Immature Entrepreneur

At the beginning stages of our adulthood, we learn to pursue money. Nothing wrong with that, right? We need money to live. We’ve got to have a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, and maybe even the occasional night of trash talking 12 year olds on Xbox Live. It happens.

The flaw within this is that we also learn that it’s “normal” (ah, do I despise that word) to sacrifice our health in the process. Of course it’s not put into those terms, but that is the case nonetheless. Stop and think about this for a moment. How many of us workout first thing in the morning, making our health a priority? How many of us eat a healthy, organic breakfast to start our day? Instead, we learn to get up with just enough time to rush to the office. Man that morning commute is stressful. We might hit a fast food drive-thru on the way to work, but if there’s not enough time we’ll skip breakfast altogether.

So what happens in this cycle is that we pursue money in the beginning of our adult lives and sacrifice our health in the process. Then toward the end of our lifecycle, when we realize that all the time spent pursuing money really didn’t matter, we sacrifice money in an attempt to reclaim our health. Sounds crazy, but it’s true.

We don’t have to grow old as quickly as everyone else does. Our bodies don’t have to slowly fall apart by the time we hit 40. Our choices, our lifestyle, causes these things to happen. Although it’s “normal”, it doesn’t have to be. We are creating this by following the same patterns as the rest of the crowd.

Money matters. I love the security that it brings. But money doesn’t trump health. When your health fails, everything else is immediately put into perspective.

You just read that great new self-improvement book. You just attended an awesome motivational seminar and you’re pumped. You just listened to a wonderful new audiobook that has your creative juices flowing. So now what?

Unfortunately, this is where most people leave things. Some will complain, but fail to act. Others will take the next step of acquiring knowledge but never actually do anything with it.

One of the vital keys to success is to take action. If you fail to do something about it, whatever “it” may be, you lose your right to complain. Venting is human. Venting is justified if you’re making an effort. However, complaining with no intent of doing something about it is simply negativity. And as the saying goes, “I got no tissues for your issues.” Don’t make Mr. T come lookin’ to pity you.

So if you want to create your ideal life, just take that first step. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t quite sure what to do. It doesn’t matter if you make a mistake. It doesn’t matter what other people think. If you want to win at life, take action. Do something. That first step is the hardest and that’s where most people give up.

We all have that little spot inside our heads where we feel safe, secure, comfortable. It’s our comfort zone. This is a natural thing. After all, who wants to feel uncomfortable? That’s crazy talk, brotha.

So while feeling good is a normal and healthy desire, the drawback is that if we never venture outside of our comfort zone then our circumstances will never change. Imagine an animal in the wild. At night, he may sleep in his den and dream dreams of whatever it is animals dream about when their legs kick. He feels safe and secure and all is well in the animal kingdom. The next morning, however, he’s got to leave the safety of his den to forrage for food or he’ll die. So while it may not be comfortable, the alternative is not an option.

So many of us fall into this trap in our lives. Are you allowing your comfort zone to hold you back? Is fear creating a life that is stressful and unfulfilling? How different could things be if you stepped outside of your (self-imposed) box?

Don’t stay in your den all day. Sometimes you’ve got to venture outside, no matter how scary, and explore. Do things you’ve never done. Go places you’ve never been. If you can conquer that fear, you are well on your way to creating a life that formerly you had only dreamt of. (You can stop kicking your legs now.)

Hearing the word “no” is not fun. This goes all the way back to our childhoods. I remember as a kid asking my mom to spend the night with a friend, dreading that she might reject the idea. C’mon mom, what the H-E double hockey sticks? Jeez! I’m trying to get my Nintendo on!

And then it carries on into our teen years, the fear of being rejected by a girl or boy (or girl and boy for the greedy out there). Fear of rejection is ingrained in us. It stings. It uppercuts the ego and drop kicks our pride. Frankly? Rejection sucks.

But just as we learn from our mistakes, we can learn from the word “no.” The key is not getting overpowered by our emotions. Sometimes we can become paralyzed with fear and avoid asking the question (whatever the question may be) altogether. If you catch yourself doing this…stop. So what if you get a no. So what if you get rejected. In most cases, the rejection is about the other party and has nothing to do with you.

So when you hear no, thank the person for not wasting your time and move on to the next. View your “no’s” as a stepping stone to your next yes. Take a fiver to process the emotions if need be. And remember, S.W.S.W.S.W.N. (Some Will, Some Won’t, So What, Next!).

Now, onward and upward. You’ve got some “no’s” to get through.

With joblessness and job dissatisfaction at all time highs in America, it’s worth pointing out that corporate America is a very flawed system. The imbalance is primarily a result of one fatal flaw–money is the only metric. The only measurement that is evaluated is money.

As a result, all other conditions of the human experience are ignored. Corporate America does not take into consideration happiness, leisure time, personal goals, personal relationships, family, our health, the environment, society and so on. There is a complete disregard for balance. To say “it’s just business” is no longer acceptable. At the end of the day, we’re all people. We have dreams, we have passions. While money is certainly important, this one aspect of the human experience is just that–only one aspect. We are unhappy because we are out of balance.

A departing thought to consider–if the world were to start today, how much different would our systems be? What would business look like?

Human beings are creatures of habit. We tend to stay with what’s familiar because it’s comfortable and easy. We wake up at the same time each morning, drive the same route to work each day, watch the same tv shows in the evenings, and so forth.

While it’s a good thing to have your “happy place,” your comfort zone can also be a very bad thing. Take a moment and look around you. Do you have all of the things you dreamt of when you were younger? Do you have good health, rewarding relationships, and so on? Are you living your dream life?

