One of the VERY FIRST PRINCIPLES of creating Your Own Success is exactly this:
Axiom Number Four – NO LIMITS!
If you feel that there is a ceiling, there is. But there is ONLY a ceiling as long as you believe its there. It’s sort of like when they train elephants. They put a chain around the elephant’s leg so the elephant can’t go more than a certain distance from the pole. After a while, the elephant learns that it can’t go past a certain point, and it stops trying. The trainers then remove the chain and the elephant never goes past that point again.
We do this to ourselves. Conditioned from when we were little, we grow up with our own ceilings, our own limits. And they are very real to us. Unless and until we change our THINKING, we will never change our REALITY. In Chapter One we talked about the correlation between THINKING AND SUCCESS. Now let’s talk about how to DREAM AND DREAM BIG!
Whether your dream is to retire within 3-5 years with a certain lifestyle, or to continue to build a dynasty, you’ve got to have YOUR DREAM in order to keep yourself motivated and focused.
Being an Independent Business Owner demands that you put in the amount of effort that is required so that you ultimately Achieve Your Dream. Remember that you are doing this for YOU, so give yourself a full effort. In Chapter One we also talked about having Self-Confidence, Self-Worth, and Self-Determination. There is nothing more devastating to your attempts at Success than negative self-talk. NONE!
We will talk about goals soon enough, but first, before we write down tangible goals, we must determine what your DREAMS are.
Axiom Number Five – DEFINE YOUR DREAM
Let’s Dream a little right now. It’s not as easy as you might think!
Let’s start by defining what a Dream is, because some people just don’t know how to Dream!
There’s a big difference between a DREAM and a GOAL. A Dream is the lifestyle created in part by the Achievement of Your Goals. In other words, a “new car” would be a Goal; a new home would be a Goal, etc. But the life you can see yourself leading; now that is bigger than any one Goal, and that is your DREAM.
Lots of people are afraid to Dream Big, usually out of fear of failure, or looking foolish as a result of failing. This may make perfect sense based once again on how they were raised.
This is VERY CRITICAL TO YOUR SUCCESS so pay close attention to what we are about to discuss.
Growing up, most of us have been taught to do our homework, study, be prepared, and get good grades. There was shame in failure. You wouldn’t want your parents to know if you failed a test, and depending on what group you were associated with in school, you may be chastised for failing. Failing is considered bad in almost every sense. Failed marriage, failed drivers license test, failed math class, failed etc.
Not only is failure considered shameful, but so is even standing out in the crowd. How hard to kids work to “fit in?” whether it’s the right sneakers, styles or colors? How about hairstyles, peer pressure for drinking, smoking, sex and drugs? It never ends. Most people want to fit in and need to fit in.
While there are a lot of pluses to being raised to Succeed, there are also some serious negative side affects to having such a deep seeded fear of failure. Let’s talk about how some of the side effects of what we learned while growing up affects us in a negative manner as we strive to build a SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS.
Axiom Number Six – ASSUMING RISK
On my Web Site, I quoted George Gilder, who is well known for his definition of what an Entrepreneur is at the core of his own self.
ENTREPRENEUR
He casts aside his assurance of 40-hour weeks,
Leaves the safe cover of tenure and security,
And charges across the perilous fields
Of change and opportunity.
If he succeeds,
His profits will come
Not from what he takes from his fellow citizens,
But from the value they freely place
On the gift of his imagination.
The KEY WORDS in these words of wisdom are the FIRST three words of the second part of his definition of Entrepreneur:
“If he succeeds”
An Entrepreneur is an individual who does NOT follow the crowd.
An Entrepreneur is NOT an individual who is afraid to stand out.
An Entrepreneur is NOT the kind of person to be content earning a wage and living within the means of that wage.
An Entrepreneur is a person who recognizes the RISK involved as he:
“CASTS ASIDE the assurance of a 40-hour week,
Leaves the SAFE COVER of tenure and security,
And charges across the PERILOUS FIELDS…”
Axiom Number Seven – RISK IMPLIES THE POTENTIAL FOR FAILURE
Perhaps the character traits that suit a businessperson best are now becoming more clear to you. These include:
- Taking a risk,
- Standing out in the crowd,
- Subjecting yourself to ridicule, and
- Recognizing the potential for failure
These traits, which ALL SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSMEN MUST have, are all in DIRECT OPPOSITION to everything we learned growing up!
