Cleaning out some files, I found a small booklet I did for a class of kids years ago. I wish I’d known this stuff when I was a kid. It’s called Secrets to Starting Your Own Business. Even if you don’t want to start your own business, it’s basic useful info letting you know you have options: life doesn’t have to be hard, you can attune yourself to your own guidance system, setting goals and psyching yourself up for them makes them happen quicker; that’s what allows you to experience life more fully.
Kids of any Age: Secrets to Starting Your Own Business
WHY START YOUR OWN BUSINESS?
People often start a business because they like the idea of being their own boss. That’s what I did. Plus I’d heard that “you never get rich working for someone else.” I liked the idea of being in charge and how much money I could make and when I could take naps and goof off. Of course, I also had an idea I wanted to share with the world, so I set a goal of providing the means to share that vision with others, and the magazine grew out of that.
WHO’S MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED IN A HOME BUSINESS? Those most likely to succeed are those who’ve given some thought in setting goals for their future and many fail. Many people are content to work for other people and enjoy the security and benefits of a large company. Then there are those who want to accomplish more and want the freedom to express themselves creatively on their own terms. When it’s your own vision, you’ll work harder and longer hours but you’ll be freer and happier and feel a greater sense of accomplishment at the end of each day.
WHAT KIND OF BUSINESS WOULD I BE MOST SUCCESSFUL IN?
You’re the only one who can answer that question. You’re best suited for a business that lets you discover and use your natural creative talents and those creative talents will change and sharpen and redefine themselves for the rest of your life. So, just as our goals are ever changing, so do our talents some forth and express in different ways when we embark upon new projects. Turning a hobby into a business is easier than you think.
WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE A HOBBY?
If you don’t have a hobby, sit down and write out a list of everything you’re interested in. Sports, cars, clothes, music, collectibles, motorcycles, fishing, fashion, camping or raising children. Whatever it is, write it all down. Then one by one go through the list asking, “Does anyone make money with this product or industry? Who makes money in that field and what do they do to earn it?”
Then ask yourself, “Can I do what they do? Do I want to do what they do? Do I want to do something similar but not the same?” So basically, get an interest and define some goals to start out with.
WE’RE ALLOWED TO CHANGE OUR MIND. WE CAN HAVE MANY CAREERS. People used to have only one career their whole life. Now there are so many opportunities, we can have many careers throughout our life. And we might have a few going at one time.
WHY DO PEOPLE STAY STUCK IN CAREERS THEY HATE?
Either they don’t think they have other options (“my dad was a roofer so I guess I’ll be a roofer,”) or they are afraid to leave because they don’t know where their next job will come from. Staying where they are feels safe, even thought they don’t like it.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO ME ARE having a happy life, having enough money to do what I want, having the freedom to do what I want, when I want to do it. When I worked for other people, I really didn’t have any of those things for very long. Plus I’d heard that “you never get rich working for someone else,” so I decided I wanted to figure out what I could do to make the most money and have the most fun. It didn’t occur to me it wouldn’t happen. I just knew that I wanted it to happen and that some magical power would help me achieve what I wanted.
IF YOU CAN CONCEIVE IT AND BELIEVE IT, YOU CAN ACHIEVE IT
I’d read somewhere that if you can have a thought about something you want to do, you will be given all that is necessary to make it happen. My experience is that’s true.
JUDGE YOUR SUCCESS BY HOW HAPPY YOU ARE.
It’s the same for any business. The big secret to a successful business is to love what you do and follow your heart. You can have the best business manager in the world and the best salesmen, and if you don’t love what you do, that’s not success.
I’VE LEARNED SOME IMPORTANT THINGS HAVING MY OWN BUSINESS:
1. Just because something doesn’t work doesn’t mean you’re a failure.
2. Just because you’re making money doesn’t mean you’re successful.
3. Just because you’ve had lots of jobs doesn’t mean you’re a loser.
4. You don’t have to fit in, you can create your own niche.
5. Work and fun don’t have to be two different things.
6. You don’t have to struggle to make money.
7. Life does not have to be hard.
8. Anything is possible and miracles abound.
MY TOP FIVE GOALS: Everyone on the planet wants the same things in life. These are my top 5 goals and everything after that is just helping me achieve the top 5.
1. I want to be happy
2. I want to hav plenty of friends
3. I want to be well thought of
4. I want to make loots of money
5. I want to have lots of fun.
WHY SET GOALS? I set goals so I can give myself something to focus on, a target to shoot for. Setting goals points me in the direction of happiness, freedom and dollars. Setting goals makes life easier, and talking with friends about goals helps make them happen faster.
IF SETTING GOALS IS SO EASY, WHY DOESN’T EVERYONE DO IT?
Lots of reasons. Mostly, they never had a role model for it. That is, they didn’t have somebody they know who sets goals and talks about it with them. If you and your friends are going to play baseball on Saturday morning, well, that’s a goal. So everyone talks about this goal at least one time a day for a whole week before it happens, and that way everyone is psyched up on the day of the game. It’s cool to share goals with friends and that is often how a lot of businesses happen later on.
GOALS DON’T HAVE TO BE LONG TERM
The neat thing about goals is you can change them whenever you want. In fact, the more you have, the more fun and freedom you’ll find in your life. I make lists of what I want to have later on or even right now and when I read the list later, I get psyched up all over again.
