Expressing your desire for entrepreneurship 15 years ago would have created laughter and an assumption you’re crazy…
The tables have turned, and entrepreneurship has become one of the most respected and intelligent paths to take. It’s saved our economy and continues to move our culture forward.
Dream “jobs” are disappearing fast, while creating your ideal opportunity is the new normal. A lot of people are getting into entrepreneurship with a blurred perspective. They think all they need is passion and work ethic. Those people are in for a rough ride, unless they learn these simple yet powerful tactics.
I. A Powerful “Why”
Realize that no matter where you are right now, you can always take it up a notch.
Your possibilities are endless when you strengthen your why and come up with enough compelling reasons. The goal is to create a why so strong that it pulls you through any challenge, all doubters, and even your own limitations.
In my opinion, a big portion of our society doesn’t have enough strong reasons for building a world-class life. Settling for mediocrity is becoming the society norm. If you don’t like or enjoy what you do then re-evaluate why you’re doing it.
Immediately create an action plan around what you want to do, and who you should connect with that will help you get there. We’re in an economy that now welcomes the entrepreneur, and has made it easy to design your ideal future. It just takes compelling reasons, clear intentions, and the right guidance.
When you don’t have enough reasons for why you do what you do you’ll give up and settle, and that is the worst thing on earth.
II. The Un-Required Work
While at a very high level mastermind meeting in LA earlier this summer, I got a chance to connect with the LA Clippers assistant coach, Kevin Eastman. His wisdom was exceptional, and his many years of experience in the NBA gave me a sharpened perspective.
When asked what separated the good players from the superstars he shared “They do the work that’s un-required.”
These days people want praise and recognition for doing what’s required of them, and what everybody else does. Everybody wakes up early, everybody works extra hours, everybody has passion.
What can you do that others aren’t willing to do? It’s often said you work 9 – 5 for survival, everything after is the real investment in your future. [Read more…]
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Definition of Wealth
Looking purely at income is insufficient in most cases. Case and point: Someone earning $25K may consider someone earning $250K wealthy. Heck, it’s 10 times as much as they make and seems completely out of reach. But that person earning $250K might not consider themselves wealthy (after taxes, mortgage, car payments, loan payments, day care, etc.), however they may consider someone earning $500K wealthy, and so on. So is there a magic income level? Is it $150K, $250K, $500K, $1M? For example, our government thinks that anyone earning over $400K (Individually) is wealthy and places that individual in a higher tax bracket. The point I’m trying to make here is that income alone doesn’t provide enough context. We need to look at other variables.
Looking purely at money in the bank by itself also doesn’t complete the full picture. And once again we are faced with the “how much is wealthy” question. Is it $150K, $250K, $500K, $1M?
If you have never had any credit before, lenders don’t have anything to go on when you finally do apply – are you going to be a conscientious re-payer or lose track of what’s going on with your finances? To this end, it’s certainly worth signing up for certain credit facilities even if you never use them, just so you can start building up a credible history.
What is the debt doing for you?
Second, and this is important: can you afford the debt? Taking on college debt can be crippling if you can’t get a job after graduation or if your loans are exorbitant. A car can help you but that doesn’t mean you should buy a brand-new luxury model. Same idea with a house, it can be cost efficient to own but if you buy too much house it can be crippling financially too.
“There is no hard line on which types of debt are good or bad because to an irresponsible person, all debt would be bad. To a wise steward, nearly any debt could be good. It depends more on how the person is using it. If you use debt to increase your stewardship and wealth, it can be an amazing tool. Sometimes it’s essential for success. However, if you use debt only to consume, it can be a pain.
immediately after using it so there are no finance charges, and be sure there is no annual fee. Responsible use of a credit card not only builds credit, but also can garner reward points or airline miles. In fact, my wife and I were able to obtain a brand-new big-screen TV courtesy of the reward points we received from using our credit card–all at no cost to us since we always pay off the card as soon as we use it.
In a majority of cases, people are simply trying to justify their need for instant gratification by classifying their spending habits as building “good debt.” Examples of this include opening up 0% credit cards so they can buy a new sofa or go on a much-needed vacation, acquiring a home equity loan to hide cash flow issues, and acquiring retirement loans so they can live now and worry about the future later. All three of these are bad ideas, unless the decision to do this is with controlled intention (not on a whim) and will help you reach your long-term goals.
“No debt is good, but some is often necessary. The best debt, when necessary, is for something that benefits one on a long-term basis, such as a home mortgage. An auto loan is an example of debt that one’s situation may require out of practicality or necessity. This could be considered good debt. Bad debt is debt incurred buying things that one neither needs nor can afford.”
The best way to create wealth is to focus on increasing cash flow and using both money and skills to increase wealth more quickly. This is why business owners and real estate investors beat out people saving in 401k’s. They focus on investing in things they can control and make a much higher return than lackluster mutual funds.” – 
“Money is only a means to something else. In my practice the first question in a series of questions I ask prospects is, What is your true purpose for money? i.e. what is more important than money itself? And I ask them to define it in one word.
“The financial services industry and media perpetuate this notion that investment success is about security selection and market timing. The reality, which has been absolutely proven through scientific research, is that investment success results from:
“I feel in the middle class that luck is taught a lot more than it should be in achieving success. Ask any self made person if luck got them to where they are today and they’ll probably shake their head and remember the hundred hour work weeks…
