Self Improvement Information

The year 2009 will be remembered for a long time for being the year of economic downturns.  Jobs, houses, savings have been lost.  Many people have felt the pinch.  People have begun to realize that their jobs are not as secure as they had once thought.  They may be forced to  re-evaluating their goals and  career path.  As with all adversities, there are seeds of opportunity.

What is it that most people would love to find in their “perfect” career path?  In my years of business coaching, I have found that most people would like 3 things.

1.  They would like the opportunity to be their own boss.  Call their own shots.  Even though they deep down want this, many are fearful of it.  Being their own boss means calling all the shots.  It means, when failure occurs, the blame falls to them.

2.  They want to control their own destiny.  We have all discovered that corporate jobs are not very secure.  Whether a person is the custodian, or the big cheese with the corner window office, lay offs happen.  The only way to build security is through a business they own and control.  Many have been so beaten down, from their corporate jobs or they have “tried” to start something on their own and failed, that their self esteem is at an all time low.  They have forgotten their basic dreams.

3.  They want to work at something they believe in.  Everyone wants their life to matter.  That’s what keeps the human race moving forward.  Whether they are striving to “save the whales” or “provide a hot lunch for every school child in America”, to believe in what you are doing, matters.

How do we move forward towards our “perfect” career?  As John Assaraf once said, “When we step into our passion our genius shows.” It is important to find our passion.  What moves our souls.

If you are a leader looking to employ or work with top quality people, it is wise to look beyond their credentials.  Many top notch, excellent people don’t have the degrees.  They may not look so pretty.  They may be disguised to look like every day “Joes” or “Josephines”.

Most people in business leadership don’t realize that a person’s success is not hinged on what they, themselves, do.  It is judged by the number of people they have helped become successful during their career.  If you want to be someone special yourself, help someone else become successful.

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How do you know when being an entrepreneur is right for you?  The difference between Corporate America and being an entrepreneur is a completely different set of life skills.  Can they be learned?  Yes and no.

Many people find that a corporate job can be a great motivation to become an entrepreneur.  The corporate lifestyle tends to discourage the traits that are important to the entrepreneur.  In  the corporate world, or traditional “job”, a person gets paid for showing up.  For the entrepreneur, often times, isn’t paid until the work is completed.  They are work creators instead of work processors.

Things such as setting goals,  cash flow, buying your own benefits package, paying the upfront cost to get a great idea from drawing board to market place, among other things, can seem overwhelming to the new entrepreneur.  Here are a few traits to consider in becoming a success business owner.

1.  A desire to be somebody.  If you have a burning desire to be somebody or do something special in your life, the entrepreneur captains their own ship.  This can be a huge motivating force!  Without this desire it is much easier to cut and run when times get tough.  This desire can get the entrepreneur over the rough bumps.  As Anthony Robbins says, “There is a powerful driving force inside every human being that once unleashed can make any vision, dream or desire a reality.”

2.  The will to win.  That fits hand in hand with wanting to be somebody.  If they want to be somebody bad enough they will have the will to win.  Even if it’s hard, keep going.  Even when it gets discouraging, move forward.  Even when there doesn’t seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel, keep driving on.  Without the will to win, discouragements and distractions can become a monumental blockage.

3.  If you aren’t looking for a hand out, but a opportunity to get ahead in life.  An honest opportunity can disguise itself as “hard work”.    An entrepreneur has to be willing to work hard, smart, and except a certain amount of risk to bring their idea to fruition.  They need to be able to, dream, hope and make a commitment to their business.

4.  They are willing to take a chance one more time.  People can become jaded from too many times having their hopes dashed. This is especially true for someone that has attempted the self employed role before.  It, also, holds true for someone that has been in the corporate or “job” world.  It is possible to get beat down so far that “dreams” get locked away and put on the shelf. A quote from Bob Proctor says, “The road to success is lined with many tempting parking spaces.”

5.  An entrepreneur must be willing to accept some amount of risk, especially in the beginnings of a new endeavor. If you can’t tolerate any risk, then a traditional job might be best.  I know many people that this point discourages them from even trying something new.  This can be minimized by doing it part time while still holding down a traditional job.  Saving money that can be used as a pad until the new endeavor pays, or as development capital for the idea.  If money gets too tight, or great debt is incurred, it can steal the dream of being an successful entrepreneurial business owner.

There can be some fabulous rewards for the successful entrepreneur.  Flexible schedule, equity in their life, unlimited income, and participating in something bigger than themselves.  It is the road less traveled.  Only the individual themselves know whether it is the correct road for them.  As Henry David Thoreau said, “Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.”

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There are many ways to build a business life.  Whether you work in your own entrepreneurial business or as an employee in someone else’s business. Some people work hard and the fruits of their labor come with extreme amounts of pressure and stress.  They work long hours.  They have little time to enjoy family, hobbies, and relaxation.  As soon as they stop, due to illness or misfortune, they seem to be swept up by an invisible force that seems to carry them away.  They spiral into more health problems or financial ruin.

A few months back, I was sitting next to a gentleman at a seminar.  The relationships side of my personality took over and I just had to make a new acquaintance.  Hoping to find areas of commonality, I asked him what he did for a living.  He explained that he was a Yoga instructor with his own business in a nearby town.  Being interested in Yoga and knowing that it can be a competitive field for instructors, I asked him how that was working for him.  His response was, “quite well, I have more business than I can handle”.  I asked him how he got his clients and he responded, “they just come to me”.

I have observed businesses that function similar to the first and, also, to the second examples. I have puzzled over it.  How can some folks have an almost effortless experience building their business like the Yoga instructor, and some people always seem to be swimming upstream against a waterfall of adversity.

We would all like to be part of a business that grows, with what seems like effortless ease.  Most people don’t have a problem with the part of the equation that calls for working hard.  That is not where the challenge lies.  It is the mindset, or being in “the flow”.

I have been on a quest to answer the question, how do we get to “the flow”?  I have been making considerable headway on answering that question.  As the quotation says, “when the student is willing the teacher will appear.”  I stumbled into this video from “Engage Today 2009″ which was a conference held in September of 2009.  This conference had some heavy hitters, in the success arena, in their line up of speakers.  A 16 CD set will be released on January 28, 2010 with all of these speeches.  Looking at the line up of speakers this should be a great investment.  You can check out the preview videos here.

The 9 minute video I am showing you today, which is just a teaser, is bits and pieces from a speech given by Vishen Lakhiani from Finer Minds.  Even in this preview video he gives some interesting answers to the question about how to get into the flow.  If you enjoy this post please re-tweet.