To this day, I still carry my old business card in my wallet.
The summer of 1998 was life altering. I was entering 7th grade in a small school on the Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation. And while other kids my age were out being kids, I was doing something drastically different.
At the tender age of 12, I was building a business – a technology-handyman business to be exact.
What I had discovered was that the surrounding area was predominately home for retirement age folks all in need of a little technology help. And I had an unwavering drive to become their solution. So with some initial referral help from my teachers and parents’ friends, I came in to gobble up market-share. Since this was pre-Geek Squad days, business was-a-booming!
Here I was, a middle-school kid garnishing upwards of a couple hundred bucks an hour for things I enjoyed so much I would have done for free…
And the following 6 years would prove to be a huge learning lesson in business, money management, marketing and living an a-typical life.
I rarely watch or read the news. But it seems that every time I turn on the depression-engine, er, I mean news broadcast, there is a report on unemployment. And without fail, there is always a correspondent interviewing jobless folk complaining about everything from their former employer to the President.
What I have yet to hear is any accountability on the unemployed side. And I find myself internally screaming at the TV: Why did you truly get laid off? Was it because someone had it out for you? Or more likely, did you get canned because you suck?
The last time I checked, there were many businesses doing extremely well. Most are hiring. Or at least attempting to fill roles left by another’s departure. This need for new employees holds universally true across most industry jobs, except maybe typewriter technicians and trans-fat factory workers. So what’s up with this historically substantial out-of-work population?
The Rise of Entitlement
Most Americans are ignorant when it comes to self-empowering. No one deserves a secure job. But yet, hundreds of thousands plead with the government and businesses to provide a steady line of work. This is industrial age mentality. And it has given birth to an ugly, half-breed baby with DNA based upon ridiculous pension plans and false sense of job security.
The corporate guarantees (finger points at GM) promised to our workforce over the previous century were obviously unsustainable. And while most companies had changed policies to better accommodate new age strategies for human capital management, the labor force still takes their job for granted. The typical employee mindset goes something like this:
Go to college…
Get good grades…
Graduate…
Find an entry-level job…
Kiss ass & work hard…
Get promoted…
Repeat steps 5 & 6 until retirement…
What’s missing from this life schedule? That’s right… continual self-improvement. And don’t try to tell me that the management issued training two years ago counts. Or that the pamphlet at the checkout line of Office Max you leafed through last month was career altering.
Stop Lying To Yourself
Everyone believes they have self-worth. Well forget what your mom told you and grow up. If you do not constantly strive for more education, stop complaining about your crappy or no job. You must continually craft your expertise!
Where To Start
There are many options available to effectively, and often times, cheaply improve your chances of landing a great job: [click to continue…]
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.
Have you ever had one of those days? You know, those days that kept you active from 8 til 6. You were super busy. But looking back at the day, it was filled with mundane tasks. And while you felt eventful, in reality you didn’t accomplish anything.
I’ve had these types of days. I’m assuming you have too.
I call this, working for work’s sake. And it’s the murderer of an enjoyable life.
Learning from Rocks, Pebbles and Sand
To start this visualization, list your tasks from most to least important. Then associate these with rocks, pebbles and sand. The biggest rock being the most important task. Sand being the least. Also, let’s imagine a jar as your day, timeframe or project timeline. [click to continue…]
There is a very intriguing trait of crabs. When placed in a bucket, a single crab easily climbs out. Adding two or more crabs to the bucket, however, none will ever escape. The lower crabs will grab onto the higher climbers and yank them down. This phenomenon is analogous to anyone striving for a better life. Your current scenario is the bucket and your critics are the fellow crabs. And the world is not short of crabs who love to pull you down.
The Escape
After weeks of brutal torture, André Devigny successfully escaped a WWII POW camp by, among other things, scaling a massive fortress wall. Talk about climbing out of a mighty extreme bucket! And he did so when the German army considered his living arrangements permanent. Yet he didn’t allow his current situation to determine his future. Neither should anyone else.
Everyone looking to escape his or her circumstances will face similar detractors. Remember, those who think you can never break free will forever doubt your intentions. So it’s best to realize early on that no matter what you do, others will find ways to criticize.
Luckily we are not crabs. By recognizing that others are trying to pull you down, you can overcome their flak. We are free to create a better lifestyle and the commentators can stay in their self-imposed lair of fear. Also, we are not in a bucket, we can choose who we associate with. If someone says you cannot do something, impose a social embargo and cut all ties.
Put in other words; ditch the critics and their pent-up hostility towards success. You have a remarkable life ahead and you don’t need them.
“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…]
Where can you spend countless hours watching the world’s smartest people give passionate speeches, at no charge? TED.com, that’s where. TED is amazing. Seriously. And below is a collection of my 5 favorite TED talks every entrepreneur should watch. Enjoy!
There you go! Five great TED talks to inspire, motivate and further develop yourself as an extraordinary entrepreneur. I hope you enjoyed these videos!
I love the snooze button.But I hate the person who invented it. If you’re like me, there is no better place to be than under the covers on cold mornings. However, sleeping in is not a strategy for success. With that said, I have tried many methods and have found some great strategies for getting up quickly and easily.
Go to Bed When You’re Tired
Sounds like common sense but there is a little more to this strategy. I’ve read articles on sleep that say you should go to bed at the exact same time every night. This is nonsense! Mostly because depending on your day’s activities, your energy usage will greatly vary from day to day. When heading to bed make sure you are tired enough to fall asleep within 5 minutes. If it takes longer than a few minutes to drift off, you are wasting your time. Conversely, if you rob yourself of sleep by postponing bedtime you may throw off your sleep cycle and wake up tired.
Wake Up At the Same Time Everyday
Standardizing your wake up routine is key for easy mornings. If you wake up at random times (which you probably do now) your circadian rhythm will be in constant disarray. By waking every day at the same time your brain will be subconsciously trained to prepare for waking at your desired time. Personally, I have found that I am so accustomed to waking at 6am that sometimes I wake up a few seconds or minutes before the alarm goes off. Which is slightly eerie but definitely a reinforcement that this strategy works for me.
Furthermore, if you had less sleep than desired during the previous night, you will simply become tired sooner that day. And, in turn, want to head to bed sooner. Therefore your circadian rhythm will begin to self-regulate more accurately and your sleep cycle will find an equilibrium on a daily basis. [click to continue…]
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.
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:
