Recently, Leo and I discovered a Japanese game show called “Ninja Warrior.” In this show, athletes from around the world (but primarily Japan) test their skill and strength at a seemingly unbeatable obstacle course, in the hopes of becoming a champion worthy of the title, “Ninja Warrior.” The other day, as Leo and I watched yet one more round of warrior athletes performing what seemed like impossible stunts, I reflected on the business and life lessons one might take away from this extraordinary show.

Do something you think you can’t.
Ninja Warrior tests are incredibly challenging and often seem impossible. But the competitors are rarely daunted. They always try whatever seems impossible…and even if they can’t defeat the obstacle course, they almost always go home and train for a full six months before returning for the next Ninja Warrior competition and conquering the obstacle that tripped them up last time. Likewise, if you see a challenge and think you can’t do it, try it anyway. Then, if you don’t succeed, train harder until you can do it.

Always compete against yourself, not against others.
One of the characteristics that drew us to Ninja Warrior in the first place was that it’s not a competition where participants compete against each other. It’s every man (or woman) against the obstacle course. So rather than worrying about what anyone else is doing, each competitor is focused on doing his or her best. Similarly, in business, we’re often focused on the “old school” concept of watching the competition and worrying about what they’re up to. Instead, focus on you and what you can do to improve and grow, and cheer on your peers. Their success has little to nothing to do with you.

If you fail, keep trying.
There’s a group of Ninja Warrior “All Stars” who have participated in many of the Ninja Warrior competitions. If you watched the show from the beginning (as we have) you’d see these competitors go from young upstarts to family men with successful careers. And they just keep coming back to try to conquer the Ninja Warrior obstacle course again and again and again, hoping to succeed where they have failed before (of course, a couple of these All Stars have actually completed the course, but they continue to return to try to conquer the course as it has evolved). In business, if you don’t succeed at something, that doesn’t mean you should give up. In a recent The Experts Series interview with a bestselling author, I learned that this author’s book was rejected two hundred times before he got his book deal that shot him into bestselling status. If you fail, go back and try again and again and again.

Never give up in the middle.
Something that keeps us in awe of this show is that none of the competitors ever gives up. Even if a competitor knows the clock is running out and he may not complete the course, he never stops giving his full effort- not until that last second when the buzzer sounds. Likewise, in business, give it everything you’ve got until that buzzer sounds- until you know for sure that what you’re doing isn’t going to work.

Always be gracious and find the fun.
Leo and I are constantly impressed with the graciousness of the Ninja Warrior athletes. They cheer each other on, seem genuinely sorry when their comrades fail, and vitually all of the contestants maintain a friendly, lighthearted spirit and focus on the fun of the game. Your business may seem very serious to you, but if you’re too serious or too desperate to succeed, your attitude might be standing in the way of your success. Instead, try to look for the fun in what you’re doing and be as gracious as you can- to your clients, to your competitors, to everyone you encounter.

“Ninja Warrior” isn’t business- it’s a game. But it’s a game with some really powerful lessons that can be applied to business. Ultimately, what Ninja Warrior teaches us is to be as strong as you can, test your limits, never give up, and remember to find the fun in everything you do.

When I was growing up, my mom used to say, “Susan, you can do anything you set your mind to.” I grew up believing I was capable of anything as long as I decided it was what I wanted to do…except that it wasn’t true.

I know many of you are shocked that I’ve just said that, but the truth is, I think that sentence, “You can do anything you set your mind to,” has an implied assumption that many in the world today have forgotten. These days, so many folks out there believe in the law of attraction, and I’m not saying I don’t, but as I’ve said many times before, the law of attraction requires action and that’s something most people forget.

Likewise, you can’t do anything you just put your mind to…you also have to put your back into it.

I propose an update to the saying, “You can do anything you set your mind to.” I submit the following: “You can do anything you put your mind to and take action toward.” Just knowing you can do something doesn’t get it done. But taking action, well, that changes the story.

