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Is Trading Risky?

June 24, 2014 By Anton Consing Leave a Comment

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I’ve been asked this question over and over again. Whenever people hear me say I’m a trader the normal response is “but trading is risky!”

Maybe it is maybe it isn’t, it depends. What is risk anyway?

Warren Buffet, the world’s greatest investor, said that risk comes from not knowing what you are doing. Maybe he has a point. Flying a plane entails some risk. Pilots do hours and hours of training before they get to man the aircraft and years before they get to be called captain. Do you think veteran captain pilots still see flying as risky? They don’t but I still do because I have no clue how to things work inside their tiny cockpit. This is exactly the same for traders. People outside trading see trading as a risky business and indeed it is especially if they do not know how the market moves or how traders use low risk ideas to profit from market volatility.

What is trading anyway and why does it seem so risky?

Basically, trading is an exchange of goods or services. Traders are speculators. To profit from trading one has to exchange one’s goods (stock, contract, currency etc.) for someone else’s speculating that the latter would have a higher value in the future. The risk comes from the speculation of the value because a trader can be right and make money or can be very wrong and lose.

In my experience it takes a lot of studying and analyzing whether it’d be technical or fundamental before I get into any trade at all. Unlike skydiving for example, you don’t need a lot of “guts” to trade but you certainly need a lot of discipline and the right mindset. Taking big risks doesn’t always guarantee big profits also. You can apply low risk trades and still win big. This is certainly what I do for myself and for my clients. We apply only 1% risk per trade and limit our exposure with only a certain number of trades at a time. This doesn’t mean we only gain 1% at a time in fact risking 1% of our equity in a single trade can yield a 3%-10% or more profit in the long run.

So is it possible to win big while limiting your risk?

Yes it is!

Now, I can’t explain all the details of how to look for low risk ideas for trading in just one blog post. But at least now you have an idea how trading can be not as risky as you think. Here is a tip – look for good position sizing strategies and money management rules for trading in the web there are hundreds of articles that can help you. You can also feel free to contact me and ask stuff about trading and I will gladly respond with the best of my ability.

Remember trading is speculating. The risk is real but unlike a casino the odds can be in your favor. We are dealing with uncertainty and the only thing that we can control is our risk not the market, not other people and sometimes not even our own emotions. This is the cornerstone of great trading.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized

Lessons from The Rabbit and the Turtle

June 17, 2014 By Anton Consing Leave a Comment

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I remember a short childhood story of the rabbit and the turtle and it went like this:

The rabbit challenged the turtle to a race. Obviously, everyone knew that the rabbit was faster and would surely win. To the rabbit’s surprise the turtle accepted the challenge. So one day they raced. As everyone expected the rabbit zoomed quickly out of site leaving the turtle behind. Reaching the half-way mark the rabbit got tired and decided to take a short nap knowing that even if the turtle passed him he would beat him to the finish. The turtle knowing that he was slower knew he must keep moving however slowly but consistently despite being tired. When the rabbit woke up he realized that he slept longer that he had planned and could not see the turtle anywhere. He ran as fast as he could to the finish but saw the turtle waiting for him.

This story might sound childish but what lessons can we learn from it?

Lesson No.1 – Consistency. In whatever job or business we do in life being consistent is king. Take it one step at a time. Whatever great feat humanity has achieve was done consistently. Success is a lot of small things done right.

Lesson No.2 – Never Give Up. In our story the turtle knew the odds. He knew that he was slower and yet he accepted the challenge. In life we have to be bigger than our problems. The best defense is sometimes a great offense. It is OK to fail in life you just need to pick yourself up and try again and again and again. No matter how hard it gets never give up especially on your dreams.

Lesson No.3 – Desire. Your desire to succeed will beat any obstacle in front of you. Sometimes it boils down to how bad you want to succeed. How BAD do you want success?

Lesson No. 4 – Be Humble. The greats always were humble and didn’t boast about how great they were. They didn’t need to. The people who seek attention has to brag about his or herself and is nowhere near success because people can always spot a real winner. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:11).

