Everybody deals with anxieties and stresses in the business world, however sometimes our anxieties can get the best of us. As a result, here is a list of techniques that a person can use to help manage their daily stresses and anxieties at their job and/or in the business world.
Sometimes, we get stressed when everything happens all at once. When this happens, a person should take a deep breath and try to find something to do for a few minutes to get their mind off of the problem. A person could take a walk, listen to some music, read the newspaper or do an activity that will give them a fresh perspective on things.

When facing a current or upcoming task at your job or business that overwhelms you with a lot of anxiety, divide the task into a series of smaller steps and then complete each of the smaller tasks one at a time. Completing these smaller tasks will make the stress more manageable and increases your chances of success.

Challenge your negative thinking with positive statements and realistic thinking. When encountering thoughts that make your fearful or depressed, challenge those thoughts by asking yourself questions that will maintain objectivity and common sense. For example, you are afraid that if you do not get that job promotion then you will be stuck at your job forever. This depresses you, however your thinking in this situation is unrealistic. The fact of the matter is that there all are kinds of jobs available and just because you don’t get this job promotion doesn’t mean that you will never get one. In addition, people change jobs all the time, and you always have that option of going elsewhere if you are unhappy at your present location.

Remember that no one can predict the future with one hundred percent certainty. Even if the thing that you feared does happen there are circumstances and factors that you can’t predict which can be used to your advantage. For instance, let’s say at your place of work that you miss the deadline for a project you have been working on for the last few months. Everything you feared is coming true. Suddenly, your boss comes to your office and tells you that the deadline is extended and that he forgot to tell you the day before. This unknown factor changes everything. Remember: we may be ninety-nine percent correct in predicting the future, but all it takes is for that one percent to make a world of difference.

In dealing with your anxieties at your job, learn to take it one day at a time. While the consequences of a particular fear may seem real, there are usually other factors that cannot be anticipated and can affect the results of any situation. Get all of the facts of the situation and use them to your advantage.

Our anxieties and stresses can be difficult to manage at our place of work and in the business world. The more control you have over your stresses and anxieties, the better off you will be in the long run at your job and other business endeavors.

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A currently popular idea in the fitness world is the whole business of setting goals. I believe that much of this stuff is filtering down from the corporate world. We’re told by books and trainers that we need to write down our goals and then break them down into sub-goals and then make sure that they’re S.M.A.R.T.(“specific”, “measurable”, “attainable”, “realistic” and “time related”) and all that kind of stuff.

I think ideas like this are good in certain contexts. They certainly work in the business world and other environments. But I personally believe it’s a waste of time when you’re starting an exercise program. In fact, I’ll go as far as saying that I believe that most of the popular “motivational stuff” like visualisations, affirmations and even goal-setting itself – is a waste of time. At best, it’s overrated.

When I was transforming my body, I did a huge amount of research, and that meant reading a lot of books on sports, health, fitness, self-improvement and nutrition. And I do mean a lot! I’m always thankful that I’m a speed-reader; it’s a skill well worth developing. Anyway, what I noticed about all these books was that the ones I liked the least were the ones with a lot of preparatory homework in the beginning. One diet book wanted me to spend a week writing down everything I ate before I even got to start the diet plan. A self-help book wanted me to spend that week writing down and analysing my thoughts and feelings and heaven knows what else. And an exercise book advised me to write out a statements like “I radiate health and happiness!” on a card every day and carry them around with me.

I didn’t want to do any of this; I just wanted to get started!

Perhaps for some people, this kind of preparation can be useful. But for many – myself included – it’s a sure way to get trapped in what’s known as paralysis by analysis: endlessly researching, analysing and planning stuff, but never actually, you know, doing it. I bet that most books like this end up gathering dust on a shelf, or being sold on eBay, having never been read beyond the first or second chapters.