GETTING PSYCHED UP HELPS YOUR GOALS HAPPEN QUICKER.
Believe it or not this is true, so talking about it with friends helps you clarify exactly what is is you really want. Of course, if they don’t share your goals they might try to discourage you or razz you about is, so talk about it with people who are interested in similar goals.
YOUR FIRST GOAL:
See who else you know who has goals. Ask around and see who has the same goals as you and notice which goals sound interesting that you may want to consider for yourself.
YOUR SECOND GOAL:
Identify and solve your own problems. Problems only exists if there is a difference between what is now happening and what you want to be happening. If you don’t know what it is you want to be happening instead, you’re just complaining.
WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW?
WHAT DO YOU THINK CAUSED THE PROBLEM?
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE HAPPENING INSTEAD?
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT IT?
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
YOUR THIRD GOAL:
Set aside weekly time to review and analyze what you’ve accomplished the past week, what problems you had and what still needs to be done. This is the way you develop plans and strategies for next week.
KNOWING WHAT WE WANT MAKES IT COME TO US FASTER
Look at your life right now and you can see lots of things you don’t want. Those things will not be in your life forever. The more we notice what we don’t want, the more clearly we come to know what we do want, and our guidance system guides us by how we feel in the moment.
YOU HAVE A BUILT IN GUIDANCE SYSTEM
If you’re about to do something that will lead to your happiness, you feel good and you feel happy. If you’re about to do something that will not lead to your happiness, you feel resistance or negative emotion. Resistance doesn’t mean “never do it,” it just means don’t do it right now. Wait until the time feels right and if the time never feels right, you probably just need to clarify what you really want before taking action.
BRAINSTORMING WITH FRIENDS IS GOOD BUSINESS
Brainstorming is how we make the ideas fly, and you don’t have sit sit down at a conference table to do it. You can brainstorm by text, in the parking lot, at the mall or wherever you meet up with friends.
A GOAL IS A WISH WITH A DEADLINE
Having goals leads you where you want to go, but may not provide the inspiration to get you there. Wishes are different., They have impact – like being struck by lightning instead of by a lightning bug. Wishes let you dream. Wishes let you soar. Wishes let you tap into a source of limitless possibility and boundless energy that gives you the power to accomplish what you might otherwise never have imagined.
When you think in terms of wishes instead of goals, you give yourself the inspirational edge you need to make your wishes come true.
It’s been said there are three kinds of people: those who create, those who understand and those that neither create nor understand. I think that ignorance exists in the third category, hope in the second and brilliance in the first. Ignorance, which means simply without knowledge or experience in, can easily be transformed into hope and brilliance.
TUNE INTO YOUR INTUITION
As you begin thinking about what kinds of business you might enjoy, many thoughts and ideas can come to you. If you can stay on a subject long enough, more and more ideas will begin to flow.
As you’re making a list of your ideas, you’re attracting more ideas and thoughts to you. Whatever you focus on is what you are attracting to you.
SUMMARY: SO WHAT DID WE LEARN TODAY?
~ People start their own business to have control over their income and freedom
~ Those most likely to succeed are those who set goals and review them often.
~ The best business to start is one that makes use of your natural creative talents, doing something you enjoy.
~ Turning a hobby or personal interest into a business can be easier than you think.
~ If you don’t have a hobby or interest right now, identifying one is easier than you think.
~ You’re allowed to change your mind and change your goals as often as your interests change.
~ People stay in careers they don’t like because of fear and or because they don’t consider other options.
~ Having a happy life, enough money and lots of freedom are valid goals to strive for.
~ Believe it can happen and expect the best to happen.
~ Judge your success by how happy you are.
~ Just because something doesn’t work out doesn’t mean you’re a failure.
~ Just because you’re making money doesn’t mean you’re successful.
~ Just because you’ve had lots of jobs doesn’t mean you’re a loser.
~ You don’t have to fit in, you can create your own niche.
~ Work and fun don’t have to be two different things.
~ You don’t have to struggle to make money.
~ Life does not have to be hard.
~ Everyone wants to be happy, have plenty of friends, be well thought of, make lots of money and have lots of fun.
~ Setting goals lets you experience life more fully and have as much fun and freedom as you can.
~ Brainstorming with friends and getting psyched up about your goals helps them happen faster.
~ Your 1st goal: See who else you know has goals and set some for yourself.
~ Your 2nd goal: Identify and solve your own problems.
~ Your 3rd goal: Set aside time weekly to review and analyze what you’ve accomplished.
~ Knowing what we want makes it come to us faster.
~ Everyone has a built in guidance system; we just have to practice tuning into it.
~ A goal is a wish with a deadline and you can change the deadline whenever you want.
~ Anything is possible and miracles abound.
Every new moment is created right now, so no matter what your life has been until now, in each new moment you have another chance to start in a new direction.
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GOAL SETTING: WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF THE MONEY DIDN’T MATTER? If the money didn’t matter, what would you do or be or have 5 years from now in these parts of your life?
1. Fun
2. Career
3. Partner
4. Family
5. Health
6. Travel
7. Education
6. Describe the house and neighborhood you’d live in
7. Describe the car you’d drive and where you’d go in it.
8. What would you be wearing and who would be there with you?
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REMEMBER THE FUTURE Invent your own future. Decide what you want, your preferred future, then use creative visualization as your key to actualization.