Where To Really Begin Part 2

Posted on August 26th, 2007 in Business Mindset, Personal Preparation by Herb

Originally Posted On July 3, 2007

In my last post, I mentioned the new book 4 hour work week by Tim Ferriss. I’ll mention again, that I strongly recommend that you DO NOT attempt to read this book until you have read The E-Myth Revisited. In addition to the challenging personal & business recommendations Tim suggests, several key items & concepts from the E-Myth are directly tied to Tim’s content.

I strongly recommend any new or aspiring entrepreneurs to be read this book as close to the beginning of their ventures as possible. This is because this book covers old material in radical, yet relatively easy ways and gets to the heart of most entrepreneurial and even working employee issues…YOU.

First, Tim does an excellent job of not only identifying common people issues directly related to not getting tasks and goals accomplished. He puts these issues right in your face and forces one to address them internally and honestly choose a method of correcting course. For example, in each chapter, the reader is supposed to complete a “comfort challenge” which is exactly what it sounds like. You are given a specific time line, usually no longer than 2 days to do attempt something you probably are not used to doing, and likely would not do given an alternative. One such challenge from the book is to attempt to contact a famous person by phone that is typically difficult to get in contact with and get some advice from them based on your business needs. Once you have contacted that person, you need to be prepared to speak with that person with confidence to get the most out of an otherwise brief conversation. Another comfort challenge Tim requires is for any reader including females to attempt to get the phone number of several attractive members of the opposite sex. The goal is not to get the number perhaps, but instead to get used to uncomfortable situations, improving thinking on your feet, and eliminating fear in general.

Fear is a key item Tim tackles and in a very direct way his bluntness makes the reader really address their fears whether it be about quitting their job, going into business for the first time, asking your boss to work from home, etc. I personally found this part of the book to be key since it really let me know where my fears were and what I needed to do to address them. My favorite quote from the book is “Whatever you are afraid of is most likely what you need to do”. He even requires the reader to detail the worst case scenario that could happen once you quit your job today to start a business, and how you could get back to work in your field at your current level. All of his exercises are real eye openers if embraced and can really teach one about themselves and perceived fears vs. reality.

One of the other really huge keys this book identifies is the fact that there is way too much information available about most subjects and most of us try to consume it all, digest it all, and apply it all at the same time. Tim explains why less is way more and that any information that is obtained is ONLY useful if it is directly applied to some immediate action. This is definitely true of aspiring entrepreneurs like myself that is trying to learn about making decent money online but has little information on how. If you do not read any other part of this book at least check this out. Tim addresses all information consumption issues and directly ties them to human misuse such as incessant email checking, organization and handling, forms of mass media (blogs, casual internet surfing, tv news, non-fiction audiobooks, non-fiction books, newspapers, news web sites, general television.), and human interruption from phones, people in your cube/desk. All are integral parts of our lives but he has provided some unique but effective ways to screen all this information and train it all to come to you as you can use it. Also he addresses why the current ways most of us deal with the aforementioned information sources is not only wrong, but horribly unproductive for personal and business interests. One of the most interesting and challenging comfort challenges in the book is the 5 day information fast. That’s right, no tv, radio, books, audio books, blogs, web surfing, etc for 5 days. The exercise is not to drive you crazy but instead to teach you to use your time on items of action, including more interaction with those individuals or hobbies you may have been ignoring a bit. The management of information is a constant theme throughout the book and must be read in it’s entirety for complete understanding. Again as usual, I could write about this book and how it’s helped me, but I’ll just stop and restate the obvious….get this book, then get into your business!!

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Where To Really Begin Part 1

Posted on August 26th, 2007 in Business Mindset, Personal Preparation by Herb

Orginally Posted on June 24, 2007

When it comes to making money, I’ve found a large majority of the information resources out there have several flaws, with the biggest being they typically do not start at the real beginning of the process. I’ve spent much time & money on various business/side income attempts over the last few years diving headfirst right into projects, and getting mixed results at best. After each failure, I would sit back and pour over how I got it wrong, and how to do it right the next time to avoid failure. However, it wasn’t until I’ve recently read 3 key books, that I feel truly define where an individual should actually start when beginning a new business for the first time or the fifteenth time.

