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Are You Trainable? Or How To Be A Successful Entrepreneur

There’s a reason why most people who want to be entrepreneurs fail. Let me tell you some of the reasons before we go into what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur.

Not to insult the dog – but even dogs are trainable. Why is it so hard to train humans? It’s like the proverbial saying: Which came first the chicken or the egg? It doesn’t matter – we’re here.

So you would like to be a successful entrepreneur! Great! Were you born an entrepreneur? That’s like asking were you born walking and talking. An important question is: Would you rather be an employee or an entrepreneur? YOU CAN BE TRAINED! The number one reason that so many are employees rather than entrepreneurs is that our schools train us be become employees. As most parents say to their children: Go to school, get an education so you can get a good job. I was one that use to believe this but now that I’m in the second half of my life I know it’s not true.

Before the Industrial age most children were raised to be entrepreneurs. That is how many people got their surname. It came from their father’s occupation. Smith came from blacksmith, Farmer because they were farmers.

With the coming of the industrial age there became a need for employees. The government took over the system of education. After the Prussians (Germans) were defeated by Napoleon at the battle of Jena in 1806, the leaders decided that the Prussian soldiers were thinking for themselves on the battlefield instead of taking orders.

Following John Locke and Rousseau, Prussia established a 3-tierd educational system that was considered scientific in nature. Basically it was a system of thought control. The educational system was divided into three groups. Less than one percent of the population, the elitists, was schooled to believe they were better than others and deserved more. Then a small percentage was given what was called “real school” and were partially taught to think. The point here is that 94 percent of the children were sent to “volkschulen” (people’s school) where they learned “harmony obedience, freedom from stressful thinking and how to follow orders.”

The whole point of the system was to keep the majority of children from reading. A person who reads becomes knowledgeable and therefore independent. Horace Mann is credited with bringing this Prussian educational system over to America. It’s a fascinating history and if you want to read more about it go to Google on the web and type in “Prussian learning system”.

Do you begin to understand why elitists want you to remain employees? I am reminded of the movie “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” where Debbie Reynolds plays the role of a lower cast person trying to break into high society. If this is a stretch for you just move on.

There’s something to be said about our mentality here. Do we have an abundance mentality or a scarcity mentality? An old “oil” story is about whale oil. During the whaling days there was fear that we would run out of whale oil and not be able to read once the sun went down. Can you think of anyone in this 21st century who uses whale oil lamps to read by?

Now that you want to become and entrepreneur you must leave behind your old habits and ways of doing things and begin to think outside the box. Do you still need that security or would you rather have freedom?

Do you realize that some of the most famous entrepreneurs did not finish school? Thomas Edison is the founder of General Electric. Henry Ford is the founder of the Ford Motor Company. Bill Gates is the founder of Microsoft. Richard Branson is the founder of Virgin. Michael Jobs founded Dell computers. Steven Jobs is Apple’s founder.

Are you ready to give up your security blanket? The vast majority of people are not! Can you become an entrepreneur? Yes, if you are trainable. When you have the “security” (and how secure is it today, think of the airline industry) of a job you give up your freedom.

Can you still be an entrepreneur?
Yes, you can!

For what are you known? The great Babe Ruth was known as the home run king in baseball but he struck out more than he hit home runs. Thomas Edison found thousands of ways how not to make a light bulb. Walt Disney failed in business six times and had a nervous breakdown before he became know for Mickey & Minnie Mouse, Disneyland and Disneyworld.

What is an entrepreneur?

Howard H Stevenson, a professor at Harvard, says: “Entrepreneurship is an approach to management that we define as follows: the pursuit of opportunity without regards to resources currently controlled.” (Harvard Business News, 1983)

Are you ready to become an entrepreneur?

In his book “Before You Quit Your Job”, Robert T. Kiyosaki gives a list of differences people need to make before they take the transition from employee to entrepreneur.

  1. Ability to change philosophy from security to freedom
  2. Ability to operate without money
  3. Ability to operate without security
  4. Ability to focus on opportunity rather than resources
  5. Be an active learner – there is no graduation day

A big difference between an entrepreneur and an employee is that the entrepreneur is EXCITED about MAKING CHANGES.

How do you begin?
What is your self-talk?

You must start by taking inventory. That is an inventory of who you are and what risks you are willing to take. What is your self-talk? What are you saying to yourself? Dr. Shad Helmstetter has been working in the field of motivation and self-talk for almost 30 years and he has found a better way to improve your self-talk.

