9 things a-list entrepreneurs absolutely refuse to do

You’ve probably come across a few a-list entrepreneurs on Pinterest, in Facebook groups or, more recently, on Periscope.

They’re the ones who are at the top of their game, standing tall above the rest, and making innovative steps in the right direction.

Everything they touch seems to turn to gold and they seem to be successful with every newsletter, every new course, every new client.

But guess what?

You can be just like them. They’re people, just like you.

They don’t have superpowers; they just have a specific way of working.

They’re focused on everything they do, everything has a purpose, and they know exactly where they want to be and when.

There’s also a few things they absolutely won’t do.

Why? Because they know want they want and they won’t let anything stand in their way.

So, what do a-list entrepreneurs absolutely refuse to do?

1. Make Excuses

A-list entrepreneurs won’t ever make excuses. Whether they’ve made a mistake or have spoken out of turn, they won’t backtrack. Instead, they take responsibility for their actions. They own everything they do and they’re proud to do this – because it’s an extension of themselves and their brand.

Yes, they’ll stumble off course every now and again, but they’ll fully admit when they’re wrong. It’s this open and honest nature that helps a-list entrepreneurs succeed.

Think about it: you’re way more likely to connect with someone who is humble and down to earth. Someone who owns up to their mistakes and never blames anyone else for their wrongdoings, right?

Exactly.

This is how entrepreneurs rise to the top of their game; through community building and creating a solid fan base who know and trust them.

2. Give Up Sleep

Sleep is so important to us, especially if we’re mad busy with our businesses and everything else we have to juggle. Sleep helps us rejuvenate and keeps us from going stir crazy.

The very best entrepreneurs know this. They know that sleep helps them function; helps them to get everything done; and helps boost their creativity and keep them motivated, so they absolutely will not sacrifice it.

To build a stable, lasting business you have to create an environment that’s sustainable in a long-term timeframe, and sacrificing sleep is definitely not sustainable. To get to the lifestyle you ultimately want, you have to emanate it from the start. That means carrying out business and other tasks the same way as you want to be doing them five or ten years down the line.

Ask yourself this: will you be able to sustain the lifestyle you’re living now a few years down the line, or could you do with a couple more hours sleep every night?!

3. Surround Themselves with Negative People

Motivational speaker Jim Rohn famously said that “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

If two or three of those people drag down your motivation and inspiration levels, you’ll start noticing it. Instead, surround yourself with people who build you up, who are your mini-cheerleaders, and who can spin anything into a positive situation.

This is exactly what a-list entrepreneurs do. They create communities and mastermind groups filled with motivated, successful, and positive people because they know how well this will impact their business.

4. Let Failure Stop Them

Everyone fails. Even the most successful people in the world have failed on several occasions throughout their life. It’s impossible to NOT fail. When you start to realise that, it gets less and less scary.

And, even better – if you realise how much you can grow from your failures, you’re onto a winner.

The very best entrepreneurs know this. They understand that to move forward they have to experiment, to fail, and to pick themselves up and try again. But they are more than willing to do this. In fact, they’re frothing at the bit to do this.

When they fail they know at least they’ve tried, and at least they’ve eradicated one method that doesn’t work – leaving more room for them to find the right, successful path.

5. Cut Corners

A-list entrepreneurs know that every single thing they do reflects on their brand, and slacking for even a moment could be all it takes for their business to come crashing down around them.

That means they won’t take any short cuts when it comes to pleasing clients and customers. They won’t do a half-assed job because it’s quicker or because they can’t be bothered to give it their full attention.

Even when they’re feeling low and tired, the very best entrepreneurs will put their all into everything they do. Cutting corners isn’t an option for them, because cutting corners means publicly sacrificing the quality of their business.

6. Think Small

Great entrepreneurs are huge dreamers. They think big and have the craziest dreams. Nothing is too obscure or too high-flying to happen. But instead of simply setting their eyes on a goal and hoping for it to come true, a-list entrepreneurs will start working out the steps they need to take to get there.

They know that simply having big dreams isn’t enough, especially because they know that, with a little effort, they can easily reach them.

Setting big goals with smaller checkpoints along the way is a sure-fire sign of a great entrepreneur.

7. Sacrifice Their Values and Ethics

No matter how desperately they need money or how much they’d love to work with a brand, the best entrepreneurs won’t sacrifice their values and ethics for the sake of a pretty penny.

Instead, they’ll politely decline, state why they’ve chosen to pass on the opportunity, and move on to the next prospect. They are dignified when they state their opinion and definitely won’t call anyone out publicly, but they will, no matter what, stand by what they believe in.

8.Let Other People Determine Their Success

The internet has brought about a world where people think it’s okay to judge everyone else’s success. We put our lives online to be devoured by strangers, and it’s the price we pay to do the jobs we love.

But rather than let faceless people determine their worth and success, a-list entrepreneurs do that all by themselves. They are the only person who can judge their success, and they know exactly what success means for them, whether it’s monetary checkpoints or the opportunity to work with a world-famous client.

9. Not Learn from Their Mistakes

The most successful entrepreneurs know full well that they’ll make tonnes of mistakes on their business journey. But they also know that they’ll be able to learn valuable lessons from these mistakes.

Rather than scratch them off as another failure, they’ll dig deep to discover what they can do differently next time.

You see? There is no special chromosome that determines whether you’ll be a fantastic entrepreneur or not, it’s all about how you present yourself and your business. It’s about being curious and looking for the lessons in every opportunity you take, but also knowing when to say no and to step away.

What do you think makes a successful entrepreneur?