Lesson No.5 – Help the Little Guy. If you are in a position of power and authority you have the responsibility to help other people. People who are lost, helpless and blinded by the lies of society. In the movie, Spiderman said that with great power comes great responsibility. I’ll add that with great responsibility comes great sacrifice. This is knowing that sometimes we have to forget ourselves and go out of our way to help other people.

Lesson No. 6 – Teamwork. It is fun to challenge and test yourself but it also pays to have some teamwork. You get to your goals faster by being a team instead of a one man show. You look to others for advice, knowledge and experience that you may lack and use these to accomplish your daily tasks. Teamwork gets you from A to B faster and definitely a smarter move.

So there you go. My take on the rabbit and the turtle. What lessons have you learned?

Have a great day!

 

Filed Under: Success

The Wall of Life

June 4, 2014 By Anton Consing 1 Comment

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We all have felt grave hardship at some of point in our lives whether in our job, our home, through sports or business. There is always that point that you just want to give up because every inch of you is ready to quit and everybody around you supports it.

Seth Godin, in one of his books, calls it The Dip. I call it The Wall. You see, in whatever goal we set to achieve there will always be the wall. The wall is the point where everything does not seem to go your way and the hardship is too great that you might just as well quit. It is in this moment where you, your ideas and your will to succeed will be tested.

I have hit the wall many times in my life.

One of the best parts of being an athlete is that I get to build my mental toughness that is applicable to all aspects in my life. In every race, much like in every goal I set in life, there is this thing called the wall. If you have ever done a marathon (a 42 kilometer run) there is this wall that you go through. Around 33k into the race your body will scream for rest. Every part of you will hurt. Your mind says you can but your body says you cannot. Every step just feels painfully exhausting and every part of you wants to stop.

You have now hit the wall.

Everyone in the marathon hits the wall at some point. And guess what? After that few moments of pain and suffering; after that moment where you were ready to give up but you didn’t, something amazing happens. The wall slowly and mysteriously disappears! On that same race on that same day in that same moment after you had the guts to go on, you have conquered the wall (this is around kilometer 37 or 38). And before you knew it you have crossed the finish line!

In life there are always walls, dips, and mountains that stand between us and our dreams. It will test us. It will bring us to our knees. It will knock us down and do everything in its power to keep us where we are. In every endeavor there will be challenges and it never gets easy. I am not saying this to frighten you rather it’s because I believe you can conquer the walls in your life. Its’ possible!

In every race our greatest enemy is ourselves.

There is an old African proverb that says “if there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can do us no harm.”

Be brave, be strong, and push yourself. If we do not go beyond what we have already mastered we can never grow. Yes there will be pain, difficulties, trials and some defeat but remember that this is a test to see if you are truly worth your dreams.

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Race Report: Defy 123

May 28, 2014 By Anton Consing 1 Comment

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Nestled in the majestic island of Panglao, Bohol Bellevue Resort set the stage once again for one of the country’s best and most beautiful triathlons – DEFY 123. The unique race features a 1km open water swim, a 110k draft-legal bike leg and a 12km run on the seaside finishing on the beach.

My journey started in our host hotel, Bellevue Resort, where the race took place. Preparing for the race for only over a month I wasn’t sure how I would fair especially on the bike (especially when its a training race and the coach forbids you to draft). But I took on the challenge as any competitive triathlete would. This would be my first tri race for the year.

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We did a water start in the pristine crystal-clear waters in front of the beach.

The water was so clear that you can see the sand and the corals below. That plus when the water level is less that 6 ft., all fear of swimming in the ocean vanish. We did one loop ending in a short skip and jump up to the shore and running 200 meters towards T1.

Time to gear up and get ready for the bike!

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The bike leg was tricky with a not-so-flat rolling course that if you push too much will punish you at the end.

We crisscrossed Panglao and into Tagbilran City passing by different churches and sites. The people in Bohol were super supportive cheering us along everywhere we went. Its amazing that the roads were really well paved, smooth and closed to all vehicles even in downtown Tagbilaran. I’m guessing everybody was out full support for the event. There were so many marshals on motorcycles that lead different groups on the bike.