I found the theme of each book screamed at me one thing…. Herb…. The very first thing you need to work on to even think of being successful is…….YOU!! Each book gets to that same point in their own way (and provide excellent insight along the way) but I found that when I looked at why I have been unsuccessful sustaining any consistent success, I realized that I never looked deeper than the “how-to” or strategy I thought necessary to operate my venture. I understand now that this is totally flawed, and at best will only produce short term success, and long-time frustration.

That being said, lets get to the books!! The first must read is a book many working people have probably heard of, Rich Dad Poor Dad from Robert Kiyosaki. This book is an excellent starting point for most because it is really written in a down to earth, easy to read format and points the working class to two basic mindsets and understanding each. Once the two are understood, the reader gets to see what each mindset produces both short and long term, on a personal and professional level. For most readers of the book, you’ll come away with an open mind and hopefully, the first kick in the butt to seriously attempt income generation outside of your job.

The second recommendation is to read the E-Myth: Revisited, by Michael Gerber. I strongly recommend the audio version of this book as it is narrated by the author himself. It initially starts off a bit slow and boring but really grabs one’s attention as you get through the first third or so. The E-Myth focuses largely on the three personality types that get into business (personally my favorite part), how to not go into business, and what intangible, personal criteria are essential for business success. Disclaimer, my one sentence summary completely does NOT even come close to the amount of information one can get from this book. For the working stiff, this book is essential because it addresses specific situations new entrepreneurs would run into, such as going into business for a certain hobby and why it’s wrong, how starting a business can really mean creating a job, being controlled by the business, and not wanting to admit failure. This book is about as close as an aspiring entrepreneur can get to a “Before you go into business Read Me” how-to manual. Also, this book is likely to be a two-read minimum because of the information it contains. I could go on all day in my recommendation of this text, but the message should be clear READ THIS BOOK!!

The third and final book I’ve come across is The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss. I will go into more detail in the next few posts on this book for several reasons that should be apparent on content alone. DO NOT read this book until you have read E-Myth Revisited at a MINIMUM. Four Hour Work Week is a very radical departure from any self help/business book I’ve ever known, and could run off some with the internal questions the book will make you ask yourself and most importantly… it will make you answer them. Quite simply said, the previous 2 books will help to maybe prepare you to read and ACT on the content found in Four Hour Work Week.

Disclaimer: DO NOT READ MORE THAN ONE BOOK AT A TIME!!!!

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Finding The Way Out

Posted on August 26th, 2007 in Business Mindset, Personal Preparation by Herb

Originally Posted June 13, 2007

Every Entrepreneur, Business-Owner, and even the plain unemployed tell me that the only way to true financial success is to cease working a regular job. In my personal opinion, that statement is probably true in spirit, but I feel it has to be incorrect as a general blanket statement. I originally come from a blue-collar background and ended up working in the white-collar corporate world. In the process have learned that most people with any desire for an alternative means of financial support are easily demoralized for several repetitive reasons, but most successful individuals that are regularly broadcast to us was typically able to pile up resources, quit their job, and create a successful company. Great plan for the few, but seemingly out of reach for the rest of us.

While I feel that it is currently easier than ever create a profitable small - medium business, those of us without the tools, resources, knowledge, contacts, and whatever else I missed necessary to leave the job long enough to create an independent income stream… are left largely on our own. My own personal challenge to myself is to see if I can create a consistent, successful income stream, and in the process find a way to track what I did right, where I went wrong, and how I could easily teach others to do the same.

The trouble is, I’m currently not an expert and will have to create all this as I go through the process. In the coming months, I’ll be providing the key tidbits I’ve learned through my own personal research and information gleaned and tested from any credible mentors, “experts”, and suggestions I obtain along the journey.

As I grow, I’ll also be providing timelines and personal goals on the site for two reasons. First, I’ve already learned that any personal goals or other objectives need to be documented as a first step. Second, I feel that if I post stated objectives and timelines, you the reader could provide additional support and motivation. I’ve also already found that when you involve others that are or are not on your path, they can keep you in check by pointing out when you are on course or maybe veering off a bit.

I’m sure the beginning and probably the middle of the process will prove to be the toughest challenge, but as I find and provide successful bits of knowledge, I hope that anyone with objectives similar to mine simply apply them and let me know their results.

In closing, I would like to thank anyone that has checked out this blog, and be sure to stop back by as I intend to add entries and eventually additional content for visitor consumption.

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