Shawn Dahl shares his personal thoughts on what it means to achieve personal success.
VANCOUVER, BC, September 18, 2021 Senmer News Wire — Whether you stumbled across this article because you were searching for information about who I, Shawn Dahl, am as a person or because you are genuinely interested in what it is that sets certain people apart in their pursuit of success, I hope that you gain value from these words. There is not a lot written about my life from first-hand. These articles are intended to help those earnestly seeking to glean insight and perhaps some wisdom from someone who has traveled a road that entrepreneurs must venture upon.
Cascading Towards Fulfillment – What is Success?
The bedrock of success and fulfillment comes from earnestly seeking to bless those with whom we engage. Any intentions apart from this will cause you heartache and regret. As you make the countless decisions that line the path of life, it will often be tempting to take a shortcut and hold a “me first” attitude, but this type of thinking does not cascade towards success. Success is not an event; it is a series of events and each large or small decision you make is part of that cascade in a good way or a bad way. Always treat people how you would want to be treated yourself in every action you do.
From zero to financial success
Having a lower starting point often just makes for a better story. I was financially broke nearly 20 years ago and ended up as a major partner in a nearly billion-dollar company 15 years later. There were several twists and turns along the way that led to different career paths, each of which provided new and valuable experience. Some of this experience was profitable, while some of it was painful, but all of it was valuable.
Entrepreneurship is difficult
There is no way around the difficulty that comes with being an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur needs to continuously look at the future as incentive and remain committed to a goal that they have no guarantee will ever materialize.
You think, therefore you are
Most of one’s success comes from a headspace that they choose to adopt, so it is important to fill your mind with meaningful things. I started my journey by reading autobiographies of successful people whom I wanted to emulate and devoured financial books like Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad series which helped shape financial principles in my mind. I started to pay attention to where money would flow once I bought something. Would it cost me every month with insurance and maintenance or would it pay me a every month with cashflow or a dividend. Would this thing I’ve just bought be worth more or less than I paid for it 5 years from now were always on my mind. Long term financial success is about having a plan and then making small decisions to stick to it over and over again.
Use leverage to get more output
You cannot accomplish a lot or achieve great success without using leverage. Leverage can be used in 3 ways:
1. By hiring people who produce more revenue than you pay them
2. By borrowing money and having that money produce more than it costs you in interest
3. By utilizing technology that produces more than one person could on their own.
If you want to have more impact than the average person has then you must incorporate leverage into your plan.
Leadership and leverage
The most common method of employing leverage is to utilize a team of people. This typically puts one in a position of leadership over the team being utilized. As somebody who has leveraged teams for success, I have had the opportunity to lead many people towards great accomplishments; however, I don’t think leadership is a skill I have excelled at nor is it natural for me. I have other talents, and I keep my focus there instead of getting frustrated
Focus on your talents
You do not need to be skillful in every area to be successful. You can become highly successful even if you are terrible at some of the most important business or leadership skills that most people see as a requirement. The trick is to just hone your God-given gifts and excel at those. Skills that you lack can be hired out or co-managed with a partner. The right partner might need the exact gifts you have and they may excel in areas where you fall short.
All business success relies on sales
In any business-related setting, you are either selling yourself or selling your product. All leveraged forward motion requires you to sell; however, making sales is not dependent on you being a salesperson. I have created a few hundred million dollars in sales despite not being a particularly great salesman. Selling is mostly about being passionately committed to that with which you are involved and relaying that to a prospect who you want to see succeed. Once the information is given, it is also critically important to actually ask for the sale. People will not close themselves. To make sales, your influence is more important than your technique.
Pay attention to how money flows
Money never wants to flow to you. Every time someone pays you, there is a bit of pain for them. I am happy every time money comes towards me and a little bit sad every time it leaves me. If you inspect yourself, it is possible that you feel the same way. I first heard this from Robert Kiyosaki.
When people are pitching an idea to make a lot of money fast, pay attention to where the money being made is coming from. Is it leaving someone else’s pocket? If so, for what reason? Is that person being screwed or are they being blessed by this process? Money does not flow without someone else exchanging it for benefit, so inspect the benefit that they are getting. Most people don’t think this through, but it’s important.
People often behave like sheep
It’s not that difficult to lead people, because most people just want to be led by someone with confidence. Most people are trying to find their way in life, and many people are looking for someone who looks like they know what they are doing to attach themselves to. Use this knowledge and decide to be the confident one. If you have integrity and purpose, others will follow you.
Leadership is influence
The most effective way to influence is to be a servant. People tend to care more about how you feel about what you say than what you actually say. When you genuinely care about people, there is a lot more room for you to make mistakes in your leadership.
There is no such thing as “Get Rich Quick”
Everyone needs to win in a business deal. If you try to get the upper hand in a deal and the other party leaves your relationship with a sour taste in their mouth, then you lose even if you get the most money out of the situation. It’s a waste of time to do business with any person only once. You gain efficiency by doing a many deals with the same people again and again. The “Lubrication of Trust” is worth its weight in gold once you earn it.
Your life will create either a positive or negative snowball effect
There is no easy path to the top. Life is one giant snowball and each decision you make either moves that snowball in a good direction for you or a bad one. You will either make relationships and connections that cause people to say and think good things about you or they will have negative thoughts which they pass on. It might seem like a small thing, but decisions and relationships are everything. This is what creates the cascade of success.
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Source: Shawn Dahl’s Take on Personal Success
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