The world is a very dynamic and complex place. Developing countries are growing economically at rates that stagger the mind, and at rates that are increasingly putting pressure on our country’s ability to compete. In addition, our homegrown corporations are increasingly tapping the talent that exists overseas on the cheap, which is creating a population gap of people who lack the skills that are necessary for organizations desperately needing to stay profitable.
Therefore, I will say it! If we are going to compete as a country, we will need to start making some dramatic changes now. As a country that has experienced so much material wealth in the past century due to the successes that the American manufacturing complex helped produce, we are either in for a rude awakening, or a forced shift. Recently, I came across an article on USA Today that mentioned how many companies are actually profitable right now regardless of the layoffs, and that on average, the countries GDP has grown.
What this tells me, is that our work force, and therefore a large portion of our society, is in need of retraining or more education. It appears that the ideas and education of the past has not placed our population in a position that is not conducive to staying competitive on a global scale for long.
So we need to change, as a whole from the ground up. Where does it all start? I would say it all starts in the classroom. We have students being trained in this day and age for being engineers, IT professionals, doctors, lawyers, and general laborers. This is a problem it seems, especially since many of the aforementioned will be made available in other countries for almost nothing if not already, and the doctors and lawyers are so few in number that a large portion of society is going to have to wake up and activate themselves.
As far as I can tell, one of the most important developments in our population is going to be in the creation in more designers, creators, artists, and business people. This is going to be the area where will need to develop and become to compete globally. It seems like the manufacturing sector is being overtaken by cheap labor, and in many cases so too the engineering and higher skilled positions. Hence, we will need to make a shift as a country to being creators and business people, versus laborers and technicians. So it is going to start with the teaching of business skills and entrepreneurship skills to kids, including art and design. The teaching of these subjects as primary subjects versus secondary subjects like they have in the past is going to be our ticket. Of course this is only my hunch. What do you think? Feel free to comment to let me know what your ideas are on our countries place in the global economy. I am curious to know, whether or not you think changing the education system’s philosophy on what is most important in preparing the future of America’s workforce is important?
Here is a great post that includes 5 great entrepreneurship education resources to help you get started. To take a look [Click Here].
Pareto Principle | Parkinson’s Law | Law of Averages | Law of Association
4 Laws & Principles every Entrepreneur should know and live by:
The Pareto Principle
The Pareto principle is a very popular law …my guess is that you’ve probably come across it or have even heard of it numerous times throughout your life… however it was most likely referred to with a different name. If you’ve ever heard of the 80-20 rule, or the law of the vital few, or even the principle of factor sparsity….then you’ve been exposed to the Pareto Principle.
Essentially this law states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. And naturally this applies to a great many things and events especially concerning to the entrepreneur. For starters…. as an entrepreneur….you’ve probably wondered why the distribution of wealth is the way it is….observing that just about 20% of the population has much of the wealth, while the other 80% doesn’t. Who knows, maybe this keen observation on your part is the exact reason you are an entrepreneur…. so you can in fact make your way to the top 20% :).
This principle is also very relevant for the entrepreneur for purposes of time management…..20% of the things you do will account for 80% of your results while 80% of the things you do will account for 20% of your results. I know…a bit depressing when you think about it….but this knowledge can be useful for creating and perfecting your plans of action. In addition, the principle will come into play when trying to understand why some customers buy your goods and services, and why some….let me rephrase that…many, don’t.
So when 80% of the people you approach with your products, services, or opportunities say no….just keep in mind that it’s not you….and most likely not what you’re offering, and that it’s just a bit of the Pareto Principle at play.
Parkinson’s Law
Parkinson’s Law is something all entrepreneurs should be aware of. Like the last law… you’ve probably experienced this one in the past but just haven’t been introduced to it formally. So…I’ll do the honors. Parkinson’s law was first articulated in an essay of The Economist in 1955 and has been made more or less mainstream by author/blogger/entrepreneur Tim Ferriss.
