Of course, I’m being tongue-in-cheek. I’m not suggesting that you actually become an active member of the sex industry, but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t market yourself to the extent that people would want to label you as a “whore.” What does that actually mean though?

People can only remember and follow you if they actually know about you. Why wait for other people to spread the word virally, when you can do some the talking yourself? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a Rockstar doing their own talking and marketing―so long as your marketing efforts are truthful and you’re being yourself, of course. I believe in taking some control over what is said about you. Plus, sitting back and waiting for things to happen virally is a little too passive for my inner Rockstar.

Ultimately, if others want to play “pin the label” on you, then let them waste their time. You’ll be too busy telling other people how to be a (Whore)Rockstar.

In other words, anyone can learn most of the same skills that you would attribute to your average, successful entrepreneur.

One of the skills that I’d associate with most Rockstar entrepreneurs is the ability to be a visionary in terms of the strategies, processes and ideas that are implemented within their businesses. In a world where most problems have already been solved, it is essential to be unique and creative in terms of the products and services that one provides to consumers.

The only way to achieve that level of uniqueness and creativity is through being able to have a vision of where the business should be going in future (and then making your business decisions accordingly).

Getting back to the point I made at the beginning of Rockstar Business: I don’t necessarily think that all Rockstar entrepreneurs are born as visionaries. If I take myself as an example, I definitely don’t consider myself a visionary, even though I have been able to make sound decisions now (based on a future idea or vision) that have turned out to be great down the line.

The trick is to allow yourself to be a visionary by allowing yourself to dream.

I find that a lot of people have a lot of great ideas, but they somehow tend to limit those ideas (in terms of never pursuing them), because they become “realistic” (and negative) before they have even had the opportunity to flesh out those ideas.

Most of the future-defining ideas that have been concocted by true visionaries weren’t very realistic at first. Just because some ideas don’t seem practical at first shouldn’t prevent you from exploring them in more detail. I believe that every successful entrepreneur is also a dreamer at heart, which means that every one of us should also be able to be a visionary. I also believe that every great business has been built on a dream.

Allow yourself to dream. Allow yourself to be creative and more importantly, allow yourself to become a visionary. It only takes one Rockstar idea to turn into a successful business to convince others that you are indeed a true visionary.

Rockstars enjoy having their ideas challenged because they know that challenging ideas propels their evolution. 
When someone challenges our ideas and viewpoints and those challenges hold constructive substance and value, we are afforded the opportunity to revise and improve our original ideas or opinions. Rockstars call these types of constructive challenges “inspirational interactions.”

People are traditionally the best source of inspirational interactions. Individuals’ differing views, beliefs and opinions mean that wherever you go, as a Rockstar, you’re bound to find someone to challenge you.  

The goal―what we as Rockstars strive to do―is to be open to these interactions; to put our ego and arrogance aside and hear what the other party is saying. We do so because questions and debate surrounding an idea can strengthen it, help us pinpoint its issues or potential issues, and spark off an even more powerful idea.

Get Out More

The biggest challenge in coming across these inspirational interactions is to actually get yourself out of the office, away from the desk and to free yourself from your surroundings a little. Just as you can have inspirational interactions within those spaces, it’s likely that you’re so accustomed to routine interactions around the office by now that you’ve been blunted from seeing their real potential. By actually putting yourself in other environments and interacting with different people, you’re much more likely to gain that inspiration.

Going out can mean hooking up with some like-minded business friends or just running out for a cup of coffee, even if you need to take your laptop along. Just a small change in scenery or a shakeup in your routine should get some other ideas working in your mind.

The bottom line seems to be that inspiration is not always in the things we look at every day, because we’re often just “too close” to those things to view them holistically and objectively. Rockstars understand that a little break within their routines should be more than enough kindling to create a few sparks of inspiration.
 

As Rockstars we are often involved with more than one project at the same time. The level of time and energy invested in each project will differ, Rockstars feel passionately about each and every one of them.  
Old school conservatism advocates focusing on one project that utilises the individual’s core competencies. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this approach; apart, of course, from the fact that it’s not Rockstar at all!

A Rockstar attribute is our need for speed―we like things to happen quickly. We lose interest when life, projects and people don’t move fast enough. One project is (in most cases) simply not enough to keep a us occupied. Multi-projecting is what keeps Rockstars sane and it distracts us from the destruction that accompanies boredom. 

For Rockstars to effectively multi-project, there needs to be one main project―the sustainable business―consuming 80% of our working time. Here, it is business as usual, allowing the Rockstar to live life and meet responsibilities. The remaining 20% should consist of side-projects and reflect the Rockstar’s interests and passions. It’s this 20% that keeps the Rockstar refreshed, inspired, creative and a step ahead of the game.  

