It’s the Excitement of Exploring and Exploiting the Most Valuable Asset we all Possess
When I chucked in my job I wanted two things, freedom and money.
The past 25 years have been exciting. I have lived on my wits. At times it’s been scary. But the upside is that I have felt alive, enjoyed the feeling of pride when I have achieved something that matters to me.
Yes, I have made money but the most rewarding part has been what I’ve been free to explore my mind, my capabilities, human nature and the world around me.
Let me tell you a bit about how I have survived, had fun and prospered.
The 4 Monkeys That Make Money
I learned quite early on to play with the 4 powerful money-making monkeys in my mind.
- Charley searches endlessly and stores information. He keeps it ready for when opportunities arise to use that knowledge
- Jeanette bosses the creative department that produces ideas to solve problems and ideas to take advantage of opportunities when they arise.
- Richard is in charge of controlling my mind. He casts his stern eye over what I am thinking and when he spots negative thoughts he demands that I instantly change to thinking positively.
- Stella is in charge of strategy. It’s her job to work out how to use ideas and knowledge to create the value that will lead to wealth.
As an entrepreneur you have to be the source of ideas, the driver of the vehicle that will make money and the salesperson who persuades customers to buy your product or service. I have found that mental agility and strength were natural qualities that I possess that I had never thought I had.
How To Turn Ideas Into Money
It took me a while to cotton on tot the understanding that money is a by-product.
Money comes to you as a result of providing value. As an entrepreneur, your job is to think of ideas (a product or service) that will provide value. Then you have to provide that value to someone with a need or a strong desire for the product or service you are offering,
I have found that using my imagination is the most powerful money-making ability that I possess.
Entrepreneurs are good judges of whether an idea has the potential to earn money. They’re good judges of people, they know who is honest, who adds value, who they can trust.
How to Avoid Blind Alleys
Entrepreneurs cannot afford to waste their time on unproductive work.
It took a while to develop the judgement to know when an idea is not going to fly. The tools I learned to use to help me make good calls are:
- Notice when I am struggling to get going. When there’s no excitement to inspire me I find that I lose interest. This is a good sign of a blind alley.
- When I get bored with the idea I’ve noticed that I start to find it stressful. I take this as an indicator that the idea will also bore other people.
- When the initial excitement dies quickly I run out of energy equally quickly – it’s time to move on to something else.
However, blind alleys that make no money are valuable. I have discovered something else that doesn’t work. I have learned more about what doesn’t interest and inspire me.
I advise all apprentice entrepreneurs to be impatient, if something doesn’t work don’t waste your time, drop it quickly. The best entrepreneurs are impatient.
The Source of Never-ending Improvement
Excellence is rarely achieved at the first attempt, it is built on continuous, never-ending improvements.
When I worked for other people Feedback was often used as a way of criticising poor performance. As an entrepreneur, I have learned to mine feedback intelligently. It has become a powerful tool for improving my results. This is how I use feedback as my way of improving my performance.
- I pay particular attention to the tone of voice and body language of the person giving the feedback. Do they sound as if they are being sincere, and truthful, and trying to be helpful? Is the feedback positive or negative?
- I ask myself, what are they actually telling me? Is it about my idea, my performance, my product, my service, my attitude?
- I ask the person giving me feedback for ideas and suggestions as to how I can improve?
Feedback is your coach for never-ending improvement. Used well it can eventually lead to excellence, which then opens the doors to the money vault.
Feedback as led to my becoming an avid reader and researcher of lives that have enhanced human life. I want to know how did they do that? What was the well-spring of their motivation? What qualities did the need to do what they did? What did they need to know to do that? I study human behaviour. I want to know
The 3 Unforgivable Sins That You Must Avoid
Never fail to deliver on your promises.
Never fail to deliver value.
Never fail to own up to your mistakes. Most people will forgive you if you are honest about your mistakes. One client even paid an agreed fee when I failed to deliver due to circumstances beyond my control.
Why Entrepreneurs Are Early Adopters
The world around you is changing all the time. it moves faster and faster. New products and new ways of doing things appear every day. My first success was the result of getting into a market early.
I make it my business to be observant and curious, constantly on the lookout for new trends and opportunities. I have learned to be flexible and adaptable. The excitement of being an entrepreneur is that opportunity is all around. Above all, entrepreneurs should have the creativity to invent new ways of taking advantage of the opportunities that change presents. You must know what is going on in your area and you must work out how to take advantage of new situations.
Stand still and you will starve.
An Important Lesson About Competing
I have come to believe that human beings are naturally competitive.
I have played sport all my life. I am never consistently the best at the sport I am playing. I may never win gold medals or trophies. But I have learned that when I persist and work on my technique I improve. Eventually, I become a competent player.
Persistence is more important than winning. Any business is a long game. Little victories mean little. What matters is surviving and the excitement of finding, new, interesting and valuable ways to be of service.
How Even Introverts Become Dynamic Leaders
Answer me this: “Do you want to mix with people who are angry, bullies, boring, bad tempered, moaners or miserable?”
Wouldn’t you much rather hang out with people who are happy, positive, generous, thoughtful, positive and caring?
Simple lesson, people like positive, happy people. Make yourself a person of positive attributes and you will attract people who want to do things for you. They will become profitable customers.
The Feeling That Drives Success
Entrepreneurs discover their passion. They love what they do. They feel actively involved with their passion and what they are doing for other people. Enthusiasm is the emotion that provides the energy that drives entrepreneurs to succeed.
What do you have a passion for? What makes you feel alive? What thoughts fill you with energy?
When I look at my own situation I realise that I don’t have a passion for coaching. I have a passion for helping people to not waste their lives. This passion has maintained my enthusiasm, my interest in learning and my care for my clients for over 25 years.
Walk in the Footsteps of Giants
When you find people going in your direction tag along.
I have tagged along with Richard Bandler to learn the secrets of NLP and how it can help my clients. I slavishly follow Gene Early to get insights into human understanding and ways of coaching that open clients up and allow the learning to pour into their beings. I have tagged along with Niclas Cole to learn the secrets of online communication. I follow them because I believe they know the way.
I only ever follow people who interest me, people who stimulate me and people whom I like. Once I find such people I go out of my way to befriend them and learn from them.