It felt like I was in a cycling tour (tour de Bohol?) because there was always a marshal leading in front of me honking his horn.

Pacing was key to finishing the 110k bike and starting fresh for the run.

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On to the run!

The 12km run course was none like I’ve tried.

Starting from T2 going towards the beach running on the seaside on sand, rock and pavement. Since I saved my legs on the bike I ran at a faster pace finishing 3rd best run-split in my age group. It was an awesome finish indeed with the crowds cheering me on the last 2 kilometers at the beach and finally finishing on the sands in front of Bellevue!

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What makes a successful race? 

A good strategy, a strong will, and heart!

I finished 4th in my age-group despite racing in “training” mode but what matters most is the experience of swimming, biking and running to the finish line of a great event! Kudos to Guy Concepcion and the rest of the organizers for a well-organized Defy 123 2014!

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CHEERS!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

How I Beat the Market and How You Can Too

May 20, 2014 By Anton Consing Leave a Comment

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Forex traders are born every day. The industry is booming with countless aspiring men and women whose goal is to beat the market and make a ton of dough. I was no different back then when I started in 2010.

Who wouldn’t want to make a pile of money with a push of a button or while sleeping at night?

It is true that one can certainly do these and more with trading the currency markets but let me warn you that most people rush too soon with their first trades and eventually go bust. Too little professional information is out there and many of us are too narrow headed to even get the best advice before we execute our trades and we eventually give up trading the markets all together because “it does not work”.  This type of behavior isn’t only seen in trading but in most if not all industries. Think about the weight loss industry for a second. Most people who want to get fit go to the gym and try on dieting and after 3 months they quit and say “this isn’t working for me”. Trading, like losing weight, is a process. It takes time and mental endurance to trust that it will work out some time in the future. It’s not easy especially at the start and the path to trading success is full of ups and downs, but once you have achieved a certain level of toughness and experience you’ll find trading gets easier to digest.

I started  currency trading back in late 2009 just after college as a means to look for extra income for myself while working for my dad in another business.

Like many of you I have seen and done it all. I got wiped out once. I bought so called robots and trading signals that didn’t work much. My first three months of trading I lost 70% of my account! I was a member of all the trading forums searching for the Holy Grail or the perfect system that would make me rich beyond my wildest dreams but to my dismay there were none. You can say that during my first year it was literally an initiation that did sufficient damage to my pocket.

What inspired me to go on was Jack Schwager’s remarkable book of interviews with the world’s top traders called Market Wizards. Out of all the “wizards” in the book there were none who did not experience losing. Some even got wiped out more than once in their early years of trading. What was truly amazing is that all these pro traders did not give up. They stuck to their plan and objectives no matter what other people said and eventually they became a success (If you haven’t read the book I highly recommend it for any serious trader). I believe a successful trading career takes time just like any other field or industry. No one gets to be an overnight superstar in this business.

You don’t get rich overnight.

If you are looking for a get-rich-quick guide then close this post and look for something else. Only 5 years into this business I have learned a LOT. The last three years I manage a small fund from friends and family that gained 50%, 40% and 100% in that order. I am not saying that I am good. No. I even consider this a fluke! I do not consider myself a guru. The reason why I am writing this and sharing this to you is because my goal is to help as many traders as possible through my experiences. The methods that I learned are priceless and sharing this information is my way of giving back. But like you, I am also a student of the market and always will be. I never stop reading and learning new things. Constant research is a must. I have read and applied so many methods and books from trading, to psychology, history, and even spiritual guidance to align my vibration to the markets. I practically eat books for breakfast. This has become my passion and obsession. You see I believe that markets are inefficient and because of that there is opportunity to trade and cash in especially when you make the right trade.

What then is the secret? How do I beat the market?

The answer is: there is no secret! There is no holy grail. There is no robot that will make you lots and lots of money while you sip piña colada under palm trees. It doesn’t work that way. Success doesn’t work that way! I’m sorry but that’s the truth. The billionaire Wall Street guys still put in the time to trade the markets. That’s their job and it will also be yours too.