I’ve noticed something in many of the folks who come to me for help. It’s a new phenomenon that I’m adding to my list of “entrepreneurial illnesses,” something I call “Expert ADD.” In today’s article, I’ll explain what Expert ADD is, tell you why it’s a problem, and show you how to avoid it.

When new entrepreneurs or struggling business owners become aware that they need help growing their businesses, they usually start with a Google search. Before long, they have a list of folks who claim they can help, and most likely, have signed up for a wealth of e-mail newsletters and e-zines, hoping that someone, anyone, will have the magic bullet – that one thing, that one answer, that will give them the clarity they need and solve all of their business problems.

Soon, the e-mails start coming in. Suddenly, there are too many answers. I’ve had clients come to me with a list of “to dos” so long and so diverse, they’d need a full team and a full year to get just half of the list done.

Here’s what happens: most “experts” and “gurus” have specialties. They focus on e-zines or public speaking or viral videos or internet marketing or sales…the point is, they focus on a specific part of the marketing or business process. Each expert says you should be doing whatever it is that they focus on. So you’ve got an e-zine specialist telling you that to grow your business, you need to focus on e-zines. And a social media expert tells you the best way to market your business is to put all of your energies into social media. And so on.

The result is “Expert ADD” (referring, of course, to “attention deficit disorder”), where you’re reading so many experts’ opinions that you think you have to be putting effort into all of these things to grow your business. This creates overwhelm and confusion.

When I begin working with a new client, one of the first things I ask of them is that they “turn off” their “guru” e-mails for awhile. The reason is that our first goal is to create clarity and a manageable plan. If you’re still getting pulled in ten or twenty different directions, then achieving real clarity and developing a plan that rids your life of the overwhelm will be difficult.

I can always tell when a client hasn’t turned off the e-mails. Instead of doing their “homework” and making regular, methodical progress toward their goals, our weekly sessions usually include conversations about new directions and ideas. Instead of helping them make progress, paying attention to too many “gurus” actually gets in the way of them achieving success.

So how do you avoid “Expert ADD?”
First, take inventory of the experts you’ve been following and start paring down to only those who are authentic, honest, and truly have your best interests at heart. I’ve heard from a lot of folks that even if they decide to stop following someone, they keep reading their e-mails to learn what not to do. I actually did that myself, for awhile, but quickly learned that it didn’t serve me to maintain any ties with someone I didn’t respect and didn’t think I could learn from. So pare down, but really pare down.

Second, when you choose to work with a business coach or consultant, allow them to guide you so that you can make progress toward your goals. Why hire someone if you’re not going to let them help you?

Finally, remember that you don’t need to do everything for your business to grow. Choose one or two avenues to focus on and put your attention there for awhile. Measure your results and see which marketing strategies are most effective for you, before adding more to the mix.

“Expert ADD” can be a huge obstacle, if you let it. Instead, protect yourself by taking in just the information you need, and discarding the rest, so you stay away from that paralyzing overwhelm and confusion and maintain a positive, motivated, and organized perspective.

“We’ll show you how to get on the Oprah show”
“Some of the graduates of our program have gone on to appear on Tony Robbins’ stage!”
“We’re always getting calls from publicists who want to know who’s hot right now so they can put them on Oprah.”

Have you heard any of these claims before? Maybe someone was trying to sell you a public speaking course, a public relations program, or your very own internet radio show, and they used what I call the “Oprah and Tony Marketing Strategy” to do it.

What is the “Oprah and Tony Marketing Strategy?” It’s a sales and marketing technique that’s based in another old strategy I like to call the “overpromise, underdeliver” strategy. They promise you the sun, moon, and stars, but deliver very little in the way of usable content or implementation. The Oprah and Tony Marketing Strategy is basically the “overpromise, underdeliver” strategy on steroids.

