How do you know whether you can be a successful entrepreneur, or if you are better off as a salaried employee? Everyone has bad days at work, when they start to fantasize about how great it would be to be their own boss. But before you make any drastic moves, it is wise to do a bit of self reflection to determine if this is really something you’ll be naturally suited for.
I once asked a friend, a prominent New York corporate lawyer, “Dave, in all your years of experience, what was the single best business you’ve ever come across?” Without hesitation, Dave answered, “I have a client whose sole business is manufacturing a chemical that is critical in making synthetic rubber. This chemical is used in very small quantities in rubber manufacturing, but it is absolutely essential and can be used in only super-refined form.
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” Lao Tzu
Indeed, it does.
It also begins with knowing where you want to go. After all, you can take as many steps as you want and walk your entire life without arriving anywhere because you don’t have a destination. Once we choose a destination, not only can we begin to head in the right direction, we are also able to map out our precise path accordingly.
After studying the research done in cognitive psychology over the last 25 years, I’ve come to a simple conclusion: The degree to which you feel in control of your life will largely determine your level of mental well-being, your peace of mind, your happiness and the quality of your interactions with people.
Cognitive psychologists call this a “sense of control.” It is the foundation of happiness and high achievement. And the only thing in the world over which you have complete control is the content of your conscious mind. If you decide to exert that control and keep your mind on what you want, even when you are surrounded by difficult circumstances, your future potential will be unlimited.
Success is not single sided; it is a holistic experience taking into account all of life’s experiences. I view success as a Five Part Formula. Our conversation about success starts with business, but ends with the total life experience.
If I asked a group of people to write down everything they needed for success in business and life we could probably fill countless whiteboards, blackboards, flipcharts, computer files and notepads. I have found there are only five basic skills needed in order to be successful:
Having a mind that is open to everything and attached to nothing sounds easy until you think about how much conditioning has taken place in your life, and how many of your current thoughts were influenced by geography, the religious beliefs of your ancestors, the color of your skin, the shape of your eyes, the political orientation of your parents, your size, your gender, the schools that were selected for you, and the vocation of your great-grandparents, to list only some possibilities.
Have you ever wondered why so many people are overweight when there are hundreds of diets and thousands of books on how to be healthy? Why so many people are unhappy in their relationships when there is more information available today on how to create loving, lasting relationships than ever before? Why so many people struggle with debt when there are known, timeless principles for financial prosperity?
Everyone wants to be able to improve their lives in some way: to heal something, to start something new, to find their soul purpose. As long as we are alive, this process continues. Everyone has a next step waiting to be taken, and everyone absolutely everyone has trouble accomplishing it. In fact, we spend an inordinate amount of time making up reasons and excuses for not moving forward.
Being stuck can be extremely painful. The desire you have to change a habit or improve your life comes from your soul. When you do not move forward with it, you block the very expression of your soul. The frustration that accumulates over time because of dysfunctional patterns of self-sabotage merely represents the surface issue.
The secret of success is focus. It is the one secret that ties everything together. According to the law of attraction, what you focus on is what you get. Therefore when you focus on all the qualities of success, you attract them to you. The more you do actions that lead to success, the more success you experience. The success of anything you do begins with focus. That’s when you call all your powers together for the accomplishment of a thing. Focus is an act of will which is the faculty that rules everything.
When you are a creator of your reality, you’re the one who initiates and creates things. Instead of waiting for things to happen, you go ahead and begin them. When others look to someone to follow, you lead the way. You start the ball rolling instead of waiting for someone else to make it roll. You take control of situations and direct them the way you desire them to go. You become the cause of events and experiences. You have the power to move the world at will because you make decisions and follow them.
There are those who benefit many others in the world not by trying to help people, but by simply doing their own thing. If you are doing something because you think people have need for you to do it, then you are perceiving lack in the world. The truth is that the world is whole, complete and there is nothing lacking in it. Since that is the case, you can do whatever you wish simply because it brings you joy. By doing what you want and like, you’ll be helping from a position of wholeness instead of lack.
Research indicates that more than 50% of high school seniors lack clear goals and objectives for life after graduation. They don’t know what they want to be or do, and they don’t know how to decide. I know because I was one of them. Despite these grim statistics, the United States has no viable educational program to help youths make an effective transition-either directly from high school to work or to further education-that will point them toward a career.