Our habits can make or break us. When we always remain in our comfort zone, the reality is what you see around you now is all you will ever know. We must venture outside of the familiar if we are ever to grow. Life is a wonderful challenge blended with free will and perpetual learning. All of the choices are ours to make. What happens to us, for the most part, is up to us.

Being afraid of stepping outside of our comfort zones is entirely okay, as long as we manage our fear and push through it. The best way to accomplish this is to jump in head first. Imagine an icy cold swimming pool on a hot summer day. It looks really inviting but you know at first you’re going to freeze! The best way to conquer that fear is just to jump in. Don’t think–act. The same goes with your comfort zone. If you over think it, chances are you’ll stay with what’s comfortable and never learn anything new. So push through it and take a chance. Even if you fail, you’ll learn from the experience. And life is an ongoing learning process.

Many of us have a fear of selling. As the saying goes, people love to buy but hate to be sold. There’s this (mistaken) perception that selling means taking advantage of someone. While that type will always be out there, it certainly doesn’t mean you’re in the same company. If you’ve got a kick ass product or service, be proud of it!

Here are some handy dandy (maybe even randy) tips to get you off on the right foot:

1. Be real — people can sense it when you’re fake. Don’t be that guy. If the streets have taught you nothing else, you gotta keep it real. Otherwise it’s just insane in the membrane…

2. Focus on your customer — sometimes because we’re so passionate about what we have to offer, we have a tendency to go on and on about how great it is…and ignore our customer’s needs in the process. Focus less on your sales pitch, more on how your customer benefits from your product/service. What’s in it for them?

3. Be sociable — at the end of the day, we’re all people. It’s easy to get caught up in selling mode and disconnect from the person you’re dealing with. But the reality is people buy from people they like, folks they have a connection with. Don’t be a selling machine. Turn off the robot-like approach Max Headroom and be human. Say hi. Ask how his/her day is going. Crack a joke. Do sum’in.

4. Learn how to overcome objections — if your product/service really is the shiznit, why isn’t your customer buying it? Is it price? If so, perhaps you could negotiate. Is it a lack of time? Does he/she need more information to make an informed decision? What is the objection? If you don’t know, ask (in a friendly manner). Don’t be afraid to talk about their objections or you’ll never close the sale.

To sum it all up, selling isn’t bad. Taking advantage of others is bad. Don’t get the two confused. Now march on out there into the world and get your sell on. Don’t be scurred.

Catchy subject line, huh? I don’t mean to suggest we should just sit around the house all day munching Cheetos and Hot Pockets, as glorious as that sounds. Rather, the point I’m making is that many of us are not wired to be followers. Many of us don’t fit well into the confines of someone else’s structure. And that, my friends, is entirely okay (even to be applauded!).

So what does one do if you don’t want a job? You’re sick of working for the man in a race to the bottom, only to make someone else rich? Congrats on recognizing this because most people go through life feeling stuck and unfulfilled. And now for an action plan to get you there:

1. Write down a list of your passions, things that bring you joy and cause SSHD (Spontaneous Snoopy Happy Dancing)

2. Brainstorm ideas on how to turn your passions into a source of income

3. Act on it

While this is obviously a simplified version of how to tackle this, it’s well worth the soul-searching involved. This is your life we’re talking about here, after all. You only get one. Make it count!

So (assuming you’re not lazy) if you don’t want a job, that’s entirely okay. But whining and commiserating with others isn’t enough. It’s time to step up and act on it. If you’re not wired to work for someone else, take that fire inside you and do something about it!

Fear is a thief that robs us of our dreams. Think how different the world would be if the Wright Brothers were afraid of a crash landing. What if Thomas Edison, inventor of numerous creations including the lightbulb, had been afraid of failure? What if Abraham Lincoln had been afraid of making an unpopular choice?

It’s natural to feel fear. We’re hardwired on a genetic level to run the other way when danger, in any form, presents itself. Those handy instincts that saved our butts from dinosaurs and ancient predators were a good thing back then. In today’s world, however, that irrational fear is a big, big hindrance.

So don’t be afraid of being afraid. It’s part of the human existence. Just make sure you manage your fear as opposed to allowing it to control you. Sometimes in life, you’ll have to take a risk. You’ll have to step outside your comfort zone. To achieve greatness, you may have to do things that seem scary. And that’s okay, because the alternative is far more frightening.

There are many of us out there that struggle every morning to get out of bed. You get up at the same time, you put on the same boring clothes, you go to the same tired job and deal with the same bosshole. Life sometimes feels like you’re stuck on repeat, each day looking exactly like the day before. And like Loverboy, you’re just working for the weekend. (Great cheesy 80s song.)

And ultimately, what’s it all for? You’re certainly not getting rich. The guy at the top of the corporate pyramid is the one making all of the money. He’s leveraging everyone underneath him and reaping all of the benefits. At some point, you wake up and think, “Wow. This really sucks. Is this my life?” But this is what everybody is supposed to do, so something must be wrong with me. Right?

Wrong.

There are many of us that aren’t meant to be employees. We’re not meant to be followers. We don’t need to be told what to do. We’re independent, we’re leaders and we are hardwired to do our own thing. We’re entrepreneurs. Traditional jobs are not for us.

So chances are if you’re feeling stuck in a rut, that is the universe’s way of trying to get your attention. If you don’t like your circumstances, change them. Don’t allow yourself to feel stuck. You are in control of your life. You get to call the shots. You get to create your reality. The beautiful thing about life is that the decisions are all yours to make.

So no more complaining. No more wallowing in misery. No more giving into despair or settling for comfortable misery. Make today different. Make a conscious decision to do something about it. You get one shot at life–make it count. You are worth it.