Let’s face it, if you’re a writer or an expert of any kind, if you have a message and you think it’s your life purpose to deliver that message to the world, then getting on Oprah’s show or Tony’s stage is your path to greatness, right? After all, Oprah changed the lives of Dr. Phil, Rachel Ray, and Dr. Oz, among many others. And Tony Robbins’ stage is the Holy Grail of public speaking, shared only by the best of the best.

Of course you want to get noticed by Oprah and Tony. And that’s what smart marketers and salespeople are counting on.

Let me tell you what happened to me the other day:

I received an e-mail on Facebook from a producer of an internet radio show company, subject line “Media Request.” He said that his company was developing a new internet radio show about small business and that I’d come up on his “radar” as a credible expert. He said he wanted to talk to me to see about having me host the show.

Luckily, I had heard of this company before, otherwise I might’ve been flattered by the “media request” (which, btw, is typically reserved for interview requests). I have to confess, I already didn’t like this company to begin with, because they named their company specifically to take advantage of a well-known classic in American radio, in the hopes, I think, of confusing people into thinking they were going to be appearing on that program or station.

But the thing is, I wanted to know what they were selling – I know some people who have been taken in by them, so I wanted to know how much they charge and what they promise. So I set up the meeting with the guy and settled in for the sales pitch.

As expected, this was a perfect example of the Oprah marketing strategy. I heard all about the many famous authors this guy had produced shows for, the implication being that if I did the show, then I’d become a famous author just like them, nevermind that none of them were currently paying him a dime, nor could I get confirmation that they had paid this particular company for this particular service. The fee was $6,700 for a 13-week internet radio show, and the guy said they’d help me produce it and then market it for me, so all I would have to do is call in each week, do my show, and then go on my merry way, doing nothing whatsoever to market the show after that. And by the way, publicists, PR reps, agents, and producers for shows like Oprah listened in on this particular company’s broadcasts all the time to find new talent, and they call this guy all the time to find out “who’s hot” and who they should bring on their shows for interviews.

See how slick that is? So basically, for a mere $6,700, I could get famous with my own radio show, have to do virtually none of the marketing stuff we all hate, and get on the Oprah show??? And you know that’s what most people hear.

But you have to listen in between the lines and know enough to know when you’re getting scammed. The marketing services they offered were minimal, some were unnecessary, and frankly, you could do much better yourself.

More importantly, there are companies that offer the same services for free, or with cool add-ons, up to $999 for an entire year of your own internet radio show. So why would you pay almost seven grand for this? Oh yeah…because you might get on Oprah.

Let me tell you another story. This time, a woman who found me on Facebook contacted me and set up a phone meeting to talk about a public speaking training program she was developing. She wanted to ask me (as well as several others) what I would want in such a program, so she could make sure to include stuff that people really wanted to learn. When we talked on the phone, she dropped several well-known names and bragged about how she can get people on Tony Robbins’ stage.

People? Seriously? When someone is trying to sell you something and they tell you they can get you on stage with Oprah or Tony? Hang up. Delete the e-mail. That is one of the biggest red flags of all time. Unless you’re talking to Oprah’s producer or reading an e-mail from someone with an e-mail address ending in tonyrobbins.com, stop falling for this nonsense! None of the big names you know were overnight successes because they paid for an internet radio show, a public speaking program, or anything else.

And I hate to say this, because for some of you, this might sting a little. It might seem harsh, but it’s the truth, and you need to hear it.People use the Oprah and Tony Marketing Strategy to prey on people who believe that the world is waiting to discover them. These are the same people  who have been told that all they have to do to be successful is find their “life purpose” or their “passion” and then everything will be easy.

Small business is not easy. It requires work. You have to work hard and you have to work smart. Don’t be fooled into thinking you can build a million-dollar (or multi-million dollar) business on a 4-hour work week! Sure, there are ways to work smart so that you don’t have to work a 40 or 60 hour work week, but please, stop looking for the easy way out. Stop looking for the easy answers or for the magic bullet and start taking responsibility for yourselves and for your success, and remember that unless you’re hiring a reputable publicist with a solid, proven track record, the likelihood of you getting on Oprah is…unfortunately…slim to none. Not impossible, but unlikely. And Oprah is not the only path to becoming notable. So settle down and pay your dues wisely, and it’ll be easier to spot the scams.