The premise behind all the conventional fitness goal-setting and motivation stuff seems to be that we need to be, well, motivated. That we’re short on desire and we need to find ways to make ourselves want something. Personally, I think that’s nonsense. You may be reading this article because you wanted to look and feel younger, to become more attractive, or to have a better quality of life. Whatever. The point is, I’m sure that you already know what you want. You don’t need to spend days writing it down and analysing the hell out of it! And you don’t need to walk around repeating mantras to yourself either.

So does this article mean that I’m against having goals? Not at all. But just don’t go overboard. Don’t get S.M.A.R.T.; get smart. Just get someone to show you a good program, and then start it! That’s the only goal you need to set. The rest will take care of itself.

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That’s how it is in the business world. We bandy around the words freelancer, consultant, and entrepreneur as if they are interchangeable, although they are not. Sometimes our clients are confused. Often we are, too. When we aren’t clear about how we offer our products and services, it makes it difficult for potential clients to know whether or not to hire us.

What’s the difference?

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: a freelancer is “a person who acts independently without being affiliated with or organized by an organization; who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any one employer.” A consultant, on the other hand, is “one who gives professional advice or services as an expert.” In a completely different category is the entrepreneur who “organizes, manages, and assumes the risk of a business or enterprise.”

Freelance vs. Consultant

Technically, there isn’t much of a difference between being a consultant and being a freelancer. Both are independent contractors working for multiple clients. They are their own bosses. The main difference between the two is that one gives professional or expert advice and the other offers a deliverable.

Freelancers

Freelancers offer a deliverable–something concrete and tangible. Deliverables can include writing an article for a newspaper or magazine, designing a web site for a client, or painting a commissioned artwork for a building opening. Freelancers get in, do the job, and get out. Often enjoying a variety of assignments while working from home, they earn their living by contracting for work on a project-by-project basis. At the end of the year, they have plenty of 1099s to show for it.

Fields where freelancing is especially common include journalism, writing, copywriting, computer programming, software development, graphic design, film production, landscaping, architecture, translation, fine art, music, and acting.

Consultants

Consultants give professional or expert advice, generally to management. They may come in and evaluate how a company can streamline their production efforts or render a professional opinion on an accounting audit. They give their advice and opinion so that others can make informed decisions, select the best course of action, or accurately forecast an outcome.

Consultants, like freelancers, enjoy a wide variety of projects and earn their living by contracting for projects on a project-by-project basis. Unlike freelancers, most of their work is done outside of the home. At the end of the year, in addition to 1099s, they may also have some W2s to show for their work.

Fields where consultants are especially common include financial planning, strategic planning, marketing, research, training, business planning, business review, computing, integration of new technology, medicine, psychology, and law. Entrepreneur vs. Freelancer and Consultant

Freelancers and Consultants

Freelancers and consultants sell themselves. Though they may have a few employees working for them, their focus is on getting a job done rather than running a business. What drives freelancers and consultants is the pleasure and satisfaction of working for themselves, setting their own hours, and deciding what projects they will or won’t take on. They don’t like to take too much risk.

Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, sell their business. They focus on building something big, lasting, and profitable. They enjoy taking calculated risks and manifest their vision in the form of a business. For them, it’s all about making it big and leaving behind a legacy.

Some famous entrepreneurs include: Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey, Hugh Hefner, Michael Dell, Mary Kay Ash, Debbi Fields, and Anita Roddick (founder of The Body Shop).

Freelancers and Consultants as Business Owners

Freelancers and consultants may decide to start up a small freelance or consultant business, although they have no interest in overseeing or operating a large company. They like putting themselves out there–just not too much. Freelancers and consultants are their product or service. Without themselves, their business is not sustainable.

Entrepreneurs as Business Owners

Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are all about their business. Though they may start out small with only a few employees, it is just a matter of time before their small business expands. The very nature of an entrepreneur is to take risks, think big, and grow. Often, venture capitalists and other investors are involved. An entrepreneur’s business is sustainable and can survive after they are gone.

Conclusion

Knowing the distinctions between the three very different categories is just the beginning. At the end of the day, it’s all up to you to determine how you label yourself. Whether you’re a freelancer, consultant, or entrepreneur, it’s up to you to decide for yourself the kind of success you want.

