Meaningful Work = Meaningful Life

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What is it that most working people want today?  Meaningful Work That Brings Personal Freedom.  In other words, the ability to have a job that not only brings income to cover all the bills (and some enjoyment too), but also provides a sense of purpose and fulfillment in the process.

Whatever the path you have chosen, whether through formal education or through the school of hard knocks, you probably did not intentionally set out to be in a career that promises to keep you trapped in a job you hate, suck the life out of you, and constantly reinforce feelings of hopelessness and meaninglessness.

The economic climate has affected everyone, intimidating all of us to live in fear and therefore, not really live how we want.  Many of us have believed the lie that the American Dream is just a great slogan from the past.  

When I stumbled on The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living. Do What You Love, and Create a New Future, I couldn't help but feel excited.  The title alone gives the reader hope that this is not all there is, that not only can we think outside the box, but we can actually live out our entrepreneurial dreams in a tangible way.

Author Chris Guillebeau states his premise in this way:  

The vital career question of what is risky and what is safe has changed permanently.  The old choice was to work at a job or take a big risk going out on your own.  The new reality is that working at a job may be the far riskier choice.  Instead, take the safe road and go out on your own.

What if you could achieve your own life of freedom by bypassing everything you thought was a prerequisite?  Instead of borrowing money, you just start--right now--without a lot of money.  Instead of hiring employees, you begin a project by yourself, based on your personal combination of passion and skill.  Instead of going to business school (which doesn't actually train people to operate a small business), you save the $60,000 in tuition and learn as you go.

Remember, this book isn't about founding a big Internet startup, and it isn't about opening a traditional business by putting on a suit and begging for money at a bank.  Instead, it's the account of people who found a way to live their dreams and make a good living from something they cared deeply about.  What if their success could be replicated? 

Too many of us have become trapped in the idea that the only way to lead a life of fulfillment is to follow the path of "safety." We must learn to trust ourselves, to pursue that what we have always dreamed about.  

What is holding us back....REALLY? 

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How Smart People Tackle FAILURE Head On!

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Best-selling author John C. Maxwell, invites us to take a look at a topic that makes most people cringe.  Whether reflecting on a mistake made 10 years ago or 10 minutes ago, Maxwell makes argument for not allowing our failures to cause us to cower in fear and regret; rather, he encourages people to embrace the reality of our mistakes so that we can move forward and use them to our benefit.  He even goes a step further by evaluating what contributes to a person's level of success.  

Below is an excerpt from his book, Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes Into Stepping Stones For Success, where he examines the common misconceptions about the reasons or factors having contributed toward people's successes.  In turn, we can fall into the trap of minimizing others' success when we focus on a particular factor that we believe led them down that much envied road, instead of paying careful attention to what Maxwell calls "perception."  

WHAT'S THE ROOT OF ACHIEVEMENT?

What makes the difference?  Why do some people achieve so much?  Is it...

•  Family background?  Having a good family growing up is something to be grateful for, but it's not a reliable indicator of achievement.  High percentages of successful people come from broken homes.
• Wealth?  No, some of the greatest achievers come from households of average to below-average means.  Wealth is no indicator of high achievement, and poverty is no guarantee of low achievement.
• Opportunity?  You know, opportunity is a peculiar thing.  Two people with similar gifts, talents, and resources can look at a situation, and one person will see tremendous opportunity while the other sees nothing.  Opportunity is in the eye of the beholder.
• High morals?  I wish that were the key, but it's not.  I've known people with high integrity who achieve little.  And I've known scoundrels who are high producers.  Haven't you?
• The absence of hardship?  For every achiever who has avoided tragedy, there's a Helen Keller who overcame extreme disabilities or a Viktor Frankl who survived absolute horrors.  So that's not it either.

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No, none of these things are the key.  When it comes right down to it, I know of only one factor that separates those who consistently shine from those who don't:  The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.  Nothing else has the same kind of impact on people's ability to achieve and to accomplish whatever their minds and hearts desire. 

In the world of entrepreneurial articles and business books alike, there seems to be a common thread with regard to success and achievement:  Perception.  How can such a seemingly insignificant word carry such great weight in how it affects the outcome of our lives?  The interesting part is that it is entirely in our control, how we choose to perceive the situations we face on a daily basis:  do we look at them as opportunities or misfortunes?  

Is there a failure in your business or personal life, which you need to change your perception about? 

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The 4-Hour Work Week: Myth or Potential Reality?

buck·et list

1. a number of experiences or achievements that a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime.

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Sadly, most people have not taken the time to give a second thought to what they really want out of life. We are too often caught up in the daily routines and necessary decisions for our physical survival, that we rarely stop and ask ourselves what it is we want rather than what we need to do.

Another issue that seems common is the fact that we don't even allow ourselves to dream about what we want out of life. What holds us back?

1. Fear of the unknown.
2. Fear of disappointment.
3. Fear of not being responsible enough.
4. Fear of letting others down.
5. Fear.
6. Fear.
7. Fear.

The 4-Hour Work Week: Myth or Reality?

Bestselling author Timothy Ferriss, has written this book with the intention of challenging the popular notion that we must work 80-hours a week in order to enjoy the fruits of our labor, for a mere 2-week (or less) vacation once a year.  Is this really all there is to life?

"People don't want be millionaires--they want to experience what they believe only millions can buy.  Ski chalets, butlers, and exotic travel often enter the picture.  Perhaps rubbling cocoa butter on your belly in a hammock while you listen to waves rhythmically lapping against the deck of your thatched-roof bungalow?  Sounds nice.

