It’s always best to be someone who makes good things happen. This creates energy, activity, goodwill and ultimately, results and success. When you are a catalyst, you live by the code “Give to Get.” You draw so much opportunity to you because of what you do.
So, are you a catalyst?
A catalyst is a “person whose talk, enthusiasm, or energy causes others to be more friendly, enthusiastic, or energetic or that precipitates an event or change”. A catalyst is also someone who can pick up the phone and make a key introduction or make a problem go away. Someone who can do that today has high brand value and assets.
Catalysts move, shape and shake things that positively influence others. Many are examples of ordinary people who do extraordinary things like the CNN Heroes or the Time 100 people who inspire us, entertain us, challenge us and change our world.
Here are the 6 ways to become a catalyst in 2013.
Ignite Passion. There is now a global event, organized by volunteers, where participants are given five minutes to speak about their ideas and personal or professional passions. Five minutes to move others and ignite others to follow their passions! What are yours? Discover them, live them, and share them more!
Inspire Others. Share your experiences, triumphs, challenges, successes and failures with others who may be going through difficult things. We need to know that we are not alone, unique and hopeless. Get started blogging to inspire others about your business and why you love what you do.
Innovate New Ideas, Things. Every year several websites honor people and companies who create, design and invent new things! People with crazy ideas, brilliant ideas, wacky ideas and smart ideas to make our lives easier, better and more fun. If you have some, share them, develop them, apply them and watch what can happen! Check in to see Entreprenuer.com most brilliant companies, SmallBizTrends.com Top 100 Small Business Champions 2012, Econsultancy.com Innovation Awards for 2012.
Interact With Others. Ramp up your in-person and online networking. Get more personal with people. Interact with more people about what you are doing and believe in, and show more interest in what they are doing. Use MORE social media. Pick two networking sites that you are comfortable with and enjoy and master them; then add others. Build your reach and impact through more personalized social interaction and valuable content.
Infuse Emotion. Infuse is a verb, an action word that describes how we can affect, instill, pervade someone or something, as in good will, good humor, good confidence. Our words and actions do this. How we serve and help others, random acts of kindness, giving back, paying forward all allow us to infuse. Kindness is the most powerful noun in the dictionary!
Inform and Educate. The most transformative tool in the world is education. Provide good, solid information and resources that inform and educate people, and help them learn. It doesn’t matter what your niche or specialty is, there is always someone that can benefit from it. Blog more, speak more, do more podcasts in 2013.
We all want to make more things happen in our lives. It begins with me and continues with we.
Be it, live it, do it.
About the author: Deborah Shane is an expert in how to “Plug In and Power Up Your Brand”
She had transformed herself from a rockin’ singer/published songwriter, teacher, and award-winning broadcast radio sales professional into a Career Transition Author, Personal Branding Strategist, Radio Host, Small Business Champion and internationally published writer and speaker. For more information www.deborahshanetoolbox.com
This article is from the SmallBizLady special blog series: 31 Ways to Boost Your Small Business in 2013. #Boost2013
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I really like the first suggestion. I am going to work on my 5 minute speech about my passion so I can inspire and ignite the fire in others. The series is great.
Vernetta, nothing is more magnetic than articulating your passion. It will draw someone into you like nothing else.
I like your post and your ideas for how to become a catalyst. I think a key to inspiring and touching others is to be real when you communicate. I’m not talking about venting and sharing everything you think and feel. However, if you can show some of your vulnerabilities, it causes a trust to begin to form between you and the person you are sharing with. This trust is the foundation of a true relationship. These relationships can lead to many good things both personally and professionally. Thanks for good suggestions. I plan to move in these directions in 2013,
Mary, the more authentic we are with each other, the more we can really help each other. People want to be a part of someone who is real.
I almost thought I was reading about the series “Scandal” for a moment ~ having an Olivia Pope moment with the fix things, solve problems by picking up the phone. Nevertheless, that is what many of us do.
Inform and Educate really nudged be to share my passion as an educator more consistently. Often times we tend to shift lanes to support, build and grow… when we only need to transfer those energies in new ways more often.
Thanks for the great advice in each of the categories.
LaTonia, thanks for your fun comment. People love to be around people who are problem solvers, especially working problems out with others. Brainstorming solutions is so powerful.