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However, this perspective of business as a competition reveals a scarcity consciousness. If you think that there is not enough “good stuff” in the world, you constantly compete with others to ensure that you get your share. This belief can ultimately lead to the immoral and amoral behaviour by some entrepreneurs that we read about in the media.

However, an abundance mindset has a totally different result. Someone with an abundance mindset believes that the universe is unlimited, that there are unlimited resources. Consequently, she knows that there is enough for everyone. She willingly helps others achieve their goals. She holds to Zig Ziglar’s belief that “You can only get what you want, if you help enough other people get what they want.”

Wallace Wattles stated in the Science of Getting Rich that “And because it is the deepest instinct of their natures, all men and women are attracted to those who can give them more of the means of life.”

As you serve your community, people will be drawn to do business with you if they can benefit from your product or services. As you help others get what they want, you show that you are trustworthy. For you know that people do business with people they know, like and trust.

As you assist others to achieve their goals and vision, your business becomes more successful. Business becomes a win-win for everyone! You are creating a profitable business as you serve others!

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In the corporate gold rush to innovate, it appears that few, if anyone (including no doubt the vast majority of CEOs and senior managers) is pausing long enough to comprehend what the word “Innovation” actually means. A common misperception is that it simply refers to the process of turning a new idea into a successful commercial outcome.

So, what exactly is “Innovation”?

Unfortunately, there is no simple, one-size-fits-all definition that clearly explains it. In fact, most traditional definitions of the word are shockingly vague. How vague? Take the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it defines “Innovation” simply as: “The introduction of something new; a new idea, method, or device.”

New idea = Innovation?

Clearly that definition is inadequate. There are millions of new ideas, methods and devices introduced each year… yet the marketplace deems only a small fraction of them “innovative.” In fact, the majority of new ideas end up forgotten, ignored or discarded.

If we keep searching, better definitions begin to arise. For instance, Wikipedia’s dictionary adds another dimension to the concept by stating that Innovation is: “The creation of new ideas or things; Forward looking; ahead of current thinking.”

New idea + Ahead of current thinking = Innovation?

While that sounds…well, more futuristic, on closer inspection it too falls short. Haven’t we had “forward looking” ideas about flying cars, 2-way video telephones and establishing colonies on the moon since the 1964-65 World’s Fair? So we must add “doable/viable” to the equation. In the business world, that usually translates to “commercially viable.”

New idea + Ahead of current thinking + Doable/ Viable = Innovation?

Here we begin to see a more concrete description emerging. However, for an idea to be considered truly Innovative it must possess qualities that go beyond “new” (novelty), “ahead of current thinking” (vision) and viability (doable). There is a fourth essential quality that helps catapult one new idea, product, service, or process above all others in its class. A quality that infuses it with that game-changing competitive edge we call “Innovation.”

Australia’s leading innovation guru, Roger La Salle, helps provide an important insight into this fourth mysterious quality when he defines “Innovation” as…”Change that adds VALUE.”

The added value La Salle is referring to are those special attributes or benefits that make a new product, service or process: “faster,” “smarter,” “simpler,” “easier-to-use,” “more convenient,” “more powerful,” “longer-lasting,” “safer,” “better tasting,” “more comfortable,” “sleeker design,” “more efficient,” “more affordable,” “more satisfying,” “more exciting,” etc., etc. Added value is the quality that makes something unique and highly desirable.

New idea + Ahead of current thinking + Doable/ Viable + Adds greater value = Innovation!

If we put all these essential pieces together to create a simple, well-rounded definition to explain what Innovation is all about, it might sound something like this:

“Innovation: A compelling new idea that’s marketable and provides greater value than anything currently in its class/category.”

Once we gain a clearer understanding about what the word Innovation really implies, it doesn’t sound so mysterious, does it? In fact, when we get passed all the media hype and confusion, the Innovation process is really about the practical application of inspired creative thinking to create something better. A simple winning formula for success. Pass this understanding along to your CEO. Hey, you never know!

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