Dr Helmstetter wrote a renowned book entitled: WHO ARE YOU REALLY AND WHAT DO YOU WANT? In talking about the programs we have, the human brain accepts whatever we put into it – whether it’s true or not. Behavioral researchers have told us that during the first 18 years of our lives, if we grow up in reasonably positive homes, we are told “No!” or what we could not do 148,000 times. So I would begin with our self-talk.

Have you ever heard the saying: Everything I eat goes right to my waist? Or have you heard yourself saying things like: Why me? Nobody likes me. I’m too shy. I never know what to say.

You are using the Law of Attraction and probably don’t even realize it. And the sum total of our programs, whether positive or negative, or even neutral, influences almost everything about us.

Researchers have told us that over 70 percent of the programs that we have are negative and counter-productive. The good news is that we can change our programs. But it is something that we must consciously work at doing. Again, researchers say it takes 21 days to change a habit. And that is if we work at it daily. Some habits are so ingrained that 21 days are not long enough. If by the age of 18 we are fed negative instructions over 148,000 times then we must realize that it will take us days to change. We have to decide if it’s worth it.

Think of walking across a virgin field of grass. The first time the blades of grass spring right back up after you have passed. But you continue it day and night, others join you and soon there is a path in that field of grass. That path becomes hardened and maybe someone rides their bicycle across it and makes a rut in the path. Over time it becomes a highway. To break out of this rut we must put up a detour. Then we choose the path we want. Our neural pathways of the brain can be retrained and follow the path we choose. What path do you want to follow in life?

Self-talk is the term used in the field of personal growth to replace the old, negative programs with healthy new programs. And the most practical way is to use the passive form of learning based on the way we learned to speak when we were children. Tapes or CDs with positive, uplifting, self-affirming programs replace the old, negative programs that we had. Dr Shad Helmstetter has produced a series of self-talk CDs called The Lifetime Library. They cover eight different areas of our life from self-esteem to quality of life.

Now that you have changed your self-talk from being an employee to becoming an entrepreneur, what is the next step?

Set a goal!

What is your goal? Don’t just say: to become rich. A goal has to be specific, measurable, and with a date on it. A goal is just a dream until you put that date on it. What if you didn’t reach your goal? It’s not the end of the world. Look at Thomas Edison. He worked on thousands of trials before he succeeded in making a light bulb. Henry Ford told his engineers that he wanted a V-8 engine. They told him it couldn’t be done. But when Mr. Ford told his engineers either do it or he would replace them with new engineers they came up with the V-8. The Wright Brothers were told that they should stick with their bicycle shop but they wanted to fly. That first plane didn’t fly the length of a 747.

Why goal-setting?

There is something in the human brain that when we have a goal with a date on it the forces of the universe work to help us achieve that goal.

Goal setting challenges the individual to give life a preplanned direction by using specific exercises and strategies. Harvard University did a study many years ago on goal setting. They found that only 3% of the people set a goal and wrote it down. Ten percent set a goal but didn’t write it down. The other 87% just drifted through life. Years later when they reviewed what these people had done, the three percent accomplished 80 – 90% more than the other 97%.

John Goddard, who is now in his 70s, is a good example of an entrepreneur. When he was 15 years old his parents sent him off to do his homework while they talked with a friend in the other room. The parent’s friend was telling them if he had to do it over he would set new goals. Overhearing this John wrote out 127 goals. Years later he had accomplished over 100 of them. A speaker told this story to a class and after class a young lady came up and said that John Goddard was her grandfather. She asked for the speakers phone number. Sometime later the speaker’s cell phone rang as he was in the airport. It was John Goddard himself. As this speaker started to congratulate John, John interrupted and said that he had made those 127 goals at age 15. Now he had made over 600 goals and had accomplished most of them. You may not be a John Goddard or a Henry Ford but you are important and have much to contribute to this world. As an entrepreneur you may become the next person to give us an alternative fuel for travel. Remember whale oil was once the prime source for our reading lights.

Create a life plan with your goals.

Use the wheel of life measure to balance your life. Remember to use S.M.A.R.T goals.

Write your goals down. The discipline of writing forces us to think through a goal more thoroughly thus giving it more importance in our conscious mind. We find that it also becomes embedded in our subconscious mind as well.

Take some time and write down your goal. Then write down what obstacles you find that are keeping you from your goal. Next what action step will you do to overcome your obstacle and reach your goal?

The biggest obstacle I have found as I have coached with many people is procrastination. That and fear keep many people from writing down and achieving their goals.

By setting goals you can:

Remember that you constantly set goals. As you achieve one goal you add another. It’s like a student has a goal to finish school. Then they use that achievement as a stepping-stone to the next goal.