The law essentially postulates that… work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. So if you have ever had some friends or co-workers who were given an easy task to do with a somewhat large amount of time to complete….and yet they somehow managed to stay extremely busy, spending an inordinate amount of time on a task that you could have finished in a day….. well then, you’ve been acquainted to Parkinson’s Law.
This is essential knowledge for an entrepreneur….especially those new to being their own boss and in charge of running their businesses efficiently. The understanding of this law will help the new entrepreneur combat the programming received while they were an employee who wasn’t 100% vested in how long tasks actually took to complete. Ultimately, if one truly cherishes their time and leisure, and doesn’t want to be a slave to their business….knowing this law is critical.
Law of Averages
This is a great law for us. It’s the idea that probability will influence all occurrences in the long run, that one will neither win nor lose all of the time. For example, If it rains every day this week, by the law of averages we’re bound to get a sunny day soon. This colloquial term is a popular interpretation of a statistical principle called Bernoulli’s theorem. As an entrepreneur or professional, this law becomes important to you when you decide to start going after the deals, the partnerships, and the sales.
The more you experience the no’s and failures in the pursuit of your ventures….the more likely you are over time, to experience that crucial yes and ultimate success. A fantastic example I like to refer to, is the baseball player…. he strikes out 7 out of 10 times….and still get’s paid 5 million dollars per year. The same success awaits the entrepreneur who understands that with every no…they inch that much closer to their YES…and indeed their SUCCESS!
Law of Association
This law is often looked over for striving entrepreneurs but is crucial in moving towards the achievements you set for yourself. Basically this is a law which suggests that we become like the average of the five people whom we spend most of our time with.
Meaning….that everything about you will average out to be similar to those five people whom you are currently spending most of your time with. For instance, your income will tend to be the average of your five best friends’ incomes. If you want to raise the quality of your life, hang out with people who have already been there and done that…and who are living the quality life which you seek. If you want to become a better communicator, hang out with great communicators. If you want to be more positive, hang around with more positive and up beat people. If you want to be a terrific parent, spend lots of time with men and women who have mastered the art of parenting. If you want to start making at difference….get around those who are out there making some waves of impact. So in essence… birds of a feather flock together.
But…do you know why birds of a feather flock together? It’s because they’re all going in the same direction. They share a common vision. So if you’re going after a goal, any goal, go and find the people who have already achieved that goal, or who are well along the path to attaining that goal, and then be with them, hang out with them, camp on their doorstep if you have to. :). Joking aside…this is an important law to live by….so get out there and make some connections with those whose lives you want to be living.
And if you find your self in a situation where making critical associations with people is difficult because of your location, or because you just need some time to gain the courage to reach out, remember that the next best thing to associating with great company is reading great books. It was Rene Descartes after all who once said “The reading off all good books is like conversation with the finest men of the past centuries”.
I am compelled today to blog about the practicality of being a positive person no matter what. Many people consider being extremely optimistic, otherwise known as Pollyanna (a person who is excessively optimistic without logical reasons for being so) as naïve. But I must beg to differ, and argue for the opposite.
It’s not difficult to understand why some people might label another person as being naïve for choosing to be happy instead of sad all the time. I mean, I know that there are many moments in our lives where we believe that we have the “right” to feel wronged, or even down, because hey, it is after all a tough world out there. However, there is a power behind choosing a Pollyanna type approach, a power that many people just don’t necessarily seem to see. Interestingly, what is usually not noticed in the individuals who carry themselves in this positive light is the subtle control and discipline that they are using to maintain it. In actuality, holding strong and being positive in the face of negativity and scenarios which compel victimhood, ultimately demonstrates a mastery over ones emotions and reactions. So what seems to be illogical to many is really a form of Spartan-like behavior that leads eventually to better results for the individual. Let me show you what I mean. Now I am sure there are many more benefits out there for maintaining this approach, but these are the three benefits that instantly come to my mind:
1.) Living Your Best Life: A positive outlook means you feel better, and are thus happier most of the time, leading to a better overall experience of everyday life, which necessitates, overtime….a better life. It was Marcus Aurelius after all who admonished: “Reality is what our thoughts make of it.” It is possible to force your reality to be a positive one.