I learned after my freshman year as a trader that there are two keys to succeeding in this business – First, the right psychology. Second, proper Risk Management. With these two, you can trade any type of system and still make money! I was lucky I had a teacher early on that showed me the ropes but of all the lessons he taught me it was these two keys that really mattered because without them no matter how good an entry or prediction you make you will still lose money in the long run.

I am amazed of the people whom I share this risk management system to be so ignorant and negative about it. They complain that it is too simple and couldn’t be used because there isn’t anything fancy about it. Let me say this, the best trader’s in the world rely on robust and simple systems.

The simpler and more robust a system is, the better it works across the markets.

Most people over complicate themselves with a thousand and one indicators and charts plus a truck load of fundamentals and news. This is insanity at its best. No one can grasp every aspect of the market and I mean no one. Don’t take it from me. Michael Covel in his bestselling book, Trend Following, showed that even the great traders only used simple systems. If it’s good for the pros then it’s good for you and me.

Don’t let your emotions get the better of you.

Successful trading is 50% psychology, 40% risk management and only 10% actual technical trading. Everyone has access to the latest news, the best indicators but the real edge (and enemy) is your own mind. That thing between your ears is a goldmine that only you can tap into if you only knew how. I am just a guide pointing you to the right direction when it comes to the markets. Invest in yourself, invest in your mind.

 

Cheers!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

The Curse of Charisma

May 17, 2014 By Sean 3 Comments

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“You’re a really good salesman, I give you that.”

Chris shook my hand as we were wrapping up our meeting.

He was trying to get SEO for his company. I was trying to pitch it to him at a good deal.

I walked out with a smile from that pitch.

Charisma can be such an ass-kisser.

However, there’s another side to it that is considered a curse by Jim Collins in his book “Good to Great”

You see, Steve Jobs wasn’t really an engineer. He wasn’t really a programmer either. In fact, compared to his team, he knew almost nothing.

He was a non-technical founder of Apple. He was also a super, duper, mega salesman.

A man who can inspire, push, and event hurt other people because he knew how to read. He knew how to be admired. He knew how to…. manipulate.

In all, Steve Jobs man who had charisma under his command. But there’s a downside to it. In order to be a manager, he had to KILL his charisma.

Taking it from Walter Isaacson’s biography, Steve Jobs was nothing short of an asshole when it came to managing people and making them produce.

He would shout. He would call other people’s work as “shit.” He would throw his temper when people are not producing well.

If that’s the case, how then can such a man so radically change the world in so short a time?

Because he has a very strong command of charisma.

He could easily make people do what he wants. He could easily pass on his vision to someone else. He could easily make people whisper “Wow.”

And you know what?

Charisma is something I believe I have a good amount of. The thing is, I couldn’t seem to find it in myself to manage people like Steve Jobs does.

I can’t seem to shout. Can’t see to get angry. Can’t seem to call some output as “shit.”

Because I think it’s disrespectful.

I know, I know. Wussy of me to be that way right?

I lead a team of 20 people and I can’t even get myself to manage – or I’d be killing my charisma.

Perhaps I love my charisma too much. Perhaps I hold it too dear.

However I think it’s time to take off the curse of charisma and start managing my team. Otherwise things might get worse and company policy might be completely disrespected.

No, I won’t probably go so far as to disrespect people. There has to be some other way.

But I think I should start putting my charisma on the line.

As my mentor tells me: “Not everyone in your team will like you.”

I guess I could finally say he was right.

Charisma isn’t such an ass-kisser after all.

Filed Under: Management

Failure – A Necessity for Success

May 14, 2014 By Anton Consing Leave a Comment

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Flashback to elementary…

Its quiz time and you failed. Worse, Mrs. Terror just sentenced you to detention and 10 tasks for punishment along with a not-so-good reprimand episode with your parents. Failure equals punishment, your parents said.