You have probably heard it said that attitude determines altitude.

What goals do you create?

Ask yourself:

  1. What do I want in my life that I don’t have?
  2. What do I have in my life that I don’t want?
  3. What would motivate me to do my best?
  4. Where do I want to live?
  5. What do I want to do to enjoy life and have a substantial income?
Follow the Law of Attraction

The law of attraction says you get what you set your mind on. When you make a call on a prospective client or customer do you “know” their answer will be “No”? Do you say that it’s not a level playing field? A positive attitude brings out positive emotions, whereas a negative attitude brings the negative. How would you live if you knew that you could not fail?

On a piece of paper draw a line down the middle. Now on the left side list the things you don’t want. Start out with 10. Later you can go to 50. Then on the right side of the paper write down the things that you do want. As you look at the first item on the left (the thing you don’t want) ask yourself the question: What do I want? And write that on the right side of the paper. You will quickly be able to find out what you really want in life. Then as you focus on what you do want start to work on those projects.

Focus

Focus on what you want. Frequently you will find things you don’t want popping up in your mind. Focus on what you want. Put aside those things you do not want. The brain always takes on whatever it is you focus on. People who focus on what they do not want keep getting what they do not want.

The process of changing your core beliefs can and will take time. As you continually focus on what you want your brain will be attracted to those people and situations on which you focus.

Branding

As an entrepreneur you will need a brand. Remember you are not the only one in the world with that particular skill or widget. What makes you stand out from the crowd so that people will want to use your goods or services? If you have a business of any kind you need a Brand. Do people you do business with know who you are and what you stand for? A Brand is a relationship. Are you trustworthy? Are you for real?

Fall in love with the product or services you want to sell. Then offer people the love you have for that product or service. People will see your love for your services or product and will want to obtain them for themselves.

You need a Brand to stand out from the crowd. Winning brands aren't created or artificial: they're uncovered. Unearthing your authentic and distinctive value as an executive sets the branding process in motion and enables you to separate yourself from executives with similar skills and abilities. Others have your same products or services. Your Brand is how others think of you. Your Brand is a reflection of who you are and what you believe.

It is easy to think of the brands of large corporations – cameras, food, oil companies, investment companies, etc. But what is special about you so that people know and trust you? What do you do or stand for that people want to buy whatever it is you are selling? Brands have values. When people look to you they ask themselves “Who are you really?” When they find you are an “authentic” person they trust you. It doesn’t come easily. But as an “authentic” person, people will come to find you. To establish YOUR Brand you need to answer three questions. 1) What’s my purpose in life? 2) What are my dreams? 3) What’s important to me – what do I believe to be true?

WHAT’S YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE? Don’t give someone else’s answer, what do you feel your purpose in life is? I love seeing other people grow. As they struggle to overcome obstacles they blossom and grow into someone more valuable to themselves and others. Think of the butterfly as it struggles to get out of the cocoon. They have done experiments by cutting open the cocoon for the butterfly to “make life easier” only to find the butterfly didn’t have the strength to fly. Take some time to figure out what is your purpose in life.

WHAT ARE MY DREAMS? All to frequently in my coaching I find people who have stopped dreaming or only dream of growing up and getting away from home. What a sad state of affairs. Look at Michelangelo. He had plans for man to fly but it was many years later before flying for humans become a reality. As you look at some of the great people of the past you find they they were not only dreamers but doers as well. You have the power within you to exceed anything that you have already done. Dare to dream! And work to make your dreams a reality.

In 2001 I made a list of dreams and wrote them down. Within six months my wife and I took our first trip to Europe. I had also written down to go to China and walk on the Great Wall. That dream will become a reality August 23, 2007.

WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO ME? Children try to imitate others and adults try to keep up with the Jones’. But it misses the mark for most people. Children try to please their parents, this is only natural. But there are times when parents try to live vicariously through their child’s life. This happens frequently in business. A parent builds a very successful business and expects their child to take over the reins. Frequently this is a mistake. I have known children who through fear of success or fear of failure drive that business into the ground. What do you believe to be the most important aspect of your life? True joy comes from living your passion. Follow your passion and you will live a fulfilling life. That doesn’t mean you won’t have hardships, think of the butterfly, but the “hard knocks of life” will only bring your passion into greater reality.

I hope that this gives you something to dream about and not only just dream but to set a goal and write it down. Remember a goal is just a dream until you put a date on it.

And remember a Life Coach will help you reach your dreams quicker. That person who is your coach has full faith in you and will hold you accountable to the goals you set.

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