2.) Increasing Your Opportunities: A more practical benefit is the type of circumstances that one will attract. It’s not blatantly obvious, but how you feel affects how people react to you. If you feel good people will see that and will want to be around you to experience the same. When you feel bad people won’t want to be around you. This is important for business people and entrepreneurs. By not constantly projecting an attractive positive personality, you increase your chances of missing opportunity, for the simple reason that key partners/clients might just be repelled by you. If you are employed it closes doors to opportunities for advancement. Nobody wants to work with, nor for, a person who has a tendency to be negative, showing little to no control over their emotions, and as a result potentially decreasing the well being of those whom they associate with.
3.) Increasing Your Health: Positive thoughts = Good Health, Negative thoughts = Bad health. The more susceptible you let yourself be to negative emotions and feelings the more vulnerable you will be to sicknesses and illnesses as well as slow recovery. Don’t just take my word for it, look it up, read about it, the evidence is there.
Don’t want to do the research? Well then give it spin, you’ll see….there is Power in Pollyanna!
Wow! What a hiatus. Last month was an undoubtedly action packed one. I took a trip to Paris, got engaged, and started participating in a new flag football league all on top of the business activities I normally partake in. Of course the blogging suffered a bit due to “all the activity” and of course a small mishap which had my blog temporarily deactivated. However, the good news is…. I am back!
So today I wanted to touch on something that has been on my mind a lot lately, Economics. I guess I am really writing this now because of a certain essence that seems to pervade the internet, the television, heck the world. This essence manifests itself as a blatant misunderstanding of Economics and economic principles. It is an essence that can be summed up in a mentality known all too well as “The Get Rich Quick Mentality” or “The Something For Nothing Mentality”.
Now, it is understood that this type of thinking may never go away, but perhaps it can be curbed a bit through people talking about it or blogging about it. Who knows? So hopefully I can save someone some valuable time by helping them realize that they shouldn’t start something if they don’t really intend to be in it for the long haul and put in the necessary work (and yes anything worth doing requires work). In addition it would be nice if this post could help save someone, anyone from quitting too soon…all because they felt their expectations were not being instantly met. (Hello…..things take time!!!)
So, here it is….a pithy point to keep in mind or to share with a friend/acquaintance who is suffering from this dreadful mentality…..
It is…that you can’t get without giving!!!! Seriously, there is actually a law of economics which irrevocably controls the system that neither recognizes nor tolerates, at least not for long, getting without giving. So….what this means is, that there really is only one dependable method for legally accumulating and holding true riches, and this without a doubt is…………….. by providing useful service.
Now how does one provide useful service and why is it important you ask? Answer…. first understand Economics! Which you can find a bit more about in this neat little video. To your success!
I have recently decided to revisit the pages of Napolean Hill’s classic book Think and Grow Rich. I am just about half way through the book and I am loving every page of it.
This morning I opened up the book to read, and before I came to the chapter which I left off at yesterday, I decided to quickly scan all the pages I’ve read and to pay really close attention to all those sections which I had already highlighted and found important. Doing this small scan made me think how amazing this book is and how riddled it is with gems of truth and success increasing principles. Literally.. almost every other page had some form of coloring from my highlighter and pen markings. So out of the inspiration of my early morning scan I thought I would post some of the ideas that I’ve highlighted to share some of the subtle and not so subtle principles with individuals who haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading this fantastic book. (please ignore the informality…i hope you enjoy)
“Seek expert counsel before giving up.”
“The better part of all I have made were made after people had said NO”
“keep on keeping on no matter how hard the going may be”
“The person who stops studying merely because they have finished school is forever hopelessly doomed to mediocrity, no matter what their calling. The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge.”
“learn the art of converting defeat into the stepping stones of opportunity”
“Riches begin with a state of mind, with definiteness of purpose, with little or no hard work.”
“Acquire a state of mind that will acquire riches.”
“Stay on the job until you succeed, no matter how much time is required.”
“Desire: knowing what one wants.”
“I will burn all bridges behind me, and stake my entire future on my ability to get what I want.”
“we win or we perish!”
