When the Wheels Come Off

What do you do when the wheels come off of your world?

A friend of mine lost a fifty thousand dollar contract recently. When you consider that is more money than most people throughout the world, including the United States, earn in a year, the significance is enormous. He had been working on this major project for over ten months and he was eager to deliver the finished product and collect his fee. Imagine his excitement when he called the company declaring that the work was completed a few weeks ahead of schedule and he was ready to present what he believed was an exceptional product. Bringing a major project in early as well as above and beyond the scope of the contract, feels exhilarating. He was prepared to coordinate schedules with all of the major executives with his schedule. Imagine his shock when he learned that the company was bankrupt and he would not only not be presenting the project but would not be paid.

A flood of emotions flow through your body like electric shock waves. Anger, shock, grief, confusion, and hurt rise and fall like tidal waves until your energy is depleted and you sit stunned and exhausted. A year’s income, a year’s work all evaporated before your eyes.

What do you do? You can scream, cry, pout or even throw things; however none of those do any good. You can go drink but that is never a solution either. Give yourself a few minutes to regain your composure and figure out what happens next. If the company truly is bankrupt and closing its doors, you are probably not the only broken contract and not the only impending lawsuit. Suing in this case would probably be pointless; the only one who usually wins in these situations is the attorney.

An attorney in Steamboat Springs had the picture of a cow on his wall. One person was pulling the head of the cow by the halter, the other pulling the tail of the cow and the attorney sitting there milking the cow. Both ends of the lawsuit lose and the attorney mils the situation. Alternative dispute resolution frequently benefits both parties in the lawsuit more than litigation. A lawsuit would not be recommended in this case.

Look at the work and determine what good could result from it. Could he write a book, teach a seminar, or sell it to another company. A full year’s work must be worth something to someone. Put your thinking cap on and go for it.

Life occasionally hands us a brutal slap in the financial face. Maybe yours was a job loss.

If you are like most people, you have been employed in more than one job throughout your life. Take a sheet of paper and draw a line down the center from the top of the paper to the bottom. Start making a list on the left side of the paper of everything you ever liked about any job you ever had. Start making a list on the right side of the paper of everything you ever disliked about any job you ever had. Take a fresh new sheet of paper and list everything which would be ideal for you in a new career. Note that I did not say new job; many people find this is the perfect time to start a business of their own.

After all, you can not possibly be terminated from a company you own without your consent. In a perfect world with zero limitations, what would you enjoy doing for a career? No, do not analyze or go negative, just think and write possibilities.
This technique is a variation of the Ben Franklin problem solving method.

This is exactly the advice given to my friend who lost the fifty thousand dollar contract fee. Look for all of the positives, the known negatives and the potential desirable outcomes. From this method will emerge a pattern; from the pattern will emerge a solution.

We always have a solution just around the corner; our responsibility is to look for it, find it and implement it.

If you lost you job, then determine all of the positives, negatives and desirable outcomes. Now when you go forward to seek a new career you have more experience in selecting the ideal position for you. That is a tremendous advantage to having a few years experience. We have the knowledge to know what we like and what we don’t like. As a professor of mine once said, you can have ten years experience or one year’s experience ten times. You have the benefit of ten years experience. Next time you will make an even better choice.

Maybe this is the perfect time to launch your own business and create the future you desire. Fulfill everything on your ideal career list. Work in your area of strength and passion. Creating your ideal future is far more fun than creating the future of someone else’s dreams.

If you would like assistance in determining your passion, your ideal future career, write me a note in the ‘contact Elaine’ section of www.Elaine4Success.com.

Perspective on Success

Attention Entrepreneurs!

Anything which gets in the way of your goal constitutes a distraction. Medical school is an extremely worthwhile and valuable activity, but not unless you are choosing a career in the medical profession. If your goal is to become a network marketer, medical school is a distraction.

Focus on your goals. Focus on your strengths. Regain perspective in your life.

Look seriously at your perspective on your life and your business. Today’s activities determine tomorrow’s success. Your greatest moment, your greatest achievement, your greatest adventure can be and should be in the future. The future is within your control. The past by the very nature of it being the past can not be changed. The new you strains to be created. New potential, new achievement and new experiences await you. Each new dawn brings wonder and joy. The future hold excitement if you allow it.

