Thursday, February 12, 2009

How to Become a Successful Entrepreneur

As you go through life you have two career options. One option is called security, or a job. The other choice is freedom, or to become an entrepreneur and start your own business.

Most people choose the first option and sadly, even though they think they have security, the reality is that they are usually living paycheck to paycheck, and are often in debt.

What kind of security is that? Many of these people are even making six figure incomes, but barely make enough to pay all of their expenses. This is because every time they get a raise or a bonus they quickly spend it on some material thing. They have nothing to show for all of their hard work except a pile of bills and a lot of useless stuff.

The security option is really a prison that drags you in and captures your life. All you have in this life is time, which I assure you is not meant to be herded around like a sheep. It should be spent taking action to achieve your goals so you can do whatever you want in life.

The second option, freedom, allows you to:
* Have anything
* Do anything
* Be everything you ever imagined.

You can change. You just simply have to believe in yourself and remember this: The path toward freedom will not be easy, that is why it is chosen by few. It will always be foggy, scary, and ever changing.

But isn't that how life is anyway? Life is scary, the future is always unclear, and the world is always changing. You just simply can't control that so don't go hide behind a job thinking that you can.

You will be left to retire and live off of half of what you made while you worked. That does not sound very secure, or like a lot of fun.

I was going through the line at the grocery store the other day and realized that the person bagging my groceries, it was usually some teenager, was an old man. I started asking him questions while he was bagging my groceries and got him to tell me a few things about himself.

His name was Carl and he was 74 years old. He has to bag groceries because he can't afford to pay the bills on his $1,000 a month pension alone. Carl used to work for one of the major car manufacturers in the United States. He worked there for 36 years.

A $1,000 a month retirement income sounded pretty good to Carl back in 1954. He did not take into account inflation and the ridiculous cost of living the twenty-first century has brought about. People like Carl are in trouble because life is only going to get more expensive.

He was a very nice man and I felt very bad for him. He did not necessarily do anything wrong, but I do know one thing about Carl. He chose the security path long ago and used to think he had it all figured out as he worked at his job through the 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's.

During those years he thought he had all the security in the world. All he had to do was just go put his time in every week, and eventually he could retire and do whatever he wanted. I hope this doesn't sound familiar. If it does you need to do really sit down and ask yourself, what do I want?

Follow these steps in order to make it come true:
* Make a clear specific goal for yourself
* Visualize yourself attaining it
* Take Action and go do it!
* (Don't visualize yourself bagging groceries at 74)

I am not saying that you should quit your job right away and start a business out of nothing, just start to spend more time imagining what you want. Believe it or not eventually you will figure out how to do it.

Spend more time thinking about what you want and how to achieve it; it could really change your life. Get off the couch, away from the television, and spend time working on your business and your goals.

If you want more money, focus on making more money, not the burdens associated with being broke. Again, be specific as to how much you want. You can set short term and long term amounts. Think big, but do not think unrealistically for your current situation.

Most people do wish for money, but they wish on a whim for more money, without taking action. This leads nowhere. They will often play the lottery, or gamble thinking it will just fall out of the sky.

There is not a get rich quick scheme out there to solve your problems, but having specific goals and taking action to achieve those goals can lead you to places you may have never imagined possible. Take control of your life and either start a business or if you are already an entrepreneur, take it to the next level.

I hope you are having a fantastic day…as I am and always do!

Don Egnor
TFF Mastermind Group
813-842-6131
donegnor@aol.com
http://www.joinmetoday.com

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Really good content and very insightful. I always will remember this...Never Give Up!!

You have to take it to the next level and beyond.