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Journal, Lessons Learned

Why Not?

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In one of the videos I watched for one of my classes this week, Peter Diamandis said something I’ve been saying in my head for weeks now. (Sometimes it feels really good to be validated.) He said,

“You have to believe in yourself and what you’re doing passionately enough that you’re willing to give this person the opportunity to help you or to be involved.”

Remember why you decided to do this in the first place. What was the reason why you wanted to have your own business? Is it because you wanted to make a difference? How passionate about that difference are you? We need to be passionate enough about the difference we want to make, or the legacy we want to leave, to be able to look at it like an opportunity for others as well.

Believe in what you’re doing. Treat it as though it’s a dream and you’re allowing others to come along on this incredible journey with you. Then go out there and work like you’re making others’ dreams come true. Because you are. And in the process, yours will come true too.

Journal

Without Me

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There was a quote in The E-Myth Revisited that stood out to me this week. Page 65:

“A Mature company is started differently than all the rest. A Mature company is founded on a broader perspective, an entrepreneurial perspective, a more intelligent point of view. About building a business that works not because of you but without you.”

The biggest draw, at least to me, to own my own business is so that I can have others do the work for me. I don’t want to be the Technician. I want to be the Manager and the Entrepreneur. I want someone else to be the Technician. At some point, I would like to not be the Manager either. I want to be able to do the types of things Jim Ritchie talks about in his Leaders videos. It would be a dream come true to have someone else running my business while I was able to go out and serve others.

That’s what I truly want to do – I want to serve others. I need to have an income in order to be able to support myself while I do that. What better way to have an income that to own your own successful business that someone else is running for you?

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Think On Someone Your Own Size

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It’s good to have a dream. It’s good to go after your dream. It’s even better when you’re willing to work hard and push yourself to attain your dream.

But don’t be a little fish with big britches.

Little Fish Big Fish

That little fish might really want to taste the big fish. He thinks he can catch him, take a bite, fill himself and then swim away.

IF he’s successful, and that’s a BIG IF, what then? The ideas get bigger and before long he’s sunk his teeth into a Great White and can’t get them back out again. Or he does get them back out but all he really did was make the shark mad. He’ll die for sure.

Instead, that little fish should be thinking like a little fish. “Swim away!” That little fish is so focused on what’s in front of him and of getting a hold of that big fish, that he fails to see what’s coming up behind him.

fish-eating-fish

 

If, when we’re creating our own small business (even if we have dreams of becoming a large one), we don’t think like a small business, we can really do some heavy damage.

It’s good to have dreams. All successful people have them. We need to be able to be realistic and take those dreams on, one step at a time. Someday we can be the big fish, but to think like a big fish when we’re so little will only hinder our efforts and blind us to other opportunities.

Journal, Lessons Learned

Brainstorming

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When I have my own company, one of the first things I want to do is brainstorm with my team. I want everyone to feel as though their ideas and opinions matter. It doesn’t mean that we’ll always be able to make everyone’s ideas turn into something tangible, but we will at least be able to feel as though we’re all important.

While doing an assignment for one of my classes this week, the following image came to mind. This is a great way to start a brainstorming session with a team. I’m putting it here so I’ll have it to come back to later.

A brainstorm of a brainstorm

Journal, Lessons Learned

Light Bulb #2

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I had a bit of an epiphany today when reading in chapter 3 of The E-Myth Revisited.

“The purpose of going into business is to get free of a job so you can create jobs for other people.”

lightbulb

True entrepreneurs understand this and THAT is why they go into business for themselves. THAT is what I want to do. What type of business it is doesn’t matter because I won’t have time to do much of it anyway.

Thinking back to my assets (see chapter 2 in The Start-Up Of You), when I sat down and thought through them, most of them were about helping others. I know how to teach, share, help and serve. I can do that for customers, AND I can do that for employees.

I want to start my own business to give myself an outlet for teaching others what I know and helping them find out who they are.

I don’t think I’m saying exactly what I mean, but I’m not sure how else to say it.

I want to create a place with a work environment that encourages creativity, innovation, and a learning spirit. I want it to be a place where others want to come to work; where we can enjoy each other and learn together. I don’t want to do all of the work – I want to help others learn to do things I already can.

Journal

Do YOU Have a Dream?

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Why do you think Randy Pausch was able to achieve so many of his childhood dreams?

I think Randy was able to achieve so many of his childhood dreams because they were specific enough to be attainable. The example I liked best was when he was talking about floating. He didn’t want to be an astronaut – he just wanted to feel what they felt when they didn’t have gravity weighing them down.

Another thing that helped him to achieve his dreams was his determination and drive. Not all people have an inner drive like he did. Unfortunately, too many people in today’s world are content to allow others to do their work for them. Instead of wanting to learn, they just want to be handed what they feel they’re entitled to. If more of us were like Randy, this world would be a much happier place. I with those who dishonestly collected handouts understood that.

Do you feel that dreaming is important? Why or why not?

Dreaming is incredibly important. Without a dream, we’re merely robots, going through daily motions waiting for life to happen to us. Dreamers make things happen. Dreamers create, achieve, adapt, apply, broaden, and satisfy. They help other people achieve their dreams. They inspire and fulfill, not only themselves, but others.

Discuss at least one of your childhood dreams. Explain why you believe you can or cannot achieve this dream.

Like many kids, I dreamt of being famous. I wanted people to know who I was. Not because I was better looking than anyone else, or smarter, or more talented. I didn’t really care what the reason was, I just wanted to be famous.

I’m certain I could achieve that dream, if I still wanted to. The world has changed and people become more famous for doing stupid things than they do for doing good things. I don’t have that dream any more. Mmm… let me rephrase. I no longer have a dream to be famous. I have a dream of having a foundation that is well-known for doing good things for people who can’t do for themselves.

Lessons Learned

Take It Home

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In chapter three of The Ministry of Business, the point is made that taking work home with us isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, it’s suggested that by sharing what happens at work with our spouse, we can create a strong partnership with them in all aspects of our lives.

“By allowing your spouse to become involved with your business affairs, contributing ideas and providing feedback, praise, and constructive criticism, you create a constant support system for one another. This will deepen the affection you feel for each other, and will help establish a unique equality that can’t be achieved in any other way.”

I truly believe this principle to be true.  My husband and I always take time at the end of the day to talk about what happened at work. In doing so, I’ve learned some valuable lessons regarding IT related stuff (my IT department tells me I know just enough to be dangerous) and I believe he has learned a few communication techniques from me. Because we are able to talk, freely, about our feelings, attitudes, responses, questions, and overall positions within our work places, we’ve grown closer together.

One of the most powerful things I’ve learned is that he will never teach me all that he knows. Not because he can’t, but because there simply isn’t time. Knowing that there are things he knows and I don’t helps me to respect his opinions, actions and responses so much better. Instead of instant reaction, I’ve learned that he’s acting on what he knows. Maybe he knows something I don’t. That opportunity – the opportunity to ask him what he knows that I’m missing – has helped strengthen our relationship in ways I didn’t know was possible.