can’t do this? Speak up in the comment section… if you dare

I rarely find videos relevant and interesting enough to share with you. This one however, is out of this world.

Click to read the rest of this entry – you’ll enjoy a severe shake up of your world view:

This video was originally designed for entry into a “presentation award” competition.

The folks behind it are Jeff Brenman, karl Finch and Scott McLeod.

What do you think the answer to the final question is?

To be honest, viewing this leaves me feeling positive anticipation and gratitude for being alive to witness all this… mixed with more than a little despair. I’m not going to explain WHY I feel despair (why would that reasoning be worth knowing?)…

I want to know your perspective – reply in the comment section below

There is a simple technique for making more sales or growing your business. This technique is so simple, in fact, that it seems like a magic trick. There is a prize for people who read this post.

It isn’t magic.. and the psychology is simple. The problem is that 95% of small business owners (large corporates are guilty too!) don’t focus on understanding the psychology of their customers… so they miss the obvious stuff.

Reading this post (and taking the necessary simple action) will ensure your business never suffers from this common mistake…

The technique that makes all the difference is this:

Be totally clear and certain of the purpose of your business

That’s it!

“But Peter, I know the Purpose of my business already!”

… I hear you. And you’re wrong….

Actually, you may be partly right. I’m sure every entrepreneur knows the Purpose of their business for them or maybe even for the customer. But are you communicating that Purpose with total clarity?

Chances are that there could be improvements – and your ability to generate cold, hard cash will multiply exponentially if you really nail this.

The practical technique for communicating Purpose is a simple “fill-in-the-blank” exercise. It goes like this:

-> We help <insert highly specific target market>

->  do <whatever problem they’d love to be solving>

->  bigger/faster/better/easier/sexier <competitive difference>

->  even if <worst case scenario that would prevent a stranger buying from you>

It’s that simple.

As an example, try out my Purpose statement:

“I help entrepreneurs master the psychology and practical strategy that turns ideas into profitable business empires. Even if their idea is just a dream, they’re out to make their next ten million, or their anywhere in between.”

Having total clarity on Purpose changes everything. It effects every interaction with customers and makes every decision you make as boss easier.

The first person to reply in the comment section  to the question below wins a FREE Purpose brainstorm session, face-to-face with me (video conference if distance is a problem).

There are no wrong answers: What is the Purpose of your business?