Now, all of a sudden, at whatever age you are, you are making the transition from what is comfortable for you from your childhood memories, to taking a chance, a risk, of recognizing that the possibility for failure exists! After all, you’re NOT playing it safe. You ARE giving up the “security” of 40-hour weeks!
Can you hear your heart beating fast? Are your palms the least bit sweaty? Are you feeling a wee bit queasy? WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF BUSINESS, MY FRIEND!
That adrenaline rush that you feel, that EXCITEMENT of feeling like you’ve got the confidence to go forward and reach for YOUR BRASS RING,
THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT WHEN I SAY YOU NEED TO HAVE SELF-CONFIDENCE, SELF-WORTH, AND SELF-DETERMINATION!
Here are some words of wisdom coined by yours truly:
“IF YOU’RE NOT CHASING
YOUR DREAMS,
YOU’RE NOT LIVING!”
I hope you are starting to see that it takes some Character Traits that are either part of your personality right now, or in need of being developed, in order to be Successful In Business. As promised, you’ll learn step by step exactly how to do everything you need to do to be Successful running Your Business, but before we get to the nuts and bolts, we have some more work to do on DREAMS and GOALS.
AFTER ALL, IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING, HOW WILL YOU KNOW WHEN YOU GET THERE?
Let’s try to take a deep breath and clear our mind so we can think clearly. A cleansing breath is achieved by taking a deep breath in through the nose, holding it for several seconds, and then blowing the breath out through the mouth. Cleansing breaths are very powerful, so you do not want to do more than 3 at any one time or you may become dizzy. However, this is a very useful technique to calm yourself down whenever you feel your anxiety level increase.
So take a minute right now, close your eyes (I am assuming you are not operating heavy equipment right now!) and take a deep breath in through the nose, then hold it for 5 seconds, then blow the breath out through your mouth. Repeat this procedure 3 times so that you are relaxed and ready to Dream.
Now, think about YOUR DREAM. Not a “thing” likes a house or a car. Your OVERALL Dream. Financially free to sail around the world? Do you have a Villa in France? Are servants drawing your bath? Do you own your own plane? Are you a professional golfer? Are you retired? Are you an investor with millions of dollars? Are you a parent with two kids in college and the funds to afford a fine lifestyle in addition to tuition?
I remarried not long ago, and my new bride, Kathey and I both share a similar Dream. We both would love to spend time in Hawaii when it is too hot or too cold in Las Vegas, and we’d like to spend some time in Pennsylvania enjoying the change of season. We’d love to be able to go to Europe when we want to do so, not be tied down to a job and not have to worry about what things cost.
We want freedom. THAT’s our REAL DREAM. Freedom to choose what we want to do with our lives. We don’t want to build someone else’s dream, working a 40-hour week, for what “feels” like security until the pink slip comes in the pay envelope.
We’ve envisioned our LIFESTYLE, and we’ve recognized that we want to be FREE to enjoy life to its fullest. And what that means to US is what I just shared with you. Your definition of living life to its fullest may be very different than ours.
But the one thing that ALL ENTREPRENEURS have in common, is this:
WE WANT OUR DAY IN THE SUN!
We want it ALL, and THEN some! We DO NOT WANT to work 40 hours a week and NEVER GET ANYWHERE! WE REFUSE!
Entrepreneurs have THEIR OWN IDEAS OF HOW THEIR LIFE SHOULD BE LIVED. And they’re GOING TO REACH OUT AND GRAB IT!
By the way, when I capitalize the letters like I have done in the paragraph above, its because I am VERY PASSIONATE about what I do! I LOVE BEING FREE TO REACH FOR THE STARS, TO DREAM BIG DREAMS, AND TO CONTROL MY OWN DESTINY!
AND THAT’S WHAT THIS IS REALLY ALL ABOUT, ISN’T IT???!
