Do you want to be a Boss or a Leader? The choice can lead to a huge impact on the organization and the success of your team. Also, your choice can either lead to a Functional Team or a Dysfunctional Team. Hopefully you choose to be a leader! Here are 6 ways you can become a Successful Leader.
 

• Inspiring Commitment—Motivate employees and recognize others’ achievements. When people are motivated they perform at a higher level. You can do this by offering a pleasant environment to work in; providing positive feedback; and being a respectful, honest, and supportive manager. Also, recognize other people’s achievements. No one wants to work for a boss that takes credit for their ideas and use the word “I” in the work performed by the team. The sincere “thank you” and “good job” can go along way with motivating employees.
   
• Lead Employees—Act with fairness and delegate effectively. Ever have the boss who had favorites? Did you hate it? Most likely you did unless you were their favorite. Playing favorites quickly ruins how a team operates and works together and is hard to repair once the damage is done. Treat all your employees fair and don’t play favorites. Hold each person accountable for their actions in a consistent manner. Also, delegate effectively. Check out the Delegators Dozen: A Preparation Checklist.
  

We’re used to thinking of branding as it relates to companies and products – such as Starbucks and Hershey Chocolate. Though branding goes beyond that. We all have a personal brand – we are individuals with unique qualities.

What do I mean by personal branding? It is creating and promoting who you are and the values you live by. Your brand is a unique blend of skills and experiences that makes up who you are.

What will it do for you? If will distinguish you from other professionals in your career.

How can you start creating a personal brand for yourself? Here are 3 ways to begin the process:

1. Think of yourself as a brand – Take a step back and think what you want people to think of when they hear your name. If you died today what would you want someone to say about you at your funeral? If you want to be recognized by a certain skill what qualities would you want to be associated to that brand? One major factor in this is to remain authentic. People will catch a person being a fake very quickly 
   
2. Know where you stand online – In today’s age we are able to share information quickly online Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, snapchat, etc. Remember it is easy for people to do a google search and find so much information on you. Have you done a google search on your name recently? I use do this this frequently just see what it said. Google has a great feature that you can create alerts that will email you for searches you set up. Google yourself and setup alerts your name on a regular basis. You might be surprised what shows up.                       
   
3. Create a personal website – I recently did this step. Creating a personal website is one of the best ways for you to show up in search engines. Buying a domain is pretty cheap and if you can get one that easily identifies who you are even the better. You do not have to go crazy on a website it can be real simple and include only a couple pages including resume, brief about you section, social platforms, and a contact page. Over time you can grow your website.
   

I can’t believe it is Day 6 in our series and it is coming to a close. So know I get to ask you some questions:
 

• Do you live to work or work to live?
• What age do you want to retire at?
• How long to do you plan on staying at your current job?
• Do you plan to retire from the company you currently work at?
• Do you think you will be able to afford to retire when you want to?

 
All these can be difficult questions to answer and everyone will be different. And it doesn’t matter what you age is.
 
We have been talking about becoming financially free and it doesn’t stop at that point. You will want to look into the future and determine what you want in life. Your individual goals will determine the paths you take. I am not a financial advisor so I can’t tell you what you should do to get the things you want later. But I can say keeping money under your mattress or even in a savings account isn’t going to be you best choice. So reach out to your company and determine the retirement options they offer and take advantage of the 401K or other retirement options they offer. Don’t leave money on the table which we spoke about on Day 4.
 
Also, reach out to a local financial advisor to find out the various options you have to save. Yes the stock market has its ups and downs but we are not putting money there for tomorrow but years down the line. This will provide the best return for your investment and your financial planner will guide you along the way. Take my advice that even though technology is great and you can find so many online brokerage accounts to buy and sell stocks a financial planner is well worth the visit. The best ones will work with you to understand your goals, build a plan, and meet with you frequently to determine any changes and review your progress.
 
Remember, you are in control of your future!

We all want financial stability in our life and it’s an important one. A good way to get financial stability is to dig your way out of credit card debt. Currently credit card interest is high and you could be paying over 20% a year on your debt. If you are only paying the minimal payment it most likely will take over 30 years to pay it off. That is if you are not continuing to use your credit card.

There are multiple approaches you can take to pay off the debt whether you owe $5,000 or $50,000. Here are five tips to get you out of debt.

1. Know the amount you owe

Before you can start paying off the debt you need to take inventory into how much you owe at this point in time. This step is important because you most likely owe more than you think. You might be thinking you have $5,000 but in reality you have $9,000. So pull out your most recent statements and determine how much you owe.

2. Know your score

We all have a score! Remember, when you were in high school you got your GPA well now it is your FICO score. There are three main credit reporting agencies that collect your data that lender’s use with other information to determine whether to extend credit.  Check out creditkarma.com where you can find your score and view your credit report for free!! The higher the score the better which means better credit opportunities. Once you know your score reach out to your credit card companies and try to negotiate a lower interest rate. Even one or two percentage points can make a big difference saving possible hundreds of dollars.

3. Determine your payoff method

There are two common credit card payoff methods. The first is to out all your extra cash into the highest-interest card while paying the minimums on the others -- which is the fastest way, overall, to lower your debt. Once the first card is paid off, you have even more extra cash, and should apply it to the card with the next-highest rate, and so on, creating a debt payoff snowball effect. A second strategy is to pay off your card with the lowest balance first while continuing to pay the minimums on the others. Though this is not the most cost-effective way to banish your debt, it's the fastest way to eliminate debt on a single card, and it can be a psychological boost to eliminate a bill for good.

4. Freeze the cards

Read fully on this one!! If you have multiple credit cards and paying off your debt you don’t want to be tempted in still using them. Keep on credit card that has remaining credit available for emergency use only. This would be a hospital visit and not the “I want to get my nails” done emergency. The other cards the best things to do are cut them up and throw them away. But another option is to fill a container with water, put the credit cards in, and then freeze. This way if you are tempted to use the credit cards you will have to wait till it thaws which will be time for you to possibly change your mind.

5. Know you progress

While you don't want to spend every day focusing and stressing over your bills, keep an eye on your spending. Go back every few months to check your progress. Remember the debt didn’t happen overnight. So it took you awhile to get into debt, and it's going to take you awhile to get out of it.