Moving on to high school…

Its exam time and you learned your lesson during elementary and prepared and studied hard. But despite your efforts you flunked a subject and will have to repeat another year. Failure equals punishment, the teacher said.

College comes…

…and you did everything by the book. You were active in school organizations, joined university politics, participated well in class and even topped your peers.  Alas! You have done everything to avoid any kind of mistake because you cannot afford to fail! You did well not to fail and you will be rewarded with a bright future, everybody said.

 

   WHAT A JOKE!

 

Do you know why A students work for C students?

Here’s a story. A group of researchers wanted to find out if above average intelligence was needed to be a successful investor/trader. The experiment consisted 40 people from different backgrounds and different levels of IQ. The game was real-time and with actual money to be invested then the people who went bankrupt got eliminated from the game. What researchers found out shocked them. The last 5 remaining people in the game neither were the smartest nor the most experienced! The ones with all the degrees and high IQ lost.

Conclusion…

It takes only average intelligence to succeed at anything (well, maybe not rocket science) but it also takes a lot of trial and error. Success is three steps forward and one step back. Everyone who is anyone will tell you that it takes one to embrace failures, admit mistakes, pick yourself up and do it again.

In our society where mistakes are frowned upon and must be avoided, we teach our kids to be safe, to risk nothing, to stop experimenting on what works and to be average. The real winners in life know that failure is necessary for success!

 But failure equals weakness! I don’t want to look weak! 

The greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan, said this: “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” 

Arnold Schwarzenegger had this to say about failure: “Anything I’ve ever attempted, I was always willing to fail. So you can’t always win, but don’t be afraid of making decisions. You can’t be paralyzed by fear of failure or you will never push yourself. You keep pushing because you believe in yourself and in your vision and you know that it is the right thing to do, and success will come. So don’t be afraid to fail.”

Think about it. Who is a success now that never failed in the past?

Success is to know that you also risk failing and failure is another stone to step on the path to success. In any case, people become stronger after a recent setback.  Weren’t you braver on your second attempt or smarter after your first business venture failed or wiser after your first breakup?

Failure is a natural. Everyone goes through it. Embrace it. Admit it. Learn from it. He, who never failed, never attempted to do something great. You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.

 

“When life knocks you down, try to land on your back. Because if you can look up, you can get up. Let your reason get you back up.”  – Les Brown

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Compounding Your Way to Millions

May 6, 2014 By Anton Consing Leave a Comment

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Ever wondered if there was a simple yet effective way to get out of debt, make millions and have financial freedom? What if there was a way to do all that and more? Well, thankfully there is such a way – Compounding interest.

Albert Einstein once said that compounding is the 8th wonder of the world and the greatest mathematical discovery of all time.

It has been the secret sauce to the formula of the very rich and works like magic to anyone who abides by its rules. In simple terms, compounding is making your money work for you by its ability to generate income and reinvesting its income to generate more income! Please note that this is not a get-rich-quick scheme but rather a process that involves a lot of patience and hard work. But the rewards in the end are far worth the wait.

Let me give you an example – Let’s say you are now 25 years old and you had an extra P500, 000 and you invested it in a fund or business that grows at 20% a year, how much money will you have by the time you reach 45? P2 million? P10 million? No! Your money will have an ending balance of P26,413,765.31! Sounds too good to be true? Not really. It’s because you sat tight and let your money be reinvested each year that you got your reward at the end. Lets look at it in another way. What if you didn’t need the money until you were 65 (40 years after you made your investment)? How much money will you have by then? The answer (drums please!): P1,395,373,996.28. You have not seen so many digits on your bank account have you? But this is true and it is real. You can be a billionaire literally just by sitting tight and letting your money compound over time.

Take a look at this other example.

If you bought van Gogh’s Irises in 1947 for $80,000 the next time it changed hands in 1987 (after 40 years) it was valued at $56 million. If you look at it sounds like a huge amount but further examination reveals that it has only a 17.7% compounding rate.*

BUT…

The problem with this is that first, it takes time, second not everyone can sit tight, and third, finding the right investment vehicle that generates your desired compound interest. The big question though is “is it possible?” A definite yes! The trick is to start now with whatever you have. It doesn’t have to be a big sum. You can by all means invest small sums every month every year and still end up pretty well. It’s your choice. And it doesn’t have to be forty years. I am just showing you what compounding is capable of and how to harness its powers is really up to you.