Yesterday remains a memory. Learn from it, yes, but leave it behind you. Look ahead to what you can be tomorrow. Where are you going with your life?

There was a passage in “The Noticer” by Andy Andrews about two men sitting on the beach eating. When asked what he was eating, one man answered, “Vienna sausages and sardines.” When asked where he was eating, he replied, “I’m sitting in the sand.” “Ah,” his companion replied, “it is all in your perspective. I am dining on surf and turf with an ocean view.” Perspective makes all the difference.

What perspective governs your life? Are you grateful for the blessings, advantages and talents you possess or grumbling about the challenges you face?

Life hands each and every one of us opportunities every day. How we choose to view those opportunities determines the difference between the successful and the failures. Viewing a new business striving for success can be frustration and stress or excitement about the potential. Check your perspective.

I’ve been to many hospitals and each time I hear the new baby pronounced as a boy or a girl. Never have I heard a new baby pronounced as an entrepreneur. Being an entrepreneur is a learned skill. Yes, there are some of us who are psychologically unemployable. We have that intense inner burning desire to create and take control of our income and our future. We are the leaders. We are the risk takers.

An entrepreneur has a different perspective on life. We take charge. We take action. Our perspective is that life is fun. Life and business are challenges to be internalized. We dine on surf and turf with an ocean view. We see the potential in every opportunity.

Entrepreneurs have an excited perspective on life and business.

You are extraordinary. Touch base with your perspective in every situation. Never allow yourself to feel inadequate. One of the problems of living in the greatest nation in the world is that our perspective of entitlement gets skewed. We take our advantages for granted. Because our entire experience has been in a nation of abundance, regardless of our personal circumstances, we have more freedom and potential here than any other nation in the world. Our perspective gets tainted. We expect good opportunities to flow to us in such abundance that we do not always dig deep in our being to discover our own talents and strengths.

Dine on surf and turf with an ocean view. Use a positive perspective in every aspect of your life. Tap into your passion. Discover your talents and strengths.

Depending on your perspective, life can be a thrilling adventure or drudgery. You choose. Opportunity is a choice. Entrepreneurialism is a choice. Your perspective is a choice.

For more insight into your passion, talents, strengths and perspective, join me at www.Elaine4Success.com.

Risk Taker

Every leader takes risks. Risk represents the only way to forge new territory. Without an element of risk, nothing would ever be accomplished. New lands would never have been discovered or settled. New inventions would never be created. Physical feats such as mountain climbing would never occur. Everything we do in life involves an element of risk.

For one person risk could mean jumping out of a perfectly good airplane with a parachute. For another person it could mean something as simple as preparing a new recipe for when your new boss comes to your house for dinner the first time. Risk to a young man could be as simple as asking a girl out on a date for the first time. Risk means different things to different people. Driving a car on a snowy mountain road at night involves risk. Some risks are avoidable and others help us to stretch and grow.

Business involves a risk. Whether you are starting a new business or working on a new marketing method within your current business. There is an element of risk. You can reduce the risk by doing some research to determine what has been successful for others in the past. Thorough research lessens the risk but nothing ever removes all of the risk.

When I lived in Michigan, I worked for a wonderful man. Together we built a large chain of Goodyear dealerships. The company grew from one store to five stores plus a corporate office. The business was extremely successful and the owner treated me very generously. Some of you might be thinking that I had lost my mind to leave such a situation.
As a single mother with two small sons, I wanted a better life for the boys. The influences of Detroit, MI were not compatible with my values and desires for them. We moved to a quiet little ski town. Well, it was quiet in 1981. Today Steamboat thrives as a world class ski resort.

I purchased a struggling bakery at the base of the mountain. I did not have any formal bakery training nor had I ever owned a business. Was this a risky move to spend our savings, move to a new area, open a new business (especially one for which I did not have any experience) and start a new life? Of course. Was it worth every minute of the learning curve? Absolutely. The risk paled in comparison to the potential reward of having the boys grow up in a healthy community.

