What is one thing that all successful entrepreneurs have in common? A high-value for self-education.

A new book titled: ‘Secrets of Male Entrepreneurs Exposed!’ takes people up-close and personal with sixteen of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs, including: Brad Sugars, Siimon Reynolds, Jim Penman, Phillip Mills, Justin Herald and others. In a surprisingly candid way each contributor shares their own unique wealth strategy and dozens of hints and tips from a culminated 250 years of business experience.

A high failure rate of new businesses can be explained by peoples’ intent to invest more in their business than themselves. Successful entrepreneurs understand the value of self-education and are willing to invest firstly in themselves before they do anything with a business. A major Australian financial institution conducted a study that concluded that business owners who attend just one seminar or training course every year would drastically improve their chances of business success. Findings indicated a 70% improvement is possible by attending a seminar or course in a twelve month period.

Books, CDs, tapes, and seminars are great sources for information and are channels used by entrepreneurs to further their success. In this book they tell their stories in an effort to put an end to the myths and fallacies that surround self-education. The truth is: self-education will help you.

The following five (5) points are the author’s perspective on how self-education can help you achieve success.

1. Invest in yourself

Successful entrepreneurs believe that the best investment in life is education. And it should start with you. They understand the importance of obtaining as much knowledge as you can before investing in your own business. One particular entrepreneur admits to reading more than 930 books and is still reading.

Action International founder, Brad Sugars, says that you should invest in yourself before you invest in a business. You are your business’ best asset.

2. Seek credible resources

The self-help movement has gained momentum in recent times and has seen an influx of material in the market. Some of these materials are more effective than others and will serve different purposes. Successful entrepreneurs are able to execute their gut instinct when seeking out credible resources that aim to inspire and ultimately motivate through the recount of various success stories.

3. Find out what you don’t know

It is impossible for entrepreneurs to be an expert in all areas of their business, especially when starting up. Successful entrepreneurs are aware of their weaknesses and will fill the knowledge gap by seeking out mentors through books, CDs, tapes and seminars.

When Phillip Mills started the Les Mills programs, he admits that he had no skills. His solution: read! He is an obsessive reader of both business and creative texts and will send copies of anything great he reads to the managers in all of his companies. All the information is out there.

4. Make effective decisions

By learning about the success and failure of successful entrepreneurs, you minimise the ‘trial and error’ phase of your business. As such, you can get ahead quicker without wasting as much time and money. Successful entrepreneurs are capable of drawing on information and knowledge in order to make effective decisions. By studying decisions made by other entrepreneurs you can ensure that the same mistake is not made.

Domenic Carosa, destra Corporation co-founder, says that he often makes decisions based on the failures and successes made by other companies. He emphasises the importance of reading and says that you will never know everything.

5. Fuel for instinct

Successful entrepreneurs surround themselves with self-educational resources and being around this information builds the right mentality for success. They access these materials to develop their gut instinct and provide drive - two essential qualities of a successful entrepreneur.

In Summary

Self education is critical to the success of any person. While entrepreneurs trust their instinct, the truth is, they also resort to educational material to ensure they have all the knowledge needed on a particular topic. Myths that dispel education as being irrelevant will lead to failure. For successful people, self-education is the ultimate investment.

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Dale Beaumont is a young entrepreneur and the creator of the ‘Secrets Exposed’ series. Having now released over 15 best-selling business books (available in bookstores across Australia or from www.SecretsExposed.com.au). Dale has been featured in all forms of the media and has become a sought-after speaker. To discover more about Dale’s books, read his blog or to download other free articles and resources, please visit; www.DaleBeaumont.com.

Have you ever read a business success story and began comparing specific facts to isolated details of your own situation? His parents got divorce when he was young, so did mine… she changed her career three times before starting her own business, me to… we both have the same last name!

Sometimes we do this to marvel at the similarities, other times we do it to convince ourselves that we too have what it takes to be successful. To start a business or to continue on a path to success is a vulnerable act, which may result in failure. By seeking out similarities with successful people we are essentially seeking out a reason to embrace that vulnerability.

