Alright, so in Part 1 on INTEGRITY in Marketing, we talked about the traits that define your integrity as a leader and a marketer.
Let's just list them out here to jog your memory.
#1 Always Striving to Be Better (Personal Growth) #2 Morals #3 Reliability #4 Accountability! #5 Genuinely Caring! Bonus #6 Self Respect
So Now Let's Work Out Those Problem Areas…
Steps to Take to Workout Your Integrity Muscles…
If you're missing out on any of the above traits, or you're weak with one or more, don't beat yourself up. One thing to understand is that nobody is perfect. But it's always imperative to strive to get better.
Why?
Because the bottom line is that the more integrity you have, the more your audience will trust you. And the more your audience trusts you, the more they'll buy from you… and therefore the more money you will make.
More importantly, you'll start gaining some insane confidence in yourself. And that will just perpetuate all the above even more so!
HABITS!!
You could say that habits build character. Your habits will be the backbone of your integrity. The things that you do on a daily basis will dictate where your life goes.
It also shows you exactly WHY your life is where it's at TODAY. Habits are like compound interest. It's a cumulative effect that compounds over time, till one day you wake up and you find yourself either lacking because of bad habits or thriving because of good habits.
Start HERE!
Here's 1 painless habit that you can start developing right away to increase your integrity!…
One of the biggest downfalls I see in this industry is that people don't focus enough on Personal Development.
Often this will be the catalyst that starts rapidly building YOU up as a leader and marketer. You almost can't help it when you start working on yourself.
When you start changing your thoughts, your beliefs, and your values… things begin to almost magically fall into place.
And that carries over into your leadership, your posture, and your integrity! You should dedicate at LEAST 15 minutes a day on personal development.
Ideally, you should work your way up to an hour a day in the morning. This sets you up for the entire day. But to get crankin' on the habit of personal development without getting overwhelmed, simply start with 15 minutes in the morning. And then add in 15-minute increments.
It could be in the form of reading a book or even watching videos on YouTube featuring leaders like Tony Robbins, John Maxwell, Zig Ziglar or Jim Rohn.
It's better yet when you focus on areas of self-development where you're lacking. We all know where we could use some work, so pick the low-hanging fruit… and start taking those forward steps!
Are You Less Reliable Than You'd Like to Be?
A lot of people have trouble in the reliability area. This can be caused by a few different things. Of course, you probably don't wake up in the morning and decide “Hey, I want to be unreliable today!”. In fact probably quite the opposite.
Yet again, it's your habits that dictate whether or not you're reliable.
For instance, do you find yourself showing up late often?
If so, then that's a good place to start. Because if you'll be late for the simple stuff, you'll most likely be late for the things that count.
It trickles downhill (or would that be uphill?) Spend some time breaking your late habit. The easiest way to do that is to start showing up VERY early.
Before you say DUH…you'd be surprised how many people try to inch their way into being on time. That rarely works. Too much can happen when you have a shorter buffer period, and you'll always find reasons to justify that.
You've heard the phrase: “On time is late, and early is on time!” You need to adopt that. You need to be so early that it feels a little weird in the beginning.
Get used to building a 15 minute + buffer period from when you get there and when you should be there!
Start Planning!
Truth is, when you're running a home business, you simply can't wing it. You've got to plan out your time. You need a schedule. A daily method of operation!
It's a huge misconception for people who want to be their own boss. They think you can wake up when you want, with no schedule, and start rolling in the profits.
That NEVER works, no matter what anyone says. If you're not planning your day, then you'll always be chasing your tail on a daily basis.
And THAT means you won't be reliable, you won't meet deadlines, you won't launch campaigns fast enough. You'll miss out. And your audience will recognize that.
Procrastination – A HUGE Cause of Un-Reliability!
Everyone seems to procrastinate. It's almost glamorized these days. Yet procrastination is toxic, and it will cause you not to get things done when you say you will.
But here's the little-known truth about procrastination… The biggest driver of procrastination is FEAR! When we don't know how something will turn out, when we don't have a ton of confidence that we can do something – and do it right – we'll often subconsciously decide not to start.
“What's the Worst That Can Happen?”
That's a good way to get through procrastination based on fear of starting. Simply ask yourself: “What's the worst that can happen?” Will you die if you screw up?
Probably not if you're running an online business. 😉 And if the worst-case scenario isn't that bad, then why the hell not just start?
Set Insane Deadlines
Procrastinators often find themselves able to get into action right when the clock is counting down.
The tick-tock of the clock seems to drive action when that tick and the tock are getting louder and faster due to a looming deadline!
So in a sense, your procrastination can turn into a strength for you. When you start completing tasks fast, when you're fast with deliveries, fast with results…people will look at you like the rare reliable person they can count on… and people love that!
Do You Hold Yourself Accountable?
When you start a home biz, you find yourself finally able to call the shots.
That becomes a problem for many people. We tend to be pretty lenient on ourselves in the accountability area!
Get it through your head right now that you MUST hold yourself to higher standards than any boss ever did.
Because when you used to screw up, the hammer fell hardest on your boss, whether you realized it or not. Now that hammer falls on YOU.
But oftentimes, it's a silent but deadly hammer. Because sometimes you don't feel an immediate ricochet of that hammer, but you will feel it as soon as word gets out that you cannot be trusted to hold yourself accountable. And the word is traveling even if you don't know it
Get An Accountability Partner!
One thing that you might not realize is that when I first got started I had an accountability partner, and it was a HUGE factor in my success.
Get someone that you trust, that will push you, and you'll push them just as hard. It's a dirty trick of the mind that letting other people down hurts worse than letting ourselves down.
So use that, and you'll soon start building that muscles where you hold yourself as accountable as your partner does! So there you go!
These are great starting points to start strengthening your INTEGRITY!! You start working on these areas, and you can't help but become more reliable, and therefore lead with more integrity!!
So, did this help you?
If so leave me a comment and let me know and feel free to share with anybody you think will get value.
You rock,
Mark Harbert
PS: Want Help and Coaching? I Work Personally With All My MLSP Sign-Ups. Click Here To Get Started