Risk to reward determination forms the basis of the decision. Staying with an excellent employment situation in Detroit would have assured us of material comforts and a degree of financial security. Risking the move and new business provided potential rewards. The boys would grow up in a healthy atmosphere with plenty of fresh air, outdoor activities, friendly people, and wholesome values. I would realize a dream of owning my business and stretching myself to grow as a person and a business professional. The potential for long term gain always increases by owning your business. I had the opportunity to do so much more for them and for myself as a business owner than an employee.

Happily the results proved that the decision was excellent. The boys are happy, healthy, well adjusted and excellent athletes. I am now psychologically unemployable. I absolutely love being an entrepreneur. Once I experienced the joy and freedom of owning my business, I was hooked.

Henry C. Link expressed the fear of taking a risk, “While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is busy making mistakes and becoming superior.” Reward comes in direct proportion to the risk involved. Remaining as an employee would have earned a comfortable living for me with very little risk; however, the personal growth both the boys and I experienced would also have been minimal. By stretching our wings and taking a risk, we experienced a new world of growth and opportunity. I continue to take risks and expand my horizons as do the boys.
How do you put a price tag on growth and potential for yourself and your family? We may feel as if we are out on the edge of the cliff sometimes, but the view is magnificent. For more inspiration and exploration of your potential, join me at www.Elaine4Success.com

Internal Controls

What really shapes your life? Who holds the controls for your future? You do. Your internal controls, your programming control your future.

Ability constitutes a significant portion, but ability alone will not carry you to success. History abounds with highly intelligent people who have wasted their lives. Intelligence and talent assist one in achieving success; however, those qualities alone are not sufficient.

Opportunity contributes another major piece to the success puzzle. Being in the right place at the right time certainly should not be overlooked. You must make yourself and your talents known. You must be available to participate when opportunity knocks.

Knowledge forms another portion of the success equation. Highly educated individuals have been known to work very menial jobs. Education and specific training enhance the probability of success but those qualities alone do not insure success.

Ability, opportunity, and knowledge contribute toward success. None of those three outshine “passion” as the key ingredient for achievement.

When John C. Maxwell was a new pastor, he was sent to a “wide spot in the road” size town. The first Sunday there were 3 people and 2 of them were John and his wife Margaret. He loved people, worked hard and built the congregation to about 100. As a 23 year old pastor, he was quite proud of his accomplishment. One Sunday in the summer he decided to stretch the congregation to the unfathomable goal of 300 for the first Sunday in October. Some of the folks in that small valley had never seen 300 people but they agreed to help. They each asked everyone in the valley several times; there were not that many people in the valley so each one received several invitations.

The first Sunday in October arrived and people swarmed to the tiny church. The windows were open and people were inside, outside and everywhere. The head usher stood and announced that there were 299 people. Pastor John said, “Our goal is 300.” He found himself declaring that he would not speak until he found the 300th person to complete the goal. Betty stood up to lead a couple of songs while he located the 300th person.

John was so pumped and excited and the congregation patted him on the back as he marched down the isle and out to find the 300th person. His excitement was extreme until he stood outside and thought, “Now what do I do?” He walked across the street to the only service station in town. There he found the owner and the mechanic. His question to them was, “Which one of you wants to be a hero to the entire valley by becoming the 300th person and fulfilling our goal.”

Note the question, “Which one of you wants to be a hero to the entire valley?” Long story short, they hung a closed sign on the service station and both men went across the street to the church. The congregation cheered, the service station owner and mechanic beamed as the entire congregation treated them as heroes.

At the end of the day, the only element which made that day a resounding success instead of just a great day was passion. Ability did not accomplish the goal. Opportunity did not create success. Knowledge did not figure in the result. Passion led the charge and passion accomplished the goal.

Neither ability, nor opportunity, nor knowledge created success. Passion accomplished the goal. What passion do you possess which can and will lead you to your goals?



For more specific tip and techniques to lead you to success, join me at www.Elaine4Success.com. Live a passionate and successful life.



Titles:

Discover Your Passion

Internal Control

Internal Controls

Emotional Control



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