Is 20% compound interest too small? Maybe, maybe not. Is it possible to get 50% every year? Uhmm, it’s difficult but not entirely impossible. Ultimately you now have a very good idea how compounding works. Think of what you want or how much you want to have. Think of what kind of lifestyle you want in the future. Then think of how you can use compounding to achieve your desired goals in life. It can be through business, investments funds, paintings, real estate, writing a best seller etc. the list goes on. Whatever your profession is, use the power of compound interest and make it work to your advantage!

I’ll be writing more ways on how to make your money work for you so watch out for the next post! Good luck and may the power of compounding be with you!

Cheers!

*Trend Commandments by Michael Covel

Filed Under: Business, Entrepreneurship, Success

How do you know when KNOW you have a wrong person in your team?

May 4, 2014 By Sean Leave a Comment

Wrong Person in the Team

Two key questions can help.

First, if it were a hiring decision (rather than a “Should this person get off the bus?” decision), would you hire the person again?

Second, if the person came to tell you that he or she is leaving to pursue an exciting new opportunity, would you feel terrible disappointed or secretly relieved?

Make the right choice.

Read more of Sean’s Thoughts as an Entrepreneur here.

Filed Under: Management

Starting with the Right Vision

May 1, 2014 By Sean Leave a Comment

Vision Leaks

“I want you all to be superstars.”

We were in the town hall – mostly everyone was there listening to what I had to say.

“I want the world to see that each player in this team is a superstar.”

It was a dream I had and I was sharing it with them.

It was my vision for the team. And oh, what a vision it was!

A few months have passed since then – and now I’m thinking to myself if my vision still holds.

The Problem with Vision

As Bill Hybels popularly quotes: “Vision Leaks!”

You have to keep pouring into it because vision’s bucket has a small hole right at the bottom. And if you don’t work on putting in more vision, your vision will leak out and die.

Here’s the thing: I keep pouring a strong vision into a team of superstars. Powerful team players.

And while I know I can drive a team to be that way individually and integrally, I’ve missed one very important thing.

Loyalty.

To my utter surprise most of my teammates don’t get it. Commitment and loyalty doesn’t mean we’re friends no matter what (although of course that is a strong foundation of loyalty).

It means that you will do your best when push comes to shove to take on my vision and carry it forward – setting aside personal agenda, doubt and fear.

My team just doesn’t get it.

And right now I’m re-thinking my vision.

What would happen if I make a person in my team a superstar but the loyalty isn’t there?

What would happen if I make them all superstars?

It’s the test of trust – I’m a 100% trusting leader. I leave my wallet, cellphone, petty cash, jewelry and watch(es) all the time in the office. Just lying around somewhere.

Sometimes I even forget where I placed ’em.

They don’t get lost. I trust my team 100%.

The thing is, and I don’t know if it’s just true for people here in the Philippines – but things just get so damn sensitive and untrusting.

There’s this employee vs employer mindset that eat us up alive.

It’s not how we run things. I never even use the word ’employee’ when I’m facing a client and I talk about my team.

I use the word ‘teammates’. And I believe that with all my heart!

If I make disloyal people in my team superstars, they would push their own agenda ahead of the company – and probably take other superstar players with them.

Then I realize what a big mistake I’m making.

My mentors were right after all.

Superstars are for people who have proven their loyalty – through time, through critical situations, through working past their working hours, through staying with the company’s goals no matter what.

These are the people that I should keep pouring my vision on.

Vision leaks – and I should let it drain for those without the proper foundation of loyalty.

Vision leaks – and I’ll fill it up again and again for those who have proven that the company is more important than their own personal agendas.

Read more of Sean’s thoughts as an entrepreneur here.

Filed Under: Management Tagged With: business, entrepreneurship, seo, trust, vision

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