#HR #RRHH Making love and making personal #branding #leadership

I attribute much of our success to three pieces of advice that have become our guiding principles:

1. Ask, "How much do I really want it?"

My high school crew coach told me that success only depends on one thing: how much you really want it. The difference between winning and losing, he would say, is nothing more than deciding that you want to win.

This advice has had a huge impact on my life and career. Every time I've dreamt up a new idea or venture, my coach's words have come to mind: How much do you really want this?

Asking yourself this question forces you to pause and evaluate the situation honestly. Do you have a true passion for it? Are you ready to do whatever it takes to make it work? Taking a genuine look at how much something matters to you will help you weed out certain projects and make time for the ones that truly captivate you.

You are a twentysomething entrepreneur ready to launch a new business and your emotions are running wild. You're frightened, intimated, and stressed, but at the same time you're enthusiastic and confident about what the future holds.

At this point, it's time to step back and listen to those who have been in the same situation.

It would be a foolish mistake and a missed opportunity not to value the advice, experience, and knowledge a mentor can offer. Put your ego aside; be a sponge and soak up as much wisdom as possible.

I was in this exact position prior to launching SDC Nutrition Inc. I was confident and probably a little too self-assured, but I knew I had to set aside my ego to listen and absorb as much invaluable advice as possible from my advisers.

Imagine you could go back in time and give your 20-year-old self a bit of advice on investing in the creative process, coming up with new ideas, and producing good, fun work.

What would you say?

I’ve thought a bit about this topic lately, as I reflect on how I’ve changed from the person I was in my twenties to the person I’ve become in my thirties. Creativity has become more and more important to me, both at work and at play. And the lessons I’ve learned along the way (and the ones I’m still learning) seem like something 20-year-old me would have liked to know.

There are so many proponents out there for starting your day early, it’s kind of hard to ignore this advice--though for my entire life I’ve always preferred shrugging the idea off and hitting the snooze button more times than I can count.

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” Yeah, okay Ben Franklin, I’ll take that under advisement.

But it seems like almost any successful person you can think of starts their morning insanely early: Square CEO Jack Dorsey rises at 5:30 a.m., Virgin Group founder Richard Branson wakes around 5:45 a.m., and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz gets up at 4:30 a.m. every morning--good thing he has an infinite supply of coffee at his disposal.