Whatever you do with your time and money do not waste it on fame unless you are using your fame as a lead generator for your business. At the end of the day, fame does not pay the bills and stroking your ego with popularity, will not increase sales.  Always choose sales over awards and profits over plaques.

If you are the face of your business, as is often the case for realtors and architects, then, make sure that any publicity that you get is directed to your company’s products and services. Put them first over promoting yourself when it comes to media coverage. Try to get your top money makers or cash cows featured in any article, news story, blog post, review or any other form of media that may be covering you.

Rather than having an article that has only pictures of you, ask the publication to show some of your best services or products. Basically, do not waste your time on tasks that do not involve customer acquisition and retention. Focus your time and efforts on increasing the bank account and not inflating your ego. Chances are that your fame has not accounted for many sales in your business anyhow.

When fame does come, make sure that you redirect the spotlight where it belongs and that is on the products and services that you offer that provide you the lifestyle that you enjoy.

We all have talents and skills that we tend to devalue and under appreciate. But what comes easy to you, does not necessarily come easy for the next person. You see this type of thing all the time, especially in our school system. One child may excel in math, but can’t spell to save his or her life. Another child might be  a fantastic athlete, but they are not so gifted in music. I for one, hate fixing things. In fact, I think I am much better at breaking them. Our individual God-given abilities are here for a reason, but so often, they are left undeveloped and under appreciated by us.

It is not enough to be talented. Having talent is a great starting place, but that is all that it is. Once we recognize our talent, it is up to us to develop it and that takes work, and lots of it. This truly is what separates the men from the boys or should we say, the women from the girls? Now, we have all heard of  Michael Jordan. Many believe that he is the best basketball player ever in the history of the N.B.A.  That is pretty impressive when you consider all the other players that have played the game over the last century or so. This includes players such as Larry Bird, “Magic” Johnson, Julius Erving, Pete Maravich, Dominique Wilkins, and Wilt Chamberlain to name a few. Now Michael Jordan was not born that good, and  he did not get there overnight either. Just ask his high-school basketball coach that cut him from the high-school basketball team. Michael did not let this temporary set back affect his outcome. This would turn into yet another stepping stone in his life. To make a long story short, when teammates of the Chicago Bulls championship teams talk about what it was like to play with Jordan, they consistently bring up his practice habits. He practiced harder than anyone on the team and by doing so, he raised the bar of what was to be expected by the other players on the team. Great talent needs a great work ethic. Otherwise, it is a great waste.

When you are considering the right business for you to get into, look for the businesses that are in demand and that you have a knack for. If you are willing to do some hard work, you will clearly outperform  competitors that are not quite as good as you are. There are plenty of business owners out there that are in the wrong  business and their products, services, and customers  suffer for it.