Now, before we talk about Goals, let’s talk about how many of us have thought for our entire working lives, and why this way of thinking is DEVASTATING to our Journey toward SUCCESS.
Almost every one of us judges our job, position, or career at least in part as being a “good” job or a “bad” job based in large part on the pay.
Person one: “He’s making $18 an hour!”
Person two: “Hey, not bad”
Person one: “She started at $35,000 per year!”
Person two: “Oh she must be very happy!”
Person one: “He’s only making $400 a week.”
Person two: “I’ll bet he’s glad just to be working.”
Well, my friends, here it is:
Axiom Number Eight – UNLIMITED PROFITS ARE THERE FOR YOU
I’m not talking about “good” money.
I am talking about UNLIMITED money!
When you are done with this entire Course, all three parts, you will see the whole picture of what I am talking about, but I want to make this point as clearly as I can:
THE AMOUNT OF PROFIT YOU EARN IS ENTIRELY UP TO YOU!
But the first thing you MUST do, which is TOTALLY ESSENTIAL, is to STOP thinking in terms of how much money you make per hour, per week, per month, or per year.
People who are SUCCESSFUL in Business NEVER EVER EVER
DO THIS ONE THING:
Axiom Number Nine – NEVER TRADE TIME FOR MONEY!
When I talk of no limits as to how much you can make, let me give you an example. Suppose someone came along right now and said they’d pay you $50 an hour, 40 hours per week, on a guaranteed contract for however much time you specify. That’s $2000 a week, $8000 a month, for your choice of time. 1 year, 2 years, 5 years.
If you take this offer, you’ve sold yourself out as far as your Dream is concerned, haven’t you? Unless your Dream was small enough to be able to be achieved with a $100,000 gross annual salary, less taxes of course, you are compromising your Dream. You’re giving up. You’re taking the safe way out.
If someone offered you $100 an hour, or $200 an hour, or $500 an hour, or $1000 an hour, you’d be “settling” for that amount. Now perhaps you’d be PLEASED AS PUNCH with $1000 an hour for a 40 hour week. That’s $40,000 a week! $2,000,000 per year! That’s a LOT of money!
That is, as long as your dream doesn’t include having multiple mansions in different countries with your own jet, pilot and staff !!!!!
My point is that whenever you “settle”, and that’s what you’re doing when you work for wages, you are compromising Your Dream for “safety”, and I put that word in quotes because you really do not control your own destiny. And at some point, perhaps you’d rather modify your Dream and take the “sure thing.”
But what if you didn’t take $100 an hour, which is a $200,000 gross income, $150,000 net, and instead, you followed your dream, you created your own dynasty, and you did considerably better than $200,000 per year.
DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY MULIT-MILLIONAIRES, BILLIONAIRES, AND MULTI-BILLIONAIRES WOULD NEVER HAVE EXISTED IF THEY DIDN’T HAVE THE GUTS TO FOLLOW THEIR DREAM?
There’s so many it’s mind-boggling. What if Bill Gates went to work for IBM for $200,000 per year? Would he be worth 50 BILLION DOLLARS TODAY?
Have we not heard of Donald Trump? What if he became a builder and built small homes in the suburbs? Would he be THE DONALD??
My point is that as they say in baseball:
“You can’t steal second, AND keep one foot on first.” In order to reach for the brass ring, You’ve GOT TO TAKE A CHANCE. You’ve got to take a chance so at the end of the day, you can say “I left it all on the field. I’ve lived a full life. I am good-tired. I met life head on. I did not live in fear. I did things MY WAY. I had a dream, and I followed MY dream. I did NOT build someone else’s dream.”
Such is the Mind, Spirit and Soul of the ENTREPRENEUR. A person with Dreams, Guts and Desire. A person to be Respected, Revered and Admired. A person that has earned the right to walk with “that” swagger because they had the Strength and the Conviction to follow their Own Guiding Light.
For many years, I had a poster on my wall at my office: It said:
“Only those who risk going too far can possibly know how far they can go.”
For me, I’d rather be IN THE GAME, and wind up hurt, than sit on the bench and wonder what might have been.
