Let’s say you go out with co-workers (or friends) and the group decides to split the check. Except, when the check comes, you are asked to pay $20-40 more than your order would have cost if you had separate checks.

What do you do?

Yesterday I talked about building your foundation by having people with the similar goals and maturity as you. Today, I give an example of how not doing that can cause you to make a mistake that could very well cost your business or hinder your ability to achieve your goals.

It is great to have different people around you, especially if you are learning from them. However, if the people closest to you are lazy when you are ambitious, they are immature while you are mature, or they make bad decisions while you try to make good decisions…they cannot help but drain your focus and deter your from your goals.

Social media makes it very easy to meet people. Networking can be very valuable to entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, the term “friend” is overused and the meaning of “friends” has become diluted.

For people who want a successful career, surrounding yourself with people with similar maturity and experience levels is crucial for success. The people who are serious about obtaining the quality of life they have goals for do this naturally. The people closest to them have similar goals and interests that bond them.

Social media makes it easy to become friends with people who will distract your attention to almost guarantee you will not reach your goals. If you are a parent, it’s like your child hanging around the “wrong” group of kids….can you relate to that?

Guest articles are popular. You know, when someone submits an article to be published on another site. Most I come across I can honestly say add no value to the site at all. They are clearly filler content aimed at the guest writer looking for exposure.

In this article I give an example of an excellent use for guest articles that not only enhance the site but help build the reader audience.

A client asked me to sit in on a meeting to find out why a team, who is normally very prompt and efficient, is missing their deadlines. The problem ended up not being a work force issue. The employees were letting their relationship problems deteriorate work performance (and this was problem prevalent in other areas of their life as well).

What do you do, as an employer, when your employee’s problems become “your” problem?

You love what you do as a career choice, but you aren’t where you would like to be. You are not making as much money as you’d like or you are not working the hours you’d prefer. You’re frustrated and annoyed.

You’ve reached a plateau, but do you have the strength to get past it? Let’s talk about that.

If someone told me I’d listen in to the Facebook f8 developer conference, I would have laughed at them. I’m glad I did as it was very enlightening. I could easily see the developers that would thrive and the ones that would fail.

Unfortunately there was a lot of hype and unrealistic false hopes spread at the conference. One of the necessary skills for running a business is being able to realistically access a situation and come up with an solid plan of action. You can’t fall for the hype.

When you’re young retirement seems and is a long ways off. I’ve found that many people have unrealistic views about retirement. Most do not sit down and figure how much would be needed to retire at the magical number they picked. Nor did they think about the decisions they make throwing off their plans…for decades.

Realistically…can you retire?

Social networking tools are being used more and more every day. Unfortunately, what people do not realize is that by using these tools, they are creating a personal brand. A personal brand is simply what people think of you when your name is mentioned.

For those that do not realize they are creating a personal brand or worse, think that it does not matter, they are similar to the people who got themselves in debt when credit ratings first came out.

The penalties of not listening I suppose. Anyway, let’s talk about it what is really going on with social media.