Imagine you are guided into a bare room and abandoned with one marshmallow, which you can eat at anytime. But if you do not eat it until the facilitator returns, you will be given one more marshmallow. What would you do? Eat the one immediately? Or wait a few minutes for two?
This experiment has been conducted on countless squirming children. And hilarity usually ensues. The temptation for the yummy marshmallow is most times too overwhelming for the youngsters. As seen in this cute and often hilarious video:
The underlying concepts of the marshmallow experiment holds true for your life as well. Do you have a marshmallow you’re dying to eat? However, if you hold off, is there another one waiting?
The Moral of the Story
It is often very easy to accomplish a portion of your desires. But, in turn, blow it just as quickly. Knowing all too well that you should have reinvested your success back into your dreams.
Put in other words, we all have that inner child in us, begging for that marshmallow. However, our level of self-control will directly affect our ability to accomplish any goal. And earn that second tasty marshmallow.
In Warren Buffett’s biography, The Snowball, I found an intriguing concept. The Oracle of Omaha said that he had won the Ovarian Lottery:
I’ve had it so good in this world, you know. The odds were fifty-to-one against me being born in the United States in 1930. I won the lottery the day I emerged from the womb by being in the United States instead of in some other country where my chances would have been way different.
Imagine there are two identical twins in the womb, both equally bright and energetic. And the genie says to them, “One of you is going to be born in the United States, and one of you is going to be born in Bangladesh. And if you wind up in Bangladesh, you will pay no taxes. What percentage of your income would you bid to be the one that is born in the United States?” It says something about the fact that society has something to do with your fate and not just your innate qualities. The people who say, “I did it all myself,” and think of themselves as Horatio Alger – believe me, they’d bid more to be in the United States than in Bangladesh. That’s the Ovarian Lottery.
Warren Buffett won it. And if you’re reading this (hold for applause), you’ve won it too. Congrats!
The world we live in is an amazing place. Anyone with an Internet connection and a passion can completely transform their lives for the better. Even the poorest and lowest-class individuals of 1st world countries have unbelievable potential to be great.
So think about the words of Warren Buffett the next time something discourages you from accomplishing your dreams. And do not forget the incredible opportunities available to us Ovarian Lottery winners.
Intro: Motivation in the workplace is an important factor for entrepreneurs. And I often explore the many fascinating psychology research studies that have led us to a deep understanding of employee motivation. The following post is a thorough list of the best psychology concepts for motivating your workforce.
A Road Not Taken…
There was a time in my life when I was studying to become an Industrial-Organizational Psychologist. Basically I thought that listening to, and attempting to vanquish, the workplace-based depression of a Fortune 500 company’s middle managers would be an interesting career. Looking at my current life, I am extremely glad I didn’t venture down that path!
My formal training in psychology, on the other hand, has taught me a ton of valuable concepts that I now use daily. These ideas translate well for almost any situation in the business and marketing world.
A couple of days ago I was speaking to a few budding entrepreneurs and the topic of motivation came up. While speaking with them, I realized how I forgot the actual psychology terms for the theories even though I think about the concepts almost on a daily basis. So I dug out my textbooks and gave myself a refresher course. The following concepts are some of the more important theories in motivational psychology in terms of workplace behavior: [click to continue…]
“In the valley of the blind, the one-eyed man is king”
~ Gerard Erasmus
When you learn something new, what do you do with the information? If you are like most people, the new info is quickly processed then stored in your long-term memory. Rarely to be thought of again. This sounds typical of our thought process: learn, process, store, retrieve, expel… But what’s missing from this equation?
Questioning…
Depending on the source and method of delivery, most statements are automatically considered fact. Do you believe me? You shouldn’t… at least not right away. As you read a book, listen to a seminar or simply converse with a colleague, consider the scenario. Question the underlining motives of the source and their background. Ask yourself, is this new information true? How does it compare to my current beliefs on the subject? Can I pick out the facts from opinions, all while cross-referencing the opinions with my own belief system and worldviews?
Put in other words; think critically. And more importantly, think for yourself.
Most people are not happy with their life. Yet they continually venture down the same road of unhappiness. Never willing to change. As you take a birds eye view of your current lifestyle, do you like what you see? Are your relationships, career choices, financial situation and other aspects of your life truly satisfying? Or do you feel there should be more?
While most of us have moments of joy, they are usually overshadowed by hours, days and even years of affliction. Stress, depression, heartache and overall anxiety are human nature. But it doesn’t have to be the case for you. You deserve to have the best life possible.
The good news? Change is also a part of human nature. In fact, I believe there is an unwritten rule of life stating that the only constant is change. Put in other words, nothing will ever stay the same. This is a huge concept. The reason this is significant for you? Your life is going to change. But it is completely up to you which direction you will take your life when these inevitable changes approach. Will you choose to stay on your current melancholy life direction? Or will you rise up and pursue a life of fulfillment and happiness? The ball is in your court.