It can be tempting, especially when you’re just starting out, to pretend to be someone or something that you’re not.

Often and when there’s something business related to be gained, we doubt ourselves and our ability. We replace self-belief with the belief that becoming someone or something―other than who we are―will (in given circumstances) result in more business. But in reality, attempting to become someone that you are not won’t result in more business and it certainly won’t result in the right type of business.

Your brand is as much about who you are as it is about who you’re not. Be yourself and leverage that brand to its fullest potential.

It is so important when you focus on personal branding that you don’t betray who you are and what you stand for, as your branding would be superficial and flimsy without these values (which serve as a kind of backbone). This is especially significant when you consider how many self-proclaimed “successful” people we meet every day, and as a result, how we’ve developed the inherit ability to spot a potential fake.

Your “truth” in your personal branding is relative to your honesty, transparency and willingness to admit that you’re not as perfect as your branding could falsely suggest. So whilst you’re not going to trumpet your imperfections, you can still just be normal and just be yourself.

As Rockstars we’re in touch with who we are; our work is merely an extension of our already existent life. To achieve lasting success the choices we make, from a work point of view, must align with our personal goals, dreams, ideals, and needs.

Before we became Rockstars many of us wrongly expected ourselves to invest everything in our businesses. This came at the expense of our personal goals, dreams, ideals and need. Rockstars value themselves and their personal happiness is a priority; it’s a major (and unique) ingredient of their success.

A Rockstar needs to constantly evaluate the projects they are involved in. Anything that doesn’t align with their goals, dreams, ideals and needs should be improved upon or removed. The more you (as a Rockstar) work on this personal and professional alignment the more efficient you’ll become.

If you find something isn’t working for you – whether it’s a project or a something relating to your own behaviour – take the initiative and make the change.

You are a Rockstar and you have the freedom to act instinctively, altering anything you believe is holding you back.

Rockstars are rogues in their approach to business. They constantly challenge their own, and other’s, viewpoints regarding business.

As a Rockstar it’s expected that your ideas and decisions will be different, they’ll give you the opportunity to achieve the exceptional. You’ll make your own mistakes, learn your own lessons and experience your own adventures.

Be an authentic Rockstar and sculpt the rules, ideas and snippets of this book to fit in with your own plans.

Suffice to say, I’m thus not a big advocate of head-hunting either.

Instead I believe in unearthing the raw talent and then polishing that into a more rockstar form. For example, I’d pick a hard-working, committed and loyal person over the obscenely talented one every single time; talent fades away when it can’t find a proper fit within the team environment. Those characteristics are also unspectacular and it should breed a culture of staying humble whilst always contributing value.

Remember that your business is unique and the requirements placed on your team will thus also be specific to what you need to achieve. So a great candidate in general could possibly be your second or third choice if you consider their credentials within the context of your unique needs. Keep this in mind when you are looking at the combination of individuals on your team, as their individual contributions aren’t that important when considered individually; it is however those contributions in combination with the rest of the team that should be extremely valuable.

Looking at myself and what I’ve learned / experienced on my journey as an entrepreneur, I can easily point to a few things that have me totally addicted. What are these things? Simple stuff like being loyal & transparent, being genuine (as far as possible) in all my interactions, working very hard, but finding a balance between & play and so forth.

So if those things are generally considered “good (Rockstar) attributes”, then why would an addiction in this regard necessarily be bad?

I think it comes down to focusing on the right things in life and then valuing those things that contribute most to your life, your business and your environment. These things may differ from one Rockstar to the next, but they’re inevitable characteristics that an average person would associate with some of good social standing.

By focusing on these things – and fueling your addiction to get even better at implementing those in your life – you have a clear, yet modest, view of your life going forward. Greed, arrogance and ignorance kind of walls by the wayside, because they’re pushed out by one’s addiction of the good things in life; thus minimizing the risk that you’re missing the whole point of being a Rockstar.

Deep competitor analysis is old-school; mountains of inconclusive data is poison to unique ideas. Reactionary responses to what the other team is doing is Not Rockstar.

Rockstars are not followers. We are proactive; we trust our own abilities and choices. We don’t jeopardize our decisions by basing them on the actions of others or second-guessing other people’s strategies. Pursuing a dream is risky and everyone has an opinion. Rockstars cut out unnecessary influences and trust their own minds.

This doesn’t mean cutting out knowledge of the developments in the industry. Knowing what is going on is part of the game but, in the short term, outside changes shouldn’t lead to a reactionary response or a sudden change in tactics.

Rockstars have a vision; we mindfully develop and tweak our processes to fit our goals, allowing for contingencies and taking into account the volatility of the market. Doing this allows us to predict important developments and be ahead of the pack, creating our unique strategies, and adapting them to the bigger changes in our industry.