Living Like A Boss: How To Run Your Life Like A Business

Get Competitive

Beyonce’s words of wisdom on success? “Successful people are driven, which allows them to make a total commitment to their dreams.” If businesses don’t grow, they die. Take a page from ‘Yonce’s book, set a goal and devote yourself to it. When you reach that goal, set a new one — but pat yourself on the back first.

Live A Life That You Love

Oprah says, “What I know is, is that if you do work that you love, and the work fulfills you, the rest will come.”

Even if you have to temporarily settle for a job that you don’t love, the same doesn’t have to be true for your life. Spend your time living the life you always wanted and you’ll be happier than you ever imagined.

Pounce On Opportunities

Employees who find ways for the company to get ahead get a promotion.

Promote yourself in your personal life by seizing every opportunity to get ahead. It’s #1 in the life playbook of lots of up and coming celebrities. Elisabeth Hasselbeck got her job on The View with no journalism experience on her resume and a stint on Survivor.

Bethenny Frankel flipped a spot on The Real Housewives of New York City into a diet empire. But they never would have had the opportunity if they hadn’t seized it themselves.

Don’t Let The Competition Shake You

“Don’t take anything personally.” It’s Queen Latifah’s advice for anyone who is all-too-aware of the haters out there. When ad campaigns get messy, businesses don’t get down they get better.

Make Your Health A Priority

Only supply candy in your vending machines and the employees will complain. And a healthy meal plan isn’t just important for employees. Eat and sleep well and your physical and mental health will help you stay at the top of your game.

Develop Your Personal Brand

Sometimes the first step to getting where you’re going is knowing who you are. Align your personal brand with your passion — whether it’s the A-list or executive offices — and you’ll be surprised how fast your star can rise.

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Keep A Company Newsletter

Company newsletters remind employees that a company is headed in the right direction, reaching it’s goals and setting new ones. Don’t just use your Instagram page for selfies and shots of you favorite brunch pancakes.

Capture the important milestones too so that when the going gets tough you can scroll back and remind yourself of how far you’ve come.

Celebrate

Successful companies have black tie events for mergers, acquisitions and all of the major events in the company’s life. It’s not just an excuse to pass the champagne.

A celebration is a major moral booster and an incentive to keep moving toward the next opportunity to pat yourself on the back. Don’t just save your parties for birthdays. Live a life with a lot more to celebrate than getting older.

Find A Mentor

If you have places in your life or business that you need to be, you don’t have time to waste reinventing the wheel.

When KeKe Palmer was offered her own talk show Just KeKe, she turned to her mentor Queen Latifah. Her advice? “She said I [should] just be myself – my natural personality.”

Network

Smart businesses know it’s the key to staying competitive. And having friends in the right places can help keep your life where you want it to be headed.

And networking is exactly how Samira Wiley got the part of Poussey on Orange Is The New Black. A friend from Julliard let her know about auditions for the show, and her friend Danielle Brooks helped her run lines for the part!

Don’t Seek Confrontation

There’s one reason why offices frown on conflict in the office: it gets in the way of productivity. Goal oriented people don’t have time for distractions.

The Single Moms Club star Nia Long says she stays out of the celebrity gossip circles because she has her mind on her career and raising her sons.

Manage Your Money

You can’t run a business into the black if your finances aren’t in order.

The same goes for money matters in your personal life. To get ahead financially, you need written records of what’s going in and coming out so you know how to get ahead. Just ask Jay-Z. He told Vanity Fair,

“I know about budgets. I was a drug dealer. To be in a drug deal, you need to know what you can spend, what you need to re-up.”

Jay says it’s that simple business tool — keeping track of your money — that helped him build the multi-million dollar business he’s at the helm of now.

Don’t Be Afraid To Change

The only thing more important to a business than branding is re-branding. If things aren’t going the way you love, never be afraid to flip the script to move forward.

Just ask Jay:

“I’ve always wanted to stay true to myself, and I’ve managed to do that. People have to accept that. I collect art, and I drink wine . . . things that I like that I had never been exposed to.”

Only Pursue Your Passions

It’s Def Jam and Phat Farm founder best advice for success:

“I’m an entrepreneur who is moved by passion, but not numbers. I am constantly being approached with business ideas that will make money, but if I don’t believe in the business, I won’t do it.”