“Cut all sources of retreat.”
“Every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent success.”
“The turning poing in the lives of those who succeed usually comes at the moment of some crisis, through which they are introduced to their “other selves”.”
“Recognize no such word as impossible, and accepts no such reality as failure.”
“To get satisfactory results you must follow all instructions in a spirit of faith.”
“Specialize knowledge, plus imagination.”
“Proper planning may circumvent lowly beginnings.”
Well, I’ll stop now before I quote the whole book. Hopefully you find some value in a few of these words. If you did and now you are thinking about thinking and growing rich, don’t miss my blog on the easiest ways to wealth.
Through most of my research over the past couple of years, I have come across multiple ideas on how to become wealthy.I have actually come across four very similar answers time and time again, as to how one becomes wealthy,and recently I have come across a fifth way.So here is my list of the four most popular approaches most understood on how one can become wealthy, then I’ll give you the fifth.
1.WE BECOME WHAT WE THINK ABOUT ALL DAY LONG.
2.MAKING SURE TO INVEST 10% OF YOUR EARNINGS EVERY YEAR
3.DIV ERSIFY YOUR INVESTMENTS
4.MAKE SURE TO GET YOUR TAXES DOWN TO THE LEGAL MINIMUM
Now the fifth way,which is a way that is very rarely followed or known, is by far the most important in easily attaining wealth. Brace yourself…………drum roll……The fifth way is….“Do what you love”. The fifth answer on how to become wealthy through my research has been, “ be sure to be passionate about what you are doing”The key point of this thought is, that when we are doing what we love, we are naturally using our most developed skills and strengths.In using our strengths and doing what we love doing, work naturally becomes play, and of course, when you are playing and having fun you never want to stop.This sincere passion for doing what you love, ultimately leads to your becoming extraordinary and remarkable at what you do.And according to Seth Godin, those who make all the money and lead their industries are those who are extraordinary and remarkable.We all know what we love, but the hard part is effectively using our strengths.Since finding your strengths may be a challenge I recommend taking a look at this serendipitous resource I came across recently. It’s called Now, Discover Your Strengths.Hopefully it will help you to become wealthy the easy way.
Also, if you liked this blog, you’ll love this excellent resource on wealth because it is all about the essence of attaining wealth…. It’s called Best Books on Wealth.
“”Living your best life is to find out what your calling is. Your real job on Earth is to find out what you were meant to be doing and to find a way to do that thing.” —Oprah Winfrey
For years, I’d wondered what my life purpose was, what my calling was, especially in business. I’ve always known that I was good at marketing, but I also knew I was here for something bigger than I could dream, yet I couldn’t figure out what that was. I’ll admit I had a sometimes painful upbringing and early adulthood, and I always wondered WHY this was all happening to me. If there’s supposed to be a reason for everything, then what was the reason I experienced so many deeply trying times? What was I supposed to do with all of it? I just couldn’t figure it out.
In the last few years, I’ve made it a habit to record Oprah on a daily basis and am familiar with her saying, “Use your life.” Countless times, I’ve heard her inspire her viewers to look for the meaning in something that’s happened to them, and then ask them to turn around and do something useful with it. The concept seems to be: Don’t necessarily wallow in what’s happened to you.
Instead, use the experience and the learning to help others, to make a difference, to create change. THAT is your life purpose. THAT is your calling, and it’s super important for businesses like ours because we can affect people and businesses so directly.
Since then, I’ve realized why all that happened to me and why I’m here. From my experiences, I learned to overcome my once very low self-esteem, as well as the negative beliefs and playing small, to have more confidence and to really go for what I want in life. I also learned about having compassion for others (including my clients), to know that we all have painful experiences that shape who we are today; we all have fears and things holding us back, but these don’t need to continue to hold us back.
At the same time, we all have massive potential for success, and to make a difference, especially being self-employed. It’s just a question of getting out of our own way and then getting out there in a BIG way.