The thing is, successful entrepreneurs and business owners come from a range of backgrounds, with different experiences and a myriad of strengths and weaknesses, just like you. However, what distinguishes successful entrepreneurs from everyone else are their unique characteristics or qualities.

I started thinking about this after I published my first book in the ‘Secrets Exposed!’ Series. Flicking through the pages, I asked myself ‘what did I learn from this book?’ After interviewing over thirty of Australia’s successful entrepreneurs, the single biggest factor that stood out was the quality - resilience.

In other words, successful entrepreneurs have the ability to bounce back. They aren’t necessarily more knowledgeable or have more experience, but they do understand that every challenge they face has the purpose of helping them grow and develop.

For me, this is what the entrepreneur is all about. For them, it is about overcoming obstacles, beating setbacks, and moving forward. They have the attitude and the mindset to say: ‘Bring it on!’ whenever they are faced with a challenge.

Understand that even successful entrepreneurs need to overcome obstacles. Here are some examples:

¥ One year after Tim Pethick launched his business, 16,000 bottles of nudie fruit juice were being purchased everyday. However, his success was interrupted when, in 2004, Pethick’s manufacturing plant mysteriously burnt down. As he was forced to stand outside the factory and watch it burn, Pethick turned to his Marketing Director and said: “Well, tomorrow we’d better start looking for another factory.” Less than a year later, Pethick rebuilt the company bigger, stronger and more profitable than it was before.

¥ Trevor Choy, founder of Choy Lawyers, is an example of entrepreneurs demonstrating resilience. Choy had a partner, who was also a friend, who stole a large sum of money that sent the company into insolvency. Today, Choy Lawyers are regarded as Australia’s leading experts on advertising and branding law.

¥ Suzi Dafnis, owner of Pow Wow Events, lost $40,000 on her first venture, which put her into a hole that took two years to get out of. Today the company occupies more than 50 per cent of the market in the financial education and personal development segment.

¥ After a messy divorce, Sandy found herself $100,000 in debt, with two small children to support on a $15,000 a year government benefit. After founding her multi-million dollar business, Wildly Wealthy Women, Sandy now teaches tens of thousands of people from over 88 countries about the power of attracting wealth.

¥ For property investor, John Fitzgerald, owner of JLF Corporation, his challenges began at a very young age. His father died when he was eight, he was sent to a boarding school when he was ten (where the first two or three years were tough), and at seventeen he found himself on the Gold Coast, alone, with one knapsack and a couple of hundred dollars. Since then, he has bought, sold and developed more than 5,000 properties and his business consists of 22 companies and turns over $100 million per year.

For me, examples like these capture the true spirit of the entrepreneur. Not only are they resilient, but they embrace the challenges and obstacles placed before them. Entrepreneurs understand that obstacles will always be there, so to be successful you need to become accustomed to challenges. And if you can’t, you need to learn because problems and setbacks are as certain as taxes and death in the business environment.

One of the best ways to handle challenges and obstacles is to ask yourself questions. Some questions to help you adopt a more positive approach to challenges include:

¥ What can I learn from this?
¥ What’s great about this challenge?
¥ What am I willing to do to make it the way I want?
¥ How can I enjoy this process?

Understand that overwhelmed with frustration and a lack of options, we forget to ask these questions. You need to constantly ask these questions in order to change the way you perceive challenges. When you are able to view challenges positively, you will also be able to identify the opportunities and benefits that come from them.

In Summary

Next time you’re reading about the success of another person, be it about business or life in general, take notice of those unique qualities. If you want to compare yourself with these people, then look at qualities rather than circumstances. Are you motivated like them? Do you have a passion? Can you communicate well?

And perhaps more importantly: are you resilient? Know that smooth seas never made a skilled sailor, so learn to embrace challenges.

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Dale Beaumont is a young entrepreneur and the creator of the ‘Secrets Exposed’ series. Having now released over 15 best-selling business books (available in bookstores across Australia or from www.SecretsExposed.com.au). Dale has been featured in all forms of the media and has become a sought-after speaker. To discover more about Dale’s books, read his blog or to download other free articles and resources, please visit; www.DaleBeaumont.com.