The Aura of Success – Does your Company Have it?

Posted by kboon on April 6, 2010 under General | Comments are off for this article

This is part 2 of some insights from Kevin O’Leary’s (Dragons Den on CBC) talk back in March in Waterloo Ontario.

Part 1 is here.

Someone asked Kevin, what are the common characteristics or traits you see in successful businesses?  He listed several ideas.  First, being able to tell your story (or idea) in 90 seconds or less.  The second, was confidence and a persons ability to sell.  The third response intrigued me.  He said successful businesses have what he described as “an aura” about them.  He said he couldn’t explain it.  You feel it when you are in the room with them.  He didn’t know if it was good karma from a past life, but what he did know, it was intuition or a feeling he had.  There is a confidence.  You want to do business with them.  In his case you want to give them money.

I’m paraphasing here because I can’t recall word-for-word his exact response.

His response was at the heart of what I feel is the challenge that many businesses face.

What is an Aura?

So what is this aura that O’Leary refers to?  I’ll have to admit that I have spent most of my adult life trying to figure this out.  What does it take to create a successful business or a better career?

Some people seem to create success so effortlessly, while others struggle and sometimes never get there?  We’ve all met that business entrepreneur, sales person, author or musician who seems to start with the same level of knowledge as you or I, but when it comes down to their craft, they’re a natural.  They have a special talent.  Money flows to them.  People want to be around them.  Business opportunities come to them.

Is this the aura that O’Leary describes?

Is aura something that comes naturally or can it be learned?

My feeling is both can happen.  Some people truly have the gift.  For others it takes effort and time to learn.  I’ve seen this phenomenon on Twitter where a person builds their website, their profile and their network.  They work very hard over a period of time and then there is a point where something kicks in.  Opportunities start flowing to them, their business starts to grow.  The work over time seems effortless and I’m sure that people looking from the outside think that its easy for them.

Being aware of my own aura has been critical for me in starting my business.

For me it comes down to understanding 4 factors:

1. Having a clear vision of my goals and where I want to be with my business.  (Both short & long term)
2. Becoming aware of my own patterns of thought or limiting beliefs.  Are their any judgements I hold about others or about myself that limit my success?
3. Letting go of resistant thoughts or beliefs that might be holding me back.
4. Focusing once again on my vision, goals and where I am going.

For example, if I’m looking for new clients or opportunities and constantly seem to come up against people saying no, then what I’ve learned there is something off in my aura. There is something about my beliefs or some resistance thought I’m putting out there.   This aligns with the ideas around the law of attraction or the Secret.

In my experience, your thoughts do create your reality.

When you change the thought, your aura lifts slightly and opportunities begin to show up.

This is a topic I want to explore in more detail because I feel it is critical for entrepreneurs or small business owners to understand the underlying “aura” or image that they present to customers.

Would love to hear your experiences.