Using Client Attraction, I use my ‘calling’ on a daily basis with my clients. Yes, early on and for the majority of the time, we focus heavily on the marketing. (Listen, if you’re sitting on the sofa WAITING for clients day after day, you’re not going to make a big difference in this world.) You were given a gift, so you need to get out there to tell people about it and start helping people get results. Therefore, the marketing is absolutely crucial.
But once the marketing systems are in place, the ‘calling’ piece of it extends also to the other stuff that most entrepreneurs never put their attention to: increasing their confidence, getting out of their own way and into their true potential success (it’s already IN them, they just haven’t accessed it fully up to now). Especially women.
That might mean noticing how they get stopped by a chronic conditioning of playing too small, limiting thoughts, not deserving, subtle self-sabotaging behaviors, and fears that may or may not really exist, but are DEFINITELY getting in the way. In addition to the marketing, that’s where I can make a massive difference in someone’s business success and in his or her life. I’m a marketing junkie, but that’s the juicy stuff for me. Best of all, it works and clients love the outcome.
When you’re coming from your ‘calling,’ clients get better results, give you amazing testimonials, and more referrals. You begin to make a more substantial difference and that automatically translates to more success, more income, and all that stuff.
Wondering how to tap into your own calling? Here’s what I learned about finding mine:
When you’re NOT aligned with your life purpose, life is more of a struggle.
Hardship is actually good. It’s a sign from the Universe that you’re not necessarily on the right track. See hardship as a blessing and a clue.
It’s not about necessarily CHANGING your business (I’m still doing Client Attraction and marketing); it’s a clue that you may need to change your direction a tiny bit or tweak it just slightly.
Your Assignment:
Find a way to weave your ‘calling’ into your work. Ask yourself these questions for clues on finding yours:
What section of the bookstore do you hang around in the most?
Look around you for signs about your purpose. They’re everywhere if you look for them. Little happy coincidences aren’t coincidences at all. They’re ALL signs.
If you act upon the signs and take inspired action, you’ll expedite your journey to living your purpose.
Find what comes easily to you, what helps others AND makes you feel good at the same time. If something brings you joy (like, for me, teaching and inspiring entrepreneurs to truly succeed on all levels) then it’s something to pursue.
Once you’ve found it, start weaving it little by little into your every day work with clients, or start doing it a little at a time. Instead of doing a complete 180, test out the waters. Look for how you FEEL. Look for the subtle feedback. Then add a little more, so that it feels authentic to you. As you keep going, add even a little more of it until it feels really good and you notice a difference in your clients’ results and how they relate to you. Start weaving it in your talks, your teleclasses, your networking, and your articles. Over time, when it feels right, you can start adding it permanently to your marketing materials.
Your calling is to help others AND to feel good doing it. Once you find it, throw yourself into it. Success, clients, and increased revenues will naturally come to you when you do. You won’t believe you get paid to live it.
All that said, I urge you NOT to forget the marketing. When you market authentically, Client Attraction becomes big-time easy. Not sure where to start? Try the step-by-step system that will feel easy and authentic to you. The Client Attraction Home Study System™ avoids all the extraneous stuff that could distract your growth and instead gives you the most important things to do to set up simple, solid systems, so that you consistently fill your pipeline and continually get new clients. It’s all step-by-step, not a big mishmash of things. So, you do step one of the system, and when you’re done with that, you move on to step two, and so on. So easy. All the tools, scripts, templates, and examples are handed to you on a silver platter. You can get it at www.TheClientAttractionSystem.com. ”
�
I hope you enjoyed this great article I pulled from http://www.zeromillion.com. It was actually procduced by Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Expert, is founder of the Client Attraction System™, the proven step-by-step program to attract more clients, in record time&ldots;guaranteed. To receive your freebie audio CD by mail and sign up for her weekly how-to articles on attracting more clients, visit www.ClientAttraction.com.
I this article because it was well written and pretty much sums up alot about my experience…so I hope you enjoyed it.
P.S It is a must for you to take a look at this video. A MUST I Tell YOU. It’s from Robin Sharma of Sharma Leadership International…and it is a terrific proclamation of Pursuing Your Dreams…
ENJOY
. I am just about half way through the book and I am loving every page of it.
The Educated Entrepreneur 