Below are the specific steps every person needs to explore, embrace and ultimately take action on before life-altering change can truly occur: [click to continue…]
As I talk with others about investing or starting a business, I very often hear, “I don’t have any money to do that, I’m poor.” And other times they say, “not right now, I’m broke.” These are interesting statements to me as the dictionary defines broke and poor similarly. However, subconsciously the two words set off strongly opposing implications.
Broke is a scenario. Nothing more than a temporary setback. A broke person is simply someone that is low on funds. But they can change their financial situation. Poor, on the other hand, is a lifestyle. These people actively chose to pursue a poor life. And can be identified as the moneyless folks that love the couch, do not care about education and are not willing to change. They’ve been poor, they’re currently poor and they’ll always be poor.
The next time you are low on funds, how are you going to explain your situation? Are you poor? Or just broke?
I came to a huge self-actualization this past month. It resulted from a temporary setback to the expansion plans for one of my businesses. The result? More motivation with a stronger drive to succeed. And now a banker to prove wrong.
The Story
One of my companies needs four new employees. And although I have great credentials with a substantial accounts receivable ledger, my business was turned down for a line of credit. The decision came from a commercial banker I have known very well – since I had my first business at 16 years of age. Anyway, this so-called go-to bank for SBA lending decided that creating more jobs wasn’t in the playing cards for me. Based on the denial phone call, I feel the decision came from incompetence of the banker rather than any analytical rational. Needless to say, I was not happy. And while I know I can simply move onto the next bank, it triggered something inside me that was unfamiliar: fear.
Have you started a business that failed? Invested in a system that fell flat? Invented something that didn’t sell? However, did you follow that failure with a huge success? And if so, what kept you going?
When venturing into the world of entrepreneurship, everyone will face obstacles along the way. It’s pretty much a guarantee. The defining characteristic of successful entrepreneurs, though, is their enormous level of positive thought. With the power of optimism, these downfalls turn into positives. For example:
Imagine an all too familiar event for a budding entrepreneur… The company just lost a big account to a competitor.
The pessimist would look at the scenario and say, “this is why I will never succeed, I can’t compete and I must not be that great.”
The optimist, on the other hand, would look at the situation and say, “well I lost that account but I had the account for 2 years. What did I do right? How can I repeat what I did and replace that account with 5 more?”
See the difference? It’s all in your frame of view and how you spin outcomes.
Positivity and Productivity
Optimistic people work harder. It’s true. In fact, research studies have proven that pessimism severely hinders a person’s ability to engage in life-improving acts. To a successful entrepreneur, this should be obvious. [click to continue…]
An entrepreneur’s mindset is one of the most important factors in success. However, since the brain controls most thoughts and aspirations subconsciously it becomes very difficult to stay positive on the bumpy, uncertain road to early retirement. That is unless you consciously train your brain. While the topic of visualizations and affirmations is a complex and broad subject, there is a very simple method to begin the reshaping of your thought process. Replace the word If in your vocabulary with the term When or any synonym there of.
The Downfall Of If
What sounds better? “If I had this.” or “When I have this.” I’m guessing you picked the latter, since the former gives a negative connotation of something unattainable. In other words, the term If has always been associated with negative feelings as we grew [click to continue…]
About Me
As a young entrepreneur, online marketing expert, public speaker, real estate investor and eco-activist I have chosen the road less traveled. I'm a compulsive perfectionist and thoroughly research every major decision and investment. This has helped me create a lifestyle free of the rat race and that dreaded 40+ hour work week. And while I am years from retiring, I am quickly on my way to financial freedom.
My passion is helping other entrepreneurs create extraordinary businesses & lifestyles. I love meeting new people and learning everything I can from them. So please, feel free to reach out:
As I talk with others about investing or starting a business, I very often hear, “I don’t have any money to do that, I’m poor.” And other times they say, “not right now, I’m broke.” These are interesting statements to me as the dictionary defines broke and poor similarly. However, subconsciously the two words set off strongly opposing implications.
Have you started a business that failed? Invested in a system that fell flat? Invented something that didn’t sell? However, did you follow that failure with a huge success? And if so, what kept you going?
An entrepreneur’s mindset is one of the most important factors in success. However, since the brain controls most thoughts and aspirations subconsciously it becomes very difficult to stay positive on the bumpy, uncertain road to early retirement. That is unless you consciously train your brain. While the topic of visualizations and affirmations is a complex and broad subject, there is a very simple method to begin the reshaping of your thought process. Replace the word If in your vocabulary with the term When or any synonym there of.
