13 Pro Tips Proven to Help You Do Better, Feel Better, & Find Success!

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Trust yourself. You can do more than you think you can do. 

As much as we like having a cheerleader who cheers us on each and every day, the reality is that we all get caught up in our thoughts and daily activities. Even if those surrounding us mean well, we don’t always have someone shouting “You can do it!” when tasked with a seemingly insurmountable set of objectives.

In the monotony of our day-to-day routine, it’s easy to fall victim to self-doubt. 

Today is a different day, though, because you can do it. You can succeed, you just need to focus and take consistent action on the fundamentals.

While everyone defines success differently, thought-starters aim to get people to think outside the box and challenge the way we think so that we can remain innovative, grow, and ultimately achieve their goals. Today’s article will provide you with 13 thought starters to help you do better, feel better, and succeed.

1. This first one is a quote that we used in a Linkability blog post from 2020, which we still find just as true today as we did back then. 

Playing the blame game or getting stuck in a negative and excuse-ridden mindset never gets us anywhere. There will always be something in the way or something out there that is hellbent on making you collapse.

A large part of success comes with our attitude and our mindset. We have to stand guard and be ready to pivot at any time, which also requires your team to be on the same page. This won’t happen if your team feels threatened, unsettled, or unsupported. Build trust within your team. Show them that you care. Listen to their ideas or concerns.

Remain authentic, and don’t belittle your team when something negative arises. By remaining vigilant and creating a team that wants to see your business succeed just as much, you create an atmosphere that can weather any storm. 

2. This next thought-starter is especially important if your business is going through change.

Your ability to nurture and manage your culture is paramount to your overall success. Are you regularly checking in on your team? Does everyone support the company’s mission? Is everyone on the same page? Do you know that your team feels heard, supported, and valued? 

You can read more by going to Spotlight on Inspiration on Substack. 

3. Don’t fall into a hole of comparing your business with others.

Comparison truly is the thief of joy, and when you choose to obsessively compare your business to another, you risk missing out on critical business opportunities. Of course, you should look at your competition and see what works well for them and what doesn’t, but don’t obsessively check up on their business. Your primary focus needs to remain on your own company. Find what makes you unique and market on that aspect.

4. As Babe Ruth once said, “Don’t let the fear of striking out hold you back.” 

It may be an idea that never comes to fruition or a business that completely flops; as professionals, we will, without a doubt, fail at some point in our careers. However, if we allow it, our failures can make us more resilient, authentic, and relatable. We can use our past failures as a stepping stone toward meeting our goals and dreams.

To learn how to overcome your past failures, read our Moving Forward Newsletter on Substack: Top 3 Ways to Use Failure as a Springboard Towards Success & How LinkedIn Can Help.

5. This powerful quote was written in a Moving Forward Newsletter – How to Stay Focused on Your Most Important Goals. 

How often have you gone to work and worked your typical 8+ hour day to come home feeling like you accomplished nothing? 

It happens to all of us. However, if you find yourself having more unproductive days than productive days, it may be time to re-evaluate your productivity strategies to remain focused on the essential things. 

“Either you run the day or the day runs you.” -Jim Rohn.

With a strong productivity strategy, you are likely to complete more in half the time it would take to do your tasks without a strategy. We also suggest having your team find a productivity strategy that works best for them.

When you and your team are more productive, you will increase your revenue, improve your margins, and find your employees are more engaged and innovative. 

We’d love to hear the hacks you and/or your team has come up with to remain productive, or you can find some of our ideas on the Moving Forward Newsletter mentioned above. 

6. Sharing your experience and expertise can help open doors and also help in the healing process for others. 

How you carry yourself throughout the good and the bad can determine your overall success, but it can also impact those around you. While there are many things outside of our control, we do have control of our thoughts and our actions.

If, as leaders, we want to be that person that others can look up to, we need to foster authentic relationships and remain positive even during life’s most challenging situations. 

Sometimes all it takes for someone to have the confidence to move forward is for a colleague or a friend to say, “We can get through this together,” or for someone to simply smile at you, shake your hand, and with an upbeat attitude say, “Let’s get to work.”

7. Marketing is an essential tool for engaging your current and future customers and developing more profound customer knowledge and insight (a Linkability specialty) to broaden your reach.

You need to entertain, share valuable business information, and remain both personable and trustworthy to do this effectively. 

8. Having a solid network of professionals is a critical element of professional growth.

A professional network brings job leads, provides advice and support, helps you improve your skillset, allows you to stay on top of the latest trends, and more. So find professional groups to be a part of, ask questions, answer questions, share feedback, and develop relationships that will further your success. 

And remember, if you’re looking to get into the thought leadership space, you must be willing to educate others and learn (although this should apply to all professionals), which circles right back around to solid networking skills. 

You can learn more here: 8 Ways You Can Position Yourself to be a Thought Leader that are Proven to Work on LinkedIn.

9. If you’re passionate about an idea or a concept, start now.

Begin with baby steps, and as momentum picks up, you can put more and more effort into making your dreams a full-time job. You will never know what you can accomplish if you don’t make that first step. 

Push yourself because no one else will do it for you.

As the most trusted network and business platform, LinkedIn is a great place to start. 

10. We don’t always share our proudest moments on social media.

Although our friends and family can often get a good laugh out of our embarrassing moments, this doesn’t always instill confidence in a business setting. If you share the wrong post in the wrong setting, you risk setting yourself up for irreversible damage. 

To learn the Top 25 Dos and Don’ts of LinkedIn, read the following article: Linked Top 25 Best Practices: What You Need to Know. 

11. This is about more than your career. It’s about your life, health, relationships, and overall impact. 

12. Today's consumers desire genuinely empathetic, dependable, and authentic businesses in a business world full of chatbots, self-centered companies, and companies that only view their customers as moneymakers.

You can learn more by reading our article: Three Must-Do Actions to Turn Prospects into Buyers.

13. Companies can either have positive or negative brand equity depending on their community perception (How to Win Big at B2B Brand Growth).

What does your brand equity look like? What can you do to improve your brand equity?

Whatever you are called to do, we hope that these 13 thought-starters get your gears turning to take that next step towards growth and success. Even though we may not be right next to you, whispering, you can do it, we know that you are capable and you can succeed. 

Kim Peterson Stone is a three-time business founder, keynote speaker, and leading LinkedIn strategist that has amassed a global following of over 225,000 on LinkedIn. Not only has she authored hundreds of articles on LinkedIn and became a verified thought leader, but she has helped her clients do the same.

Her B2B digital marketing agency, Linkability, Inc., has helped a multitude of clients ranging from Intrapreneurs and Entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 companies work smarter on LinkedIn by leveraging the art of surviving disruption. Armed with her intimate knowledge of thought leadership, entrepreneurship, and global business communications, Kim uses creative and purpose-driven solutions to develop a strong brand presence, generate targeted leads, and maximize online visibility for their clients. 

Kim has changed the lives of many not by selling products but by solving problems, and she can teach you to do the same.