Lately, I’ve received a large number of e-mails from people introducing themselves as ‘bestselling’ authors. Folks, this is a claim that is so simple to check out that you absolutely should not be lying about it.

Now…don’t get me wrong. I have no problem with you “spinning” your resume and credentials to sound a bit more impressive than they actually are, as long as what you say is still true. But if you’re blatantly disseminating information about yourself that is completely false, like saying you’re a ‘bestselling’ author when your book has never made it onto the New York Times or Wall Street Journal bestsellers lists, then you’re lying. Period.

According to Wikipedia, “a bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains.” Wikipedia goes on to say, “in the United Kingdom, a hardcover book could be considered a “bestseller” with sales ranging from 4,000 to 25,000 copies per week.” Per week, people. So be honest: is your book really a “bestseller?”

The authors whose work appears on bestseller lists (and I’m not talking about Amazon’s lists, which change hourly and are micro-specific, but rather the real lists of USA Today, New York Times, or the Wall Street Journal) tend to be exceptional at marketing their books. They know that to be successful, you have to know how to market and you have to know how to sell, and you can’t just sell one book at a time. True bestselling authors are smart marketers who know how to leverage the right tools and professionals to build awareness about and visibility for their product.

Today, you can claim just about anything you want. You can say you’re an expert of any kind without anyone having to verify it. You can say you’re a speaker, a published writer, and yes, even a ‘bestselling author.’ But just because you say it doesn’t make it true. So before you say that you’re a “bestselling author,” make sure you know what that means, and make sure it’s actually true. Have some integrity in your self-promotion and you’ll gain more respect…and eventually, you actually might achieve that dream to be a real bestselling author.

Last December, I said goodbye to an old friend: the old Indiana tulip tree that’s been in my back yard longer than I’ve been alive. Since my husband and I remodeled and now live in the home where I grew up, this tree has has been a constant in the landscape of my life through the years. Sadly, about two years ago, we realized the tree was slowly dying. I waited as long as I could, until I realized that keeping the tree put the house in danger, and finally decided it was time to let go.

(So what does this tree have to do with your business? Well, you know by now that I can find business inspiration in anything from my travels to my chicken coop, so follow along with me and you’ll see where I’m going with this.)

As I watched the crew cut down my tree, I thought about all the things the tree had meant to me over the years. It provided the branch my dad hung my rope swing on, and offered shade in the hot Midwestern summers. It was large enough to provide just enough privacy from the street, while also keeping things open enough for a friendly wave to a neighbor walking by.

The tree had its drawbacks, too, I have to confess. As big as it was, there were a million leaves to rake every fall, but this year, all those leaves provided us with an absolutely wonderful, warm afternoon with our friends, talking and laughing as we raked and hauled leaves to the compost pile. There were the carpenter ants, who made their home in, around, and everywhere near the tree, plus the aphids who lived it the tree, dropping black residue on virtually everything underneath. And in recent years, there was the fear. As the tree was dying, it had a tendency to drop branches here and there, unexpectedly. I constantly worried that someone would get hurt or we’d have a big storm and the tree would fall onto my house (look at the picture and you can see just how serious a threat that was!).

My tree, with all the beautiful, sentimental memories attached to it, also came with some encumbrances, things that made it harder for us to enjoy our home and our life with the serenity you want to feel at home. Watching the tree come down, suddenly I realized  that as hard as it was to say goodbye to the tree, letting go of the tree meant I would have peace of mind and a calmness about many things, plus we were making space for something new. That space can be the home for a new flower or vegetable bed…(“Or, the place for my new pool!” says my hubby, who just popped his head in the office to see if I want a cup of tea)

Any time is a good time to look at your business (and your life) and ask what you’re holding onto that might be holding you back. For myself, as I examined my business, there were a few things holding me back that I’ve decided to let go of as I head into the future. Maybe you’ll discover it’s a product or a service that you’re offering that’s limiting you. It’s more likely, though, that it’s a mindset, an attitude, or a limiting belief that’s getting in your way.