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"$1,000,000 in the bank isn't the fantasy.  The fantasy is the lifestyle of complete freedom it supposedly allows.  The question is then, How can one achieve the millionaire lifestyle of complete freedom without first having $1,000,000?"  ~Tim Ferriss

Of course, being the realists we are, our first inclination is to scoff at the idea that we'd ever be able to live outside of the only reality we know on a daily basis: work hard, work harder, and rest a little bit, only to work hard and harder again. 

While none of us can say for sure that we could literally cut our work load down to 4-hours a week, why not entertain the idea that others who were just like us have adopted some of these principles and have changed the direction of their personal and professional lives?

Just in case you're feeling a little bit inspired, click here to get some ideas for getting your own bucket list started.

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Outliers: What Factors Play Into A Person's Successes?

What are the most common factors we attribute to a person's success or ability to become successful?  

Let's make this a bit more personal.  

What unique factors have contributed to your own success?

In his book, "Outliers," Malcolm Gladwell takes a different approach in asking the question, "What makes high-achievers different?"  Putting IQ aside, he examines where people have come from rather than what has made them successful, in terms of cultural background, dates of birth, their family of origin, generation, skin color, and personal experiences and  then links them to what has made them successful.  

The most intriguing aspect of this approach is Gladwell's art of storytelling.  For the most part, entrepreneurs are reading books that give you the 7 or 10 ways you can (fill in the blank) to make your life more successful or improve your business.  But this book is unique in its appeal.  

He invites you to peek into the lives of people just like you and me, and to soak in the vastness of their great experiences.  In turn, you will want to look around at those you admire and wonder about what exactly has made them who they are today.  Things that we don't consider important or haven't even allowed ourselves to consider at all, could be the most important factors in our own successes.

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Total Money Makeover: Why You Should Consider It

What is the Total Money Makeover?  Before answering that question, let's take few steps back and start with the question: Why even consider a money makeover?  Take a look at the following statistics, and evaluate your own financial "health," so to speak.

In 2011, the following consumer debt statistics were listed by Business Insider:

1. The total amount of consumer debt in the US is nearly $2.4 trillion in 2010. That’s $7,800 debt per person.
2. Thirty-three percent of that debt is revolving debt (such as credit card debt), the other 67 percent comes from loans (such as car loans, student loans, mortgages and the like).
3. $51 billion worth of fast food was charged to credit cards in 2006, compared to $33.2 billion the previous year.
4. The average credit card debt per cardholder is $5,100, and expected to increase to $6,500 by the end of the year.
5. 1 in 10 consumers has more than 10 credit cards.
6. The average consumer carries 4 credit cards. While the average household carries $6,500 of debt.
7. 1 in 50 households carry more than $20,000 in credit card debt. That amounts to more than 2 million households.
8. 4.5 percent of cardholders are 60 or more days late in their payments.
9. Roughly 2 – 2.5 million Americans seek the help of a credit counselor each year to avoid bankruptcy.

In June 2013, the following statistics were also posted:

U.S. household consumer debt profile:

• Average credit card debt: $15,216
• Average mortgage debt: $148,443
• Average student loan debt: $32,054

What do all these numbers mean?  That none of us are exempt from the burden of debt.  Our country is facing shocking debt amounts, but the sad reality is that these skyrocketing numbers are reflective of the personal debt most of us battle on a daily basis. 

So, why consider reading The Total Money Makeover?  Author Dave Ramsey explains.

Wealth building isn't rocket science, which is a good thing for me (and probably you).  Winning at money is 80 percent behavior and 20 percent head knowledge.  What to do isn't the problem; doing it is.  Most of us know what to do, but we just don't do it...So my Total Money Makeover begins with a challenge.  The challenge is you.  You are the problem with your money.

Ramsey goes on to explain that his ideas are comprised of practical financial habits.  He speaks from personal experience of losing everything, all his financial wealth and stability, not once but twice.  He doesn't promise a quick fix or gimmick, but instead has helped hundreds of thousands of average people get control of their finances.

How does this relate to your life in business?

Managing personal finances has a direct relationship to managing business finances. In the same way that your personal life is guided by certain principles which produce particular outcomes, so your financial well being will be determined by the principles you hold.  However, principles are not spoken - they are lived out.

Your Response:  What do you believe keeps people enslaved to financial debt?

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When Unexpected Changes Brings HUGE Impact

Have you ever watched a ripple effect?  It amazes us to watch something small and seemingly insignificant bring about a huge result.  We see it in nature, in business decisions, and circumstances involving relationships.

In his book The Tipping Point, author Malcolm Gladwell explores various social, business and cultural phenomena that began as a result of little changes or decisions. 

The Tipping Point is the biography of an idea, and the idea is very simple.  It is the best way to understand the emergence of fashion trends, the ebb and flow of crime waves, or, for that matter, the transformation of unknown books into bestsellers, or the rise of teenage smoking, or the phenomena of word of mouth, or any number of the other mysterious changes that mark everyday life is to think of them as epidemics.  Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do.

Gladwell explains that most of us, upon hearing the word contagious, immediately think about a virus or cold being passed from one person to another.  But the idea of something being contagious - whether an idea, product, or method - can bring about unprecedented effects in both positive and negative ways.  Most of us are reading books, articles, and blogs to bring about change we think should take place.  But what do we do with the result of major change that comes from something outside of ourselves?

Today, we see this type of "epidemic" happening in the form of YouTube videos going viral.  Business marketers everywhere scratch their heads, wondering what makes a homemade video get hundreds of thousands of views, while a well funded, professionally marketed video barely gets a thousand views. 

This has tremendous meaning for entrepreneurs and business people everywhere.  There is no limit to the impact that one little idea or change can make.  

Your Response:  What small changes have had the most impact in your life personally, professionally, or both?

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