Five,Ways,Boost,Your,Initiativ DIY Five Ways To Boost Your Initiative FAST!

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*Article Use Guidelines*This copyrighted article is free for you to use as content inopt-in publications, or on your Web site. When you use it in opt-in publications, or on a Web site, please include the resourcebox. However, please do not charge for it. Please DO NOT include it inCD compilations, paid-subscription sites or in publications forwhich you charge. **Summary: Are you a self-starter? Discover how you can increase your self-confidence (and change your life) by boosting your initiative.Category: Small Business, Marketing, WritingWords: 1000Five Ways To Boost Your Initiative FAST!Copyright © 2003 by Angela Booth The educational system in the western world has a lot to answerfor. It crushes the initiative right out of people. We get manyquestions from people who come to our Digital-e site. They wantto work for themselves, or set up as a freelancer, or write abook. Our answers to these questions can be summed up by: "Useyour initiative. Get creative. Anything you do will give youfeedback, and then you can do another thing, and another."For example, I've had several people request more info aboutwriting proposals in response to my proposal-writing article:"How To Write A Proposal To Get Freelance Work" ---http://www.digital-e.biz/art_writing8.html The word "proposal" sounds official. Surely there are rules towriting proposals? People want to know what the rules are, sothey can do it right.Here's a response I sent recently:>> Don't get hung up on the word "proposal". The mini-proposals Idescribe in the article are LETTERS first and foremost.Like---Dear person at this businessYour business would be greatly enhanced and you would make muchmore money if ---X. (Or you have this problem that needs fixing.)I can do this for you.You can get in touch with me at/ by ---Y.See?No big deal. Send a letter. :-) It should take you all of 10 minsmax to create one of these things. >>Here's a partial dictionary definition of "initiative":1. The power or ability to begin or to follow throughenergetically with a plan or task; enterprise and determination. 2. A beginning or introductory step; an opening move: took theinitiative in trying to solve the problem. From: http://dictionary.reference.com/ Success begins when you take the initiative. Here's how to boostyour initiative FAST: => Tactic One: Realize there are no rulesIn business, there's one rule: "whatever works". As long as youdon't break any laws, you get to make up your own rules as you goalong.In the writing field, it seems as if there are a hundred and onerules for manuscript formatting, for approaching markets, forthis and for that. You can safely ignore ALL of the writing rules--- you're an individual. Do it your way.For example, there's a no-simultaneous-submissions rule whichbook publishers espouse. This is a problem for writers becausebook publishers will take anywhere from one month to one year (oreven longer) to respond to any book proposal you send them. Sinceyou might have to make 20 submissions before you get a publisher,this rule does not work for writers, so you can ignore it.Professional writers become professionals by ignoring junk ruleslike this, and what's more, publishers expect them to ignorethese so-called rules. When you want to do something like send a proposal, just figureout how you want the other party to respond, and then work outhow you might get that response. Then DO something. Once you'vedone something, you'll get feedback, and you can go on fromthere.=> Tactic Two: Keep learningLearn something new every year. Take courses. The Internet hasmade this easy --- you can learn from the comfort of your officechair. Take the time to learn how professionals do the thingsthat you're puzzling about.For example, on Digital-e we've got several email courses thathave been well received:http://www.digital-e.biz/ecourses.html We've even got FREE courses.Many, many other sites have courses which will help you along theroad to success. Every course you take will give you insights andknowledge. If you're serious about living your life well andachieving success, you must keep learning.Do you read? All successful people read constantly. Reading's apainless way to learn. Anyone, no matter how busy they are, hastime to read. => Tactic Three: Get creative. Make lists of things to TRY thenWORK the listAsk yourself questions, like: "How might I do this?"Then make a list of things you could try. Strive for creativity. I love this story in Inc about an ice-cream seller who hiresbased on how creative potential staffers can get with a whitepaper bag:http://www.inc.com/articles/marketing/market_methods/grassroots/11375.html (You may need to paste this long URL into your browser.)Keep listing until you have at least 20 things you could try.Then use your intuition to pick one item from your list and doit. => Tactic Four: Rely on feedbackWhen you work your list, you will get feedback. (You can’t getfeedback unless you do something.) Feedback is merely guidance.It will show you which areas are productive, and which are not.=> Tactic Five: He/ she who hesitates gets run over by a truck --- ASKThis is another way of saying "work your list". Ask people whocan directly help you. If you want to sell something to a companybased on a proposal, call the company and say: "I'd like to sendyou a proposal to do X. What should I include in the proposal?"Or perhaps you want to sell images to an image library. Call animage library. Pick up the phone and tell the person on the otherend what you want to do. That person will pass you on to anotherperson. And maybe another. But you'll find out how you do it.Then, just do it.If you're a writer, and you want to write a children's book, pickup the phone and call the publisher of a book you enjoyedreading. You may get voice mail. If so, leave a message. If youdon’t get a response within a week or two (people are alwaysbusy, so don’t take it personally) send a email message, or aletter or a fax. Persist.Try the above five tactics. If you try even ONE of them, Ipromise you that your life will change. ***Resource box: if using, please include*** Digital-e: For writers and creatives.Ebooks, free ezines, Creatives Club.Love to write?Turn your talent into a business!http://www.digital-e.biz/