Just as the aphids who lived in my tree dropped black stuff all over everything under the tree, limiting beliefs and a negative mindset will drop junk all over your business and your life. Just  as my tree created too much shade in some parts of my garden making it hard to get much to grow there, you may have too much “mental shade” in areas of your business, so you’re unable to see ways in which you could grow. And just as my big, beautiful tree threatened to fall over onto my house, you may have created some business structures that threaten to fall apart and damage your business.

Take a careful, close, and most importantly, honest look at your life and your business. What’s holding you back? What’s getting in the way of you moving forward? When you find the things that are keeping you from achieving your goals, take some time to appreciate what they’ve brought to your life and what those things have done for you, and then let them go.

And remember, letting go doesn’t always mean a complete severing of ties. It often means analyzing something closely enough that you can keep what is working, and throw out the rest. In my business, it meant keeping certain program elements and bringing them into my new programs, while leaving other elements behind. And for my tree, it meant having the crew chop my tree into firewood that will last us for the next several winters and leaving a full slice of the trunk for my hubby and me to make into a table in the spring.

One thing I’ve noticed in the last couple of days since the tree came down is that when I look up, where there was once a lot of branches and leaves obstructing the view, now there’s just clear, blue sky, filled with possibility. Let go of whatever isn’t serving you in your business and in your life, so that you can head into the future with lightness and serenity, with all the possibility of moving forward into real success.

The other day, I was watching an Eban Pagan video from the Engage Today event in 2009. In the video, Eban said something really interesting that caught my attention. He asked, “Are you living “at cause” or are you still “at effect?” It’s a great way to put something that I’ve been saying for years!

What does it all mean? First, what does “at effect” mean? “At effect” means you’re waiting for something. You’re waiting for the silver bullet — that one thing that will make everything okay, the thing that will solve all your problems. Maybe you’re a workshop junkie. Maybe you know all the “big names” and you’ve already given them thousands of dollars to solve your problems for you and give you the answers to bring you great success. Problem is, that’s not what many of them are there for (but that’s a topic for another day).

So let’s look at the flip side. What does “at cause” mean? It means to take charge, take action, be in the driver’s seat. Those are all good, general “catch” phrases, but what does that look like in your small business? It looks like putting all those great ideas that we know work into action. Ideas like choosing a target market, creating a memorable brand, positioning yourself as an expert, being credible and authentic, marketing your business with integrity, offering solid, useful content, overdelivering on what you promise, and giving everything you’ve got to the clients and customers who choose to trust you with their business.

“At cause” also means investing in your business and making sure you’ve got enough capital to fund your business, so you can take decisive action when it’s needed. I don’t mean you necessarily need a fortune, but you want enough to cover essentials like having a professional web site designed, marketing copywriting done, and getting the right team in place, one that includes a mentor, virtual assistants, and other pros who will help you get your business off the ground without overwhelming you.

If you want your business to grow and if you want to see benefits in your personal life as well, try living “at cause” every day. Wake up each morning knowing that you’re taking decisive action. Know that you’re ready for true business (and life) mastery, and you’re in charge of your own life. Live “at cause” and your life and your business will change.

Being authentic can be surprisingly difficult, especially in business. I often work with people who have no problem being genuine in real life, but who really struggle with authenticity in business. I hear from clients that, in business, they have to appear to be mega-successful — not just sort of successful, and not “hey, I’m growing a business here,” but really successful, in order to be taken seriously. There’s so much posturing and pretending, because people believe that you can’t become successful unless you appear to already be successful. But that’s just not true! In fact, it’s the opposite.