I’d like to close this Section with a quote from the great philosopher Henry David Thoreau:
“If a man doesn’t keep pace with his companions,
Perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
Let him step to the music which he hears,
However measured or far away.”
DARE TO BE DIFFERENT! Remember, if you’re not the lead dog, the view is all the same!
DREAMS:
For this section, you will need a pen and paper. You’ve purchased this Course, so you should get the most out of it! You might be thinking that you’ll get the pen and paper later. I know you’re comfortable, and you don’t feel like getting up. But trust me, you will get more out of this exercise if you have a pen and paper!
When we first spoke about DREAMS, I purposely did not have you have a pen and paper for that exercise because I wanted you to relax, and let your mind Dream. We learned that the DREAM is the bigger picture. It is the overall achievement. It is how you see yourself in your ultimate life’s picture.
Take a moment to write down your DREAM. Because before we go any further, into goal setting, we need to have the Dream clearly identified.
Here’s an example of a Dream written down at the top of your page:
Today’s Date:
By my _______th Birthday on _______, I want to be financially independent, free to travel the world, play golf three days a week, help those that I can, maintain my health, feel good about what I have accomplished, and most of all, have peace and happiness in my heart.
Now, before we go ANY further, let’s ask the tough question:
Axiom Number Ten – ACHIEVING YOUR DREAM
Here’s the question:
CAN YOU ACHIEVE YOUR DREAM DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING NOW?
The decision as to whether to go into business straight ahead, full-speed, with the intent in every fiber of your being to BE SUCCESSFUL in business, is founded upon a number of factors. Of all of the factors, the single most critical factor is simply this: You have a DREAM – can you reach it doing what you’re doing now?
If the answer is YES, then by all means consider staying your course. After all, why deviate from the path that will take you to your Dream? Where else would you want to go?
If on the other hand, you cannot achieve your Dream by doing what you are doing now, then the next question is:
IS YOUR DREAM IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO YOU TO MAKE THE 100% COMMITMENT THAT IT WILL TAKE TO CHASE IT?
Axiom Number Eleven – FOCUS, COMMITMENT AND DESIRE
FOCUS: If you do not have a clear picture in your mind, and written down on your wall, of what you ultimately are trying to achieve, you will NEVER get there. In actuality, most people don’t know what their Dream is, let alone how to get there. That’s why we are taking the time that we need to take to first make sure that are starting out with the proper Foundation for Success.
COMMITMENT: Are you the kind of person who makes a commitment, and keeps that commitment no matter what? If you are late for an appointment, do you call? Is your word your bond? Once you put your mind to something, is there no stopping you? Focusing on your Dream is the first step. Being committed to stay on your path is your second step.
DESIRE: This is where your PASSION for Achieving Your Dream becomes the fire that fuels your efforts. You can be focused on what it is you are trying to accomplish, and you can be committed to work along on your path. But if you don’t have that BURNING DESIRE, that INNER FIRE, that INTENSITY, that you KNOW in your Heart and in your Soul that you WILL ACHIEVE YOUR DREAM, No Fire equals No Dream. It’s just that simple.
In Chapter One, we discussed THREE CRITICAL ELEMENTS:
Self-Confidence, Self-Worth, and Self-Determination. These are all concepts that relate to how we think of OURSELVES. Without these three CRITICAL ELEMENTS, we are setting ourselves up for failure because if we are not ready to accept Success, as we start experiencing Success, we wind up in a crisis state. As we discussed, the time to deal with how we feel about Success is BEFORE we get started so we can work on any issues that we may have identified.
Now, we are exploring three more CRITICAL ELEMENTS. But the difference is that these three elements are not as related to our SELF-IMAGE as they are to the TRAITS that we MUST have in order to achieve that which we set out to achieve.
The combination of Self-Confidence, Self-Worth, and Self-Determination, combined with the three character traits of FOCUS, COMMITMENT, and DESIRE, make for the foundation of a person who has the BEST CHANCE for SUCCESS.
In Chapter Three we will Create Our Listing of Positive Affirmations. This exercise will help you to strengthen the following:
- Self-Confidence
- Self-Worth
- Self-Determination
- Focus
- Commitment, and
- Desire