We’re all works in progress.
I’ve seen “behind the scenes” of a lot of the people who most of us think of as mega-successful, and things aren’t always how they seem. A well-known wealth coach I know spends most of his time talking about the power of mindset, but I know that he struggles with exactly the same issues everyone else does: doubt, uncertainty, insecurity. We’re all works in progress. Every single one of us. We all have questions and insecurities and fears. It’s how you deal with those internal struggles that matters.

The truth has a way of seeping out anyway.
We think we’re so good at hiding our secrets from the rest of the world. But whether it’s a financial crisis, marital problems, personal demons, or something else, even if you think you’re keeping your skeletons hidden, you’re probably not. Truth has a way of sneaking out there and betraying our lies. Truth may show up in an uncertain look in your eye or in the way you keep your secrets, but know this: it’s almost impossible to keep things totally hidden.

It’s not all about appearances. It’s about truth.
Far too many folks out there seem to think that if you appear to be super-successful, you’ll achieve legitimacy. But it’s not about how you seem, it’s about how you are. If who you really are matches up with who you say you are, then you’ll appear credible, because you are credible. On the other hand, pretend you’re something that you’re not and you’ll come off as shady.

The real secret to gaining legitimacy is authenticity.
We’re all after legitimacy, in the end. So take the time to build your expertise and knowledge, offer your services at a discounted rate while you gain experience, and build in the right systems to support your products and services so you can offer unparalleled good service. You’ll build credibility by doing things right, and with credibility and legitimacy comes real success.

(In an upcoming issue of my No Suits Allowed! e-zine, I’ll be talking about how to be authentic. It’s such an important piece that’s missing from so many businesses today, so make sure you subscribe to the e-zine so you can find out the critical steps you need to take to achieve authenticity in your business.)

In 2010, my “Year of Making It ALL Work,” I’m committed to taking a long, hard look at my own business each month, relative to that month’s theme. Last month was all about getting organized, so I attacked my organization and planning. This month is about finding your purpose and getting authentic. So today I’m musing about the first part of that — finding your purpose.

Finding my own purpose took me down sort of a roundabout path. As I sought my true purpose, I tried lots of things. I was a social psychologist, a web developer, a success coach, a Reiki master…I took courses on project management, and even on how to be a travel agent. I tried many things. But no matter what I did, there were always two constants: I have always been a teacher and I have always been a writer. And no matter what I do, somehow I always come back to that. Are there things in your life that have been constants? If so, these might be connected to your purpose.

Now, I don’t know if I buy into the numerology thing, but my birthdate adds up to 33, which I’m told is the number of the Master Teacher or Healer. As a 33, my life path number is 6. According to what I’ve heard and read (and again, I’m still on the fence about this stuff), the 33/6 life path calls one to leadership and responsibility. Numerology or not, I’ve always felt that calling, and I’ve walked that path my entire life, with some ventures more successful than others.

How does this life purpose translate into my business? First, I write. Prolifically. I’m always working on a book, a blog post, an e-zine article, or content for one of the several sites I post on. Second, I teach through my writing, but I also teach my clients. Virtually everything I write is written with the intent of teaching something, whether it’s a technical piece on how to use social media or an article about finding inspiration for doing something tiresome. I teach my clients about authentic business, including marketing and sales, as well as  “nuts and bolts” logistic stuff. I’m always teaching. I teach when I speak publicly so that people walk away going, “Wow, I really learned something today.”

How will this translate into future business? I’ll continue writing and teaching, of course, but in a bigger arena. Part of my Year of Making It ALL Work is growing my brand awareness so I can reach more people and share my own unique voice with a bigger audience.  Once thing I’ve learned for sure is that once you find your purpose and get grounded in your path, you know where you’re going and everything starts to fall into place.

For me, that means reaching out to more people, talking more about what I’ve learned, offering more, and giving more. It also means knowing it’s okay not to be perfect and remembering that if I learn from my mistakes, surely I can help you to learn from them, too, so you don’t have to go through everything I did and make the same mistakes I did. I’ll be talking a bit more about that in my next post on authenticity.